Cycle North Carolina 2006

Oct 4th,  Rich Giroux and I rode day four of Cycle NC, from Burlington to Holly Springs.  Since we live close to Holly Springs, we rode to Burlington the day prior so no car driving was unnecessary although, eventually, a bit was involved.  I broadcast this invitation to join to our ridebuds:

Want to inform you of our plan. Join if you can/will.

Tue, Rich and I are riding from FE HQ to the Burlington CNC campsite and camping one night. Wed, we join CNC riding to H-S and the welcoming party at http://www.carolinabrew.com/ Then, barring lack of sufficient sobriety, ride return to FE HQ while CNC goes to H-S campsite. We expect to depart as soon as we're able.

Our Tue route will start off same ol', same ol', 1011 & 1012 to P'boro, then will get more pleasant through Gum Springs and Silk Hope. Unfortunately, CNC's route appears to be NC-87 to P'boro and US-64 to Wilsonville, we saw CNC marks on US-64 Sat. That's a lot of time on high level roads. I hope I've misread the CNC website map.

Will require carrying enough but minimal gear to camp. I'm towing BoB so you don't have to transport WT or EC, I'll do it.

Please reply your interest.

Rich and I rode a good adventure. Here's a report keyed to the invitation I broadcast.

N.B.: I towed BoB behind my 1983 Nobilette with tent, two Thermorests, two sleeping bags, pillows, and whiskey. Also one pannier and trunk rack for my gear, Rich had two panniers. This wasn't a 50/50 split but our agreed split. I'd only towed BoB behind Nobilette 1X prior, carrying a dead monitor to the Wake landfill off Durant road. I'd had some trouble that time adapting the tandem dropout width skewer to the narrower N'ette width but thought I'd solved that.

> Our Tue route: 1011 & 1012 to P'boro, then through Gum Springs and Silk Hope.

We started sans breakfast planning breakfast in P'boro. Off at 8:45, later than planned, and interupted several times early on to adjust skewer tightness as it didn't hold the wheel properly centered, we arrived in P'boro after 11:00 when all cafes had stopped serving breakfast. We ate lunch instead and continued on.

Route after P'boro was as nice as expected, however, DeLorme fouled us as, nearing B'ton, the cue sheet and the roads on the ground didn't match. We stopped drivers at intersections, queried them about how to get to Lake Mackintosh, and eventually arrived ~5:00.

Shower truck was fouled as water truck had arrived with incorrect fittings, CNC riders had not showered. B'ton fire dept arrived with tanker trucks after 6 and shower truck got into service. This delay gave us plenty of time to pitch tent and drink whiskey. We showered, caught shuttle bus into B'ton, ate at Monterey Mex, shuttle return, and into s'bags. The shuttle to Monterey was dreadful, bopping along through all that I-85 strip mall mess, stop after stop after stop. Monterey was last stop so return was delightful, no stops on return.

> CNC's route appears to be NC-87 to P'boro and US-64 to Wilsonville.

Fortunately, this proved false.  The CNC route did not travel NC-87 at all and hit US-64 at Mt. Gilead Rd so had o nly the long DH to Lake Jordan, thense across to W'ville.  Route crossed Haw on the old bridge.

(Sorry!  Distortion inevitable but the bridge is straight.  Poor stitch seam to right of Rich is my error.  I've included white background because of my poor vertical alignment of the seven pix that constitute this panorama.)

These riders are looking over the bridge railing at a real world of nature spectacular!  A water snake of some species, too far away to identify, was swallowing a small fish whole.  Well!  The fish won this battle to live another day.  The fish wriggled out of the snake's throat and swam away.

Route passed through Bynum to ascend Bynum Ridge Road with no CNC mark on pave to alert riders to Clyde Jones critter "farm", a real failing.

> we join CNC riding to H-S and the welcoming party at Carolina Brewing Company

This, too, was my wishful thinking.  No way could CNC have riders getting tanked at CBC and riding to the campsite afterward.  Route ended at campsite in Parish Womble Park, which I didn't know exists.

> ride return to FE HQ

We arrived at PWP ~3:30, music and beer scheduled to start at 5:00.  So ~4:15 and while Rich consumed two hot dogs, I detatched Bob and rode to FE HQ to use available time more effectively, thinking I could ride Holly Springs Rd before too much traffic built up.  Wrong!  HS Rd traffic was AWFUL!  Bloody AWFUL bumper to bumper.  I was thankful I wasn't towing BoB over those rollers as I would've had to ascend in granny and I weave a bit in granny.  Drove Trooper back to PWP to fetch BoB and Rich.  By the time I returned, the band was playing and CBC beer was available for purchase, $3/pint.

> Will require carrying enough but minimal gear to camp. I'm towing BoB so you don't have to transport WT or EC, I'll do it.

Weighed the BoB Th morning, after trip over and gear still wet from Wed AM dew, 46#.  Add Rich's s'bag which he removed Wed eve.  Towing the BoB behind Maizey is a snap, hardly know it's back there.  Was very much different behind N'ette, made the whole rig very squirrely requiring constant control.  I was whipped after two days of this.

The two campsites, Lake Mackintosh and Parish Womble Park, were outstanding, a far cut above the usual Bike VA school grounds.  Both have lakes, PWP had lakeside camping.  PWP has a nice bandshell.  CNC has smaller ridership so fits on smaller ground.

For the statisticians: Tu: 71.57, Wed: 78.29.

Prophotog Jim Harris told me Tu eve that he hadn't yet picked his location for Wed.  I hoped Rich and I would be adjacent and Jim would snap us in one photo.  T'was not to be, he suprised me with an early morning location and shot us in individual photos 061-36 and 061-38.  But Jim has some fancy, expensive software that enabled him to blend the two together into this result.