Day 7 - Kinston to Swansboro

We are finished!  454 miles in seven days.

That’s the Atlantic Ocean into which he’s dipping his bike.  He was a little scared after the long ride that he might drop it into the water.  

In my opinion, today was the most difficult day of the ride.  Besides being just a little tired after six days of riding, while a shorter day of 62 miles, the last 32 were straight into a 13 mph headwind.  I’ll take mountains over a headwind any day.  And it rained just a little at the beginning.  Everything was wet.  But we are done!

Throughout the week we have roughly followed the Nuese River.  The first stop today was along the river.  All three rest stops today included real food - pancake and sausage breakfast at the first, hotdogs and both the second and third.  All were run by churches or charities.  Our times at the stops tended to be a bit longer today on account of the weather and wind.  

 At the end of the ride was a huge celebration at the water front with a full meal, desserts, live music, beverages of all kinds, and countless volunteers from the town at every corner and turn.  The town has a population of 3,100.  So we increased the population that day by over 30%.  

As I was coming to the end of the ride, I pulled my camera out.  This is the first glimpse of the ocean (actually the bay) as we came over the hill.  At the bottom of the hill are the town people and volunteers to cheer us, welcome us, and....mostly make sure we turn right to finish. 

Most vacations one wishes would never end, but....we are glad not to be riding our bikes tomorrow!  I don’t think I’ll sit on a bike seat for a month.   But we absolutely had a great time the entire week and laughed at how tired we were at the end of each day.  Now we’ll just have to plan the next one in a few years.

Tomorrow is a 6-7 hour bus ride back to the starting point to get our car and start the journey home.  All the photos will be at a linked gallery once I get to a computer to link it all together.

Day 6 - Wilson to Kinston

Today was a different kind of hard for 68 miles.  Riding up and down mountains is tough on everything from legs to cardio.  Flats are difficult in that it is constant pedaling.  Today was 68 miles of pedaling with little coasting.  Matt and I didn’t help that matter in that for the first 15 miles we pulled a group of a dozen plus riders in a paceline at 18-19 mph.  Leaving the starting town we just wanted to create a little space between us and the crowd of riders.  Turns out some of them jumped in line for the ride - the front rider breaks the wind while the rest of the riders get to ride behind with much less effort.  Matt said it was fun and exciting.  That took us to the first stop which was’t much but a needed rest.  The next 15 miles brought us to the second rest stop in Farmville at The Duck & Rabbit Craft Brewery.

​While this photo doesn’t look like much of a brewery, the building behind it is much larger. 

Out in front the town also had a full meal prepared for the riders.  The photo here just shows half of the offerings for lunch.  It was a little too early at 10:30 am for me, but I did have a few hush puppies.  There was also a full table of homemade desserts.  As I’ve mentioned before, these towns really go all out for this event.  When we came into town, there were town people along the streets cheering, waving, ringing cow bells, generally making noise welcoming us.  In leaving, when we turned on to the main street (think of an old town Main Street for a block or two), again there were people on both sides of the street making noise, waving, thanking us for coming through.  Kind of cool.  Overall, this ride must be a big fairly well known ride in North Carolina.  We continually see people out on front porches, in driveways, or on sidewalks in lawn chairs waving and watching the riders go by.

Oh, and yes there was craft beer available for the riders.  Seemed 10:30 am was not too early for that.

The third stop brought us to an ice cream shop - Simple Natural Creamery - which was actually a dairy farm.  I just happened to come upon another older dog that was happy to take my dog biscuits, then sat patiently waiting for some of my ice cream.  That did’t happen.  He left. 

 The end of the ride came 25 miles after that in 84 degree weather.  We were drained.  Remember, little coasting.  I clocked over 44,000 pedal strokes at the end, more than any day so far. 

This is what we called the tent farm, set up for those riders who just want to rent a tent and not have to worry about packing one, setting it up each day, and then taking it down each morning.  The rider organizers do all of that for the renters.  Looks like a nice picture?  Now imagine it’s 84 degrees and you just finished 68 miles.   

We ended the day at a microbrewery tap room and a restaurant called the Boiler Room Oyster Bar. It was actually a very popular spot in Kinston with good ratings.  They were booked.  Typically on a Friday night they serve around 500-600 parties.  Tonight it was going to be about 2000.  We walked across the street to the tap room while we waited for our table.  Worked out perfectly.  

The menu was purely Carolina in the recipes and how the food was prepared.  They even had a $40 hard-cover cook book for sale.  We all did not order the norm and looked for items on the menu that you just can’t find anywhere else, at least not at home.  This included Beef Fat Fries.  You can probably imagine how that’s prepared.

Tomorrow is the last day and an even flatter day.  We ride 61 miles with only around 400 feet of climbing.  That brings us to the coast at Swansboro.  It’s been a fun ride so far and I expect tomorrow to be the same.

Day 5 - Knightsdale to Wilson

We finally got an early start today.  We were out before 7 and toward the front of the group.  With less hills today we averaged right at 16 mph.  Our first stop was at Five Count Stadium, another baseball field.  That seems to be one theme for rest stops.  No photos from there as it wasn’t as impressive as the day before.  Well, one artsy photo by Matt that really had nothing to do with the stadium or rest stop.  You can see that at the website later.

Our next stop was in Spring Hope (cover photo for this day).  This was a very welcoming town.  They had different types of small bicycles hung on street lights throughout our route through the town.  They were cooking sweet potatoes for everyone.  The sweet potatoes were harvested just two weeks prior.  They served sweet potatoes to over 1000 riders from 9 am to 3:30 pm.  There were town people all around helping, serving, and welcoming the riders from the time we rode into town to the time we got back on our bikes and left.  “Come again!” one lady said standing in the middle of the street as we got on our bikes and road away.  It’s a town of 1,300.  This was probably the biggest event they’ve seen in a long time, or ever.

We’re starting to get back out into the rural areas after being in and around bigger towns and cities for the past two days.  A few days ago we past by some tobacco farms - I expect to see some more tomorrow or Saturday.  Today we rode through a number of cotton fields and soy bean fields.  This took us to our third rest stop at Faithful Stables Farm, a large picturesque horse farm - riding horses.  Among all the horses was a gentle older German Shepard name Ida (I looked at her tag).  She was happy to eat the dog biscuits I always take with me on rides in case of being chased by dogs.  Good thing there were no dogs after that on the ride.

After 16 more miles we were done for the day finishing early around 2:00.  We have plenty of time to rest up and get ready for tomorrow.  Tomorrow’s distance is a little longer at 68 miles and pretty flat with only around 800 feet of climbing the whole day.  We’ll shoot for an early start due to the temperatures starting to climb.  Today reached 80 degrees by 1:00 pm.  We’ll see above that the next two days.

Day 4 - Chapel Hill to Knightsdale

An easy 66 miles today.  However it started slower than we desired.  I broke a cleat before we even left the starting point.  That delayed us a little bit as the support cycle shop replaced my cleats.  Once off and on our way, my chain dropped off crossing through an intersection.  The state trooper in the middle of the intersection looked over and asked if I was having a bad start to the day.  Yes.  I lost a cleat cover at the second rest stop.  Oh well, I’ve never used them before and Gregg, my friend, laughed and told my I never should have purchased them.  Lesson learned.  Even with that, which were really all small problems, it was a good day,  We cruised along right around 15 mph all day.  Our first stop brought us into downtown Durham and to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

Riding into downtown was a little hectic - no, very hectic - with traffic, but again the state troopers and local police and sheriff were at every intersection to wave us through with traffic stopped.  As I turned through the center of one four lane intersection (4 lanes both ways), I asked the trooper in the middle directing the traffic if this was easy or hard work.  He just smiled and said “easy”.   The rest stop was actually in the stadium.  Pretty cool.  Heading out was considerably easier as we took the tobacco trail out of town.  This trail is similar to a Rails-to-Trials path.  We avoided all traffic.

The ride was good and relatively uneventful until we arrived at the Neuse River Greenway.  We rode along the Greenway for 20 miles.  This again is a trail similar to the Tobacco Trail that runs along the Neuse River.   

The trail was as flat as could be - a very nice and welcome break after over two days of mountains and hills.  I think we crossed 20 wooden bridges as we road along the lowlands.  The ride ended in Knightsdale, a suburb of Raleigh, within a mile or two of the end of the Greenway.  From there it was a bus trip to the hotel and then out to eat.

The shuttles to and from the start/finish points are excellent.  With the hotels being more than a few miles from the start/finish points, we leave our bikes there and the organizers lock them up and stay with them all night.  As mentioned before, very well organized.​

Dinner was at the Raleigh Beer Garden.  Over three hundred and fifty beers on tap across three different floors.  Matt knew about this place from a previous visit to the area.  Being that it was a Wednesday night, we walked right in and were served immediately.  There was no crowd at all.  

Tomorrow is a mere 62 miles with only 1,700 feet of climbing.  Easy! 

On a separate note.  There are many more photos than I can post in these notes.  You can see them at the main website.

Day 3 - Oak Ridge to Chapel Hill

I meant to mention before that we have 8 state troopers with our group full time on motorcycles, along with local support from town and county officers.  The ride is very well organized with law enforcement right with us at every major intersection and hazardous area.

Today was an easier day.  We cruised along at a faster speed than the previous two days.  There were still some good hills, but less than the previous two days.  Our first stop brought us to a small church in Brown Summit.  The parishioners we were serving home made sausage biscuits - much better than the typical power bars, gels, and cookies.  The line was long and they’re couldn’t make them fast enough.  There was no charge, but their tip jars were overflowing.

The next stop was in Glencoe, another small town.  Take a close look at the Museum photo.  The town people here were also making sandwiches for the riders, and not peanut butter and jelly, which is typically at very stop from lunchtime to the end.

Our last stop was at an ice cream parlor.  It was only seven miles from the end of the ride, so there was no hesitation to add an extra scoop of ice cream.

After finishing, we ate at Carolina Brewery which is just off the University of North Carolina campus in Chapel Hill.

The first half of the ride was pretty flat.  The last half was rolling hills.  We really couldn’t ask for better weather.  The days start out in the low 50’s and end up right around 70 and not a cloud in the sky.     So far the weather is forecast to remain the same with temperatures a little higher as we approach the coast.  Tomorrow is a slightly shorter day at 68 miles.  The hills are even smaller and we finish with around 10 flat miles along the Neuse River Greenway as we loop around the north of Raleigh.  Tomorrow we also cross the American Tobacco Trail.  Not sure what that is yet, but we’ll see.

Day 2 - Elkin to Oak Ridge

A beautiful day to ride today, but a long day.  We were in the saddle for a little over five hours, which ended up being a little over seven hours with stops.   The first stop was at an old train station in Rockford Village at the bottom of a fast steep down hill ride. I mean right at the bottom.  Everyone had to ride the brakes hard to get into the rest stop.

We followed the Yadkin river for a while before we climbed back out of the valley.  Today was more elevation than the previous day, but only due to being 17 miles further.  The mountains weren’t as steep today, just more of them.

The note is a little shorter today.  It was a long day.  We got to the hotel at 4:30, cleaned up, went out to eat and returned to the hotel by 8:00 ready for sleep.  Tomorrow will be the longest day of the week at 72 miles.  However it should go quicker than today due to less hills.  After that we average around 60 miles per day and the hills subside more and more each day.  

Day 1 - Jefferson to Elkin

Wow, what hills!  Like never before.   We got a little bit of a late start due mainly to the weather.  It was cold!  We started in 39 degree weather.  That warms up pretty quick climbing mountains with heart rates approaching 200, but flying down the other sides at speed in excess of 40 mph makes for some chilly descents!

Our first stop was at Wild Woody’s souvenir shop.  We did not buy any souvenirs.

After that we climbed to the Eastern Continental Divide - not as well known as the real Continental Divide, but still.   

Over the top of that was an 8% grade decent over 4 miles.  I never pedaled once the entire time and hit speeds over 40 mph.  Matt averaged a little over 35 mph the whole way.  After that decent was the steepest most difficult climb.  Not half as long as the decent, but a large number of cyclists ended up walking.  We did not, but we did have to stop for about 10 minutes at the top just to recover.  The rest of the ride was up and down hills with only one more big climb.  Matt’s goal for the day was to finish without walking up any hills. He did that as the last 4-5 miles were rolling hills and a decent into Elkin.  

Elkin’s population is around 4,500, almost three time Jefferson (from the previous day).  The town provided free shuttles from all the campsites and hotels into town.  Downtown comprised mostly of one street - Main Street - that had a few nice restaurants and small shops.  Of course we ate at the local micro-brew pub.  After a long tough ride, we all ordered our own pizza, their specialty.

The shuttle took us around past the campground before heading to the hotel.  We all agreed that we would never make it through the week camping.  These tents were actually spaced out well.  Most were set up on a grid with a mere four to five feet between tents on all sides.

Tomorrow is a 70 mile ride.  We’re still in the mountians, but moving away from the largest peaks.  While the ride is much longer tomorrow, the hills are not as large or steep.   And it starts off almost ten degrees warmer!

Mountains to Coast Prep Day

With registration complete this morning, we decided to wander around the West Jefferson and Jefferson area.  First stop:  Jumpinoff Rock, a look out up on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  

The GPS had us wandering around before we stopped at an overlook nearby and found the path.  The walk seems a bit longer than the half mile.

After the hike back down we drove into West Jefferson to check out the county library.  No Wi-fi.  We didn’t go in.  But down the street was a little local coffe shop.  We stopped in, had coffee, and had a pleasant conversation with the owner who actually sold the business the day before after twelve years.  She summed up living in the town as terribly boring.  West Jefferson’s population is around 1,500.

Later in the afternoon we headed back to registration to meet a friend that’s joining us so a ride.  Him and I rode across Georgia back in 2009.

Back in West Jefferson we ate at a micro-brewery on the main strip in town, which was bustling this afternoon.  The small town just about doubled in population today as there are just over 1000 cyclists on this ride.  Our servers said they had never seen it this busy before.

Tomorrow starts the 500 mile journey at 7:30 in the morning.   The temperature is forecast for 41 degrees at the start.  We start in the mountains with 3,400 ft of climbing over 53 miles. Should be a beautiful day.