Starting out the day the trees are celebrating spring.
The ATT on the south side is a beautiful ride.
Raleigh and Cary greenways use many more wooden spans. This one was particularly long and a good preview of many of the day's trails.
Heading further east through Cary the bike lanes are great and trees still in bloom.
Bond lake in Fred G Bond park looks great. The ripples tattle on a bit of wind.
On the NW Maynard Greenway I stopped for lunch.
Eventually I wound my way up to Lake Crabtree.
Then around Umstaead and with some serious adventure I finally popped out on Crabtree Creek trail. The Crabtree Umstead trail is supposedly in planning and desperately needed.
Crabtree creek trail winds along the creek like any self respecting major city greenway.
This pond near the eastern end gives me specific mental challenge. Sewer pipes clearly run through the pond. Just keep pedaling.
This was either logging damage or remnants from tornadoes last year.
The Neuse River greenway appears on Google Maps bike routes. It is well protected by a suburban labyrinth. It's not exactly ready for prime time yet.
Generally I found Raleigh much less cyclist friendly. Sidewalks with abrupt ends, no sidewalks, no shoulders, and just down right cyclist hostile in several areas. I opted for this hike-a-bike obstacle over trying an alternate route on local roads. Again, Neuse River trail isn't ready for primetime unless you're feeling adventurous. The road ahead:
And the road behind:
Wrapping up the construction area known as Neuse River greenway I found myself in another anomaly known as Anderson Point Park. Cross a bridge over a major four lane road to get into this park. There is no escape from the park. It is bounded by Neuse River on three sides and Knightdale Bypass on the the fourth. I bounced around in here like a bottled bee for a while until retracing my path back over the bridge.
One of the highlights of the park is this fire circle overlooking the river.
Heading back west finally toward home I rode another wooden walkway through this swampy area that reminded me of the song "Swamp Witch" by Jim Stafford(?).
Getting pretty low by this point I recognized the name of a friend on a road sign. This one's for you Shane.
I passed WRAL as the sun set.
Darkness was long and tough on this ride. I ended up skipping several greenways due to time. Early in the day I forwent Lake Lynn and Shelley Lake. After darkness I skipped some of Lake Johnson and then Beaver Creek Greenway in Apex.
I made it through the blackness of one corner of Lake Johnson without issue and escaped the trails into a parking lot. A street light and picnic table called out like a beacon in the night. I sat down to change batteries in a couple of fading headlamps, eat, and study the maps. My route was sketchy ahead as I tried to escape the beltway. The refreshed lights and caffeine shot blocks bolstered my confidence. I needed that jolt when I rolled out onto Jones Franklin.
New Bern Ave was a miserable ride. There was at least some sidewalk. By far the worst rides were Jones Franklin Road and Ten Ten Road. Never ever ever attempt to ride a bike on Jones Franklin. I dropped into parking lots when possible. I rode in the grassy glassy median challenging the puncture resistant tires. This was 1.6 miles of pure terror. Crossing I-40/I-285 on Jones Franklin felt like escaping a dungeon through the sewers, my own version of Shawshank. I could not wait to get back to the rural abyss.
Riding through downtown Apex I struck up conversation with a pedestrian. He was keenly interested in the ride and how I would still ride to Southpoint before calling it a night.
By this point I was pretty low. My left iliotibial band was dissenting. Darkness and wave after wave of cold fell. Eventually I made it to the ATT and off the road. It was good to escape the road. I didn't mind the soupy fog and colder temps, at least not for a little while.
This was practice. I maintained hydration with the double edged sword of each cold sip. I put it together at some point to put shotblocks in my pocket closer to my body to warmup before eating them so they were less like cold tar. I slowed on the intake to two blocks every fifteen minutes. That kept digestion to a minimum leaving blood circulating in my extremities. Multiplication tables kept my mind busy. Keep moving, keep focused, keep hydrating, keep eating. Keep moving.
Northbound to the paved ATT, off the pavement, through the unsurfaced trail, through Southpoint, by the cemetery, past SouthPoint Crossing, and finally into shelter.
Ride time: 11:20. Plus a bit for the few times I forgot to start the watch or fought with navigation
Elapsed time: 12:42
Mileage: 112.3. Ironic. Ironman distance. Moots was more comfy than tri bike.
Arrival time: Around midnight
The final route is appreciably different from my original goal:
Wayfinding took a while. It didn't help when my Garmin 310xt would go completely blank. I think the route was just too many waypoints for it. I cut the route down to just the unfamiliar parts just to get it to fit onto the watch. It may have fit, but it didn't exactly function. On more than one occasion I reverted to a paper map and my iPhone. A better GPS is now a priority. I fumbled over this long enough.
I need to practice early starts. Joe Walsh said it best, "Start in the morning and get the job done. Take care of business and we have some fun. All night long." 50 miles before lunch is my loose goal at this point. For this ride I hit 30 miles before a 1PM lunch. That ain't gonna cut it.
I will keep something up my sleeve. Somewhere around Apex I remembered an extra headlamp in my frame bag. Two head lamps and two bar lights made a crisp forward view. I could even set one or two to strobe so others could see me. Caffeine shot blocks and spare batteries were other aces. I emptied my camel back once and then dumped one bottle of water into it. I strategically kept the last bottle separate and discrete. Puncture resistant tires were helpful through the numerous patches of glass through the day.
I still need something else to keep toes warm. I also need to get my bivy and sleeping bag mounted so if push comes to shove I can shut down and wrap up.
I need more practice wayfinding. The scant little hints of trail still escape my untrained eye. I need another trip on Raleigh Greenways, maybe backwards. I need to find alternates for New Bern Ave and Jones Franklin first. I'm still hopeful for Palmetto Trail, Katy Trail, GAP/C&O, and possibly Virginia Mountain Bike trail.
Nutrition is going to be interesting. I was ravenous after this ride and into the next day. I need more training to string these days back to back.
Overall I prefer Durham bike lanes, bike paths, and greenways. Durham traffic never instilled the fear of New Bern Ave, Jones Franklin, or Ten Ten. I also didn't find myself riding in the dark into the abrupt end of a sidewalk. More sampling may be required.
All in all it was a good day, and night, for adventure.
Special thanks to Rebecca for all of her support. She manned the phone to make sure I arrived safely.
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