Going Long for Days 21 and 22 of #30DaysofBiking

Heading out late Saturday morning I was quite amused by stickers on neighborhood hydrants. I wish it weren't graffiti. The message is still good.

This will be the future path of the American Tobacco Trail bridge over I-40.

 The Honda Ridgeline has unique lines. This is the first one I've seen with a camper shell.

All field at Herndon Park were busy with games

Further down the ATT then heading east on White Oak Creek greenway.

At Bond Park I always want to try and climb the monstrous grass hill that is the offside of the dam. So far I've avoided for fear of tearing up the grass triggering more erosion.

Then into Umstead park with a nice canopy.

From Umstead I took a slightly different route heading east toward the NC Museum of Art. 

The path less traveled included a serene gravel path.

This is one of two pedestrian bridges I know of around Raleigh. This one connects NCMA trails to Meredith. I have yet to find a greenway that connects to the other bridge which crosses US 1 south out of Raleigh.

I found many tunnels and bridges on this ride. It is great begin out of traffic.

House Creek greenway is under construction. Eventually it will connect Crabtree Creek greenway to Reedy Creek Greenway. That will provided a dedicated bike path from the eastern part of Raleigh inside the beltline all the way to Umstead and down into Cary.

House Creek greenway is coming along nicely.

From Crabtree Creek Greenway I followed every branch and offshoot that went anywhere. This tunnel is heading towards Shelly Lake. I paused briefly here on the way back to help a family with some bike mechanical issues.  Good deed done.

The path around Shelly Lake is quite nice. It's pretty busy so plan on slow rolling.

Bridge over the lake is the highlight as always.

Last time I was over this way I skipped Shelly Lake. I was glad to pick it up this time.

This fungus was trailside climbing toward North Hills Park.

Toward the eastern end of Crabtree Creek greenway it is heavily wooded.

And that wood gets slick when wet. This is where the bike skidded to a stop.

These are slide marks left by the tires

Another view of skid marks

And this is the result of the impact on my left knee. I *think* IT band fared much better this time. My knee was sore otherwise from the impact. I hit the wooden deck hard enough to bounce. That one stung a little.

The tank bag holds nutrition. This keeps it close, handy, and ever present. At the eastern end of the greenway my tank bag ran empty. This is a sad site. It's like looking into an empty pantry or barren refrigerator.

I saw a similar picture in another cyclist's blog recently. It really resonated. You may have to be a cyclist to appreciate it or you may have to be there. An empty food bag is a sad site. Luckily I had refills ready in the Ergon pack.


Heading back west on the greenway I think these guys really have the right idea. Pedal AND recline in an armchair. I saw several of these on Saturday. At least one had neon flags sticking up to help provide visibility. Otherwise these guys scoot along close to the ground and out of sight.

House Creek is still under construction. This was a nice powerline climb.

The sun was low and clouds rolling in by the time I passed Lake Crabtree again.

I was worried about clearing this area before dark as park Rangers take closing time seriously. After this it's all open greenway that I know well. I paused at Wendy's for dinner. It was a day of doing thing different. It was an opportunistic sort of day. I followed whatever trail presented itself. I refilled water when the opportunity presented. I took a dinner break subconsciously preparing for a long evening.

I unwound my route back to the ATT and then turned south to rack up some extra miles. My GPS mileage was off due to forgetting to start my watch a few times. This is why I need to get a cycling computer.

Late night on the ATT spooked me this time. I heard a sound I could not identify. That sent my mind reeling. It was pitch black out other than the few feet penetrated by my lights. It took a conscious effort to calm down, stay focused, and keep pedaling. Well, maybe not pedaling, I was pedaling one way or another, and with calm the strokes were sustainable rather than hair on fire sprinting.

A few minutes later I reveled in the song of a hoot owl. The volume and intensity seemed like he might have been perched right over the trail.

Several miles further up the trail rain set in. Rain threatened since I stopped for dinner with clouds and occasional lightening. The threats ran out and it quickly escalated to a downpour.

There is a moment when riding in the rain. Tires splash water up. Rain falls down. All the moisture collects on your legs and begins creeping down. Your ankles get a little chill. The water soaks down through your socks from the top. Water puddles splash up and soak upward from the toe cleat holes through the shoe soles. At some point the two fronts meet. That is the moment. The two tides of wetness meet and you shoes, socks, and feet are suddenly soaked through.

Eventually I reached Herndon park. Handily some shelter lights are left on at night. Under the shelter I traded out my kerchief for full on rain hood and steeled myself for the rest of the ride.

I arrived home some time in the 1am hour. Food, shower, and I had to sit down to manually calculate total distance. I was hoping for 120 but really didn't know.

121 miles when all was said and done. Technically I rode Saturday and Sunday to boot.

Straight lines are where I forgot to restart GPS.

Sunday afternoon I got back on the bike anyway. I rolled to Durham for the Earth Day fair. Rain, wind, and cold got the better of the event. I still managed to find a tasty funnel cake.