Bojangles, Biking, and Bonking

Oatmeal just wasn't going to cut it for breakfast today.  Neither were Starbuck's poorly warmed pre-prepared sandwiches.  I parked at Starbucks for the follow on coffee but froggered across the street to Bojangles for breakfast.  Every Bojangles meal probably takes one day off your life but you gotta live a little.

My poison of choice are two egg and cheese biscuits and an orange juice.  It varies by nutritional information source but this will set you back around 800 calories.  After making short work of ~1/3 of daily caloric intake I headed back to Starbucks for a coffee to "do stupid things faster and with more energy".


My plan wasn't quite so stupid.  I did a few hours of peaceful focused work at the office while the temps rose from 20's to 40's.  Around 1pm I set out on the bike with a clear destination - no where.  Somewhere in the 1/4 mile out to the main rode I opted for a favorite game of late.  My game is quite simple.  Find as many connected miles of bike lane, bike path, or greenway as possible.  Today's added wildcard requirement was paved surface - no dirt or gravel trails allowed. My time limit was around 5 hours.  After 5 hours I have to endure colder temps and riding in darkness.  I thoroughly enjoy night riding when it's safe but I am further terrified of vehicle traffic.

I started with most of Third Fork Creek greenway. I jumped off before the end to loop under MLK and pickup that bike lane.  I rode MLK bike lane to the western end and headed back east.  MLK has some great hills.  The easterly end of MLK bike lines are at NC-55.  I flipped back westward and took another right onto the American Tobacco Trail.  I missed the Cornwallis bike lane for reasons I cannot explain.  The mental interrupt just did not fire.  I was zoned out.  The ATT from MLK to Cornwallis is particularly flat, straight, and nice.  If you've been there you know what I mean.  If you haven't then you should check it out. I did wake up in time to catch a right onto Riddle Road Trail to its eastern terminus and back to the ATT.  The north end of the ATT connects to the downtown trail.  I have to be liberal with this "bike lane" designation.  There is no true bike lane.  There is ample side walk and there is heavy foot traffic as it runs along side Durham Bulls Athletic Park.  You can take the scenic route and ride by Tyler's and the waterfalls

Follow this north by the farmers market area and the Durham Bulls practice field.  Go under the railroad bridge and turn right onto South Ellerbee Creek Trail.   Follow this North and go under I-85 on the broad sidewalk of Club Blvd that is designated part of the trail.  Turn left and follow the trail into Northgate park.  Then pickup Ellerbee Creek Trail to circumvent the dog park and continue North.  Pass Rock Quarry Park and anatomically incorrect (head) formerly known as a Brontosaur.  It's a cute conundrum when science/politics/the world evolves beyond old ideas and their representative likenesses. Take a left to follow the trail on Stadium Drive.  Take a left to follow Warren Creek Trail.  This takes me to the norther terminus of trails and bike lanes near the intersection of Horton and Guess. Flip around and unwind. The police had a checkpoint setup on Stadium Drive.  It seemed an odd place and time for a checkpoint but they had several cars stopped both times I passed. I briefly thought about license, registration, and tag for my bicycle in a lull between solving world hunger and green energy.  For more than a moment I wondered what they would say about my photographing the scene.

Heading south this time remember to turn LEFT onto Cornwallis bike lane. Follow that to a right on the greenway that parallels TW Alexander. Follow that path through a left that parallels Louis Stephens. Follow that to a left onto a path that parallels Kit Creek Road.  Pedal for a while.  Enjoy the water visages and hills.  Follow the left to parallel Davis Drive. Take a left onto the greenway that parallels Development Drive.  Really enjoy those hills. With good bike handling and no traffic it is a roller coaster ride at times.    Back up Louis Stephens to a right on a path that parallels Hwy 54.  Then a left onto the path at Davis Drive.  North to a right on the bike lane on Cornwallis. Find the eastern terminus at Paige Road and head back west to a left on the ATT. Follow that to the southern terminus of the north side near Southpoint Crossing.  By this point it was starting to get dark.  I headed back up the ATT to a left in the Juliette Drive bike lane through the neighborhood and eventually home.

[updated paragraph] I forgot to mention bonking.  Bojangles, a coffee, an apple, one honey stinger bar, and three handfulls of trail mix were not enough for this duration, distance, and intensity of ride.  By the end I was feeling rough.  Afterwords I felt rough.  Gotta get back on nutrition best practices.

I doubled over a few sections, skipped a few parallel paths, omitted the fabulous Woodcroft Greenways, and completely skipped Rockey Creek Trail.  It works out in my tired head.  I finished with 60 miles of connected paved bike lanes and greenways.  Thank you Durham and RTP.  Raleigh - what's your problem?  What do you have? I'll be coming over to find out soon. More importantly, can we please get a decent bike path, bike route, or bike lane to RTP to Raleigh? Also add allowing bikes in the Eno to the list!

The bike lanes and greenways are used by many people.  I saw fitness enthusiasts, dates, friends, families, mother/daughter, father/son, too many groupings to count.  People use the trails.  Open Spaces are healthy. It's unfortunate Congress is planning to cut funding for all of this "alternative transportation" from the current Transportation Bill. I'm sure it's better for kids to be buckled into a car seat in the back seat than to pedal down the street to the park in someone's mind. Most likely the mind of a petroleum executive.



60 miles on the day; 104 miles on the weekend; 395 miles on the month.  My back is non-plussed about the change in geometry again. I get more back and glute engagement on the Tricross and certainly rode harder and faster this weekend.  I'll add some supermans to my morning core routine.