CNC 1 Day

Well, our first CNC ride on the first day. Downhills were great, but the uphills... not so much. Happy to say Bambi and I didn't have to walk up any of the uphills, but it was close. Three MPH going uphill is pretty slow. Going to bed now and think about tomorrows ride.

Day #1

Well Day #1 of the 2011 Fall Ride is history.  My cyclometer says 68.70 miles with an average of 11.7 MPH.  I can't remember ever having such a low average on any length of ride.  Perhaps the fact that I was occasionally walking the bike up hill accounted for this.  Anyhow my maximum speed was somewhere north of 40 MPH and I did use my brakes a lot.

Mark, Joanne, Bonnie, Cassandra, George with Pilot Mtn in the background

I wanted a group shot with Pilot Mtn in the background so we could prove we were there.  Unfortunately the sun was low in the sky and right behind us so this isn't the greatest picture

The weather, which can always be an issue in October in NC was absolutely perfect.  Bright sunshine, no humidity, temps starting in the high 40's and ending in the low 60's.  We bundled up in the morning and most of us shed something during the day.  Rest stops and frequent intervals helped, the big hill climbs at the end of the day didn't.  

One very nasty stretch of road had recently been paved by the "tar and feathers" method where tar is spread and then stones.  The loose stones are supposed to be swept up after the tar dries.  It looked like they forgot that step.  Anyhow there were piles of loose stone on the road and the hill was a steep and twisting decent. As we started down this stretch we were flagged to slow down by police or ambulance people.  At the bottom of the hill they were loading one very injured looking fellow into an ambulance.  We do not know of his condition but all pray that he is on the mend.

The cue sheets claimed that the total climb for the day would be 2200 feet.  That is just a summation of all the up hills with no subtraction for the coast downhill.  I talked with several riders who have the Garmin Edge GPS on board.  They said that they recorded 4900 feet of climb for the day.  I think Garmin uses an altimeter for this computation where the software CNC uses probably uses contour map data.  I would like to believe the Garmin data.

Several years ago Ken Court gave me a wristwatch heart rate monitor.  I mounted the display next to my cyclometer. I set the alarm to go off at 120 beats per minute.  I had to turn the alarm off before I got out of the hotel parking lot.  I got some pretty scary (to me) readings during the day but I think they were accurate since my resting rate now is 83 which is only 20 over normal.  I set a limit of 160 where I would stop and rest.  Maybe a good sign was toward the end of the day with the most stressful hills, I rarely got over 145.  But I had to stop for other reasons.

  

Safe in Mayodan

I spoke to Bill a little while ago. Cellphone service in Mayodan, at least at the camping area, is spotty at best, and the data connection was zero. Bill says that today was a very hard ride on his recumbent, and he appreciates Dave Whitlow waiting for him over and over and over again. The route was beautiful, especially around the Pilot Mountain area.

Tonight's camping is at Autumn Creek Vineyards (and, like, how cool is that!), and Bill seemed quite happy when he called me (5 times) around 5:30 pm. Check out Autumn Creek Vineyards here: http://http://www.autumncreekvineyards.com/home.htm

For those who haven't heard from Nancy Alexander and Bonnie Refinski-Knight today, they had a great time, and enjoyed the winery as well. Bill also spoke to Allen and Bambi Edwards while he was on the phone with me, and I believe everybody is accounted for today.

There was one accident that we are aware of - a cyclist crashed while rounding a set of "s" curves with loose gravel. The cyclist was not part of the New Bern group, and no one seems to know much else about the crash as of right now.

Harry's in Elkin

Kitchen from our table. Local place...parking lot full of cars never lies. Shared our table with our new friends we met during our 45 minute wait.

Ready to ride

Snug in Elkin

We had an uneventful drive from New Bern to Elkin this morning arriving at the check-in at 12:15.  It is cool here and we saw some clouds and a few sprinkles on the way.  I put the touring bag on the bike for all the clothes I hope to be shedding during the day.  Us hotel wusses are happy to have a warm room to sleep in tonight.
Looking forward to a great ride in the morning with a stop for dinner at a winery.

Mark and Lynda - Bill is busy checking Facebook or something

First Snag

Spent night in Elizabeth City last night planning to drive into Corolla to catch bus to Elkin.

On way to Corrola this morning the four lane was closed due to tractor trailer wreck. We were advised by volunteer fireman that it could be up to two hour wait. Not knowing anyone else on bus to contact and no emergency contact number for consulting we decided to drive to Ellkin
On our way now.  Weather beautiful and pleasant company.  May have all turned out for the best.

And Away We Go.......

I've been waiting for this moment all year. Now that it's finally here all the pre-travel jitters are in full check; "what did I forget to pack?, Am I ready physically?, Is the bike ready? Gut check! Answer to all of the above; I won't know till I get there. All I really need is my bike and a smile. The rest as they say is just props. LET'S RIDE !

The Last Night

One more night of rest in a soft and comfortable bed, then its tent city for 7 nights. I hope Bubba has the executive suite tent available for us.

We're ready to ride

The sun has just come out here in Fairfield Harbour and it's hot and steamy following one more thunderstorm.  The air outside our home is black with mosquitoes, a lasting legacy of Hurricane Irene.  But tomorrow a major cold front is promised and it will be cold (perhaps in the 30's) on Sunday as we peddle eastbound out of  Elkin NC.  Carol and I have been busy packing our fleece and nylon jackets - strange to do as the AC grinds away.

You can get some idea of the route by selecting the link below and then clicking on the individual day routes.

Have fun and stay tuned for exciting stories from the New Bern riders

CNC 2011 Routes

Tune UP

New brakes for the downhill's, old engine for the uphill's.

 

Cycle NC - Contact List

By now most of you cyclists have each others' phone numbers by way of an email from George and Carol. I've just spent an hour adding and/or updating you to my cellphone. All but 2 of you now have the ringtone "Bicycle Race" by Queen so I'll know who you are.

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, it would be great if you'd call or text or email me with a brief rundown of your day (how long your ride was, what time you got in, anything neat or funny or awful that happened). I'll be at work, so my ringer will be turned off but I'll still get your message. I'll incorporate some of it in the email that I send to Dave Wallace each day. What time I post it will depend on what's going on at work, but I try to post around 3:30 or 4 pm - give or take...

Depending on how the blog develops, I may just post here and let Dave know.

Welcome to the Fall Ride Blog

This Blog has been initiated to record the adventures of the New Bern North Carolina contingent to the Cycle North Carolina Fall Ride. The ride starts in Elkin NC on Saturday 1 October.  It winds it's way through the byways of North Carolina over nearly 500 miles and 7 days ending up in Corolla, NC on the beach at the Outer Banks. There will be at least 16 riders from New Bern and several of us will be posting our experiences on this page. Stay tuned!

Fall Ride '11 Cities

Most of our group has been training hard for many months culminating for some in two back to back Century Rides in the MS 150 event last weekend.  Me, I was "slacking" in New Jersey with short rides up and down a few spectacular hills.

Some of the New Bern group gathered for dinner and to
plan for our big adventure.