G County Cruisin'

I meant to be here yesterday, but I had to leave super early for work.  Who gives a shit.

I'm here now, talking about the riding I did over my three day weekend.  Since I moved closer to the Catawba River, a lot of my rides lately have been in Gaston County.  I dig it.  Sunday, I rode with the Z Crew and the Dirty Party Cycle over at Rock Branch.  It was fun to get out in a group in the dirt.  They took rad pictures.  I'm too lazy to get them from Facebook and put them here.

On Monday, I had a day off while a lot of people had to go to work.  I figured that it would be a prime opportunity to get out for a long road ride.  Plus, riding on the road would give me time to do other stuff later in the day.  I slept in a little, hung out with the dogs, then hastily plotted a route that took me into the heart of Gaston County.  I grabbed some water bottles, a few Honey Stinger goodies, and hopped on my road bike.  Three miles later, I made it to the river...

I quickly passed through Mount Holly and headed north on a normally busy road.

My first destination was the town of Stanley, not too far away (12 miles I think.)

Although I was in the town limits, I wasn't quite "in town" yet.  I pushed on, and made it to my "real" first stop.

I took that picture, and turned around to get back out of town.  The roads were much less busy.

I headed deeper into the heart of G County and I started to get hungry.  Not knowing how far I still had to ride, I passed on what could have been some pretty good food.

I probably would've regretted street tacos on a hot road ride.  There were no bathrooms anywhere along my route, unless I wanted to share a roadside squat with these goats.

I had a short conversation with these two and headed on my way.  The route got a little climby at this point, but I toughed it out.  Then, I had the most glorious downhill.

And it led to an awesome view...

I wasn't really sure where I was at this point, but I soon found a sign that gave me all the info I needed.

A little more climbing awaited.  I didn't care.  The roads were empty and I enjoyed the solitude.

After a while, my surroundings started to look familiar.  I was near a mountain bike trail that I hadn't ridden in a while.  Even though that place is always open, I brought the wrong kind of bike.

I rolled across the street and spotted a trail map I'd never seen before...

This was the kind of trail I could ride on a road bike.  I figured, "What the hell."

Short and sweet.  I'll be back with a mountain bike though.  Anyway, I rolled south and hit another town on my list...

Not much to see here when it's not Christmas, so I rolled through to spot the one thing worth viewing this time of year.

Lots of climbing remained.  I was hot, tired, and had no idea how far I'd gone or how much of my ride remained (my Garmin died.)  Before I knew it, I rolled into the next town over...

And I crossed the river to head home...

I rolled into my driveway three hours later, relieved but very happy.  It was time to get on with my day but there was one problem...

I was locked out of the garage.

Shit.

There was a power outage in the area, and my keys were locked inside the garage.  The power company's estimate was hours away.

I waited outside in the hot sun for three hours until I could get back in the house.

I was beat tired and hungry and the rest of my day was pretty much toast.

At least I got out for a ride though...

Road Easy And Put Away Wet

Despite the suggestive title, my ride over the weekend wasn't that awesome.  After a loooooonnnnngggg day of drinking at several different establishments I was beat.  We got home late and I slept in the next day.  I knew I would, but I was unprepared for how I would feel.  I wasn't hungover at all, but I was dead tired.

I had originally planned to hangout/ride at the Pisgah Enduro on Sunday, and waking up at 8:00 a.m. gave me plenty of time.  I ruined that shit when I fell back asleep "for a few minutes" and ended up sleeping well past noon.  I didn't have the time or energy to drive up to Old Fort so I did absolutely nothing but watch the little lady take off for a road ride.  I wanted to ride too, damn it.

I eventually decided on a road ride on my own for some reason.  Okay, I know the reason.  I haven't been feeling like riding anything locally on my mountain bike lately, preferring instead to head for the hills.  Sticking to that, I figured a roadie adventure wouldn't be that big of letdown.

Well, it was interesting I guess.  I had no destination in mind and just wandered around.  I still missed the dirt though.

That kinda sucked on skinny tires.

I was far away from home, and kept taking roads I'd never ridden before.  It was good because I saw some interesting things.

On the way home the sky turned black.  I thought I had plenty of time, but the sky opened up and I started getting wet.  The rain came down and it cooled me off, making my road ride even moar fun.  I sprinted home and finished with nearly twenty miles for the day.  I cracked a beer shortly after, then the little lady and I went out for tacos.  I was beat though.  One small road ride and one measly beer put me down for the count.

If this is getting back to normal, I sure as hell don't remember what that was before.

At least my ribs don't hurt as much.  Must be all the beer and Mexican food.

Another

One ride wasn't enough.  I had to do it again.  And even though I struggled with my first ride back, I got a taste of happiness and wanted more.  Only four miles nearly killed my legs and lungs, so why not tack on moar miles?

Who gives a shit.

I grabbed the skinny tire bike this time for some roadie action.  I figured it would be easier to cover a longer distance, and maybe a little easier on my sore ribs.

You know, so I can ride with one hand and take pictures with the other.

Before you give me shit, I wasn't being serious roadie.  I just wanted to get out and pedal on a really awesome day.  I mean, real roadie douchebags don't wear baggie shorts.

Just douchebags like me trying to ruin the sport.

Anyway, I had a short route planned on some local roads.  Most of the time they're safe around here because of bike lanes.

But there is a shitload of construction going on, which means the bike lane ends when it never really existed.

It wasn't just bike lanes though.  The road construction/temporary road repairs made the ride bumpy at 125 p.s.i. which meant pain.  I'd almost forgotten that my wrist was still sprained, and the bumps were none too kind on the ribs either.  That made me long for the days when I had my own, private road that was brand new (i.e. smooth) concrete.

Damn cars.

I don't mean to complain.  I was enjoying my time on the bike.  I just wanted to get onto some smoother surfaces and away from traffic.  I high-tailed it over to the local greenway, where things were moar better.

That was the best part.  You know, being on the bike again.  I was happy, and I waved and smiled at everyone I passed out there (opposite direction of course.)  And other than my injuries, I felt better physically too.  Eventually I wandered my way back home, where I could enjoy a nice reward for my effort.

I'm still gonna hurt for a while, but at least I can pedal a little bit to keep from going batshit crazy.

Progress.

I Discovered Rain

Okay, I really didn't discover rain.  But since today is generally celebrated as the day that some dude “discovered” a land that already had inhabitants, I figured that I could discover something that was already there too.

So yeah, it was another rainy start to the weekend.  And I made the best of it too.  I was originally scheduled to meet up with the Dirty Party Cycle to do an organized road ride in Belmont, NC Saturday morning.  I woke up early to pouring rain, but more importantly…thunder.  A quick check of The Internets told me that the ride was cancelled. I texted the DPC to let him know it was off and I went back to bed.

I slept another two hours or so. I guess I needed it.  The thunder had stopped once I finally crawled out of bed, so I figured that I’d brave the rain and head on out the road.  Despite the copious amounts of precipitation, I was looking forward to pedaling a little bit.  It was totally worth it.

The road looked like glass.  Neat.

I took off out of my neighborhood and settled in to warm up.  I was comfortable and dry (thanks to my new raincoat) but the wind was brutal.  It was hitting me from all directions, so even slow and steady pedaling was difficult.  At least I had the roads to myself.

Just like most road rides from my house, I rolled down to the greenway to stay away from any cars that might be out on the roads.  I had the place to myself.

The wind was a little calmer under the tree cover.  I kept pushing since I was good and warmed up at this point.  But then I ran into an obstacle. 

Luckily there was a short detour and I was back in action.  And still all alone.

Notice my sweet DeFeet socks.  Get some.

The greenway is always my favorite part, especially on days with shitty weather.  I can go as fast as I want, and I can stop to check out the scenery.

Damn beaver dam.

I popped out of the greenway and cut through the campus of UNC Charlotte.  It was desolate and I enjoyed more alone time.  I headed out of there and on to some real roads, where if it weren’t for a lady pulling out in front of me I would’ve had an awesome time.  She wasn’t paying attention, but luckily I was.  I avoided certain death and went back to my planned route.  Once I turned around to headed back, I got to the greenway as quickly as possible.  I was safe from errant automobiles again, but not safe from progress.

That’s our new light rail line.  I guess I will find a use for it when it’s operational.  But for now, I’ll stick to riding my bike.

What a nice day.  Despite some shitty weather, this was the best road ride I’d had in quite some time.  So what if I didn’t get out on my mountain bike.  I pedaled on two wheels.  I had fun. 

That’s what it’s all about.

Dog Tired

Carl knows what I’m talking about.

Two days in the weekend and two rides.  Yup, I managed to pedal twice in a row.  Who gives a shit.  After a nice day in the hills on Saturday, I tried to ruin it by taking a road ride on Sunday.  I had stuff to do around the house and didn’t want to be gone all day so a road ride made sense.

I took off out of my neighborhood headed for parts unknown.  Heading north towards quieter roads, I was looking for the least amount of vehicular traffic.  I passed what used to be my favorite road route, but now I’m denied access because of stupid cars traveling at 70+ m.p.h.

I didn’t really have a destination in mind, but I ended up near Huntersville.  After stopping for a second and looking at The Facebook, I saw that Dicky was nearby and heading my way.  So, I waited.

He no show up.  I am disappoint.

Without a suitable bike to ride the pump track (yes, I tried), I decided to head back south to see where I could end up.  A local craft beer store caught my attention so I stopped.  Surely Dicky was riding up this very road and would stop to have a beer with me.

I waited again. 

He never showed up.  I figured that since he was riding on the road on a single speed mountain bike that I must have been moving along at a much faster pace on my geared made for the road bike.  I continued south, thinking maybe I would see him spinning up the road. 

Still nothing.  Fuck it.  I’m heading back home.

Almost thirty miles for the day, sunburned, hot as hell, and no sign of a little old man on a single speed.  I made it home without getting killed too, which is always a plus.  I’d call it a good day.

Since I was out of my usual post ride beer choice, I settled for something else.

It was good.  It didn’t taste like it had any alcohol at all so I drank two just to be sure.

Yeah.  A good day.  Even with a road ride.

One Last Time

I’ve missed a few days.  I had some things going on.  Some good stuff too.  Who gives a shit.

Anyway, I’ve mentioned several times before about riding on the local unfinished interstate near my house.  The latest news on it is that it’s currently “on schedule” to be finished by the end of this month.  I really enjoy riding on it because I don’t have to worry about getting run off the road by drivers and I can take up as much of whichever lane I choose.  I figured that I better get in one last ride.

Closed to cars, yes.  Who gives a shit.

The ride there is relatively short, but when I got on the wide open interstate I let it go.  It was nice as usual.  I went all the way from one end to the other as far as the barricades would let me (and traffic from the “finished” road.)  If you do it twice it’s almost fourteen miles. 

Fourteen miles of solitude.

While I don’t normally believe the reports of being “on time”  for projects like this, looking around I could tell that they might be right this time.  The road is complete, and the only thing left was to paint a few lines here and there. 

Most of them were done though.

Check out those clouds.  It started to turn shitty after I got back on regular roads, but riding in the rain didn’t bother me too much.  What did bother me is the fact that I’m losing my private training road to “real” traffic.  At least I did get to enjoy the shit out of it for the last few years though.

Training kinda sucks, but things like this can make it a little bit better.

Aren’t you glad I took a few days off from here?

Road Alone

Last week I had a grand idea.  I knew that most of the local trails would be closed, and with some travel coming up the next few weeks I didn’t feel like driving out of town.  Instead of riding inside like I’ve been the last several Saturdays, I decided that a long-ish outdoor road ride was in order. 

The plan:  Ride from my house on the north east side of town to the Whitewater Center (on the total opposite side of town.)

It sounded really far at first, but when I started looking at a map I realized that it would only be a little over twenty miles one way.  I looked at The Google, loosely planned a route, and scribbled some stuff down on a makeshift cue sheet.  I was ready.

The next morning I took off.  It was a little cold, but the forecast called for a high near seventy degrees.  A light DeFeet base layer, arm warmers, and knee warmers were sufficient, even though I was a little chilly.  My route took me out of my neighborhood and straight to TomTom’s house, where I would hit the local greenway for a small section. 

After that I had to wind around through several neighborhoods.  This is where the cue sheet came in handy.  Some turns were made after a few hundred feet; others after a half mile or so.  It was a little confusing but nice because it kept me off of some busy roads.  Eventually though, I had to mix it up with traffic.  I was a little worried but there were plenty of bike lanes.  Too bad they were full of gravel and other assorted debris.

That section was the longest on one particular road, and the worst part was that the bike lane ended (pushing me right into busy traffic.)  About a mile without a bike line lasted what seemed like forever, but eventually I ended up on some lightly traveled country roads.  It was like that until I reached Paw Creek.

Paw Creek is also known as the Tank Farm, where all the area’s gasoline is stored while it waits for tanker trucks to pickup and deliver to gas stations.

Since it was a Saturday the traffic is that industrialized area was pretty light.  It remained that way until I got close to my destination too…

 I still had a mile and a half or so until I reached the actual whitewater park, and that road was also lightly traveled since the trails were closed.  I’m glad they were, since I obviously brought the wrong bike for trail riding.

After a small potty break and a lap around the man-made river, I started to head back towards home base.  The highlight of my day was when a car pulled out ahead of me with balloons hanging out of it.  They were driving really slow as no not lose any, which meant that I would eventually start to gain on them.  Once I got close, they pulled over.  The passenger hopped out and proceeded to stuff the balloons into the back seat.

It was funny as hell, especially when they drove off again in a car filled to the brim with party favors.

I pretty much took the same route back.  I took a few photos of stuff I missed the first time though.

The busiest road I had to cross on the way back had a bike lane leading into it.  The turn arrow (in the bike lane) suggested to me that I would be spit out onto that busy road which I knew for sure didn’t have a bike lane.

I was wrong though, because as soon as I crossed the intersection, the arrows directed me towards a nice little bike path.

The rest of the ride was nice too, and I even stopped to get another picture.  This time is was sorta scenic.

 

Once I got back home, I’d tallied 43 miles for the day.  Not bad, and I sure as hell didn’t feel drained.  It was really fun, and other than stopping at my destination and to take some photos I kept a pretty speedy pace.  I really enjoyed being out on the road on such a beautiful day, even if it was on skinny tires.  I was alone, on a bike, and had a ton of fun.

Just the way I like it.