North Carolina - peaceonabike

October 5, 2023October 6, 2023

Corolla

COROLLA, NORTH CAROLINA

I am nearing the end of a week of vacationing in Corolla. This is my first time here in this northernmost part of the Outer Banks. I had no expectations so I could not be disappointed if my expectations were not met.

The main road, because there is only one, is Hwy 12 from Kill Devil Hills. It is a 20-mile two-lane road with speed limits of 25, 35, and 45 mph. There sometimes is a narrow shoulder and sometimes no shoulder at all. In Duck, there is a separate bike lane. In most areas, there is a “bike path” which is narrow at times, curvy, and in many places, it is a concrete sidewalk.

On my first day, I rode north to the end of Hwy 12 where one can drive on the beach (4-wheel drive vehicles only). I looked for side streets that followed the main roads but there were few. I thought I might be riding from Corolla to Duck and back a few times but really didn’t like the road although I saw a handful of cyclists on the road.

I turned into my neighborhood and found what would be my riding course for the week. There are three parallel streets between the ocean and the main road. And they are three miles long. There are some intersections, four-way- so some stopping is necessary. But it’s flat and about as traffic-free as one will find. In fact, a bigger obstacle was people walking to the beach.

It was windy. This is, after all, where Orville and Wilbur Wright came to test their flying motorized kite. They needed constant wind and sand and this place has it. On Monday I went out and did some laps of the neighborhood. I wasn’t pushing it but saw my speed was 19 mph which was higher than anything I rode last year. (I did an average of 19.3 mph one month ago in a group ride).

It was a week of Wahoo woes. My Wahoo wasn’t syncing with the Wi-Fi in the house we had rented. I couldn’t sync my routes but did find a different way to import my routes. I made a route to follow for fun but mostly as a test to see if by backward way of importing a route would work. I was planning a 50-mile ride at Currituck on Tuesday so the neighborhood ride was perfect for a test ride.

On Monday the test was a three-lap ride of two streets but only to the first stop sign. It would be a perfect circuit. On the first street, I had to brake for a slow-walking family that was blocking a crosswalk for all their kids to cross. I was annoyed enough that I called it a ride. The Wahoo was working as advertised and that was good enough for me. I pedaled back to start. I uploaded my ride and saw that I rode at 20.1 mph. Wow! Although it was less than five miles, I was very pleased.

I went out on Wednesday intending to ride the full course which was 11 miles. I was riding well but my plans were sort of waylayed by a policeman on course, parked at a stop sign. Perfectly done, this course had three stop signs, all right turns, and only one with cross traffic. I was hoping to roll through each but when I came to the second sign and saw a policeman sitting there. I stopped. I took a gel. Then I had to get back up to speed.

At first, I decided to scrub this ride but then rode just for the fun of it. Speed no longer mattered. When I finished I had completed my ride of 11 miles at a speed of 20.2 mph.

I could but choose not to display distance traveled on my Wahoo. I also choose to display in kilometres and not miles. So when I went to the metrics page I had no idea what 32.5 kph meant. Turns out it means 20.2 mph.

One of the bike paths between the streets

After that, I just rode. Every day I put in some miles. I am balancing family here at the beach with riding but I could ride all day here in circles. Or rectangles. I doubt that I come back here but would love to if the opportunity presents itself. A nice place to ride.

The three main streets in Whalehead. From the ocean they are Lighthouse Dr., Whalehead Dr., and Corolla Dr.

October 3, 2023December 27, 2023

Currituck-Knotts Island

CURRITUCK, NORTH CAROLINA

Every ride needs a ferry. And this could be a near-epic ride. A medium-distance ride (80km/50mi) and a 40-minute ferry ride.

Using the tools in RideWithGPS I mapped out a ride between the two ferry terminals of the Currituck-Knotts Island Ferry. I choose a couple of points on the map and RideWithGPS then mapped out the route. It usually avoids major roads, and indeed, instead of riding on NC Hwy 168 it routed me over the road at Moyock and brought me back to 168 at Northwest for about 1/2 mile which was unavoidable.

MacKay Island Wildlife Refuge – Marsh Causeway

The schedule was my main planning point. The ferry runs every two hours and one would not want to just miss a ferry and wait for 90 minutes or more for the next one.

I mapped my ride from Currituck to Knotts Island. This was in a clockwise direction and had nothing to do with prevailing winds but was solely based on wanting to finish with a ferry ride. Although it was negligible today it would make sense to check winds to see if one could catch a tailwind towards the end of the ride.

From Knotts Island my feasible choices for meeting the ferry would be 10:30, 12:30, or 2:30. The only real workable time was 12:30 so I planned for a 9:00 departure and estimated that I would arrive at the Knotts Island ferry shortly after noon.

I was unable to determine the parking situation at the ferry. I looked for parks nearby where I could start my ride but when I arrived I pulled into the ferry administration building at Currituck. There was a small parking lot behind the building with a sign warning against overnight parking. I read that to be that daytime parking was okay so I parked.

Parking behind the admin building at the ferry

Some cars were coming off the ferry at 8:30. This must have been the 7:30 departure from Knotts Island and was running late. I thought that if they were departing soon it would behoove me to take the ferry first thing and ride my route counter-clockwise. That way I would have no downtime waiting for the ferry or angst in case I was running late. But a quick check of the sign and I saw the next departure was at 9:30. I rode my originally planned route.

Almost immediately I was on NC Rte 168 but only for half a mile. Then I turned onto secondary roads. The back roads were great except for a major hiccup. Gravel.

RideWithGPS uses Google Maps and Google Maps showed the route as 100% paved. It wasn’t. I came to Cooper Garret Road. I stopped. It was gravel. And it wasn’t packed dirt. It was heavy gravel with a sand base.

Virginia state line (notice the pavement difference). But no welcome to Virginia sign.
But there is a Welcome to Virginia Beach sign.

I opened up Apple Maps to see if there was an easy alternative. I didn’t see one. I slowly trudged through the gravel knowing it was a little more than two miles until South Mills Road and hoped that it was paved.

Bridge on Pungo Ferry Road, Virginia Beach. (Hillclimb)

I was on my Trek Pilot with skinny tires. The 25 mm tires cut through the sand and made controlling the bike difficult. I was afraid I might have a flat. And I was losing the time that was necessary to make the ferry on time at Knotts Island.

North Landing River, Virginia Beach (Photo from bridge on Pungo Ferry Road)

I got through the gravel and back to paved roads. Barring any mechanicals or more road surface surprises I calculated that I should arrive at Knotts Island about 12:05 – 25 minutes to spare. Well, I forgot about the wind.

Va. Hwy 168 – Battlefield Blvd, Chesapeake, Va.
(Only on this road for 1/2 mile)

There were strong winds blowing and if they were headwinds I could be in trouble. But they were mostly cross winds headed to Knotts Island with a tailwind the final 10 miles.

I pulled into the waiting area for the ferry at 12:00 pm. Slowed by gravel and then pulling over three times for photos, I still had 30 minutes to spare.

The ferry is free. It departed at 12:30 and made the crossing in 38 minutes. There was an RV, two cars, three motorcycles, and me on the boat.

I doubt that I will ever do this loop again but I would love to. If anyone reads this and wants to ride it I’d turn right at the tracks in Moyock (before the tracks) onto Oak Street. Go three blocks to the end at Shingle Landing Road. Cross the highway and it becomes Camellia Drive. Follow that to South Mills Road and that will avoid that gravel. Avoid the gravel

North Carolina border sign – Knotts Island

I rode this on a Tuesday morning in October. There was virtually no traffic on Hwy 168. On a Saturday morning, the departing traffic from OBX would be horrible and must be avoided. While the website seems to indicate the ferry runs daily, it must be noted that the sign on the schedule is for a weekday schedule. When we stopped on a Saturday there was a sign indicating that it was closed for the day. High winds were not a problem so before I would do this again I would double-check to make sure the ferry was operating. It may not operate on weekends.

ROAD SURFACE:
TRAFFIC DENSITY: 2 (Light)
AGGRESSIVENESS: 1.5

November 16, 2021January 8, 2022

Clingmans’ Dome

GATLINGBURG, TENNESSEE

It wasn’t a bucket list climb but was certainly one that I wanted to do. I was traveling with my mother, age 90, and we diverted slightly, on our way to Florida. By slightly, I mean 115 miles. Or I guess 129 to include the seven-mile access road to Clingman’s Dome.

Bad weather would have scrubbed my plans but the weather forecast looked good for Gatlinburg with a high temperature of 70 forecast – for Gatlinburg, but not for Clingman’s Dome. It was in the low 50s when I decided to push off from the Sugarlands Visitor Center.

The instructions to my mother were simple. Follow the highway (U.S. 441) 13 miles to the top of the mountain then turn right to Clingman’s Dome. If she started to go down the mountain she went too far. I realized as I was riding that I should have had her leapfrog from pull-off to pull off and she would be more comfortable knowing where I was.

I wore a long-sleeve Under Armour underneath my Schleck jersey along with a light vest. Gloves and a thermal cap complemented my kit.

Newfound Gap Road (U.S. Rte 441) from Gatlinburg to Cherokee, North Carolina is a 36-mile road. At Newfound Gap, which is the border of Tennesse and North Carolina, there is a seven-mile access road to Clingman’s Gap. It is a two-lane road with no shoulders but plenty of pull-offs. The speed limit is generally 45 mph and I reasoned, maybe incorrectly, that the majority of traffic would be park goers in no hurry. But this is also U.S. Rte 441 and the only way over the mountain. Surely there were some drivers trying to get over the mountain as quickly as possible.

The Loop – The road goes under, or over, itself

As I started climbing I also got passed by a few cars. I would play a game and simply count the number of cars that passed me on this ride. And I would tweet out how courteous the drivers were. This lasted 91 cars, The 92nd came by me and almost hit me. I reacted badly. I screamed out.

I don’t ride on the white line. I’m not coordinated enough to do that as surely I would go off the road. But I ride constantly about 1-2′ to the left of the white line. And this driver seemed determined that he would drive right in the middle of the lane whether I was there or not.

We used to always think these were aggressive drivers meaning to punish cyclists. But some are surely distracted drivers who come upon cyclists quickly. And if you were driving 45 mph, you come upon a cyclist traveling 8-10 mph pretty quickly. Assuming there was no cell service to be messing with a phone (maybe there was?), I believe the driver was aggressive and not distracted. But it sure scared me.

Appalachian Trail crosses on the Clingman’s Dome Road
(And also in the parking lot at Newfound Gap)

I would start my count over. I got to 31 before a second car passed me very closely. Then I got to 161 before a pickup truck driver tried to put its hood underneath my left elbow. Literally. I looked at the driver. I yelled. Then I moved to the center so he knew he didn’t have room to pass in the lane. It was quite harrowing.

Part-way up the mountain was a construction zone. Traffic was being held for one-lane travel so at times I basically had the road to myself. But when the traffic was released by the construction flagger, I pulled off the road and let the entire group pass. There may have been 50-60 cars at a time that I would let pass while I stood safely off the road. And I did not include them in my totals of the number of cars that passed me. I was glad to pull over and let them by while waiting for that empty gap to resume riding.

Newfound Gap – Tennessee-North Carolina State Line

About three miles into the ride I pulled over to unzip the vest, removed the gloves, and my headcover. I was sweating pretty nicely on this November day. Near the top of the Newfound Gap climb, I pulled over to zip up the jacket and put my gloves back on. It was getting cold.

I was glad at the gap to turn onto Clingman’s Gap access road. I was surprised to see that it was closed from December 1 – March 31. I hadn’t even thought of that. But I beat it by 15 days. I hoped there wasn’t a lot more climbing, picturing the road traveling alongside the mountain top. Of course, I knew it still climbed. It was a slog. The entire ride wasn’t overly difficult but it sure was a constant slog.

You can see what the observation tower looks like on a clear day on the sign

As I climbed to the top visibility dropped to about 100′. I saw my car but my mother wasn’t in it. I went a bit farther and saw she was at a restroom. I went to the base of the observation tower and found some willing person to take my photo.

I really wanted to keep riding to Cherokee. It was all downhill and who wouldn’t love a 20-mile downhill. But it would also mean trusting my mother to drive down the mountain and I wasn’t going to ask her to do that.

I sincerely doubt I will get the chance to ride down either side – back to Gatlinburg or ahead to Cherokee. I have no desire to ever ride this one again. I do not recommend this climb. The road surface is great. The scenery is wonderful. But the traffic is crap. Cyclists have the right to be on the road. But I don’t want to be dead right.

November 5, 2020November 6, 2020

Mayberry to Mabry

MOUNT AIRY, NORTH CAROLINA

Mayberry. The home of Sheriff Andy Taylor. Aunt Bee. Opie. All on the Andy Griffith show. Andy Griffith grew up here in Mount Airy and I came for a bike ride. I had no expectations and had done very little research. I just arrived.

My ride was planned from Mount Airy, Riverside Park, to the famous Mabry Mill on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I found a ride on RidewithGPS by user, Adrian, and downloaded it to my Wahoo bike computer. Adrian elected to keep his profile private so I cannot publicly thank him for the suggestion.

Although I was to ride north out of town, I was close to Main Street and started out by going into downtown Mount Airy. That is by going UP into downtown. It was quite a sizeable climb although probably no more than a quarter-mile.

The downtown was only a few blocks long but was very vibrant. Not so much at 9:00 a.m. but by 1:30 p.m. it was teeming with people. It was hard to see an empty parking space. Many of the store fronts had a Mayberry theme from Floyd’s Barber Shop to Barney’s Cafe.

Although I should have headed out of town then I swung by my car to pick up some cycling food (gels) which I had forgotten to put in my pockets. And then I headed north.

It was eight miles on a two-lane road, no shoulders, to the Virginia state line. And then it was about four miles to the turn up the mountain. The course profile was not complicated. Go straight until Rte 614, Squirrel Spur Road. Then turn left and be prepared for climbing. What a great road this was.

Going north – Virginia state sign. There was no North Carolina sign going south.

It was six miles to Blue Ridge Parkway and three of that was on a steep portion with switchbacks. The pavement was good but there weren’t many great vistas. But at one, on a sharp curve, there was a picnic area. I really enjoyed this climb.

I came to the Blue Ridge Parkway and jumped on it. I left behind the beautiful pavement of Squirrel Spur Road and picked up a very rough chip and seal road on the parkway. It was quite rough. Not potholes, but just a rough-riding surface. Or a “heavy” road in cycling terms.

The parkway is a two-lane road, signed for 45 mph, so no traffic takes it for speed. On a chilly November morning, there were only a handful of cars that passed me in either direction.

Only yesterday in a weak attempt at “research,” I read that Mabry Mill closed for the season five days ago. Was it worth riding to it if it wasn’t open? I decided it was. I could still get a photo op and would not take advantage of the amenities like a gift shop.

After a brief stop, I would have normally just retraced my route since this wasn’t a loop ride but an out-and-back (or an up-and-down). But in the tiny hamlet of Meadows of Dan I followed the Wahoo and took the Squirrel Spur Road which is parallel to the parkway. I was greeted with beautiful pavement instead of the rough chip and seal on the parkway. I was also greeted with screaming downhills and leg-killing uphills. The parkway would have been easier, much easier, but in tourist season this alternative makes sense. Today, I wish I would have stayed on the parkway.

The descent down Squirrel Spur Road through the switchbacks was great. But I was facing a pretty strong headwind. I was also running on empty. The climb up Mount Mitchell yesterday left me a little tired. And while I remembered to stop at the car in Mount Airy for food, I forgot my Skratch drink mix for my water bottle and was only drinking water.

Uncharacteristically, I changed Wahoo to display miles to go on the computer. And I was counting them down. When I reached zero I decided I would go to Barney’s Cafe for a quick bite before my long drive home. It would have so much easier to go through a drive-through anywhere and get food to eat in the car. But I was in Mayberry and that deserved to sample the local cuisine and atmosphere.

It was a good ride. But with yesterday’s effort, I was tired.

Distance: 53 miles
Average Speed: 13.2 mph
Weight: 167

November 4, 2020November 6, 2020

And They Cheered for Me

MOUNT MITCHELL, NORTH CAROLINA

Our friends from Colorado scoff at the tiny mountains in the east. With 58 mountain peaks over 14,000 feet (4,267 m), they certainly have that right. But it’s not all elevation. Some if it’s elevation gain.

Mount Mitchell stands at 6,683 feet (2,037 m) above sea level. The elevation gain on this 24-mile climb is 6,076 feet. By contrast, Mount Evans, Colorado, which I have ridden up twice, stands at 14,272 feet, climbs 6,772 feet from Idaho Springs (elevation 7,500′) over 28 miles. So scoff if one must, but it’s not much difference. Well, if you ignore altitude (which you can’t).

Mount Washington, New Hampshire is the highest peak in the northeast U.S. at 6,289 feet. Most of the elevation gain on that mountain is on the 7.5-mile auto road giving it an average grade of 12%. Beast!

Mount Mitchell was a bucket list climb for me. Consistently listed as one of the best or hardest in the U.S., I never made it a destination. With 2020 being the year of the Corona Virus and all my cycling events canceled, I decided to make my own adventure.

I had hoped for a mid-October day but that did not work out. So I found myself in November driving to Statesville, North Carolina, where I spent the night then drove to Marion for the climb up the mountain. While on I-40 I crested a hill and had my first look at THOSE mountains. Ugh. It was reminiscent of seeing the White Mountains in New Hampshire and realizing I was signed up to race up Mount Washington.

I-40 on the way to Marion – first look at the mountains

But I would not be racing up Mount Mitchell. Just a ride. And the first order of the day was to find a place to park. The climb starts at the edge of Lake Tahoma but there is no parking to be found around the lake. So, generally, one must park about four miles away. There is a small area at the intersection of Routes 70 and 80 but I saw a Dollar General nearby and asked them if I could park there. And they agreed.

The first four miles were basically flat. Then I came to the dam at Lake Tahoma. This dam almost failed two years ago and all residents downstream were ordered to evacuate. But thankfully, it held. There are some beautiful homes around the lake.

At the end of the lake where the creek flows into the lake is where the climb to Mount Mitchell begins. This is on Rte 80 which is a narrow road with no shoulders. Today it was lightly traveled and all drivers were respectful.

Rte 80 passes under the Blue Ridge Parkway

The views were wonderful if you like a forest view. That is to say, there are no vistas to see for miles because this climb of 10 miles to the Blue Ridge Parkway is in a forest. But it sure is pretty. There is a river or creek flowing for part of it and it’s soothing to see it and to hear it. The switchbacks in the last mile are absolutely delicious.

I was thinking “this isn’t so hard.” Then again, I never tried to go fast, and if I saw something of interest I stopped and took a photo. I reached the Blue Ridge Parkway and stopped long enough to remove my leg warmers. It was a cool day and I had unzipped my vest and was sweating.

The road kept climbing. I went through three small tunnels. I hadn’t studied the course enough to know where but I knew there was a one-half mile descent and a two-mile descent on the route.

The road to Mount Mitchell State Park is a four-mile climb off the Blue Ridge Parkway. It seemed to be harder than the rest of the climb and it was. I wasn’t sure if it was because I was getting tired or if it was steeper. And it was the latter. Maybe the former too.

The turn off the Parkway begins a four-mile climb to the summit

It was a beautiful sunny day but I also some ice in areas normally shaded from the Fall sun. And as I was climbing the smell of Balsam and I thought sorry for those who drove and missed out on the smells.

When I reached the summit I saw just a few cars in the parking lot. I had been here before – in 1963 – and knew the photo showed my siblings and me in front of a tower at the summit. And it wasn’t here. I circled the lot and saw a trail or walkway to the actual summit.

The path at the summit leads down to the parking lot

It looked like a stone walk but was probably pressed concrete. I expected to see a NO BIKES sign but did not. Maybe I didn’t look hard enough. And in-season, no sane cyclist would ride on this path crowded with tourists. But I saw no one.

So I started up the path. And it was steep. My guess was 15-18%. Halfway up were some benches and a brief flat section. I looked up and the path kept going. And so did I. I turned the corner and saw the sign. I had made it. And there were seven people at the summit – four by the sign and three walking up the observation deck. And they all starting cheering me. “You made it!”

I probably shouldn’t have ridden my bike up there. Sorry. But I don’t think I could have walked up in cycling shoes and I needed to get there. I’m thankful I went on a November day after all.

Fifty-seven years earlier – Barry in light blue

Distance: 56 miles
Average Speed: 11.8 mph
Weight: 167

November 3, 2020November 4, 2020

American Tobacco Trail

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA

A search of trails in the area landed me at the American Tobacco Trail. This is a 22-mile trail (15 miles are paved) starting at the American Tobacco Company in Durham, right next to the ballpark for the Durham Bulls. From there the trail heads south to Cary.

The trail loosely follows a rail line that was built in the 1970s for the American Tobacco Company. In the 1980s it was shut down. That wasn’t a good investment.

My first order of business was to find parking. There is parking in Durham at the trailhead as it is a shopping and entertainment district. Despite the offer of free parking for two hours, it necessitated downloading a parking app for my phone which I didn’t want to be bothered with. And I didn’t know if I would take more than two hours.

I looked for locations south of the city and found Solite Park. There was a playground and the parking lot was almost full. It looked safe enough. In preparation for this ride, there seemed to be a lot of safety questions on the reviews on TripAdvisor. Someone smarter than me can research this but this rail line divided neighborhoods, i.e., the wrong side of the tracks. But I was oblivious to that history and just rode my bike.

Solie Park was located at MP 4.5. It ad restrooms and a water fountain. I headed south on the trail. I was expecting rail trail – straight and level. However, as I would soon learn, in this section it was part sidewalk and often turned where one would not expect. Keep the eyes open for turns.

The bridge over Interstate-40 was pretty cool. It had its own contour instead of being a flat bridge. For this user, it was pretty awesome.

Around Mile 8 I seemed to come to the real rail-trail portion of the trail. Straight and flat. Not real sure of the location except it’s the Huntington Ridge section of Durham. It’s really a one-mile section where one is seemingly on sidewalks and has the feeling of an urban trail rather than following a former rail bed. This often happens that development takes place after removal of tracks and before a rail trail is created. These detours are a minor inconvenience compared to having use of a 20-mile trail.

Mile markers were provided every quarter-mile which was very cool. At 14.5 the trail turned to gravel so I turned around.

The city of Cary had a nice lot at New Hope Church Road and if I ever rode this again I would come to this lot. There were also restrooms here as well. The trail has more restrooms and water fountains than any I have been on.

New Hope Church Road Trailhead Park, Cary

When I arrived back to my car I saw the trail was closed for a detour. It wasn’t a new discovery as I had driven through a construction zone to park there. It was part of the reason I started my ride heading south as I could navigate the detour later. The parking lot was almost empty. I wanted to ride the 4.5 miles into Durham but was concerned this was one of the high crime areas that I had read about (one user said police were making more patrols).

But when I got to the main street (Fayetteville Road) to follow the detour, I was lost. I could not find the detour, and not being from the area, didn’t really know where to go to pick it up. I wasn’t about to set out on a trail that wasn’t well-marked. I put my bike in my car and drove 1/4 mile where I saw the end of the trail detour was. From there I parked and rode the rest of the way into Durham.

As I got close to Durham, I went across at least three, and maybe four, bridges or trestles with great rickety boards. They really made a racket. The closer to Durham the louder the bridge that I rode across. This was awesome, actually.

The downside was around Mile 2 I went through a litter-strewn section. There were some men hanging around. I’d say it looked like a homeless hangout. Nothing wrong with that but it didn’t feel safe although I went through it, twice, with no issues.

Bottom line – very nice trail. For this ride, the detour section was not well-marked but that will be temporary. There was the one-mile section where the trail zigged and zagged but just take it slow and watch for lane markings. The users all seemed courteous and it was surprisingly busy on a November weekday. My recommendation for others or if I am in the area again, is to park at the New Hope Church Road Trailhead.

Distance: 29.3 miles
Average Speed: 14.8 mph
Weight: 168