M2C Day 4

 Cycle North Carolina(CNC)

Mountains to Coast(M2C)

Day 4 Mebane to Henderson 63 miles, 2600’

Found some shade to sit  in camp while we listen to a local Ole Timey Blue Grass band. Rather relaxing and quite content surrounded by a bunch of friends we never knew. 

Our typical day begins when about 400 phones in surrounding tents all go off together at 5:30, mine included. It’s dark and the dew is heavy on the tent and drips through the tent’s inner mesh as I struggle to get up. I bought a coffee service months ago believing some barista shack would follow us around. This is the SE and not the PNW. The best part of waking up is literally Folgers! 

I stumble back through the encampment looking for our our Big Agnes hoping I find Rhonda in it and not the neighbor. Rhonda gets up and we start packing and getting ready. By 6:30 we wonder over to the breakfast tent. Each community sources out a local caterer to feed the masses. Of the 825 bikers and another couple hundred family members, about 1/2 purchased the food service. A bus or two of people shuttle each night to local motels. The rest fend for themselves getting a shuttle into town. 

After breakfast we start tearing down the wet tent. The heavy dew has saturated everything. We stuff the tent with the added water weight knowing it will only take a few minutes in camp that night to “dry” it out. 

The course opens at 7:30, but there are a few who sneak out early, hoping to make it to camp by the time the final SAG wagon sweeps the course at 4:30. 

Getting through town in fog and heavy rush hour car traffic is a trick and requires a lot of patience. In addition to the State Troops assigned to us for the week, local LE help at the busy intersections. It’s a bit nerve wracking. Not sure Idaho drivers would tolerate a line of 800 bikes staggering over an hour through town. 

Before we know it we have 10 miles under us and we are on county roads headed for our first aid station, prepared to serve us some southern hospitality with our sports drink, fruit and snack bars. There are three to four aid stations each day separated between 15-20 miles apart. After the first break the bikers have some separation between them and not so much of a nuisance to local traffic. The cars are super for the most part. Today one gal in a silver sedan wasn’t too happy and honked a few too many times and sped past some bikers as they were turning into an aid station. Just as I mentioned that she needed a visit from one of the troops, a moto with his blue lights cut his break short and chased her down. We never saw the stop but it would have been fun to be the back up officer and hear the excuses. 

We travel through the country side and through gorgeous communities whose names end in -boro, -borough or -ville. There is not a strong long “O” said and neither “L” has much mention. 

After the last aid station, with my new staple of pickles and a Coca Cola, my legs gain some extra energy and the smell of the barn is strong. 

Once in camp you quickly make a claim and stake out a tent site. Then it’s off to find your luggage left by the shuttle. The chairs are first out and then our shoes. We lay the tent pieces out to dry, and then get a spot in line at the shower truck. A semi truck has several stalls. The men’s line is usually longer accounting for the population demographics. 

So the shade is cool, the music soothing and the supper line has started to grow. Earlier our new friend Haresh stopped by. He went home today to celebrate his daughter’s birthday with family. He came back to camp to fetch his luggage and drop off some homemade vittles and cold drink. We hope he can return in a day or two. 

So, it’s time to see what’s on the spit, not that I’ve grown particular with my food or the company I keep. 

It’s dark at 7 and we will be in the tent and possibly asleep by 8. 5:30 comes early as does the 2-2:30am potty call. 

See y’all in the morning. 

M2C Day 3

 Winston Salem to Mebane, NC 79 miles 

We were going up our first hill and a large group of cyclists were cruising by us. We laughed as we shared all the things that were “wrong” with the day; horrible blue skies, no wind, completely comfortable temperatures, and we are outside enjoying our work. We left town during 8:00 traffic which is definitely tricky with over 800 cyclists. The state police took care of the busy intersections and we rolled on in each town like celebrities. When we got to Summerfield for our second rest stop the elementary students and the fire department were out waving and cheering like we were celebrities. I wanted to go back and take their pictures but traffic was already being held up, so you’ll just have to imagine it. 

Of course, we had hills but nothing too long. Jon and I kept a great pace all day and he totally rocked the hills today. Tonight after a great taco bar I even treated myself to a massage. Jon likes the free beer but my preference would be the pampering massage! 

As we rolled through many rural residential areas, I made the observation about the houses in this area. They are either all brick, red or a sandy brown color. The other house are sided, painted white with most common black shudders. Or finally, the combination of the two styles. They are a traditional ranch or two story with a front porch. Not bold colors and styles like we see at home; a much more traditional home with large yards. 

We also stopped at a historic town called Glencoe. There is a history of textile manufacturing in the area and it was really neat to see the old looms and sewing processes. They used to make professional sports uniforms at this factory. In the next town was another empty textile manufacturing plant, hmmm don’t know where all the textile industry moved to?

We are tired and already in our tent because it is the most comfortable and the dew is coming in already. Good night.

M2C Day 2

 Wilkesboro to Winston Salem, NC 64 miles, 3700’ elevation 

I always look forward to the way of the road, meaning adventure and feeling tired enough to sleep hard until sunrise! Two out of three occurred last night. Hmmmm, we did it again, pitched our tent too close to the bathrooms. Not only the door slamming from about 2:30-4:00am but the outdoor light shines brightly into our tent! We have decided that we are of that age that can’t make it through the night without getting up to go potty. The demographics of this ride are definitely in that group. So we didn’t get great sleep but we had adventure and got tired!

We woke this morning to very heavy fog. Everything was soaked again. I swear my bag is so much heavier each morning when I pack up the tent and then it soaks the stuff in my bag. Really nice riding on beautiful back roads that rolled up and down all day. We just went up and down the same couple hundred of feet many times! Our first rest stop was at Bethel Baptist church and there is a Baptist church every few miles. I have loved reading their billboard sayings. The second rest stop was at Sanders Farm and Winery. We had pre ordered lunch there and it was such a nice break to have a sit down lunch. We had a great time getting to know Bill from PA during lunch. This ride is very well organized. No issues that we are aware of, probably because it is well staffed and executed. There is a picture of the charging station because none of us can do without our stats, blogs, or contact with our loved ones! The pictures are with our new friends Haresh and Jesse. More updates tomorrow. Rhonda 

M2C Day 1

 Cycle North Carolina(CNC)

Mountains to Coast(M2C)

Day 1 Banner Elk to Wilkesboro: 58 miles, 3163’

I’d like to see the Gantt Chart and the spreadsheets used by the  Cycle North Carolina organization….they are, well…organized. Each day’s camp includes camp sites, food vendors, porta-potties, a shower trailer, charging stations, entertainment, shuttles for luggage and excursions, a route!, with 8 NC State Troopers on motos to keep us save, multiple aid stations along the route and so much more. 

After a breakfast served at the Presbyterian church, we packed up our very wet tent and gear and tossed it in the uHaul. Then we took off down and up the road through Banner Elk and our first break at Blowing Rock where we were treated to some live Blue Grass, drinks and snacks. After another little climb along the Blue Ridge we had a ten mile descent into Happy Valley, another aid station and then a rolling ride along the Yadkin River. The local folk are so kind and the traffic extremely patient with all the bikes. 

Speaking of which, there are 825 riders, between the ages of 10 and 86! The medium age is probably closer to the 86. I base that assumption on my observation of the number of folks up at 2:30AM using the aforementioned porta-potties. 

 

After a shower we found some shade in a sea of tents. A gear junkies smorgasbord.  CNC is texting us that there’s some live music and a free happy hour about to start followed by dinner. Hopefully I can find some WiFi or solid mobile connections so you can read this. 

Mountains To Coast Day 0

Cycle North Carolina(CNC)

Mountains to Coast(M2C)

Day 0 9/30/23

Hey y’all. 

What would otherwise be considered junk mail was delivered in the mail a couple years ago. For some reason it was not discarded with the other unsolicited mailings. Rhonda read it and out came “I have an idea!”  

We signed up for last years event; a fully supported bike ride across North Carolina beginning in the Blue Ridge Mountains and finishing on the coast 7 days later. Unfortunately hurricane Ian arrived and our trip was cancelled and credited. 

Last year’s plan was good training for dissembling and packing  packing bikes for air travel. Rescheduled for 2023 I started preparing our road bikes for the the 2023 M2C. New tires, new tubes, tune ups, etc. Then Shimano announced a recall on a series of cranks which were part of Rhonda’s bike. A quick trip to the shop revealed her cranks and chainring were defective and now await a lengthy replacement. Fortunately we had a backup plan. So I quickly tuned, prepped, disassembled the Salsa Cutthroats just in time to board a plane yesterday at 5am and fly across the country. 

Landing in Raleigh/Durham, all our gear and bikes arrived! Thank you Lord for answered prayers. 

Because of all my practice with shipping bikes, I surprised Rhonda with my efficiency and mechanical prowess.  The bikes are running as they should. 

This morning we woke up in the hotel and began meeting 800 new friends. David, Harish, Alan, Bob, Charlie and Howard,  and others are our new mates. CNC loaded our bikes on trucks and we boarded buses for a 4 hour drive to Banner Elk in the Blue Ridge where we pitched our tents, ate spaghetti at the Presbyterian Church and await tomorrow’s take off.