Day 14 - Southern Pines to Raleigh, NC - 75 miles, 3700 feet ascent
Midshipman 2/C Kyle Philbert James’ 27 passed away yesterday. Our condolences go to his family as well as the Brigade of Midshipmen.
I left my home in Norfolk, Virginia, California on my mind
I straddled that Greyhound and rode him into Raleigh and on across Caroline
~ Elvis Presley, “Promised Land”
Sun is shinin' in the sky
There ain't a cloud in sight
It's stopped rainin', everybody's in the play
And don't you know
It's a beautiful new day?
~ Electric Light Orchestra, “Mister Blue Sky”
We’ve arrived in Raleigh, more correctly, Cary, but close enough. We wrapped up our ride in the Hampton Inn parking lot just a little short of the prescribed 75-mile ride so some of us rode circles in the parking lot until the odometer flipped 75 and we called it a day. What a difference in the weather. This route challenged us, but it never bent or broke anyone. After so much pedal time, climbing stairs is a bit unpleasant. One of our riders even discovered he had a front derailleur that allowed him to down shift his chain rings making hills much easier to tackle. Who knew? Apparently, Florida cyclists don’t need small chain rings.
We identified six hills during last night’s route brief, but it turned out we had twice as many with eleven of them in our rearview mirrors by lunch time. We enjoyed quality roads and predominantly light traffic as we stitched our way across the Carolina countryside. For the past week we noted Autumn weather, but no other signs of Fall until today with the turning of leaves. NC is mostly pine, but some of the deciduous trees began to turn offering splashes of orange and red. Skies stayed mostly clear, the wind blew, but we hardly noticed with so much downhill riding. The air had the scent of fall, cut grass, wood fires, and damp earth. Thankfully we have stayed away from Pumpkin Spice GU gel packets, but they do exist.
Getting out of Southern Pines involved the least direct route with maximum traffic avoidance. At one point we found ourselves on a two-lane road with no margins through a residential area with a posted speed limit of 55 MPH. Welcome to NASCAR country. On the same stretch of road, we also saw signs advising motorists that cyclists could use the entire lane. No thank you.
We had no flats, a couple of dropped chains, a mild adventure on a wildly crowded bike trail. A mile from the end of the ride we attempted some video of the G2G Fellowship riding triumphantly into the Hampton Inn parking lot, but NC drivers were having none of it.
Tomorrow is a hard-earned final rest day before we push through the rest of NC and into fortress Virginia. Friday’s schedule includes our final 70-mile ride, afterward our rides increase in elevation while decreasing overall distance.
We have totaled 811 miles with 15,108 feet of climbing. We have fewer miles ahead than behind. Fewer days ahead than behind. One week from tomorrow we’ll end our odyssey at the base of the Bill statue. Life on the road is great, it’s even greater with better weather. See you in Annapolis! Bill, we’re coming for you!