Day 16 - Raleigh to Oxford, NC - 63 miles, 2770 feet ascent
Got to keep movin' or I'll lose my mind
~ “Rockin Down the Highway” The Doobie Brothers
A special shout-out goes to the good folks at Bell Lap Cycles in Raleigh. Bell Lap Cycles graciously offered to perform service on our bikes at no charge. Our bikes came back looking immaculate and tuned to perfection. If you happen to need bicycle servicing in the Raleigh area, pay them a visit.
Chuck Olexik and his lovely wife Meg opened their home to us last night for an amazing dinner capped by stirring renditions of “The Goat is Old and Gnarly,” “The Marine Corps Hymn,” “Anchors Aweigh,” and “Navy Blue and Gold.” This brought back memories of the Plebe summer sing-a-long from way back when. Bob even provided a lyrics sheet, but these songs are etched into our memories for all eternity. Chuck & Meg, you were gracious hosts, the dinner was delicious and we all enjoyed ourselves. Thank you so much for your hospitality. See you in Annapolis.
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…and then there were 17. The G2G Team added six new members during our Cary/Raleigh layover. Mike McDermott, Dave Duffie joined us from the class of ‘75 as well as four riders from the class of ‘73. Welcome aboard gentlemen.
Today marked our final full day in North Carolina. It feels like we just got here. Our flight from Raleigh took us clockwise around the northwest side of the city into the thick of the early A.M. traffic. The bike paths keeping us off the some of the most heavily traveled roads included a gravel path stretching 4 miles through Reedy Creek Park. Gravel paths are fun for hiking. Gravel paths are fun for gravel bikes. Gravel paths are not fun for a road bike equipped with 28-millimeter tires. It took almost 20 miles of riding before we considered ourselves safely and happily back in rural America. The region north of Raleigh is horse country. We probably saw our last palm tree on today’s ride and it’s been a while since we last passed a cotton field or peanut farm. Mother Nature favored us with CAVU (“ceiling and visibility unlimited” for the non-aviation types) and we greeted our usual headwinds as we might an old friend. At this point if we had anything other than a headwind it would probably mean we took a wrong turn.
I breathed a sigh of relief once we exited the sprawl. We are most at home on wide-open roads much the same way a ship is safer on open seas. This puts us back in our element infrequent traffic, flying by stables, green pastures, and stately farms with white columns and large wrap-around porches. Rides like this are probably numbered after tomorrow. We wrapped up the ride at the Nutbush Bridge Recreation Area on the shores of Lake Kerr (pronounced “car”). The plan called for us to load bikes on the roof of the van and ride to Oxford for the night. Tomorrow we will reverse the process and commence the ride from the same park. The route to Crew, VA will cross into Virginia after 13 miles. The team will reach Richmond on Saturday and from that point forward expect find ourselves in the Northern Virginia megalopolis.
The odometer reads 874 miles and the altimeter recorded 17,848 feet of climbing with more to follow. Stabbing into Virginia represents a significant milestone; state number five with one to go (not counting DC). It’s cool, it’s breezy, it’s great to be on the road. Annapolis is getting closer. See you soon, Bill. GO NAVY!