Cycle North Carolina
By Gary Gilbert
Saturday, October 17, 2009
I drove to North Carolina in September 2009 to participate in Cycle North Carolina. Cycle North Carolina is a 7 day cross-state ride which in 2009 went from Blowing Rock, NC in the Smokey Mountains to Surf City, NC on the Atlantic Ocean. Cycle North Carolina is sponsored by North Carolina Sports http://www.ncsports.org/nccyclemain.php
I participated in this ride with a group of friends. We call our group Team Lighthouse as several of us first met on the Lighthouse Tour in Nova Scotia in 2000. In recent years we rode on BRAT (2008), Triri (2007), and Idaho (2006).
I drove to Nashville and spent the night. As I had planned a short day of driving for the next day, I took the opportunity to visit The Hermitage the next morning.
- The Hermitage The Hermitage
After a short drive to Huntsville Alabama, I took a bike ride nearby. I had never ridden in Alabama before this ride, in fact, I had never even been to Alabama previously. I found a route courtesy of the xxx bike club.
- Huntsville Huntsville
The next day I drove to Augusta Georgia. Near Augusta I was pleased to discover the Laurel and Hardy Museum.
- Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy
Finally I drove to Surf City North Carolina. I explored the beach, did some laundry, took a short ride, and prepared for the bus ride from Surf City to Blowing Rock. A storm came up during my ride and I ended up only riding for about an hour, about half of which was during a downpour. Surf City
From Cycle North Carolina website:
The 2009 Cycle North Carolina "Mountains to the Coast" ride was held Saturday, September 26 (check-in) to Saturday, October 3. Over 1,150 cyclists participated in the Fall Ride with riders coming from 40 states and two countries (US and Canada). Participants enjoyed beautiful October weather, the Blue Ridge Parkway, low traffic volumes, outstanding entertainment options, great food and local hospitality. The 2009 route left from Blowing Rock, NC and ended in Surf City with overnight locations in Lenoir, Statesville, Thomasville, Sanford, Dunn and Kenansville. The dates for the 2010 Cycle North Carolina "Mountains to Coast" fall ride are September 25 to October 2.
- Cycle North Carolina Blowing Rock CNCDay0
- Cycle North Carolina Day 1 Blowing Rock to Lenoir CNCDay1
- Cycle North Carolina Day 2 Lenoir to Statesville CNCDay2
- Cycle North Carolina Day 3 Statesville to Thomasville CNCDay3
- Cycle North Carolina Day 4 Thomasville to Sanford CNCDay4
- Cycle North Carolina Day 5 Sanford to Dunn CNCDay5
- Cycle North Carolina Day 6 Dunn to Kenansville CNCDay6
- Cycle North Carolina Day 7 Kenansville to Surf City CNCDay7
After completing Cycle North Carolina I headed north to spend most of one day on the Outer Banks. There I visited Cape Hatteras and Kitty Hawk.
- Outer Banks OuterBanks
I spent the night in Virginia Beach, Virginia and took the Chesapeake Bridge & Tunnel on my way to Delaware.
- Chesapeake Bay Chesapeake Bay
After reaching Dover Delaware, I took a bike ride. I had never ridden in Delaware before. I found a route on MapMyRide.com and was pleased to discover that the route was marked on the pavement for cyclists as part of the Amish Country Bike Tour held in early September. I've now ridden in 41 states plus Washington DC. Only 9 more to go! (The ones in white on the map are the states I've missed.)
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