Apr-17: NCBC 300k Brevet Pre-ride

There was a pre-ride on Sunday, Apr-15, but in the end, I had a conflict pop-up and could not do the pre-ride that day.  When I contacted RBA Alan, he indicated that he and Maria were doing a pre-ride on Tuesday and that I could join them.  I did.

I decided to take a page from Ian's handbook and cycle to and from the ride.
It isn't all that far from Raleigh to Morrisville.

I was determined to check the green road-sign names for the names and SR #'s of all the roads.
Hard to do that when one knows the route too well.
I managed to remember to look at the name on the sign for each road all the way to Seagrove.
Each name matched the cue sheet.

I also wanted to check the turns on the cue sheet,
Intending to do that while at the turn-around in Seagrove and again at the finish.
Failed to do that in either location.
Too tired.
Especially at the end.
However, all the turns and distances were checked digitally last year, and
Maria has already indicated that she found the cue sheet to be very accurate.

As for checking the SR #'s on the road signs:
That is harder to do as the #'s are in pretty small type.
Mostly failed on the checking of the SR #'s.

During the return, Alan told me about a route / cue sheet he developed
For an NCBC club ride back in the 80's.
The SR # on opposite ends of one particular road
(Perhaps it was Chicken Bridge Rd or Parker Herndon Rd)
Were not the same.
And he did not know that.

Alan indicated that that particular problem has been fixed.
We think a LOT of situations like that have been fixed over the decades.

I failed to check the road names, etc. on the return.
Loss of interest, primarily due to foot pain, butt pain, and encroaching darkness.
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Maria decided to abandon at the turn-around in Seagrove.
She apparently had a serendipitous and unexpected fun time checking out the pottery.
Alan and I were disappointed that Maria abandoned.
Without her, the "ugly quotient" on the ride jumped significantly.

Coleridge / Old Coleridge Rd is my favorite scenic road on Alan's brevets.
On the way out, that is.
On the return, it seems to become "interminable".

Most road surfaces were at least "reasonable".
The rough on Castle Rock Farm Rd, Parker Hernon Rd and some others is still rough.
Makes one appreciate the smooooth surfaces all the more.

The major exception to "reasonable" surfaces is the section of Morrisville Pkwy
From where the "dual carriageway" ends to the Chatham County line.
On the return, Alan and I each managed to hit at least one hole.

Also, there are numerous places with significant drop-offs at the road's edge.
In some places, there is suddenly no fog line because the road-edge has crumbled.
Potentially especially "interesting" if "no-fog-line" overlaps a "significant drop-off".
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Just a quick note on "details" of the ride:

Alan turned into a monster on the last 30 or more miles.
By which I mean, he seemed to get stronger and faster.

Usually, I can finish Alan's 200, 300, 400 route(s) with some pizzaz.
Not so much on the 17th.
I could not hold on to him for the last 20 miles.
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Conclusion: 

Cue sheet is good. 
The roads are reasonable to excellent, almost entirely NC back/side-roads. 
That means no shoulders.  But also no traffic!!

There is a link to a TrimbleOutdoors map of the route on Alan's website.
One can download "GPX" files from the Trimble map site.
I understand that one can create "GPS" files from GPX files,
But I wouldn't actually know about that.
Neither Alan nor I warranty the accuracy of the map trace and the GPX files.
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One more important thing to note:

We accomplished Alan's secret goal for the ride.
You'll have to ask him about that.
I shall remain mum -- at least for now.
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Apr-17:  

Part 1 - cycle to the pre-ride:  14.8 m.; 0h55 in-motion; 16.0 mph; 
 _Part 2 - NCBC 300 km pre-ride:  189.2 m.; 13h47 in-motion; 13.7 mph; elapsed time:  16h56; 
 _ _Part 3 - cycle back:  14.6 m.; 1h16 in-motion; 11.5 mph.  

Q-1 tot: _22 rides; 1,610.3 m.; 108 h, 42 m; 14.8 mph. 

Apr tot: __6 rides; __734.5 m.; _51 h, 29 m; 14.3 mph. 

YTD tot: _28 rides; 2,344.8 m.; 160 h, 02 m; 14.7 mph.