Nov-18-2017: Tar Heel 200

Catching up with overdue "back-fill" posts, still.
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Daniel #11331, had started his rando career in December-2016
By riding the Tar Heel 200 Permanent with BobB #5843 and BryanR #5746. 

[As an aside, that ride had gotten Bryan to exactly 40-thousand RUSA kms, and
He decided to end his career, or 
perhaps only put it on hiatus until his 1-year old son grew to a teenager or something.] 

Anyway, Daniel wanted to get his R-12 on the course where he began:  the Tar Heel 200.
So Bob and I agreed to ride the Tar Heel in mid/late-November.

[When Bob and I joined RUSA in 2010, there were three main / useful Permanents in NC: 

1. Kerr Lake Loop, 
2. Showdown in Black Creek, and 
3. Tar Heel 200. 

So, of course, we had ridden each repeatedly: 

• Bob had ridden KLL 4 times, Black Creek 6 times, Tar Heel 9 times; 
• I had ridden KLL 13 times, Black Creek 14 times, Tar Heel 8 times. 
• As noted above, Bob had last ridden the Tar Heel 200 in December-2016. 
• I had last ridden the Tar Heel 200 on January-01-2012. 
• One-and-a-half months short of six years:  the route might seem as if new.] 

We gathered in Benson, NC for a 7 am start -- just seven minutes after sunrise.
And immediately I realized that I knew the route as if I had ridden it only a month before.
I don't know if the route felt entirely familiar to Bob.
Ditto Daniel -- although I seriously doubt Daniel found the route to be a familiar friend.

Weather conditions est. from the weatherunderground historical report for Fayetteville, NC.
The low temp we encountered would have been roughly 32F.
The high temp around 70F -- yep, 70F, nearly a 40 degree swing in the temperature.
Sustained wind from the SSE felt much stronger than 8 mph, more on the order of 15mph, 
Was a pain by even before the last 17 southbound miles -- from Cedar Creek to Tar Heel. 
I know there were several miles when I hated bicycle riding and wanted to quit.
On the homeward bound trip, Bob told me that there were times when he wanted to quit. 
At least that southerly wind made for a honking tailwind on the homeward leg of the ride. 

My Excel log indicates 4h41 in-motion for the outbound, nearly due south, first half of the route,
And 4h09 in-motion for the homeward bound, nearly due north, second half of the route.

The only photos we took on the day were just north of Stedman,
Where the new Hwy-24 Bypass interferes with the historic path of Wade-Stedman Road.
There, the Tar Heel 200 uses the route of Raleigh Region 600-km brevet course.
In June-2017, everyone, theoretically including cyclist, had to turn onto the highway,
Drive or ride a quarter-mile or so, make a U-turn and then turn to again get onto W-S Rd.

However, between June and November, a modification to the "road furniture"
Including implementation of "bike lanes" so that cyclists, and only cyclists,
Can ride straight across the highway.
That information was dutifully forwarded to Raleigh RBA AlanJ #306.

Northbound on Wade-Stedman Rd approaching Hwy 24 Bypass.  The southbound side of the intersection is identical.  That's Bob immediately ahead.  If one looks carefully, Daniel can be spied 100 yards or so on the other side of the intersection.

Northbound bike lane striping crossing the highway.  Southbound stripping is identical, except perhaps the error seen here might not be duplicated on the southbound bike lane. 

One thing I learned early on in my rando blogging career is this:
Some things are better left on the road, on the route.
And with that partially in mind,
And the fact that I've actually mentioned all the important things about this ride,
Particularly the honking southerly wind,
I end this blog report with a line that I've often, but not always, used:

That's my story, and I'll be sticking to it. 

Permanent Route Name / #	Distance	Date	Finishers	DNF
NC: Tar Heel 200 / 589	200	2017/11/18	3	0

Cert#	RUSA#	Name	Club / ACP Code	Time
RUSA-T77168	5843	B__, Bob	Randonneurs USA / 933095	11:02
RUSA-T77169	11331	R__, Daniel B	Greensboro Velo Club / 933001	11:02
RUSA-T77170	6218	S__, Martin	Randonneurs USA / 933095	11:01