Jan-23: Raleigh-Berea-Raleigh 109

When Lynn and I created this route, for Lynn to be the route owner,
We absolutely knew that Strickland to Six Forks was shorter
Than using any part of Honeycutt Rd.
We KNEW that.
So I never plotted out the mileage, etc. using Honeycutt.

However, Lynn did comment that if we found Six Forks to Strickland to have too much traffic,
We would just make a safety detour.
I was likely thinking Ghoston to Peed to MVC to Norwood -- adding distance and climbing.
Lynn may have been thinking Honeycutt.

So, the submitted and official R-B-R routing uses Strickland and Six Forks,
Outbound and homeward bound.

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I have since discovered that riding the entire length of Honeycutt Rd,
Then Possum Track to Six Forks
Is exactly the same distance as riding Strickland to Six Forks.
[Exact meaning within they each round to 67.8-miles.]
 
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I have also discovered that using a (usually) finishing combination
Of Six Forks to Durant to Honeycutt adds only 0.1-miles to the route.
And by-passes one of the Honeycutt climbs.
And also passes by the home of another north Raleigh RUSA member.
[That last can be handy for doing a front porch paperwork exchange.]

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By the way, for those that are convinced that RWGPS provides good climbing estimates:
Take a look at the profiles of the three routes embedded above.
Then look at the supposed climbing of each route.
To help with your examination, note that the first 62.9-miles of each are exactly the same route.
Do you still think that RWGPS offers up an accurate estimate of climbing?  All the time?

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Anyway, enough background.  On to the ride report.

Bob and I started our ride at 0800 on a Wednesday.
I knew that Strickland and then Six Forks would be trafficey,
So we started using the Honeycutt Safety Detour.

We used the sidewalk to avoid getting on Falls of the Neuse Rd during rush-hour,
Then cut through the gas station at the Honeycutt corner.
We had chicane our way through cars stopped on Honeycutt, waiting for the stop-light.
Bob did not like cutting between the stopped cars.  Not at all.
I also didn't care for doing that' but I was sure the cars were not moving and there was plenty of space.

Then, on the downslope away from Falls of the Neuse, we claimed the lane.
The upslope lane was filled with a line of cars.
If we had tried to ride along the fog-line of our down-sloping northbound lane,
There would not have been sufficient room for cars to safely pass us.
Half-way down the decline, there were no more up-slope southbound cars,
So cars behind us were able to safely pass.
However, I reckon I'll avoid future 0800 RBR starts -- I don't want to temp traffic too often.

After riding the entire length of Honeycutt Rd, and making the quick cut on Possum Track,
We turned onto Six Forks Rd, rejoining the submitted, official route.
I asked Bob to check his cycle computer for the distance ridden vs. what is on the cue sheet.
He reported that they were the same.
RWGPS is very good at getting the distance correct.


I recall nothing from the middle 58 miles.
It must have been a pleasant day.
After all, the weather history almanac for RDU airport indicates that
The temp at the beginning of the ride was in the low to mid-60's, and
That the temps during most of the ride were in the upper-60's to lower-to-mid-70's.

My Excel log indicates 22-minutes at the Berea control, and
Another four minutes (two minutes, twice) of stoppage / pauseage time elsewhere en route.


The plan when we started was to ride the entire length of Honeycutt for the finish routing.
But my Excel log indicates that we used Six Forks to Durant to Honeycutt to get to the finish.
I told Bob that the reason was so that I could point out someone's house.
A someone that was committed to going to PBP, and
That maybe it would be good for Bob to know where that someone lived,
In case Bob ever gathered there to "car"-pool with that someone.

That was my excuse.
There was another reason:
I recall feeling rather worn out, and wanted to eliminate at least one of the Honeycutt climbs.

More proof that I was tired at the end?
I let Bob give me a lift from the finish at the shopping center to my abode.
That's all of half-a-mile.  With a gentle down-slope.
Sheesh! 


Not much of a story, but it is mine, and I'll be sticking to it.

Permanent Route Name / #	Distance	Date	Finishers	DNF
NC: Raleigh - Berea - Raleigh / 2818	109	2019/01/23	2	0

Cert#	RUSA#	Name	Club / ACP Code	Time
RUSA-T87187	5843	B__, Bob	Randonneurs USA / 933095	05:36
RUSA-T87188	6218	S__, Martin	Randonneurs USA / 933095	05:36