Apr-07: Coley Rd in the FOG

Originally posted on Facebook, in/on the Hudson Valley Randonneurs page/group.
Since it is a pain to find old Facebook posts, replicating here.
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6 am start with she-who-is-not-to-be-named.
Large, nearly full moon.
But wondering why it appeared "lopsided."

2.5 loops on flat Hickory Grove Rd.
Each full loop equals 2-miles.
The high elevation point of the route is on this flat road.
Little traffic, but seems more than last time we rode.

Now can see the road in the almost civil twilight.
Ride the mile on Carpenter Pond Rd to Coley Rd.

Coley Rd goes from nowhere to nowhere.
Actually, Carpenter Pond on the upper / south end.
NC-98 on the lower / north end.
A cross road at approx the half-way point. NO traffic.
Which is why 5519 has ridden it HUNDREDS of times.

Each full loop is a 7.3-mile round trip.
The lower half-loop is a 3.9-mile round trip.

First trip down Coley, the fog starts to build.
By the middle of the first full loop, it's getting thick.
But, NO wind; not even a breeze.
And that is why 5519 likes to start at 6 am:
BEAT THE WIND.

Riding through the fog.
Knees getting damp from condensation.
Each arm hair encased in water condensed from the fog.
Water dripping off the front of the helmet.
Tiny water droplets visible on the top rim of the headlamp.

8:47 am. Finishing the 4th full loop,
The lower half-loop squeezed into the middle of that loop,
The first hint that the sun will burn off the fog.

Then the fog seemed to fight back.
But nearing the end of the fifth full loop,
Bright sunshine.

I commented that 5 1/2 loops was much harder than riding the same distance around the lake.
Response: "welcome to my life."

One more time, meaning a half-loop (?), on Hickory Grove Rd to get back to the start.

50.1-miles. 3:27 in-motion in 3h30 elapsed.

No photos.
When U ride with 5519, there is no stopping for photos.
Not on a 50-mile ride.

V-50 #2.

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A comment made (by me) on the Facebook post.

Btw, we had intended to mix up the route with two (or three) other LOW traffic roads, but those would have been even closer to Falls Lake, and the fog was thickest on the lower / north end of the Coley loop. The north end is lower because it is the end closer to the lake. We figured the thick fog might be overwhelming nearer the lake.