Mar-28: Modified Falls Loop

6 am, or just before -- LL, who had ridden from her place to mine, and I underway
My Excel log indicates 65 degrees F.
Was that at the start?  Or, more likely, the temp at the finish.

Across Strickland Rd -- very little traffic early on a Saturday morning.
To Leesville Rd crossing I-540 -- little traffic early on a Saturday morning.
Past Sycamore Elementary School (from which we've been doing most of our joint rides).
Onto Hickory Grove Rd to Carpenter Pond Rd, were we picked up
The old standard Irregulars (and some others) Falls Lake Loop  at the 6.8-mile mark.

LL and I, usually separately, sometimes intentionally together, sometimes serendipitously,
Used to ride Carpenter Pond Rd to Leesville Rd to Doc Nichols Rd FREQUENTLY.
But, then, joining RUSA and riding brevets and permanents and permanents and permanents
Became our individual norms.

Ten years ago, there were no housing developments on Leesville Rd
Between Carpenter Pond and Doc Nichols roads.
Then, several years ago, Dell Webb started building a huge housing development.

[And at the time, one of their frequent television commercials 
Was about a young woman who moved into a Dell Webb development 
And found a cycling group of Dell Webb-ers with whom to ride faster and faster, 
Taking minutes and then seconds off her PR times. 
Many local cyclists laughed painfully at that commercial, because 

• turning every ride into a "race" is a good way to train -- NOT!  and
• that Dell Webb development was ruining a great cycling road and area.] 

Now, that section of Leesville Rd is jam-packed with Dell Webb-like developments.
Sigh.

Ten years ago, there were a few homesteads and perhaps a couple farm-steads on Doc Nichols Rd.
Now, there is a housing development or two with people already moved in while more housing goes up.
And, there are several housing developments where construction / destruction has just begun.
No longer a fun, carefree 1.9-mile downhill romp.
Now one has to be alert for dried-out mud-clogs from construction trucks left on the roadway.

Despite the above couple paragraphs, our ride past all those developments was fine --
Not much traffic early on a Saturday morning.


Luckily, Patterson Rd, north of NC-98, still has the same home/farm-steads as 10 years ago!
Cheek Rd, heading northeasterly away from Durham all the way to Falls Lake, is still the same.
The climb away from Falls Lake still the same -- except the chip-seal surface has gotten a bit old.

Leading, I turned onto (Old) Stool Tree Rd -- LL asked, "where are you going?"
Answer:  "just across here to see that one particular homestead, and then Cash Rd back to Old Weaver."

Transiting Old Weaver Trail in the 8:00 +/- time-frame, there was more traffic than we preferred.
Traffic returning to Raleigh (?) after the night shift at the state mental hospital in Butner.
At least that is what we presumed.

[I thought there was enough traffic that, should we do this ride again, 
We should take Northside Rd up to Creedmoor, and Dove Rd back to OWT to avoid 
Cash Rd and most of OWT.  LL may or may not have agreed.] 

We zipped across, mostly down, the couple-plus miles on New Light Rd 
To the intersection with Ghoston Rd.

There, I turned to go up Ghoston, then Peed, then Mt Vernon Ch Rd.
I knew that LL would take New Light to Six Forks to Pleasant Union Ch Rd.

[Btw, I saw Lt. Dave rocketing down MVC Rd as I crawled up the climb. 
He later confirmed that he also did the Falls Lake Loop, but started later than we did.]  

When I got to the MVC-PUC intersection, I saw LL in front of Pleasant Union Elementary,
Apparently fiddling with something on her bike.
I had figured that we would re-connect at or near PUE, so I rode over to learn the "problem."
Whatever the issue was, it did not make an indelible impression on me.

We resumed our joint ride.
Across Norwood Rd to Six Forks Rd (Norwood is smoother, wider, and less traffic than MVC).
I asked if LL would like to ride Durant to Honeycutt Rd, but
She did NOT want to have to ride up the Honeycutt Rd climb.
So, we continued on Six Forks, across I-540 to Strickland Rd, and
Then downslope to my abode where I finished my ride.

But LL wanted to get 50-miles,
So she rode back up Strickland for about a mile, then turned around and headed to her home.

46.2-miles for me.  3:16 in-motion.  No info on the elapsed time.
LL got her 50-miler. 

 
Effective March 28, GeorgeS of Hudson Valley Randonneurs started his "virtual brevets"
Since everywhere around the globe had cancelled randonneuring because of COVID-19.
So, this ride became my HVR V-50 #1.
I did remark on Facebook to George that if he had started the "virtuals" on March 20,
I would already have five V-50 rides.