Oct-21: IvaHawk Meets Me at Anderson Point

When Mick had originally contacted me about doing some rides on the Neuse River Trail (NRT), 

It was with the idea of doing several, perhaps even weekly, rides as he returned to cycling shape. 

However, he developed a need for some surgery on one of his ankles, and 

Concluded that he should not risk an open-wound injury from falling 

That would then prevent, or at least delay, the surgery. 

 

On my part, I had enjoyed the rides on the NRT, and thought a few more would be fun. 

So ... I contacted IvaHawk, asking if he would be interested in riding on the NRT. 

In the past couple years, his interest in riding on the open roads has waned, and 

Also he had morphed into preferring shorter rides -- 

I.e., 30 to 40 milers instead of 100-kms or even a bit more than that. 

 

Anyway, I talked the Hawk into meeting me at Anderson Point to ride from there to Clayton and back. 

I would start from the Falls Dam parking lot and ride to Anderson Point to meet him. 

And, of course, I'd ride back to the Dam once our joint ride was completed. 

 

This seems a reasonable place to comment on the bicycle riders I had observed on the NRT: 

• some obvious pandemic caused newbies on (dis)comfort bikes, 
• some of those hammering, some just enjoying being (out of the house), 
• some likely pandemic caused newbies on decent to expensive road bikes, 
• quite a few of those seem ill-fitted to their machines (or the other way 'round), 
• some riders hammering away as if training for Tour de France, 
• many with prodigious speed on the flat, but unable to climb even small inclines, 
• families, 
• the last category being my favorite because ... well, U should know. 
• One woman was riding with a trail-a-bike and another youngster on their own bike, 
• I caught up to them as they were negotiating their way onto and across one of the bridges. 
• The mother appeared apprehensive about my approach from behind. 
• I called out, "don't worry, mom, I got you covered." 
• As I passed her, I mentioned that I had quite a few riders that would have given her not a moment as she dealt with her troop, given not an extra inch of space, because they were seemingly training for the Pro Tour.  She responded that she had discussed that very point, with same comment about "Tour de France" trainees on the pathway, with her husband the previous evening. 
• As I said to the woman, "the speed limit is 10-mph, and I admit that I exceed that, " 
• The woman interrupted, "but you slowed and gave way when needed."   

 

On this day, I started my ride from the Falls Dam parking lot rather later than previous meet-up rides. 

Perhaps I was getting a bit over-confident? 

What time did I start, you are certainly not asking? 

0742 is when I pushed off 

If it took 71-minutes to get to Anderson Point, I'd arrive only 7-minutes before the joint ride start. 

 

I arrived at the Anderson Point parking lot where Mick always parked -- no IvaHawk. 

I figured that I had better go exploring. 

I found Iva in the parking lot on the other side of the overpass. 

There are more "casual eyes" on Mick's preferred parking lot. 

I mentioned to Iva that the lot of his choice was more hidden from prying eyes, but 

That the other lot was more out in the open and had more traffic, 

So I thought it was generally safer. 

[In case you're wondering, no harm came to Iva's vehicle during our time away riding.] 

 

We rode the entire completed pathway all the way to where Mick and I had first ridden. 

Except that there was "police tape," more like "construction tape," keeping us 30 yards shorter. 

We kibbitzed a bit, and then headed back toward Anderson Point. 

 

I am very confident that there was much chatting about many subjects, but 

I cannot recall any of the subjects, and 

I almost certainly would not have been able to recall the subjects even during the ride. 

 

A couple moments of chatting as Iva put his steed and gear into his car, and 

Then I headed for "home" -- well, the Falls Dam parking lot. 

 

Just riding along, perhaps trying to push the pace a bit. 

Perhaps needing to let off the effort some of the time, esp. near the end. 

 

Only a couple hundred yards from reaching the Dam parking lot, 

I noticed the river and decided to stop to take a photo or two. 

This scene was likely easier to spot from the trail since a high percentage of the leaves have fallen off the trees and bushes -- that always opens up vistas.