Apr-08: Tour de Wood Valley (and More)

The plan was to meet IvaHawk at 1:30 pm at the Bay Leaf CVS. 

But I was a bit behind schedule, and receiving multiple texts, 

Which I thought were from an impatient Hawk,

So instead of the intended Honeycutt - Durant - Coachman's neighborhood - Norwood routing 

To get the CVS, I took Durant to Six Forks to Mt. Vernon Ch to Norwood to the CVS. 

That cut a mile or more from my commute.   

Even so, it was nearly 1:40 as I approached the CVS and discovered the Hawk riding toward me. 

He had concluded that I might have mistakenly gone to PUE instead of the CVS, 

Had sent me one text indicating that he was heading to PUE, and had just started that short trip. 

 

Seeing Iva, I call out, "let's go west on Norwood." 

Iva reversed his course; we got through the stop-light at Creedmoor Rd, and started our ride. 

 

I asked if Iva if he would be interested in riding past his former home. 

That became the initial plan. 

Turn onto Macon Rd and then the east end of Wood Valley Dr and onto Blossom Hill Ct.  

 

Drifting along on Blossom Hill Ct., Iva pointed to the wrong house. 

I remarked, "that doesn't seem right, Iva.  I thought your driveway was opposite that other road." 

"Oh," exclaimed Iva, "I pointed out the neighbor's house." 

[That's not exactly how that moment transpired, but reflects the actual event.] 

 

We took Evergreen Chase Way, the road opposite the aforementioned driveway, 

Back to Wood Valley Drive, where we made a right turn to complete the "Tour de Wood Valley." 

[This wasn't the first "Irregulars" "Tour de Wood Valley" ride. 

The first was more interesting than the ride this post is about. 

However, much of the interesting stuff from that 2009 ride is NOT in the blog post.] 

 

After completing the "Tour," we "wiggled" from Wood Valley Dr.onto Victory Church Rd. 

 

Local randonneurs that have ridden the old "Leesville-Leasburg-Leesville" perm 

Might recognize that "wiggle," which outbound, comes just after Boxelder Dr, or 

Conversely, inbound, the reverse "wiggle" comes just before Boxelder with its steepest bit of L-L-L. 

[RWGPS does not indicate that the steepest climb is on Boxelder, but 

After 123-miles, it certainly seems like it is the steepest bit of Triple-L, and 

Boxelder is the ONLY part of Triple-L that I have ever walked up! 

If one zooms in on Boxelder Dr, RWGPS does indicate a 5.3% incline at mile 123.05.] 

 

Victory Church Rd becomes Kemp Rd at the county line. 

The climb on Kemp to get up to Carpenter Pond Rd, 

Which traverses the crest of a ridge at that point, is a non-trivial climb, and 

I was concentrating on pedaling when Iva exclaimed, "look at that pollen cloud at the stop-sign!" 

 

As I coasted into the stop-sign amidst the pollen cloud, 

I looked to the left (since we would be turning that direction on Carpenter Pond Rd), and 

It was my turn to exclaim, "Iva, LOOK at that cloud which we are about to ride into!!" 

 

That turned out to be the last heavy cloud of pollen on the day. 

But there was always yellow pine pollen floating or blowing about. 

Eventually, the pollen got to Iva (and perhaps a little to me, too). 

 

Gonna' short-cut this post by copying in some text from an email I sent to the "Irregulars": 

A little over 9 years ago, I wrote this: ( https://irregularveloadventures.blogspot.com/2012/03/yellow.html ). 
And 13 months later, I posted that to Facebook (on April 8, 2013). 

I had completely forgotten about the original post until FB popped up the "memory from 8 years before". 

Yesterday, April 8th, 2021, Iva and I did a early/mid-afternoon ride, starting from the Bay Leaf CVS, and riding Norwood, Vct Ch/Kemp Rd, Carpenter Pond and Leesville roads to Panoramic, where we turned around and reversed the route back to the CVS. Iva wanted a few more miles, so we took Norwood to Mt Vernon Ch Rd, which we took down and up to turn around at Peed Rd, where we again reversed to go back to the CVS.

Early in the ride, on Kemp Rd approaching Carpenter Pond, Iva remarked, "do you see that pollen cloud ahead?" 
It was palpable. 

Upon reaching the stop-sign and looking left in anticipation of our turn, I said, "Iva, LOOK at that cloud we are about to ride into!" 

It was an enjoyable ride -- IF one could ignore the pollen, which did get to Iva's eyes and to a lesser degree, mine, too. 


Actually, what I wrote 9 years ago is an apt description of our ride yesterday: 

"YELLOW 

EVERYTHING in central North Carolina is YELLOW, now. 

The cars, the buildings, the trees, the grass, the air, the roads. All YELLOW. 
The surfaces of quiet ponds and ... of the backwaters of the lakes. All YELLOW. 
The surfaces of the water reservoirs. YELLOW. 

As one rides their bicycle down the road, 
The center-line of the tyres become YELLOW. 
White skull-caps become YELLOW. 
Black ones, too. 

YELLOW because of the pine pollen. 

All food has only one taste right now. 
You got it -- YELLOW. 
Yellow pine pollen. 

Come back from a bike ride, 
All one can taste is the yellow pollen. 
All one can smell -- if not "stopped up" -- is the yellow pollen."

 

 

Some ride stats (mine): 

• -> Honey-Durant-MVC -> CVS:  Norwd-Kemp-CP-Panoramic-CVS -> Coachman's -> 
• ride w/ IvaHawk @~1340, CVS to Panoramic & MVC to/Peed and back to the CVS 
• 40.5-miles  --   3:04 in-motion  --  13.2-mph avg pace 

Fin.