Aug-28-2021: Assault on Flat Rock, mis-routed

The intent was to ride the "Assault on Flat Rock." 

But when I got to Grissom, I apparently was lost in thought, and 

Went the wrong way. 😮 

 

Here's a link of the route I actually rode, 

"Complete" with color-coded information regarding 

Where / how I went off course, and 

Where / how I got back on course. 

[I recall realizing I wasn't riding what I intended, and 

Considering what I should do / needed to do, 

To get back on course as 

I definitely wanted to ride the core of the "Assault on Flat Rock" course.] 

 

Going to "tell the story" mostly via the photos I took that day. 

Corner of Suitt and Gordon Moore roads, approx 26.5-miles into the "mis-routed" ride.  Timestamp 0905. 

Looking back at "from whence I came."  Timestamp 0905. 

A look at where I'm about to go.  Timestamp 0906. 

A second look at where I'm about to ride, but including some of the intersection.  Timestamp 0906. 

The "horse farm" just after turning off NC-56 onto Wes Sandling Rd.  Btw, Wes Sandling Rd starts the fun section of the "Assault on Flat Rock" route.  Timestamp 0919. 

NCDOT number signage on the stop sign at the corner of Wes Sandling and Grove Hill / John Sandling roads.  Timestamp 0930. 

The stop sign below with road name signage atop.  Wes and John Sandling roads.  Timestamp 0931.  Continuing north on Grove Hill, the road dives down again to a creek that feeds the Tar River and then climbs back up to Preddy Rd, where the route makes a definite left turn that was NOT captured in the RWGPS auto-generated cue sheet. 

Having essentially completed the climb up to the level of Preddy Rd, the whipping flag at half-staff caught my eye: I took a photo.  Timestamp 0943.  [I don't recall WHY the flag was at half-staff.] 

This appears more interesting in person than it does in this photo taken from Grove Hill Rd "half-way" between Preddy and Flat Rock roads.  Timestamp 0946. 

There a strange-looking creature in the above two photos.  Caught my eye at the time, but I couldn't tell you at the end of the ride, and I certainly can't tell you as I type this, what that creature was.  Timestamp for both photos 0953. 

Luckily this photo, also timestamped 0953, informs us of where the above "creature photos" were taken, and why I had even bothered to stop there.  I am about to turn off Grove Hill Rd onto Flat Rock Rd -- the road for which the route is named.  Flat Rock Rd is only 2.8-miles long -- on the ride, that was from mile mark 35.0 to 37.8.  Flat Rock drops 147-ft and then climbs 211-ft in that 2.8-miles.  The steepest incline is at least 7.0% (according to RWGPS) just after crossing the creek at the bottom.  A seven percent incline is not much for many places around the country, or even in some places within a 2-plus hour drive from Raleigh, but locally, that incline just after crossing the creek is "nothing to sneeze at." 

The southern end of Flat Rock Rd.  For the unintiated or curious:  yep, Flat Rock Rd appears to go from Grove Hill Rd on the north end to the same Grove Hill Rd on the south end -- Grove Hill is a big U-shaped road -- and, in full disclosure, northern end of Flat Rock is a half-mile or so farther north than where this route turned onto Flat Rock Rd.  Timestamp 1011. 

Same location, from whence I just came; but the reader must understand that by the time one approaches the south end of Flat Rock Rd, the road has become mostly flat.  Timestamp 1011. 

Same location.  Is this where I'm about to ride?  Timestamp 1011. 

Another view of where I'm about to ride.  Timestamp 1011. 

"Western Wear" store at corner of Suitts Store Rd and NC-96.  Timestamp 1026.  [Hmmn, cutting through the gas station / c-store parking lot, RWGPS failed to put anything regarding NC-96 in the auto-generated cue sheet.] 

EMS and fire truck vehicles in the CVS parking lot where most of "my" Permanent routes start and finish.  Mile 57.0 of the route ridden this day (see the RWGPS link near the beginning of the post).  Timestamp 1152. 

Front door area of the Bay Leaf CVS.  Timestamp 1152. 

Formerly Bay Leaf fire station #2, taken from the CVS parking lot.  Timestamp 1153. 

 
 Information taken from my Excel ride log: 

• -> mis-routed Assault on Flat Rock -> 
• 0700 start  --  ~ 1300 finish  --  heat got to me! 
• 65.4-miles, 4:40 in-motion, avg 14.0-mph in-motion 

 

That's the "story" for this ride, and I'll be sticking to it.