Jul-01-2021: NRT check-out ride

There was information that the Neuse River Greenway Trail was blocked, again. 

 

The first time the NRT was blocked was due to a significant bridge being replaced. 

My friend BobB and I had to deal with that on Nov-03-2018; 

However, upon reviewing that blog post, there is not even a single word about that closure. 

 

To check out the situation on the NRT, I decided to ride from the Falls Dam to the reported closure. 

This is what I found: 

 

As I type this on March 20, 2024, there are two more blockages on the NRT. 

Stages #1 and #2 on some sewer construction project(s). 

 

There was a reasonable detour to get around the Stage #1 closure, and 

Many people, including some randonneurs used that detour for the NRT-perm-pop. 

 

However, once Stage #2 was implemented, 

There was / is no reasonable and safe detour for cyclists. 

The sewer construction project(s) is(are) not scheduled for completion until Dec-30-2024. 

As a result, at least two perm-pops and a 200-km perm have been de-activated. 

  

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.

 
 

 

 

Aug-26: In Which I Again Meet Mick on the NRT

Mick wanting to continue on his return to cycling, 

We agreed to meet again at 0900 at Anderson Point on the Neuse River Trail (NRT). 

 

I pushed off from the Falls Dam parking lot at 0714 and 

Took 1:11 in-motion to cover the 17.3-miles to Anderson Point. 

Obviously, I had not hurried as I had the previous Wednesday and 

Arriving at the agreed parking lot at 0825, I had plenty of time to explore around (or whatever). 

[In case you're wondering, I have no record nor memory of  

How much time it took me to cover those same 17.3-miles last Thursday.] 

 

I rode over to the rest-room facility on the other side of the highway overpass. 

Took a pee, and then, similar to what I had done last Thursday, 

I went riding around on a loop in the park -- a bigger loop than I had ridden the previous Thursday, and

Also rode a mile or so on another trail that intersects the NRT near the rest-room. 

1.4-miles and a slow 10-minutes or tooling around in the park, and 

2 miles on the other trail in roughly 8-minutes in-motion. 

Total "marking-time" ride length 3.4-miles and 18-minutes in-motion. 

 

Arriving back at the agreed parking lot, I found Mick preparing himself and his steed for the ride. 

We got underway a few minutes later. 

 

Although I am confident that we chatted about different things than we had the previous Thursday, 

I could not pretend to recall what the subjects were. 

 

I do recall that we chatted about the one non-trivial climb en route to Clayton. 

"Luckily," after doing that climb, there is a flat section atop the plain, and 

Then a steep descent back down to the elevation of the river. 

"Lucky" I say, because coming back from Clayton, one has to climb that descent, and 

That breaks up what might otherwise get rather boring riding on the flat, flat, flat. 

 

Actually, there are several interesting bridges on the NRT. 

Those will draw one's interest at least the first time or two crossing them. 

There are also some 90-degree turns to get on and/or off bridges. 

Turns with fencing and such that if one were to meet an oncoming cyclist -- interesting. 

 

This ride, instead of staying on the path all the way to its current end near Clayton, 

We climbed up to a relatively new business district to grab a drink and sit and chat at a picnic table. 

 

A comment on that relatively new business and apartment district: 

The coronavirus idiocy has likely caused a serious delay in filling 

The store-fronts with stores and 

The apartments with residents. 

 

After sitting, drinking, chatting, we headed back toward Anderson Point. 

Enjoying the decent weather, total lack of vehicles, and not too many other cyclists. 

Total round-trip Anderson Pt to Clayton and back, 26.4-miles in 2:14 in-motion (elapsed unknown). 

 

A bit of a chat back at Mick's vehicle, 

Making tentative plans to ride again the following Wednesday (weather permitting). 

 

I headed out for the 17.3-miles back to the Falls Dam, 

Trying to push the pace all the way. 

However, I had to back off somewhat several miles before the finish. 

Result was that it took 1:11 in-motion to cover that return trip. 

Same in-motion time as outbound, but outbound was a downstream trip, 

Whereas the inbound was an upstream exercise. 

So, even though the outbound and inbound 17.3-miles took the same amount of in-motion time, 

It was significantly more work inbound. 

 

No photos on this ride. 

Quite a boring write-up (even though the ride and visits en route were enjoyable). 

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

 

Aug-20: In Which I Meet Mick on the NRT

A day delayed from the original plan, I met retired randonneur Mick at Anderson Point on the NRT. 

I probably hadn't seen Mick since some time in 2016.  

He had done two Perm-Pops in 2016 that I "owned," so I imagine we may have done a ride together in 2016.  

I decided to check -- we did do at least one ride together in 2016.

Permanent Route Name / #	Distance	Date	Finishers	DNF
NC: Bahama Beach / 1404	103	2016/05/26	3	0

Cert#	RUSA#	Name	Club / ACP Code	Time
RUSA-T62548	5843	B__, Bob	Randonneurs USA / 933095	05:51
RUSA-T62549	6169	H__, Michael A	Randonneurs USA / 933095	05:51
RUSA-T62550	6218	S__, Martin	Randonneurs USA / 933095	05:58

 

Mick is a three-time K-Hound (2012-13-14) and 

Still holds the North Carolina record for most accredited kms in a calendar year (17004). 

He is also a member of the North Carolina 2010 rookies. 

[I reckon I should do an update on the NC-2010-rookies -- it's way past time to do so.] 

 

 

I pushed off from the Falls Dam parking lot at 0716, but did not push the pace to reach Anderson Point. 

Even so, I arrived well before the agreed 0900 meet / ride-start time. 

I rode the half-mile to the park's rest room and took a pee (and checked out the water refill possibilities). 

I also rode what turned out to be a short half-mile or so loop near the rest room. 

Then returned to parking lot to wait for Mick. 

 

He arrived in his vehicle at almost precisely 0900. 

We chatted while he prepared himself and his steed. 

We pushed off at around 0910. 

 

After a mile or two, i.e., after the greenway traffic thinned out, 

We were able to chat about all things large and small in the world, locally, and personally. 

Mick was also recalling previous rides with other randonneurs (one in particular). 

Prior to the day before, I had only ridden the NRT twice:  (a) NRT-201, (b) NRT-Pop, 

So I could contribute very little in the way "prior NRT ride" anecdotes. 

 

Since Mick hadn't ridden for several months, he had initially suggested riding 20 or 25 miles. 

We rolled past 10-miles outbound, but Mick showed no inclination to slow or turn around. 

We rolled past 15-miles outbound, but Mick still showed no interest in turning around. 

We continued all the way to the end of the trail's asphalt (about 17.5 miles from Anderson Point). 

 

That is, near Clayton, we came upon the point where they trail is still under construction. 

Actually, on this date, the next portion of the trail had everything except the asphalt coating. 

In place of the asphalt was a large puddle of rain water. 

 

We looked at the situation, wondering aloud when the next portion would be completed. 

Then turned around and started re-tracing our route back to Anderson Point. 

  

Several miles before we got back, Mick noted that he should have turned around earlier. 

The outbound ride had been going downstream paralleling the Neuse River. 

Obviously, then, the inbound miles were in the upstream direction, and 

There was a slight, but noticeable, breeze in our faces. 

 

Not to worry though, Mick was still riding consistently when we got back to his car. 

[I think that if one has a lot of cycling in one's past, the body doesn't every really forget.] 

 

One subject that we chatted about was the number of obvious newby cyclists on the trail. 

I noticed more of that Mick because south of Anderson Point had many fewer cyclists 

Than were on the trail north of Anderson Point (between the Dam and the Point). 

 

Discomfort bikes, people who did not look comfortable on their higher-end machines. 

People who seemed to be riding as if they were training for the Tour de France. 

People who were fast or FAST on the flat sections, but slowed to a crawl on anything with an incline. 

 

There were also the more positive newbies.  

To my mind, the most positive were the young and even younger than that cyclists. 

 

We chatted while Mick removed his helmet and gloves, and replace cycling shoes with driving shoes. 

We continued chatting while put his steed into his vehicle. 

Then, consistent with social distancing during this period of coronavirus idiocy, 

We said our "till next times" and went our separate ways without ever shaking hands or similar. 

 

I finished my ride, retracing my initial 17.3-miles back to the Falls Dam parking lot. 

It took me a few minutes more inbound than it had outbound. 

Upstream with a slight breeze in my face versus downstream. 

Also, 54-miles in the legs before heading back versus 0-miles at the start may have made a difference. 

 

From my Excel log: 

• NRT -- Falls Dam -> Anderson Pt -> Clayton end-of-trail & back  +  more 
• 0716, solo to Anderson Pt & back, w/ Mick to Clayton & back 
• 71.1-miles.  5:31 in-motion.  avg 12.9-mph in-motion. 
• I failed to note the total elapsed time. 

 

I used to be known for the tag line "that's my story, and I'll be sticking to it." 

Anyone reading these "catch-up" posts may have noticed that I've trying to use that every post. 

 

Aug-19: Test Ride on the Neuse River Trail (NRT)

Retired randonneur Mick contacted me about joining him on a short ride on the NRT. 

He hadn't ridden in months but wanted to get back into cycling. 

We agreed to meet at 9 am at Anderson Point to ride to Clayton and back. 

I would ride from the Falls Dam and Mick would drive to Anderson Point. 

 

I was loading up a bit after 7 am when Mick called to cancel meeting me that day. 

He had a new bike and there was some issue discovered when he was preparing the night before. 

 

I decided that I would do the first (and last) part of my proposed ride 

So that I would know precisely where to meet and how far Anderson Point is from the Dam. 

 

I pushed off from the Dam parking lot at 0747. 

I arrived at Anderson Point after 17.3-miles and 64 minutes of riding. 

I did push the pace, but as I was essentially riding downslope most of the way, it wasn't hard to do. 

 

I tooled about the Anderson Pt Park area, totaling 0.5-miles and roughly 3 minutes, then 

Headed back upstream. 

 

Outbound, I had noticed some logs / flood debris piled up against the US-401 bridge, so 

I paused beneath the bridge to snap some photos. 

 

I also stopped on the return to snap a photo of a somewhat derelict shed along the trail. 

 

It had rained the night before and, early on, the trail was quite damp or even wet with puddles. 

There was also a lot of fallen leaf litter on the trail. 

The result of those two things was that my bike was filthier than it had been for a long time. 

  

I covered the 17.3-miles back to the Falls Dam in roughly 69-minutes. 

  

Total ride stats:  35.1-miles.  2:18 in-motion.  avg pace 15.2 mph. 

Fastest ride so far this year [and I mean as of December 7th when I'm typing this].