Jun-23: IR Post-Solstice Virginia Border Raid

At least three had indicated inability to do the Pre-Solstice Border Raid,
So ... a Post-Solstice Border Raid was also planned.
Interesting thing -- none of those three made this ride. 

Luckily, unanticipated participants emerged:
Tito returned from overseas, and wanted to ride,
Ags decided he wasn't up for his R-12 ride,
IvaHawk thought finding the NC/VA granite border marker would be interesting.
Iva also anticipated a "reunion" ride as many of us had not seen each other in quite a while.
The two reasons combined got him to attempt his first "back-to-back" centuries.
Special definition of "back-to-back":  consecutive Saturdays.

The afternoon before the ride, I invited Tom,
Who has been hanging around TLC-4-Bikes quite a bit lately,
To come and start with us.
He could turn around when we got to Creedmoor -- 14.5 miles into the ride.
Tom was doubtful about the 0600 start -- but he showed and rode.

Five people.
Two felt tired and were concerned about the potential pace that others might want to ride.
One getting one of his first tastes of riding on the road with some roller / climbs.
Two fast guys coming off two-week hiatus periods.

Easy pace across Pleasant Union Ch Rd and onto Six Forks, which becomes New Light Rd.

After Ags explained how he smashed one of his toes by dropping a large jar of pickles on it
At the beginning of his vacation and thus had been off the bike for 2 weeks,
He slowly drifted off the front.

"El Tito" decided to bridge to him and ... well ... I don't actually know.
Because Ags and Tito missed the turn onto Old Weaver Trail at 6.8 miles into the ride.

We yelled ... but it was too far for them to hear.
We thought about "chasing" ... but figured we'd be worn out if we caught them,
And our ride would be over ... IF ... we caught them.
We thought about just following until they stopped to wait for us.
But how many miles would it be before they stopped? 
Grissom at 11.4 miles?  Pokomoke at 15 miles?  Franklinton at 22? 
By the time they stopped, it might be too late to ride to the desired border location.
We could always just re-jigger a 100-mile route on the fly.
But Iva + I wanted to locate that granite border marker from 1887.

So we turned to follow the intended course.
Iva tried calling Tito ... voice and text messages passing in the ether for the next couple hours.

Iva, Tom and I soft-pedaled our way to Creedmoor,
Thinking Ags + Tito might catch us.
That didn't happen. 

But Tom did drop his water bottle twice.
The second time, he tried to re-start on an upslope in WAY too hard a gear.
Boom!
Embarrassed he was.
Especially after he'd proclaimed the day before that he was not ever going to fall,
Particularly from forgetting to unclip before coming to a stop.
Gary + I had each assured him that he would eventually forget to unclip,
And that he would eventually take a fall.
Neither of us expected the first lesson would come within 14 hours.

Upon reaching the edge of Creedmoor,
Tom U-turned as was his plan.
Iva and I continued on at our easy-we-need-forever-to-warm-up-today pace.

We paused in Stem ... to try to connect with Ags + Tito.
And used the stop to top-up on water.

On thru Shoofly ... I didn't even see the sign -- again!  
(And I had so intended to keep an eye out for it.) 
Iva did -- and that led to a short discussion of old train tracks and "whistle-stops".

We turned at Culbreth.
And soon passed the Creech Family Farm.
Old NC / Raleigh family that Iva knows from his connections.

Across the Tar River ... and just like the week before -- no wall to climb on the other side.

About half way between the Tar River and US-158,
Tito and Iva finally connected via cell phone.
Ags + Tito were apparently at I-85 / US-158 just east of Oxford.

Options discussed.
Conclusion:  Ags + Tito would turn back and be happy with a 60+ mile ride.
Iva and I would continue on to do our second Border Raid in as many Saturdays.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Gosh, but that seems an awfully long intro ... .
AND, believe it or not, I "cut it down".
------------------------------------------------------------------
Past Lake Devin Rd (and the turn for the Shoofly Don't Bother Me course).
Across US-158  and  thru Kinton Forks.
Past Little Mountain Creek Rd (NC Bike Route #4) on the right,
Past Mountain Creek Rd (NC BR #4) on the left.
Iva + I taking turns leading or riding side-by-side, as whimsy suggested.

We obviously passed thru Cornwall,
But were so busy chatting as we drifted along at (probably) 12 or 13 mph,
That neither of us noticed Cornwall when we passed thru.
(It isn't that hard to miss Cornwall, actually.  Ride Cornwall Rd some day -- you'll see.)

We realized we had already gone thru Cornwall when we got to Jonathon X-roads.
One more down and one more up ... the border.

We spent about 20-minutes trying to find the 1887 granite border marker.
[If you follow the link immediately above, you will notice that it is labeled "1897"; 
However, every other source I've found refers to 1887.  (click here for some other sources)
I'm "going with" 1887.]

Iva + I are convinced, that if the marker has not been moved,
That we got within about 12 or 15 feet of the marker.
However, unlike in the photo (link here again), the area between that "fence" and the trees,
Was ALL tall weeds.
We decided not to chance encounters with ticks and poison ivy or other unwanted contacts.
Maybe we'll try to come back on a warm day in the winter,
When the weeds should be less of a problem.

We did the little pig-tail loop the course does into Virginia,
Then continued on our way to and thru Grassy Creek and to Stovall.

A few miles before getting to Stovall, I noticed that Iva was drifting off my front. 
I had to work pretty good to catch him. 
The self-proclaimed "old man of the 'Irregulars'" had rounded into pedaling form before me.

Our better form and better feeling legs stuck with us
And carried us the 42 miles from Stovall back to PUE.
Of course, we had wisely decided to take the "flat way" back
(Instead of the "mountain way" or the "NC BR #4 way").
There may also have been a bit of a tailwind.

We diverted from the mapped version of the Border Raid
By taking a left turn onto Philo White Rd,
Another left onto Conyers Rd
And then right on NC-56 for half-a-mile to get into Wilton.
Fewer cars on Philo White (and an extra climb).
[When one turns off Cannady Mill Rd onto Philo White, 
After climbing up the near-wall from the Tar River, 
One immediately drops down almost as far as the river to a tiny creek, 
Then immediately climbs back up to the top of the plain. 
That climb used to be a major-hill for me. 
Then, last year, or maybe the year before, I discovered I could overpower that climb. 
This time, partially / mostly by accident, I did that climb with a decently high cadence, 
Standing, in the 39/11.  
I was amazed. 
I was pleasantly surprised to find Iva right on my wheel as the steepest part of the climb ended. 
IvaHawk is like an Energizer-Bunny -- he just keeps coming and coming and coming. 
I imagine that is how he did the Assault on Mt. Mitchell this year and last.]

I convinced Iva to turn onto Conyers Rd to keep intact my record of
Never having done the same exact Virginia Border Raid course twice.
[Some day I may run out of logical alternatives ... .]
Also, the first time I did the Border Raid,
I stopped at the store at the corner of Conyers and NC-56.
I expected that store was going out of business a few years back.
But it seemed to be thriving when we cycled past.
Probably a benefit of the more strategically located Citgo gas station / c'store
That was located AT the Wilton crossroads going out of business first.

The last 17 miles of our ride were non-event filled.
The only thing that comes to mind is this:
The climb up Mt. Vernon Ch Rd to PUE is so much easier since the resurfacing of the last few weeks.
Iva commented, "it takes 20% less energy to do that climb!".

Iva + I agreed we each had a good ride.
I'm pretty sure neither of us was lying.
That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
----------------------------------------------------------------
We forgot to take any photos while on the ride.
We certainly should have taken at least one when we thought we were near the border marker.
Oh, well.  Them's the breaks.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Long post.  I was intending a short, "sense-of" post.
Maybe there was too much I wanted to record from the early part of the ride.

One more thing:
The "flat way" from Stovall to US-158 near Oxford,
Is not nearly as interesting as the "mountain way" or the "BR #4 way",
But it is a heck of a lot easier!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Jun-23:  

commute --> PUE:  Virginia Border Raid, version 5 --> TLC-4-Bikes (new location) --> commute; 128.4 m.; est. 9h03 in-motion; 14.2 mph.  

Q-1 tot: _22 rides; 1,610.3 m.; 108 h, 42 m; 14.8 mph. 

A-M tot: _20 rides; 1,701.6 m.; 115 h, 24 m; 14.7 mph. 

Jun tot: __7 rides; __910.7 m.; _60 h, 28 m; 15.1 mph. 

YTD tot: _49 rides; 4,222.6 m.; 284 h, 46 m; 14.8 mph. 

[The above are my stats.  For today's ride, Iva rode about 113.3-miles.  107.1-miles on the "core" Border Raid, plus a 3.1-mile commute each way.  (My commutes were longer).] 

Unexpected "Planning" for a Post-Solstice VA Border Raider

The Border Raid route:  http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/1008706

Looking for some Google-street-views of back-roads near the point where the route reaches the border, I found this:  http://www.panoramio.com/photo/17081944

And that started an internet search.  So far, I've come across the following:

• An interesting article on the 1728 Virginia - North Carolina boundary survey:  http://www.surveyhistory.org/va_&_nc_bounary_line.htm 
• This:  http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMMEM_NC_VA_Granite_Monument_No_36 
• And these:  http://www.lastingimpressionsbook.com/pdfs/ncandvirginia.pdf 
• http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/lr/geodetic/boundary 
• http://books.google.com/books?id=zTHQAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA184&lpg=PA184&dq=1887+Virginia+North+Carolina+boundary+survey&source=bl&ots=VuEfyFPs4V&sig=AxOLAl_12MtJpOuGOSSvM9CXYR8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=1_7hT_HkHomg8gTxmsyGCA&ved=0CGsQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=1887%20Virginia%20North%20Carolina%20boundary%20survey&f=false 
• http://www.hmdb.org/Marker.asp?Marker=2762 
• And, perhaps most interestingly, this:  http://www.newrivernotes.com/nc/wnc2.htm 

I've copied the links into here, and published, because I don't have time to sift the wheat from the chaff, and don't want to go thru the process of finding the above from scratch, again.  I'm sure there are other, more useful ways to cache these links, but ... 

 

Jun-16: IR Pre-Solstice Virginia Border Raid

Irregulars Summer Solstice Rides

The Irregulars have been doing Summer Solstice rides for a few years, now.
As best I can figure looking at my records,

• the first IR Summer Solstice ride was in 2009 on the "Middleburg-100" route, 
• for the 2010 Summer Soltice ride, we did the "Virginia Border Raid" route, 
• last year we did a "destination ride" for the Solstice, riding from near Raleigh to the Whirligigs and back. 

You might think that we jumped-the-gun a bit this year, doing the Solstice ride the Saturday BEFORE the solstice, instead of waiting for next Saturday, which will be closer to the actual solstice, but Ricochet is doing a Tony-mountain-600-brevet on the 30th (link to a Trimble map), and he thinks he should take it easy next weekend, and limit himself to a 40 or 50 mile ride next Saturday.  There were or may have been additional reasons for doing the ride this weekend, but the top of the list was Ricochet Robert's desire(s). 

[Another comment on possibly jumping-the-gun:  I just happened to see the sunrise times for the week between Jun-16 and Jun-23 -- sunrise on Jun-16 was 5:58 am EDT -- sunrise on Jun-23 will be 6:00 EDT. The mornings are already getting shorter; the afternoons will continue to get slightly longer for another week or two.] 


Previous Virginia Border Raids

As best I can figure from looking at my records,
this Pre-Solstice Ride made only the fourth time I've done the "Virginia Border Raid".

• the first time was Sep-29-2007 -- my first ever 100-miler.  A solo effort as few / none of the IRs were interested in doing a 100-miler -- my, how things have changed !! -- and my then spouse, who had done what we thought at the time was quite a few centuries, was on a bus headed for West Jefferson and the week-long Cycle North Carolina mountains to the beach tour.  (There are some interesting tid-bits about that first Border Raid that are included at the beginning of the 2009-Solstice blog post (see above link); there is also some insight into why the cue sheet no longer matches the map -- basically, I just don't feel like changing the cue sheet to match the map.) 
• the second time I did this route was Aug-23-2008.  It was the first ever Irregulars 100-miler.  We didn't do Tump Wilkins Rd; we didn't do Belltown Rd; we stuck to the cue sheet except for a 1-mile round trip detour to Nelson, VA for an additional refueling stop.  I was suffering off the back on the climb up from the Tar River on Cannady Mill Rd -- I did not want to turn onto Philo White Rd (because of the immediate additional descending and climbing required), but I was too far back to yell ahead -- the other five made the turn and I followed.  Gosh, but I suffered at the end of that ride. 
• the third time I did this route was aforementioned 2010 Summer Solstice Ride.  We did NOT detour into Nelson.  We stayed on Cannady Mill Rd and did NOT turn off onto Philo White Rd; i.e., we followed the map (not the cue sheet). 
• three previous rides on this route.  You may have noticed that I've never ridden the exact same course twice.  One can do that on a non-RUSA ride. 

This Ride
The Gathering

Interest in doing the ride / availability to do the ride, was mixed -- expected crew was 6 to 8 riders.

Rando Byron was a late addition:  he contacted Ricochet and me (and others ?) about doing his "L-L-L" route, but Ricochet and I each replied that we were committed to the Irregulars Virginia Border Raid and each of us extended Byron an invite.  Byron chose the "party-ride" over a solo ride in "L-L-L-land".

An unexpected (to me) addition was JohnD's friend Craig.  Turns out Craig lives near the intersection of Old Stage and Rock Service Station roads south of Raleigh / Garner.  Local randos may recognize that location.

JohnD brought information that BobH (and Norris) had decided to do a shorter ride, and would therefore not be joining us.

Craig would have won the prize for longest trip to get to the start, except that Rando Biker Bob drove over from Graham to join the ride and continue his testing of his right Achilles and to build-up a bit in anticipation of an "insurance" 200k next weekend, and the Tony-mountain-600-brevet mentioned above the following weekend.

Shortest trip to the start?  IvaHawk took that prize with a 5-km cycle from home to start.

Ricochet and Byron cycled to the start -- collecting IvaHawk on the way.  I also cycled to the start.  Longest cycle-commute to the start?  Byron -- by about half a mile. 

Early Miles 

As everyone was accounted for and eager to get underway, we did, perhaps a minute early.  Civilized pace across Pleasant Union Church Rd and on the rollers of Six Forks / New Light Rd and Old Weaver Trail and Whitt and Dove roads into Creedmoor.

We hadn't plan a stop after only 15-miles (Creedmoor Southern States), but sometimes one's bodily functions get off-schedule.

The civilized pace continued up Brogden Rd toward Stem.  Byron was willing to check out the promised rollers on Tump Wilkins Rd (not on the route, and a long-cut), but we couldn't convince Ricochet to go with him -- I could have gone with Byron, but then the main crew would not have known how to detour from the course in Stem to meet back up with Byron and whomever.

Thru Stem and on to Culbreth Rd.  I don't recall anything from Culbreth Rd -- not the sign for "Shoofly", not the rollers that used to seem to be near-mountains, not the conversations, not nothing.

Just after the turn off Culbreth Rd onto Enon Rd, Byron asked about lunch.  Huh?  I told him I like to do lunch on this route in Stovall, at about 60 miles (64-miles would have been a better estimate), but the first intended refueling stop was only another 8 miles or so.

There are a couple nice farmsteads / houses in that 8 miles.  And also a 3-mile trek up a shallow-ish slope after crossing the Tar River.  [IvaHawk asked about a possible "wall" after crossing the Tar River -- not on Enon Rd -- at least not when headed north.  I can't recall ever doing that stretch of Enon Rd headed south, but I think there is no "wall" when headed south, either.  Culbreth Rd near Berea, however, may seem more wall-like.]  No "wall" on this crossing of the Tar River -- however, the northerly / northeasterly wind was starting to wake up.

Have you ever noticed that there is no consistent style or voice to these blog posts?  If you have noticed that, and it bothers you -- read something else.

Past Lake Devin Rd and into the gas station / convenience store at the corner of Enon Rd and US-158.  While at the refueling depot, JohnD told us that he and Craig had decided to do the alternative "Shoofly Don't Bother Me" 75-mile course.  Iva, upon hearing that John and Craig were doing the short route, lamented that they were leaving him on his own to deal with four Super Randonneurs.  :-O

My guess, which I did not voice, because I think Craig could have done the 106-mile Border Raid in style, was that Craig had decided that John had bitten off more than Craig wanted to chew.  [Even if my guess is wrong, is still makes for a good one-liner.]  John got out his two cue sheets; I showed him when to switch back from the Shoofly to the Border Raid cues to eliminate some climbing; I also suggested they might prefer to stay on Cannady Mill Rd all the way to NC-96, rather than turning onto Philo White Rd.  We haven't heard from John, but their cars were not at the finish, so we assumed they got back okay, and we hoped that each had enjoyed the slightly shorter ride.

The Assault on the Virginia Line

Crossing US-158, we were suddenly on Cornwall Rd.  Back / side-roads in North Carolina have a way of changing name at county lines (count on it) and at other unpredictable times.  This name change would be better categorized in the unpredictable category.

It had been a couple years since I had last been on Cornwall Rd -- probably the 2010 Solstice Ride was the previous time.  I had forgotten how nice a road that is -- the surface is excellent, there are easy rollers (that get a bit taller as one gets closer to Virginia) which makes for good cycling, and there are some decent vistas along the way -- maybe you wouldn't try to make a picture-postcard, but nice.  The lush green rural scenes were making the ride definitely a doubly worthwhile experience.  Admittedly, the enjoyment for four of us may have been enhanced by Bob taking a 40-minute pull into the increasing headwind and increasing in size rollers.

I used the last downslope to catapult myself from last in the line to the front; then kept a good cadence, possibly increasing my effort when I saw the warning signs for the curve in the road as we went up the last upslope to Virginia.  The crew all think that I had made a calculated move to take the State Line Sprint.  I don't want to disabuse them of that idea, but I didn't realize we were "at" the state line until I saw the warning signs for the curve.  I hit the pedals hard and kept hitting them harder because I knew that if Byron realized what I was doing ... he would get into Virginia first.

Once the "North Carolina double-yellow center-line" ended, I signaled to slow and stop.  Byron, Ricochet and Bob went rocketing past me, asking what was up.  Once they had stopped, I suggested they turn around and look at the signage.  "Oh, we are in Virginia."

As there was no sign for Virginia:

Four "Super Randonneurs" at the Virginia / North Carolina state-line on an Irregulars ride.
Only two of us have "refreshed" our SR status so far in 2012.
L to R:  Bob, Ricochet, Byron, me. 

IvaHawk in Virginia (too bad his face is in deep shadow).
Iva, not an SR, but he was the only ONE in the group that did the Assault on Mt. Mitchell this year.
Last year, too.
We decided that he could handle anything the 4 SR's might have thrown at him. 

To Stovall and Lunch

When I created this route, I decided "if I'm going to ride to Virginia, I'm going to ride IN Virginia."  So ... the route does a 3 or 4 mile stint in Virginia, coming to within half-a-mile of Nelson, Virginia.  There is a store in Nelson (and not much more).  That store can be useful on a hot day.  The store might also have been useful when Virginia had a lottery and North Carolina did not -- informal "Lotto Centuries" were somewhat popular then -- ask MikeD if you don't believe me.

Anyway, Byron and Bob and Ricochet got up to speed before Iva and me; Iva and I spent most of the time in Virginia at least one or two hundred yards in arrears.  [Snapper -- no farmer was spreading sewage water on the Virginia roads ... this time.]  However, the lead-three slowed just early enough so that Iva and I caught up just before the little nothing of a bump before the route returned to North Carolina.  If I were looking to celebrate hollow victories, I would mention that I managed to take advantage of the three at their reduced pace to go around and complete the State Line Sprint perfecta.  Good thing I decided not to mention it.  :-O

We turned southeastward onto Grassy Creek - Virgilina Rd (which seemingly becomes "just" Grassy Creek Rd at the corner that is Grassy Creek) expecting a nice tailwind.  We were, after all, heading in what we thought was almost the opposite direction as compared to when we had been on Cornwall Rd.  Examination of the map, however, reveals that until transiting Grassy Creek, we were headed mostly due east; since the wind was out of the northeast, a headwind on that section made sense.

However, despite the fact that between Grassy Creek and Stovall the road runs southeast-by-south, we STILL had a headwind !!!  That was disappointing, to say the least.

The gas station / convenience store / deli in Stovall, and the gazebo next to the church across US-15 from the store were welcome sights.

Three Choice Routes -- Which One to Select?

There are three excellent cycling routes from Stovall to hook up with US Bike Route #1 just east of Oxford.

• The "Flat Way".  Which is what the map and cue sheet for this route indicate.  Which is also the original routing of MikeD's "Kerr Lake Loop". 
• The "Mountain Way".  Which we had all ridden at least once previously, includes Mountain Rd which has a couple nice mountain-esque vistas AND goes up "Peace Mtn" (often referred to as "Stovall Mtn").  Road gets steep, but not for long, and I suppose not THAT steep, but steep enough.  Search this blog for "Stovall and a Mountain" -- you should be able to find a map.  Alternatively, ride MikeD's Kerr Lake Loop, and experience the mountain at the 100-mile point of that ride. 
• The "NC Bike Route #4 Way".  None of us had ever ridden BR #4 from Stovall all the way to BR #1.  [I was going to type that none of had ever ridden BR #4 east of Dexter Rd, but Byron related a story about reaching Hicksboro once when doing the rando Kerr Lake Loop and ... it's his story ... maybe he will tell you about it some day if it is appropriate.]  We agreed to try this third way since none of had ever ridden it.  Conclusion(s):  quite a few nice rollers; adds about 5 miles to the route versus the-flat-way; may be tougher than the-mountain-way, if one rides non-conservatively; definitely worth riding again. 

Bringing It Home

We stopped at US-158 (at the "other" store) to top off water bottles, etc. since the water and "etc." options at the gas station in Stovall had not been that good.  Then headed for Raleigh following US Bike Route #1.  We did not make the cue-sheeted turn onto Philo White Rd.  Except for the climb back up from the Tar River on Cannady Mill Rd, the climb on Lawrence Rd, and the Ghoston-Peed-MVC finish, the last 30+ miles were flat and fast (by our standards).

As we approached Ghoston Rd, Byron said something about "racing up Ghoston".  We made the turn and whoosh!!  Byron raced past me and up the hill.  Ricochet came up and also passed me as he seemed to be barely working; however, Ricochet was repeating in his amazement at Byron:  "how does he do that?  How does he do that?"

Here's the answer, Robert:  Byron is 23-years younger than you, and has been riding a bicycle for at least 23 years longer than you.

Fin

Byron and Ricochet Robert were waiting in the PUE parking lot for Bob, Iva and me.  They may well have been waiting for about 10 minutes as, by my watch, Bob, Iva and I putzed in the last 4.7-miles on Ghoston-Peed-MVC in 25 minutes.  Bob still reported that his cycle confuser showed 111.05 miles in 7h03m15s of in-motion time.  Pretty good results for us, especially considering that about 64 of those miles were into a headwind. 

More importantly, all had a good day on their respective bikes on a good course with good people.

That is my story, and I'm sticking to it.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Jun-16:  

commute --> PUE:  Virginia Border Raid --> commute; 129.8 m.; 8h22 in-motion; 15.5 mph.  

Q-1 tot: _22 rides; 1,610.3 m.; 108 h, 42 m; 14.8 mph. 

A-M tot: _20 rides; 1,701.6 m.; 115 h, 24 m; 14.7 mph. 

Jun tot: __5 rides; __693.0 m.; _45 h, 28 m; 15.2 mph. 

YTD tot: _47 rides; 4,004.9 m.; 269 h, 46 m; 14.8 mph. 

Jun-19: Solstice, Neuse, Tar, Dan

The original plan for the Solstice was a 300k "irregular" ride, but due to life, the cast of "interested and likely to ride" got down to only two riders.  Being flexible, we changed plans.  And instead did the "Virginia Border Raid", a slightly long 100-miler that starts from PUE, includes a few miles in Virginia, and was / is the original "irregulars" "Pizza in Stovall" ride.  The change of plans turned out to be a popular choice.

The Cast:

"Short-crew":  BigWaveDave, Duke (aka, SpongeBob), Aggs.
"Long-crew":  IvaHawk, LT, Smitty, Lee, Tito, Robert, Gary + Wendy, me.

Twelve starters.  Not quite equalling the record, but certainly more than two.

The Course:

I originally found, ripped-off, scouted, planned, designed, cue-sheeted this course in about April or May 2007 for a 2007 Solstice Century for Frank and me (the entire "membership" of the "irregulars" at the time [edit:  that were interested in riding SO far - by mid-2007, Gargan had come and gone, but had left Harvey (not yet a Snapper), BigWaveDave, the Duke, and Barry as 2007 additions to the crew]).  It was to be the first 100-miler for Frank and for me.  However, Frank had a conflict arise the night before the ride, so ... we didn't ride. 

I went on to do the ride on Sep-29-2007, solo.  Without a cue sheet, of course [edit:  for those that may be interested, I did almost get confused about the route between Stovall and Antioch Rd.  I've always found that getting lost, or thinking you are lost, turns out to be a REALLY good way to learn and remember how roads interconnect]. 

At the time, the climb up Brogden Rd to Stem still daunted me, so I made a "smart" decision, and turned onto Tump Wilkins Rd -- which I had never checked out, but which I was confident was a "short-cut" given that I had decided to take Belltown Rd north out of Stem to stay in a "tree tunnel" and out the NW wind that I would have been exposed to on Culbreth Rd from Stem.  My "smart" decision wasn't:  Tump Wilkins was not a short-cut - it probably added about 1/2 a mile to the course; Tump Wilkins was NOT less hill climbing than Brogden Rd, because whereas Brogden is one continuous climb, Tump Wilkins is down-and-up, down-and-up, etc., with at least three separate climbs and each giving away all or most of the elevation gained. 

Btw, that was the first and last time I ever rode Tump Wilkins.  I'm not afraid of the road, but there really is no point to riding the road because it bypasses Stem, and someone might want to acquire additional fluids in Stem on the Border Raid or any other ride we do that passes that way. 

The cue sheet is almost unchanged from that original ride, although I may have improved some of the original distance estimates for various sections.  The cue sheet also indicates a turn off Cannady Mill Rd onto Philo White Rd, which I no longer do when doing this ride.  (Originally, I was daunted by the long, gradual upslope on Cannady Mill after passing Philo White, and also the long, gradual upslope on NC-96 -- that terrain no longer intimidates me.)  The cue sheet also shows a finish staying on New Light to Six Forks to Pleasant Union Ch Rd.  Three years ago, I was still somewhat daunted by Ghoston and somewhat afraid of Peed Rd -- I no longer have those silly concerns.  Also, since 2007, I had occasion to be riding New Light / Six Forks when very, very tired and worried about falling over in front of the traffic on NL / 6F -- and I found that although Ghoston, Peed, MVC is tougher than NL / 6F, there is a lot less traffic, and I can get up those three hills even if very, very tired.

The Ride:

We pushed off several minutes late (someone was still lubing his chain at approx 6:05 and another did not arrive until 6:07).  However, everyone had all the essentials, and we pushed off into the fog at 6:09.  The only thing I remember about the ride between PUE and Creedmoor is that we were moving quite fast on Old Weaver Trail -- I was glad when we turned onto Whitt Rd and rollers on Whitt and Dove slowed the pace somewhat.  I can never work out why most everyone rides through downtown Creedmoor so slowly -- the road is mostly flat; it is easy to ride 18 or 19 mph; the speed limit is 20 mph; but we always seem to ride thru at about 14 mph; eh?  As we neared the turn onto Lake, it seemed to me that at least a couple people were glancing back as if uncertain of the turn -- maybe they were looking back to check the traffic.  Anyway, we made the turn onto Lake, and then zipped up to make the turn onto Stem Rd which becomes Brogden Rd. 

Various people were chatting with various other people.  I recall NOTHING from the turn off NC-56 until crossing over I-85.  Maybe I've done that stretch of road too many times for any destinct memories to remain.  I do recall chating with BigWaveDave, and that my Cateye was messing up (failing to properly record speed consistently).  I knew the problem with the Cateye -- condensation from the fog getting on the contacts -- I've had the "problem" before.  The condensation accumulated enough so that just as we crested the climb at the edge of Stem, my speed went to "0.0", and remained there until quite a few miles later.  The thing that dried out the Cateye was the increased breeze penetrating to the contacts.  Sherlock Holmes confirmed that for me.

The good thing(s) about the Cateye messing up:  I had to ride totally by feel, and I had no idea what the average pace of the ride was.  (Information below the break is based on ... "swag" -- not actually, but that is shorter to type.)

Tried to get a group photo at the border; had to settle for the above.

Left to right:  LT, Tito, Smitty, Gary.

This photo seems to be mostly free advertising for Gary.

The fog lasted at least until we reached the Virginia border, and for several miles beyond.  By the time we reached Stovall about an hour later, though, the fog had dissipated and we were in bake and broil mode for the rest of the ride.  But luckily, it is only 42 flat miles from Stovall back to PUE. 

A few weeks ago, we learned that the "Pizza in Stovall" is not ready until 10:30 -- if you want pizza, don't arrive before 10:30.  I think the lead riders got into Stovall about 10:35.  On this ride, we learned that if you want a sub-sandwich, don't arrive until 11:00, because that is when the help that makes the sandwiches gets to work.  A couple of us managed to talk the clerk into making us 6-inch turkey breast subs before 11:00.  Some of the early arrivals were jealous of our non-pizza foodstuffs.

The indoor plumbing at the gas station / store at US-158 and Antioch Rd was non-functional due to a water problem.  There was an outside "construction-like" mobile facility.  Sad?  I dunno' -- I've never had occasion to use the indoor facilities there.  The had plenty of chilled gallons of water -- and that was appreciated.  I only filled one of my large bottles and my small bottle -- I wish I had taken on more water, but that would have required additional purchase.

Some of us need a mile or two or three (or more ?) to get re-warmed up after a Refueling or Lunch Stop.  Lee, on the other hand, needs only one turn of his cranks, and then he is go-go-go.  This was confirmed to me by Tito.  Luckily, Lt. Dave went up and took over the lead from Lee, slowing the pace slightly until more of us were in go-go mode.  (That was after the US-158 / Antioch stop.)

Before the US-158 / Antioch stop, Robert got his first ever experience leading the line -- he immediately started dropping everyone except Smitty.  Gary went up to ride alongside Robert and coach him; by the time Gary made it up to Robert, even Smitty had decided to drop Robert off his front.  I think Robert got a good lesson -- he dropped his pace a bit and the group reassembled on his wheel, anyway.

Although I did not suffer to climb back up from the Tar River bridge, everyone dropped me like an anchor.  Luckily, the lead 8-pack slowed slightly on the slight upslope to NC-96, and I caught back up before the highway. 

I don't recall much the rest of the way to Grissom, except that we stopped in Wilton so that some of us could check our water levels, and ... we were in Wilton for a longish time ... I don't recall why.  Lucky there is that huge shade tree.

After Wilton, I managed to get second wheel, behind Lee, across to Horseshoe Rd.  Once on Horseshoe, I have no recollections.  I know I was slow on the steep part of Lawrence Rd, but actually faster than I often am.  I recall none of the mile-long slight upslope to Grissom.  I recall nothing about anyone else ... probably because they all dropped me on the steep part of Lawrence Rd..

Everyone else arrived at Grissom before me (I do recall that).  Those already there included the following:

I parked my bike and went into the store looking for something in addition to water that might catch my eye.  I saw the A&W Root Beer.  I decided I was having "second lunch" consisting of that Root Beer -- regardless of what anyone else decided to do.  Everyone else except Gary and Wendy decided to leave immediately for PUE.  I enjoyed my Root Beer, then purchased another gallon of water.  Gary, Wendy and I filled all our water bottles, and drank some nice, cold water, and refilled bottles again -- leaving much less than a quart of water for any "knowing" cyclist that might happen upon the scene in the next half-hour.  Then we rode for PUE -- at a pace between leisurely and hammerly.  [Edit:  I later heard that the lead six eventually split into three hammers and three people trying to enjoy the ride.  I think I'm glad I took the time to enjoy that Root Beer.]

Wendy was celebrating her birthday by doing the ride, and had thought about riding all the way home (an extra 10 miles) without stopping at PUE, but decided that it was getting hot (she found a thermometer afixed to or near the school that showed 93 degrees F), and why risk the ruin of a good ride for a few extra miles.
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First time I did this course, slight variation, in 2007, I was solo, rode 109.0 miles and avg'd 15.5 mph in motion, and took 8 hours, 1 minute of elapsed clock time.

Second time I did this course, slight variation, in 2008, there were six of us, and rode 108.2 miles and I avg'd 16.0 mph, and it took 8 hours, 30 minutes of elapsed clock time.  (The longer elapse time was due to a long "male-bonding" / B.S. session in the gazebo in Stovall.)

This, the third time, there were twelve of us at the start, but three turned back as planned at Culbreth after approx. 26 miles, so there were nine of us for the whole ride.  Based on a "veloroute" check of the actual course ridden, I rode 106.9 miles, I'm guestimating a moving average of 15.4 mph, and it took 8 hours, 50 minutes of elapsed clock time.

The rides keep getting shorter, but they take longer. 

I'm also having trouble understanding how / where we were slow enough for long enough to bring the avg pace down so far below 16 mph.  Oh, well, it isn't supposed to matter.  Just enjoying the sights and the people are what is supposed to count.
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I got a message from Lee that from his house to his house, he rode 111.4 miles at an avg 16.4 mph.

IvaHawk sent a fuzzy / foggy photo of his cycle confuser.  Photo taken after the ride.

Smitty sent a link to his Garmin data:  Smitty's Garmin data show
I find his heart rate chart particularly interesting.  A steady increase from the start to about 3 1/2 hours into the ride; then about 2 hours of a slight overall decline (gazebo in Stovall and the flat terrain from Stovall to Falls Lake ?); then the slight upward trend continues, almost as if there was no 2 hour "rest period". 

Well, Smitty, some of us were working some between Stovall and Lawrence Rd.. ;-)
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Oh, you might wonder about "Neuse, Tar, Dan".  Those are the three river drainage basins we rode in during the ride.  (I figure everyone can figure out "Solstice" on their own.)
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It seems that as the size of the crew on the rides has gotten larger, I get to talk to people less and less.  I can't recall saying anything to Aggs before or during the ride; I can't recall talking to the Duke during the ride; I can't recall talking to Smitty during the ride.  (I can't recall much from the ride, period, anyway -- except that I had a good ride and a good time.)
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Jun-19: 

PUE: Virginia Border Raid; 106.9 m.; est. 6hrs, 57min in-motion; 15.4 mph.  

Q-1 tot: 16 rides; __938.2 m.; _60 hrs, 39 min; 15.5 mph.
Apr tot: 10 rides; __717.9 m.; _45 hrs, 27 min; 15.1 mph.
May tot: 10 rides; __837.2 m.: _58 hrs, 42 min; 14.3 mph.
Jun tot: _7 rides; __492.4 m.; _31 hrs, 47 min; 15.5 mph.

YTD tot: 43 rides; 2,985.7 m.; 198 hrs, 36 min; 15.0 mph.