Just a follow-up from my earlier post about Biking from Greensboro to Raleigh with an Amtrak Twist post. Here is the text of the article I wrote for the Greensboro News and Record. Enjoy!
-JP
“So it’s Monday night, and we’re planning on to catch the train to Greensboro Friday at the crack of dawn. I’ve got a front brake installed, a 56-year-old hub I’ve never used, parts still to come in, and Jess’s bike needs a tuneup. Sounds like a typical trip for us.”
With my usual attention to detail and planning, my wife Jessica and I caught the train from Raleigh to Greensboro on the Fourth of July. We then rode our bikes back to the State Capital over the next few days. Here’s how everything turned out.
Preparation
To keep our costs down, Jess and I used the bikes and gear we already owned. Her’s is a mid-90’s GT Tequesta (All Terra!) mountain bike with a rigid fork, hybrid tires, and a rear rack. My bike was cobbled up from random parts just before we left. A friend-of-a-friend found the early-seventies Raleigh road bike behind a dumpster and gave me the the frame. I had a 1952 Sturmey Archer 3-speed hub laced to a new rim, and then raided several used-parts bins to finish things off. Four coats of flat black paint, some red, white, and blue handlebar tape, and it was ready enough to go.
The Ride
We adapted our route from one found at www.Bikely.com (http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Greensboto-Amtrak-to-Raleigh-Amtrak), making a few changes based on visiting friends and family. All told, we rode just over 100 miles of to get back to our doorstep. This wasn’t intended to full-bore, high speed tour by any stretch, as there is plenty of ice cream to be eaten. A properly motivated rider could make this trip in a day, but then again, they’d miss out on the ice cream, festivals, and parades along the way. “More Lance Potato Chips, Less Lance Armstrong” was my motto.
We rode our bikes down to the Amtrak station on Friday, July 4, and boarded The Piedmont. This particular route has bike racks in the cargo car, so all we had to do is hand them our bikes instead of boxing them up. Couldn’t be easier, and our tickets and bike handing charges were just $18 each. With gas north of $4 dollars a gallon, that’s a steal.
From my journal:
“Pulling into the Greensboro station now. I’m attaching maps and route sheets to the handlebars with the zip-tied binder clips. Lo-fi, but effective. We’ll go about 15 miles today to my folk’s farm in Climax, then head out tomorrow morning. We plan to bike about 38 miles to our friend’s home near Pittsboro tomorrow, then ride about 46 miles to the State Capital and then home on Sunday. The weather’s looking iffy right now, so we may be dodging afternoon storms everyday. We’ll see how that pans out…”
We spent the Fourth with my parents, eating too much and catching a great parade in the nearby metropolis of Millboro, NC. My uncle’s 1950 Ford led a group of old cars, tractors, 4-wheelers, motorcycles, and firetrucks. Some guy drove a golf cart with a generator and window air-conditioner in the back. Some call it crazy, I call it Brilliance in Motion. I’ve found that the key to scoring lots of candy at parades is to stand near toddlers whenever possible.
Saturday morning, we set off for Pittsboro under gloomy skies and a bad weather forecast. Along the way, we visited friends, then rode into Liberty, NC, and caught their Independence Weekend Festival in full swing. Had a great time prowling around the booths before heading off. Hot dogs, cookies, and soda – the Lunch of Champions.
We reached our friend’s place near Pittsboro that afternoon. Thunder and lightning boomed in the distance, but got in before the storm hit. They were out of town for the weekend, so we entertained ourselves with a couple of movies, steaks on the grill, and hot showers. Not a bad way to end the day.
Sunday morning we were off about 8am, not trying to press our luck with the weather. Eight miles into the ride, we stopped for breakfast at a fantastic little place in Pittsboro called the General Store Cafe. The Cafe started out in 1979, and several owners and moves later it now resides in an old Chevrolet dealership right off town’s center. Great food, great atmosphere, and great folks. We’ll be going back for seconds soon.
Along the way we passed through many towns- some thriving, some just blips on the map. Greensboro, Pleasant Garden, Climax, Red Cross, Liberty, Crutchfield Crossroads, Pittsboro, Griffins Crossroads, Wilsonville, Green Level, Upchurch, Cary, and Raleigh . There’s scads of history throughout this area and it was neat to see things in slow-motion rather then whizzing by from a car. I think the best way to get a feel for an area is to hike, paddle, or bike through and talk to folks along the way whenever possible. I’ll go anywhere a 1,000 miles away. Just give me a couple of months to get there.
On Sunday, we rode by the NC State Fairgrounds and historic Dorton Arena, several old churches, the State Capital, and of course, Sadlack’s Heroes, located right across from the NC State University Bell Tower. Ask for the AppleJack Sandwich, and tell Wolf and Chris I sent you. You won’t be disappointed.
Costs
2 Train tickets, one way: $26 total
Bike surcharge: $10 total
Snacks and meals: about $75
Lodging: $0
Seeing Central NC from a bike: Priceless
What I Learned
1. Slow and steady is the only way to travel. I’ve driven this route at least 25 times before and noticed things I’d never seen before.
2. Sprawl is eating up the countryside at an enormous rate. Go out and enjoy the open space while it’s still around.
3. I’m ridiculously in love with my home state. I’ve never gotten bored wandering around it’s nooks and crannies.
4. You can bike 9 miles or 900, given enough ice cream breaks along the way.
5. We both loved taking the train. I can’t say enough good things about being able to load the bikes onto the train’s bike rack without having to pack them up. This is an ideal way to travel and visit towns in NC for a little weekend get-away.
There’s no way I could have pulled this off without the help of Donald Wooley, Scott Dempsey at REI, and the folks at All-Star Bikes in Raleigh. Honestly, my bike rides like a dream and is exactly what I need in an around-town and light touring bike. Both bikes worked fine, although Jess’s bike could stand a new chain and drivetrain tuneup. I probably should put my rear brake on sometime soon too.
Resources
http://www.thegeneralstorecafe.com
http://www.myspace.com/sadlacksheroes
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