Tag: Durham

Trail angels in the Triangle

Pickles are a thing on North Carolina bike rides. Really.

More kindness in North Carolina:

The “stuff lady” — Stephanie Loyka of GoTriangle (sorry, I had mistakenly credited Triangle Bikeworks previously) — came with a bag of front, back and spoke lights. We got to pick one. I’m trying out the spoke light. Thank you!

goodies for riders

Two local rest stops. Who knew that pickles are a thing on bike rides? Apparently they (or at least the pickle juice) is good for fighting cramps. So are a couple packets of yellow mustard. (I have yet to test this last idea, but I did try a pickle.) Mount Olive, NC, east of Fayetteville, is a big pickle area, but it looks like it might be too far east of the East Coast Greenway route we’ll be biking next year (to Fayetteville, Wilmington and along the coast).

pickles

And then these homemade cookies! I admit I can’t resist a chocolate chip cookie or three, but if there’s oatmeal in them, then they are healthy, right?

Thank you to everyone who helped with these two stops.

homemade cookies at rest stop

Seems like someone else couldn’t resist either:

rob takes the leftover cookies

Day 6 – Love those trails in the Triangle

I fell in love with the American Tobacco Trail and other trails in Durham, Cary and Raleigh.

american tobacco trail2

This was our last day — and what a glorious day it was. It was sunny and warm, I had a chance to catch up with a friend over 7 or 8 miles before he had to peel off — and then those trails!

They connected from Durham through Cary to Raleigh with almost no time on roads. They were straight, they curved, they swooped, they climbed … great variety. And they were well used, not only by cyclists.

I immediately fell in love.

Oh, if only more cities thought the same way.

Continue reading “Day 6 – Love those trails in the Triangle”

A glimpse of Durham

We made it to Durham, North Carolina.

lucky strikeCool — our hotel is right next to the Durham Bulls baseball stadium. Just too bad there’s no game.

We found another bull, though:

rob and bull

This was the time for usual last-night group dinner. With one day left in the fifth Week-a-Year ride, those that have done them all are more than halfway to Key West (that’s the 2019 goal). We also heard how the development of the American Tobacco Trail, which we will ride on Friday, was instrumental in revitalizing Durham. Tobacco is gone, but the old buildings have been converted into multi-use spaces. DPAC, the big performing arts center, is next to our hotel. And our hotel has eight u-shaped bike racks out front!

A short walk way was our barbecue place for the evening and another hopping restaurant across the street.

And we’re still a few miles from Duke, so I feel we’ve barely scratched the surface of this city. I’m curious to see more.