Hickory to Concord
CNC 2005
Mileage - 78.29
Ride Time - 5 hours 39 minutes
Average Speed - 14
Maximum Speed - 34
Accumulative Miles - 201.10
Accumulative Ride Time - 15 Hours 19 Minutes
Maximum Heart Beat - 117
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| "Murray"s Mill" |
"A Test of Endurance"
I knew today would be a tester
with the 78 mile ride and the rolling long hills that we would have. . I had a fairly good night's sleep, but was awaken several times with some
loud talking and
laughing sometime during the night. I also woke up several times during the
night between
3:00 and 6:00 A.M.
I put on my North Carolina jersey
with the black shorts. I had several positive comments on my
state jersey and one person wanted to know where to get one. I like to support
North Carolina. Even
with all the negative things that are happening, it is still a great state. It
was a good thing that I wore
the N.C. jersey today since pictures were being made on the road. The N.C.
jersey is what I
wanted to wear to have the road picture made. Just to support North Carolina.
It was turning out to be a
beautiful day for cycling. The weather was nice and it was sunny
as soon as the fog burned off. The group rolled out of Hickory toward Conover and we
were to stop at
Murray's Mill at the first rest stop. It was great riding as we hit US/70
Conover Blvd. Onward to
NC 10 and onto Murray's Mill Road and toward our first rest stop, about 15 miles
out from Hickory.
By the time I got Murray's Mill
there were a lot of cyclist there. They must have started a lot earlier
than me. I had a drink, banana and apple, took a few pictures in and outside and
loaded my camera
back in my backpack and took off for the next rest stop.
Our next rest stop was at Lake
Norman State Park which was at the 30 mile marker for today. Nice scenic
ride into the park. I had a drink, banana, apple and peanut butter and jelly on
whole wheat bread.
Refreshed and ready to go. The road took us by the Catawba River and then across it.
And as you know when you cross
a creek or river, that is the low point of valley. There is only one way to go
after the low point, that is up. You
guessed it, we have a hard climbing hill coming up from the river. But I made it.
I went through the town of China
Grove and stopped to take a picture of an old restored flour mill which was in
town. Continued on toward my goal of Concord, N. C.
The Cabarrus Arena and Events
Center was a pretty site as I rolled in. It had a nice camping area and I'm sure
it was probably built within the last couple of years. Everything looked new.
Found me a nice camping site
and set up tent and belongings. Starting to loss track of time and where I am. I
think this night I took the
shuttle up to a shopping center and ate at Ruby Tuesday. Had a nice vegetarian
sandwich, wrote some in
my journal, caught the shuttle and headed back to camp for a good night's sleep.
It was good to be on the bike and experience all these places.
Pre-Pre Ride, Pre Ride, Day One, Day Two, Day Four, Day Five, Day Six, Day Seven, Post Words