Friday, October 1, 2010

Route #4, The WTF was I thinking route. (Cornwallis, NC-10)

27 miles, about an hour and 45 minutes



View Larger Map

So a couple of weeks ago I took this route home because I was feeling feisty when I got on my bike in the afternoon.  Needless to say, I was not feeling feisty when I collapsed into the armchair upon arrival at home. While 27 miles is not a particularly long ride, I did this at the end of my workday, after biking in 13 miles in the morning. I felt good but exhausted after the ride. The route is similar to the Mt. Sinai route, but makes a wider detour than Mt. Sinai Road.

Martin Luther King Boulevard: I described riding on MLK Boulevard towards UNC in the Route #2 post. However, this road is whole different ballgame when you're leaving town. Heading out there is almost as much bike lane as there is going into town, so that is nice.  In contrast to the fast ride toward UNC, leaving town is almost all uphill. The route starts with a steep grade that tires you out for the shallow uphill grade all the way to the edge of town.

Eubanks Road:  I wrote about the horrors of Eubanks Road in Route #3. Fortunately, when you head out farther on Eubanks, you'll find all of those horrors are in the first mile, with the exception of the landfill traffic. Past the bus terminal, UPS depot and construction the roads are in better shape and 70% of the large vehicular traffic has turned off the road. Beyond the railroad tracks Eubanks Road is more like a country highway than an industrial intersection.

Old 86:  This road was a pleasant road to ride on. The shoulders were not very wide, but traffic was low and there were not many blind curves to deal with.  There also were very few crossroads which are often problem areas for cyclists and cars.

New Hope Church Road:  A nice wide country road with minimal traffic, and was relatively flat.

Old State Highway 10:  This is not really a bike friendly road.  There are wide shoulders, but there is a 55mph speed limit meaning traffic moves at about 65mph. I prefer to stay off of roads like this when I bike. I intended to get off highway 10 earlier than I did, but Cornwallis was not clearly marked on 10.

The Penis in the Pasture
Route 751: Instead of taking Cornwallis which I missed because of poor signage, I ended up going down Route 751.  At this end 751 is a nice road for riding, unlike the section of 751 called Hope Valley Road. The shoulders had ample room, and there was little traffic to speak of.

Kerley Road
Kerley Road:  I like Kerley Road a lot. It is low on traffic and high on scenery.  Surrounded by rolling farms and thick wooded areas it makes for a pleasant destressing roll. And as you approach Erwin Road you will see the strangest sight, the Durham Tower apparently plopped down in the middle of the woods. The Durham Tower, or as it is known locally, The Penis in the Pasture, already looks out of place from 15-501, but from this angle it looks absolutely ridiculous.

From Kerley I cross Erwin onto Randolph Road for less than a mile onto Pickett Road, which you can read about in Route #1.

Happy Riding!

No comments: