Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Raleigh->Chapel Hill->Winston-Salem

Day 3, Raleigh->Chapel Hill, ~40 miles
Day 4, Chapel Hill->Winston-Salem, ~84 miles

Day 3 was a bit of a relief for me. Getting through Raleigh sucked but getting out was a little but easier. We hit some nice greenways... but they weren't complete. The American Tobacco Trail section we were on was only 1/2 paved. Google bicycling maps continues to prove to be untrustworthy. While day 3 was good for me, Lee struggled through it. We are predicting/hoping that we'll see a pattern of us taking turns having bad days. Day 4 was good for him while it was a struggle for me. I poked into the Mobil gas station in BFE with a fool's hope for an espresso. Neither of us slept well the night before. Lee had some allergic reaction and got hives at the house we were at and I felt like fleas were in the bed I was in. A good night's rest would have helped.

This being the only blog I've ever done, I am mildly conscious of my writing. I say mildly because I don't really care about my writing style at the point. For one, I am graduating at UNC Asheville this Saturday. I have done enough revisions for a while. Further, after riding what we have been riding, my mental capacities begin to diminish a bit.

Day 4 Highlights
A man dressed as Steve Martin in "3 Amigos" riding a horse to Chapel Hill holding 2 ears of corn. This was a shocking site.
Existentialism. Suffice to say... I'm damn glad my life has meaning. Lee's philosophical rants would easily upset an ungrounded individual. Kant, Rousseau, the failure of the Enlightenment, rationalism, etc...
And finally, we got lectured by a man at a gas station about how great bikes are because he had to ride a bike for 4 years after getting a DUI. Then he drove off.

Lee's Bike
The fenders continued to rub so I pulled them out further and trimmed the rear fender a bit. We should finally be past this issue.
At the start of the day, his rear brakes were rubbing so much that he decided to just disengage them altogether. He rode with just front brakes all day, no problems. He plans to go back to Biowheels and grab the other set of cheapo Shimano canti's that sorta fit his old road frame.
We were so happy when Angelou at the bike shop in Kill Devil Hills had a wheel ready when we needed it. However, we now think that Angelou must have still been half-baked from the night before. I trued his wheel early in the day and again in the afternoon. He rode the final mile or two with the wheel rubbing his chainstay. This factory built Wienmann rim laced on a shimano hub seems to have a been a waste of money. It was $80. When you're local shop suggests buying a handbuilt wheel for touring, you may want to listen to them. The entire non-drive side was so loose that I could hand-twist the nipples. I suspect that we'll have to continue truing the wheel all the way to Asheville. We may be looking for a new wheel when we arrive unless we can whip this wheel into shape on a truing stand.

We have been discussing the rest of the trip. We want to cut our 100 mile days and we are willing to skip San Fran. As long as we get to the coast, we'll be thrilled. San Fran was just an added bonus ride down the coast anyhow. We'll see.

We ended with a hearty meal at Lee's mother's.... and now sleep.

3 comments:

  1. did you get your computer fixed and what did Lee's mom make for dinner?!

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  2. The best bike shop in Hickory is downtown, next to Clark's Tires - aptly named Clark's Bicycle Shop at 220 South Center Street. They have the highest customer service ratings. The other bike shop, Rock n' Road Bikes, is located at 2435 North Center Street. Good luck with the back wheel!

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  3. I think it's probably good that you two are alternating bad days!

    And...Lee rode without brakes...living on the edge!

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