Introductions - Hello from Winston-Salem, NC

Well, I'm actually from King, 10 miles north of Winston, but typically, nobody knows about the metropolis of King.

Anyways, I'm Dwayne Hunter and fairly new to cycling. What started out as a way to hang out with friends (who had also developed the oversized gas tanks for their love machines) has turned into a passion. I originally thought, "I'll get a mountain bike and get in shape...do it about twice a week"...

That turned into "it's not raining...I got gas in the truck...let's go find a trail"

That turned into "it's been raining...but the roads dry...let me get a road bike and try that"

And all this has culminated into "it's dry, so I can sling some dirt" OR "it's a bit wet, so let's go wear out the asphalt"

I've got TWO main bikes and three or four (depending on what constitutes an actual bike) in build-up/parts/etc. My mountain bike is an 02' Schwinn Mesa DSX. Before you go screaming "WALMART"...it's not...got it from Paul's Schwinn and it's turned into a really cool ride. It fits ME great, better than some of the others I've rode (Specialized, Trek, etc.) but there again, I haven't rode many others. I've tore it down, painted it, and rebuilt it twice...each time adding/replacing/modifying components to produce a killer ride...

My other ride, my road ride, is even more of a bastard child. It started as "Shouse Surplus $20 dollar special". I wanted a road bike on the cheap to see if I was gonna dig the asphalt. Turns out, it's a great steel bike (an 80's somethin' Centurion Signet). I've tore it down, painted it, rebuilt it, replaced anything and everything that wasn't quite right...and $400 later...I've got a nice road bike. Granted it doesn't shift like a new one, but it's smooth in curves despite the surface. It's not the lightest, but steel's not gonna be...but MAN, it's smooth.

Anyways, I could go on and on about where, when, why we ride but this would get lonnnnngggg-winded, and I got to get back to work.

Later on,
Dwayne

I have a high regard for people that have the tinker toy approach to bikes and stuff. Sounds like you have a lot of fun. I ride as a form of transporation, come as may, in the way of fun. Sometimes, I convince myself that the quickest route to a store is cross country, so I do have my adventures, in the urban jungle.

Hi Dwayne, nice to have you on the forum! You sound as crazy as the rest of us, you'll fit in well! :)

Greetings from the other side of Winston Salem. I'm off of Kernersville Road near Linville Rd. Welcome to the forum. Maybe we can hook up and hit the roads.

Dave

Welcome and Howdy from Hickory, NC. glad to have you aboard! Liz

I live in Charlotte, but when I go visit my in-laws in Winston-Salem, I take my bike and ride. There a bike route there which includes part of Country Club near Jonestown Road; anyone know of a link to a map of that route? First time I tried to ride it, I wound up lost and going a couple of miles too far... considering that was the first time I've ever done 12 miles in one set, that's saying something!

You might try visiting Paceline Bicycles website or Ken's Bike Shop's website. There are links to each of them that has detailed explanations of the bike routes in and around W-S. Some are short, some are long, but from what I've read, most of them are interesting. I've only rode a few of the routes as I live in King, 15 miles north, and haven't expanded into riding much more than 30-40 miles round trip, but I hope to do some drop-in rides this winter.

Also, there are group rides at Paceline every Thursday. They're rather fast and competitive, so I've heard. The locals can be hostile, as they get agitated with the large groups (that block traffic and are pretty unfriendly at times). I haven't rode with them, so what I'm tellin' is just from observations of the reactions I got when I rode with other groups in the same area. I have passed the group going the opposite way when I rode on Thursday, and few will wave, much less worry about keeping the pack together.

Anyways, there's also some great singletrack up here, too, if you ride mountain bikes, too.

If I can be of anymore help, let me know by e-mail or this forum. I'll give you the best answer I can.

hello, welcome, I live in charlotte area too

Hello from just north of Charlotte here. Roadie here, welcome to the forums.