B33F

Hello fellow Research Triangle riders!

With my summer coming to an end and college courses starting back up again, I was hoping to get some recommendations for longer rides in the area. I've biked all but one greenway in Raleigh and, don't get me wrong, they're great, but they also can be crowded and can be rough on my road bikes.

Long story short, I've heard rumors of a way to get to Durham from Raleigh using mostly their greenway systems and was curious if anyone knew how I might take this or consider this for a day ride (or just lengthier rides in general). The most I've guesstimated I've biked in one day was 60-70 miles, and I was hoping to take that to the next step without repeating greenway routes like I did that first time around.

Does anyone have any close to 100 mile, or 100 mile rides? How long did it take you, and where did you go? Is it easy on road bikes?

Thanks!

bigbenaugust 

If Hillsborough counts, you could check out the BikeFest 100 mile route here.

I occasionally dream of a Levi's GranFondo-sort of a ride in the area...

ColaJacket

You can also check with Cyclin' Spoken Here (Cary) or All-Star bikes in Cary, NC. I think both of them have had some type of Charity Century over the summer.

The way to get to Durham from Raleigh is probably going to include Reedy Creek Trail to Black Creek Trail to White Oak Greenway to ATT.

Of course, if you go down and back the Neuse River Trail, that's at least a metric century.

GH

skiffrun

Are you ready to get off the dangerous Multiple Use Paths and ride on the less dangerous open roads?

Have you tried looking at the North Carolina Bicycle Club (NCBC) website? It's easy to find.

Have you tried looking at RWGPS and searching for routes that begin in/near Raleigh?
Try searching for routes that start just north of the city (e.g., Creedmoor Rd / Norwood Rd corner).

Have you looked at the NC-DOT website, bicycle section, for the NC Bike Routes / US Bike Route #1 ?
Bike Route #1 goes through the middle of the Triangle, and following it either north or south from the edge of town is a good route.
Bike Route #2 is good riding going east. I've never ridden it going west, but that would be more interesting because there would be more up-and-down.

That ought to be enough ideas for you to research and try to last you several years.
However, to help you out, here is a link to some RWGPS and/or TrimbleOutdoors route links:
Irregular Velo Adventures: IR routes

bigbenaugust 

The terrain around here, with a few exceptions, is rolling to the west of Raleigh and flatter to the east. But I have not done much to the east... yet!

I rode the metric out of Hillsborough a few weeks ago with a 39x16 singlespeed (for fun!) and felt great afterward.
My Bay-Area granny ring has been sadly disused here.

tarwheel 

The NC Bike Club website used to have cue sheets for all sorts of rides in the Triangle of varying distances, with many in the 60-100+ range.

Here are some other options to consider:

- Take your bike on the Amtrak to Greensboro (or some other destination) and then ride back to Raleigh (or vise-versa).
- Ride from the Triangle to one of the state parks in the area, camp out, and then return. Options include Jordan Lake, Falls Lake, Raven Rock, Cliffs of Neuse, Medoc Mountain. If you rode to Cliffs of Neuse, you could ride out of the urban area on the Neuse River Trail and avoid the heaviest traffic.
- Ride from the Triangle down to the coast, and arrange for someone to drive you back.
- Haul your bike up to the mountains and spend a couple of days riding the New River Trail, which runs from Galax to Pulaski in SW Virginia (only about 3 hours drive from Raleigh).

ColaJacket

This site has organized rides of 103km to 600km, but it also has the cue sheets on it, too.

NCBC 2015 Brevet Series

It seems that most of the rides start in Morrisville, which is only about a mile or two from where I live.

I've been riding out to Jordan Lake from Morrisville, lately.

GH

skiffrun

^
So Cola..., why not go ahead and sign up for the Picnic 110-km ride on Sept 19?
Same for the OP.
You might like it. (The course & randonneuring.)

Use the "mindspring" email address to contact Alan.
[Looks like Alan might need to remove the reference to the other email address.]

ColaJacket

Already have plans for that weekend, and I'm not quite ready for 110km.

GH