Charlotte is a rather schizophrenic city regarding bikers. On the one hand, this is a driver's town, and most of the road engineering is done with automobiles in mind. But in the last few years, some inroads have been made to accomodate bicycles - racks on the buses, bike lanes are beginning to appear (not that they're worth much, since they tend to collect debris and trash). Still, I find that cages for the most part try to be nice and give space to me. When they see my brake lights and turn signals working, they are even more patient and congenial.

As for the topology of the place, it's got some rolling hills that are a bit of a challenge when commuting. Winston-Salem has even bigger hills, and if i can learn to conquer them, I'm gonna be in *great* shape!