Folks the Honor the Warriors Ride 2011 is over and on the books as one of the best rides I have ever had.  Although the preparation began in June the most intense part really came in the last month.  On the night before the ride I met with the Warrior Ride participants and had dinner and got to know each of them and a bit of their history.  They are, without a doubt some of the bravest, most positive group I have ever had the privilege to meet.  Four of these warriors would be riding with us in the morning and they would be joined by some of their family members.

The day began as a beautiful fall day and just climbed upward from there.  I had a load of stuff to make happen and with the support and help of friends it all went even better than we had hoped.

I determined early on this year that I would ride this year so I planned to jump into the 34 mile route with our warriors.  R Cantwell would brief the 15 mile crowd and ride along with them so all was going well.

I am familiar with the route and ride it often so I knew where I wanted to get video so I took my trusty FlipHD and off I rode.  The pace was slow so I had plenty of time to chat and get to know everyone and I really have to say once again these guys are some of the finest I have ever met.  They each have their own challenges but seem to take them on with not a sign of complaining, or weakening in their determination to be a positive force in life.  They were a blast to hang out with and I am looking forward to riding with them again.

We will soon be planning with the Warrior Ride folks for the upcoming year and I hope we can connect for more great rides.  Here is the finished video, hope you like it!!

Down the road aways.

Reflecting pond on the 34 mile route

It is time for the 2nd annual Honor the Warriors Bicycle Ride.  This is a fantastic ride through the rolling hills of NC.  We drew 82 riders last year and hope for more this time.  The ride is set for the Saturday before Veteran’s Day to celebrate the sacrifice of veterans of all the military services.  We will begin with a sunrise concert from the youth choir of Hickory Grove Methodist Church culminating with presentation of the colors and opening remarks.

Midland NC.

Old homestead along 66 mile route

Our ride has 3 routes of varying distances, 66 miles, 34 miles and 15 miles.  The terrain is rolling hills with several long flat areas and just a couple short climbs on the 66 mile route.  All in all it is a gentle ride that would be good for any experience level of rider.

Couch in the tree landmark

The ride will be followed by a great BBQ catered by Hooters and a chance to swap stories/tall tales with veterans and supporters of the Military Family LifeStyle Charitable Foundation.

The ride requires a 45$ donation that can be made at www.mflcf.org All profits from the ride will go to the USO of NC and the MFLCF.

Fall foliage

Each rider will receive a goodie bag, a water bottle and a sports shirt with the Honor the Warriors Bicycle Ride logo emblazoned across the left breast, an American flag on the left sleeve and the MFLCF logo on the right sleeve.  These are top quality shirts that can be worn anywhere.

Down the hill

Following are links that will allow you to view the routes via “Ride with GPS”.  You may also download the routes directly to your GPS so that you are prepared ahead of time.  The maps are excellent and “Ride with GPS” has some very cool features that are easy to use and best of all, free.  A word on the downloadable cue sheets…  they are wrong.  There are places where they say “turn right” and you should be turning left.  There is at least one turn that is not correct and it is physically unmarked so you will get lost if you follow them.  I have corrected cue sheets for the day of the ride so you can pick them up then or e-mail me at;  morrisj@mflcf.org and I can mail them out to you.

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/135308 15 mile route

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/194007 34 mile route

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/151542 66 mile route

Cades Cove Loop

I am a bit late on this post but here it is anyway.  During my TN trip this summer I asked around and found that I was really pretty close to a place I had heard about but never visited.  I decided I would make the 45 min drive out to the National Park and ride Cades Cove Loop.

What a fateful decision that turned out to be.  I had a direct route from my

U Man Bike Shop

daughter’s house to Townsend, TN and from there it was just a quick trip up the road to the loop.  But wait, there is more……  in Townsend I ran into a shop that rents recumbent trikes.  It is owned by Bill a regular on RRI (Recumbent Riders International), and although he was not around his lovely wife Kiela was.  This was not just a shop but Bill manufactures Edge Recumbents.  They are really

U Man, KMX rental stable

great modifications on the old Burley line and really are a good deal.  Quality manufacturing and a great product.  They rent trikes to be used in and around Townsend and their 11+ miles of trails.  Looks like a great idea to me and I wish them luck.

Traffic anyone??

After a quick chat I headed out and the park was fantastic.  Kiela had warned me that traffic would be bad on the loop but I was going anyway, traffic be damned.  She was correct, the traffic was very often bumper to my front tire, especially when one of the local inhabitants dropped by for a bit of lunch.  There were quite a few deer and they were not hesitant about munching away very near the road.  The “Loop” is a newish one way blacktop road that snakes around a rather large bowl scraped out

Around the corner there was a deer 10 feet from the road just looking around and enjoying this view.

of the Smokey Mountain Range by some geologic forces that are fully explained by the rangers but I was more interested in riding than listening.  There are some hills and some flats, some wooded and some open but it is all beautiful.  Pics were taken ohhs and ahhs were exchanged and traffic ground to a halt quite often.  It was still a great 11 mile ride and I will make a point of coming back when I can ride either a Wednesday or Saturday morning when the road is closed to motor traffic from 0800-1000.  I am looking forward to it.  I will post a few pics so you can also enjoy the beauty of this lovely ride.

Sunlight through the trees.

Time to slow down??

Water Tower in Lenoir City, TN

Taking a break from NC and the heat and visiting family in the TN heat. Of course a bike came with me despite the daunting prospect of pulling my fat butt up and over these hills in SE TN. I brought the Tango because I am trying to put more miles on it to decide if I want to convert it to a highracer and an open cockpit. If I do I will post the progress on this site with pics and results of the changes.
Back to the rides and although brief, I have been able to keep an 11+mph avg on the big terrain. I think I really helped my technique on these hills just because I have to spin as opposed to the mashing I can do when tired.

Grandbaby Keely Jane on her bike ride with "Bagdi"

Met with Jon D from Recumbent Riders International and had a great little ride along the greenway.  There is a ton of construction going on but it is still a great ride.  The old World Fair site was very nice and hopefully when the greenways are all cleared up I can ride it again this fall.

Knoxvill, TN World Fair Site.

Jerry

Some of you have followed our rides this summer and may remember the happy 5 who made the Camp Lejeune to Ft Bragg ride.  It was a hot, sweaty, long ride that I will never forget.  Some things we never forget because they were really bad but this ride will go into the things I will never forget because of the people who were with me.  It was the first long ride for my son and I together so that made it special.  I also met a Ft Bragg soldier who has turned out to be a great friend and this weekend has earned the title, “the man”. 

Mike Davila on the WWR 2010

     Although Mike and I were on different rides this last weekend his accomplishment in meeting his personal goal of a sub 5 hr 100 miles was not something I could miss posting here.  His ride report detailed the work and effort he put into the ride and once I get a copy of it I will post a link here for all to read.  Mike, you are “the man”  Hope to see you again soon.

Did you ever just have one of those days where all the signs were pointing you towards one direction but you went the other?  I just did.  I had decided I would end my July with a metric century ride over in Fayetteville.  Really flat and a new group of people so It had the potential to be great.  Even better when my son decided to join me for the fun. 

The Plan:  Meet in Dunn at my son’s Friday and get a bit of sleep.  Rise early and drive the 45 min to the ride.  Ride the ride and return to Dunn for an afternoon with family.

Sounded really easy and a load of fun.

Eli is awake!!!!!

Reality:  Got a late start from Charlotte so did not make it to Dunn until about 9pm.  Grandson was wide (did I say wide) awake and although it was a pleasure to see him It was looking like a long nite for mom and dad.  After a bit of discussion I realized that although I had brought along Ian’s cycling shoe (from another story), I had failed to realize the extra helmet on the bench was his also and it had been left in Charlotte.  Well nothing a quick trip to wallyworld couldn’t fix on the way in the am.  Ian also wanted to use his favorite platform pedals from his Kona so threw them in the truck to be put on tomorrow.

Awoke at 5:30 (on a Saturday) and confirmed that indeed there was little sleep on the dad front.  He looked like death warmed over but we headed out anyway.  Stopped at the mart and should have known but there was not a helmet to comfortably fit the bucket he calls a head (gets it from his dad).  Got the closest thing and headed down the road.  Got to the ride site with 15 minutes to spare and right away realized we needed a pump and only had one bottle for each bike for fluids…. that’s ok there is a sag vehicle right.  Ran into a friend from the Wounded Warrior Ride and he had a shiny new pump to loan so that was solved.  Got both of us registered and unloaded the bikes.  Changed the pedals on the Rans and as I was tightening the L side the organizer called everyone together for the briefing. 

Thorough brief and 5 minutes later and we were back at the bikes and as we were getting ready realized that the ride was on and we were the only ones left in the lot.  Got to the road and even the sag was out of sight.

Cranked the speed up to around 21 or so and cruised.  At the 4.8 mile point we were in sight of the tail end and just as I was wondering if I had ever finished tightening the pedal this huge Kona platform gave way and flipped end over end over Ian and right across my face and off into the cotton field.  Scared the crap out of me but I got stopped without falling off and began the search for the runaway pedal.  Finally found it and then realized we had no tools….. no need, sag right?  Hand tightened it and then with the help of an inner tube got it almost screwed in all the way.  Here is where a reasonable person would have turned around but I was way too determined to ride on such a glorious day.

Somewhere around the 12 mile point we lost markers and came to a fairly busy “T” intersection.  Could not determine which way the pack had gone so after a few minutes of debate we were decided to turn  left and head back to the lot, ride over.  Just before we pulled out “What to our wondering eyes should appear?”  3 lone riders to the right.  “Dash away, they were so we chased.”  Caught up rather quickly and as it turned out it was Mike D + 2 we did not know.  Mike was having a problem with his bike too so we decided to all just ride along together. 

6 or so mile goes by quickly when you are chatting with friends but it was about then we were rudely interrupted by what sounded like a loud hisssssssss.  “Flat” so we all pulled over and realized it was not a flat but the bolts that hold the Rans seat in place had “runn oft” and the seat was now sliding all over the place and had lodged against the rear tire with the tire happily wearing a hole in the seat material.

This was the last straw and for us the ride was over.  Luckily Mike only lived a few miles away so I rode with him to get his truck.  We picked up Ian, went back to the lot, thanked Mike repeatedly and headed back toward Dunn.  We made it back to Dunn earlier than expected so I did get some quality time with the grandson and every minute with Ian is treasured so I did enjoy myself but my last July ride was a bust.  All the signs were there, forgotten stuff, lack of sleep, last minute mechanical work, getting left by the sag wagon, I just did not pay heed to them.  Maybe next time, but probably not. …. Almost forgot, would have had picture but left the camera in the truck.  ”Ride On”

Beginning of the day, from left to right: Ian, Jerry (me), Kevin, Jeff, Mike

WE HAVE FINISHED!!!!!!!!

The dawn came on the 3rd of July 2010 and an intrepid group of 5 began the trek from Camp Lejeune, NC to Fayetteville, NC.  The ride was to take place over the 3rd and 4th of July and be a total of 110 miles.  The weather could not have been better for a July in NC.  Our support crew was ready, bikes were ready, bodies were ready and our minds were right with the world.  Off we set with the support crew of Jane and Carol following along and jumping ahead to be ready for us at the scheduled stops.

Ian at the rest stop in Warsaw, NC

5 new friends began the ride, well actually we misplaced Kevin for a few minutes but we did all get together quickly and on our way.  Getting to know each other was one of the great aspects of the ride.  We chatted about bikes, lives, and just stuff in general.  Within our group the bikes were as diverse as our individual personalities.  Mike was on his very nice Cervelo T3, Kevin on his Trek, Jeff on a borrowed Raleigh, Ian on his 29er Kona Commuter, and Me on my Rans V2.  A mixed lot if I have ever seen one but a group that had a great time getting to know each other and pedaling ourselves across the Coastal Plain of NC for a great cause.

Beginning of day 2 in Clinton, NC

Stops were planned at about 15 mile intervals with to drinks and snacks in abundance.  The only time we felt the heat was about the last 30 minutes into Clinton where we spent the night.  It seemed to be just oppressive once we got into town.  The only mechanical problem we had was a broken spoke on Ian’s 29er.  We disconnected his rear brakes and limped into Clinton the last few miles.  It was a lost cause to try to find a 29er spoke in rural NC on a Saturday evening so we decided Ian would ride my extra bike the next day.

We found the Hotel and took a well deserved rest.  We all stayed in the same hotel so later in the evening we searched for a dinner spot and against my better judgment Mike talked us into a Mexican Restaurant.  I have an internal alarm that goes off if I think about spicy food from a sketchy source when I will be spending all of the next day on a bike.  They did serve beer so it was not too bad an idea.

It did turn out to be good food so my apologies to the establishment for my thoughts and the next day was another fine day to be alive.  It was the anniversary of the greatest country in the world.  HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!  Ian was on my primary ride and I hopped on the SWB Tango and we were off for the day.  Again another ride with loads of encouragement and fun.  We decided to make a bit of an detour that Kevin assured us was a “short cut” .  It was a pleasant ride that took us past Kevin’s house and his short cut only added about 6 miles to the route.

Last rest stop before Kevin's "short cut" Autryville, NC

The ride ended at the US Army Airborne and Special Operations Museum in lovely downtown Fayetteville with all original 5 riders.  All a bit sweatier and road grimed but happy.  The group adjourned to a local pub and shared stories with the support team and the families who had joined us.  After an hour or so we said our goodbyes and all agreed it was well worth the work and we look forward to next year.

We are a happy group of riders who mostly inhabit the Mecklenberg County and Charlotte, NC area. There is a yahoo group where we communicate and this site will post rides and general stuff about the group. Comments are welcome as well as new riders. Drop an e-mail to mecklenbent.riders@yahoogroups.com and join in for a ride and some socialization.