I meant to mention before that we have 8 state troopers with our group full time on motorcycles, along with local support from town and county officers. The ride is very well organized with law enforcement right with us at every major intersection and hazardous area.
Today was an easier day. We cruised along at a faster speed than the previous two days. There were still some good hills, but less than the previous two days. Our first stop brought us to a small church in Brown Summit. The parishioners we were serving home made sausage biscuits - much better than the typical power bars, gels, and cookies. The line was long and they’re couldn’t make them fast enough. There was no charge, but their tip jars were overflowing.
The next stop was in Glencoe, another small town. Take a close look at the Museum photo. The town people here were also making sandwiches for the riders, and not peanut butter and jelly, which is typically at very stop from lunchtime to the end.
Our last stop was at an ice cream parlor. It was only seven miles from the end of the ride, so there was no hesitation to add an extra scoop of ice cream.
After finishing, we ate at Carolina Brewery which is just off the University of North Carolina campus in Chapel Hill.
The first half of the ride was pretty flat. The last half was rolling hills. We really couldn’t ask for better weather. The days start out in the low 50’s and end up right around 70 and not a cloud in the sky. So far the weather is forecast to remain the same with temperatures a little higher as we approach the coast. Tomorrow is a slightly shorter day at 68 miles. The hills are even smaller and we finish with around 10 flat miles along the Neuse River Greenway as we loop around the north of Raleigh. Tomorrow we also cross the American Tobacco Trail. Not sure what that is yet, but we’ll see.
