Happy Trails to You until We Meet Again!

                                              



                                                   

     End....Bike Route for 2011.  We'll be in touch when we are off on the next leg......As long as there are miles left to ride north on the East Coast Greenway, Glenn will be planning the next adventure!   Thanks so much for your support and encouragement and for humoring me by following the blog!!!!  We are so happy to be able to donate $2500 to I Care I Cure Childhood Cancer Foundation in honor of Uncle Glenn's 2011 ride!   Until next time....Happy Trails to You!

       We have had had an action packed 24+ hours since I wrote last.     Last night we stayed in Burlington, NC just 2 ½ hours from the point at which Glenn completed his ride.   He relaxed and recuperated a bit before we ventured out to Greensboro, NC to meet an old HS friend of mine, John Stein.  We had a wonderful evening and a delicious dinner at the O’Henry Hotel.  Always great to catch up with childhood friends!

Glenn, Lynn and John Stein in Greensboro, NC

        Today we spent time with our nephew, Sean, a sophomore at Elon University.  What a great campus!  It was fun to see Sean in a college setting.  He seems to love it there and was very proud to show us around.  Of course, lunch was part of the visit and we enjoyed a little place called The Root right near campus. 

Sean Beaty and Uncle Glenn

Fall color on the Elon Campus

Sean and Aunt Lynn

         Our last stop on this trip is a visit with Laurie and Jim, my sister and brother-in-law in Huntersville, NC, just north of Charlotte.  We have been sharing the story of the ride this evening and enjoying their hospitality!   Sure beats the hotels on the road.....we were in so many different ones that finding my way to the bathroom in the dark became increasingly confusing as the week progressed!  

Jim Beaty, Laurie Beaty, Lynn and Glenn out for a nice dinner 

       I have one last stat for this blog....the total number of miles that Glenn has pedaled since leaving Key West, FL in November 2009 is 1355!   Of course, that doesn't include the many, many miles that he rides in Atlanta to train for these East Coast Greenway treks!   Tomorrow, Glenn will head home and back to work on Monday….another adventure ending and real life kicking back in!    As for me, I am heading north to Maryland  tomorrow AM to enjoy lots of Halloween festivities with Benji, 5 ½ and Evan, 2 ¾!   The adventure continues for me for a few more days!  

    

All's Well That Ends Well!

      

       Ride 2011 is in the books!   The cows were right.  It started to rain shortly after Glenn took the picture in my earlier post.  A combination of the cool temps, the rain and fatigue after 6 days on the bike helped Glenn to decide to stop riding when I caught up with him.  The 2011 ride ended in Dewitt, VA on Rte 1 which is appropriate because he started the trek in 2009 in Key West on Rte 1……many miles since that day.  This week’s travels exceeded Glenn's expectations despite the fact that he was about 20 miles short of his plan today of reaching Petersburg, VA.    Having reached the VA/NC border yesterday fulfilled the goal for this trip…today was just some whipped cream on top of the sundae!

Gray and dreary as I set out to find Glenn.

Here comes the rain!

Almost to Petersburg.....next year!

      I suppose Glenn has to come up with topics to think about for those long hours of pedaling.  Today he passed through Brunswick County, VA, where they claim to have originated Brunswick Stew.   Glenn was so sure that Brunswick, GA, also makes that claim that he googled this topic when he got in the car and found that, in fact, there is a controversy about just this thing!   In fact, the stew may have come from Germany…so both Brunswicks might have lost this battle!

      Today Glenn pedaled 46.22 miles in 3 hours and 31 minutes and climbed 2014 feet to complete the 2011 ride!   I added up the number of hours that Glenn rode this week and the total was around 33 1/2 hours.....more than his 32 hour work week!   He also exceeded the medical guidelines for doing 1 hour of exercise per day!  


      The grand total of miles in six days is 507.01.  With my pledge of $5.00 per mile, this brings my donation in honor of Glenn's ride to $2535.05.....enough to become Silver Sponsors for the I Care I Cure....I Run 5 K in Florida on February 12!   

     We’ll add one more wrap up post tomorrow before signing off.    Before we even began this trip, a discussion came up about when we would do the next leg.   I wasn’t ready to hear about the next trip until this one was completed but now we are excited about a new adventure!  Glenn hopes to begin in VA where he left off today and to ride to Ellicott City, MD, where Jill, Shahak, Benji and Evan live arriving in time for Benji’s 6^th birthday in May!   He seems to think that will be very close to the half way point on the East Coast Greenway!

Look who I found on the side of the road in Dewitt,VA!

Packing it in for the 2011 ride!

Soup to warm his bones!   One last night in some hotel, somewhere in NC!

Dreary Day 6.....Can Glenn Beat the Rain to Petersburg?

 I just received exciting news!   A link to this blog has just been posted on the I Care I Cure website.  See the link for that site on the left side of this page.   Look for Uncle Glenn's Ride!   We are so pleased and proud to be included on the Foundation website!   Every mile pedaled and driven is for Ian!

      What a difference a day can make!  Yesterday Glenn rode off in shorts, no jacket and wearing his sunglasses looking forward to the 78 degree temp expected.   Today he changed his lenses in his glasses - no sun today. He also donned his rain gear, leggings and winter gloves!    He is hoping to ride on Rte. 1 which parallels Rte. 85 to shorten his ride today....the East Coast Greenway route is winding and adds many miles.  When Glenn reaches Petersburg, we'll hop in the car and head south for the night.....hoping to avoid any confrontation with snow!!!!  Check in tonight for the day's details!

Notice that the dark tinted lenses have been replaced.  No sun today!

Rain jacket, leggings and warmer gloves!

And he is off on a dreary Day 6 ride to Petersburg, VA

Glenn just emailed me this photo from the road!
Looks like rain in the forecast...most of the cows are lying down!

Another Day....Another Century!

         The "Machine" powers on!   Today Glenn logged 101.9 miles in 6 hours and 31 minutes while climbing 4107 feet!   He rode into the hotel in South Hill, VA with the help of his GPS at 4:40 this afternoon, relieved to be done and happy to have made it to Virginia!   He is very proud to have completed 3 centuries in a row, a new record for him.   Not bad for an old guy!  

          Maybe what made yesterday so good was the pine smell from the abundance of pine trees in that part of NC which reminded him of his youth in the Pine Barrens of NJ!  There weren't as many on today's route.   Today he may have seen his last cotton fields and he enjoyed the rolling hills and farmland more than the towns that he rode through.  He didn't notice any historical markers today so that must have sped up the trip a bit!  He can't resist stopping to read them!   Since I didn't follow Glenn's route today, he was the designated photographer!

The peak of fall colors hasn't arrived here yet but this scene attracted Glenn's attention because of the vivid colors and the water in the background!  His phone takes a pretty good picture!

Glenn and I entered VA at different points but we both felt welcomed and

relieved to have made it to State #5!

This is the John H. Kerr Dam and Reservoir in Boydton, VA.

This 50,000 acre Reservoir with 50,000 acres of land surrounding it is

operated by the US Corp of Army Engineers and is very impressive.

         Our choices for dinner tonight were limited but we almost HAD to go to the Glass House Grill simply because it is on CYCLE LANE!   We opted for Applebee's but passed Cycle Lane on the way to dinner!  At Applebees's the waitress asked what brought us to town and we told her about Glenn biking from Charleston.  She wasn't impressed until we told her he was on a bicycle and not a motorcycle!   She wished us well in a note on the check!

       We were so fortunate to have had the most wonderful weather possible this week.  I know that many of you have had rain and chilly weather this week and it is going to be catching up with us too!  It seems that it will be 47 in the AM tomorrow but instead of enjoying temps in the upper 70's by midday, the high will only be around 52 by the time Glenn gets to Petersburg, VA tomorrow afternoon and the rain will arrive in the early evening!   How lucky are we that the ride will conclude before the front moves in?!  

      Thank you to all who have been following the ride and who have called to check in on me during the day! We couldn't do this without your support!    Check in tomorrow night to see how Glenn fares on his last day of the 2011 ride!

      

Day 5 brings us to State #5 - Visiting Virginia

     Glenn took off from The American Tobacco Trail in Durham and 9 AM this morning with mild temps and bright sunshine!  He was armed with his cue sheet for the East Coast Greenway and has made it to Virginia, although he has not made it to our destination for tonight, South Hill, VA as of this post.   This part of the blog will detail my trip northward and I'll post again tonight with Glenn's update for the day!

     First, here is the answer to yesterday's Durham trivia.....Carol, you had the initials so I assume you had the answer!   Congrats!   Joe Morgan is the only Durham Bull to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame!

                                                                                 
                                                                           
      I spent some more time with our friend, Rowie Mandel, this AM and she took me to the most wonderful place.  Cedar Creek Gallery is in Creedmoor, NC just off exit 186A on Rte. 85.   If you are traveling on Rte. 85 and love pottery, glass and other gifts, it is worth the stop!    http://www.cedarcreekgallery.com/

                                                         
      I am now in South Hill, VA, exit 12A on Rte. 85!  I made it to VA!  This was to be the goal for the trip, the NC - VA border, but since we made it a day early, Glenn wants to push on tomorrow.  More about that tonight!

Even Riding 100 Miles beats Working!

Fall in North Carolina

                                                                                 

        Yes, Glenn rode another Century today.....100 miles from Fayetteville to Durham...and that's no Bull!  Three things made for a successful day's ride.  For some reason, the directions posted on the East Coast Greenway website for this section of the ride were just posted from north to south, not south to north so it was a bit challenging for Glenn to navigate.  He discovered yesterday that the chosen route was along a designated bike route in NC, route 5.  He was relieved to see that most of the day's ride was included.  But there were many intersections that were not clearly marked so with the use of his bike GPS and Google Maps he was usually able to figure it out.  When this failed, he did something that he usually refuses to do - stopping to ask for directions.  In the town of Fuquay- Varina (can you think of any other hyphenated towns? I guess there is Winston-Salem, must be a North Carolina thing!) He got directions to the police station to get back on track.  Within 12 miles of the endpoint he found a road on the cue sheet but was perplexed that both directions were posted as dead ends.  Someone then gave him directions to the American Tobacco Trail.  This was the first time he got to be on the kind of path he thought he would be riding on often on this venture -a path free of vehicles, somewhat like the Silver Comet trail for those of you familiar with that.  You can see a picture of the trail and the sign for the East Coast Greenway that is posted today. What also made this day was the fact that he had tail winds for much of the day, a biker's friend to say the least.  He also discovered that I-95 served as a boundary from the flat topography of the southern part of the state to the rolling hills further north. It also seemed fitting that having started the day near Fayetteville he ended it by riding a path that was bounded by Fayetteville Road. He completed 100 miles in 6 hours and 31 minutes and rode in on The American Tobacco Trail into Durham, NC to complete the day.   Any guesses as to the elevation he climbed today?
     While Glenn rode I made my way to Durham via Rtes. 95 and 40.....quick and easy ride which allowed me to wander around Durham this afternoon.   My photos will tell the story!

Home of the Durham Bulls
Right across the street from the end point of Glenn's Day 4 ride!
Trivia question:
Who is the only player on Durham Bulls who made it into the Baseball Hall of Fame?
Answer will be revealed tomorrow!

I guess this is the team mascot!

This is the very first East Coast Greenway sign that Glenn has seen
in his entire ride from Key West.

KUDZU.... on the American Tobacco Trail!
For those of you who have not spent time in the south, Kudzu is the vine that has taken over the southeast.  It was brought here from Asia in 1876 and has come to be a menace to trees, crops, homes and covers over 7 million acres!  It grows at the rate of a foot a day and it is said that Southerns have to close their windows at night to keep the Kudzu out!

Some people look at the clouds and see animals or other objects.
Today I did the same thing with Kudzu-covered landscapes!

The first fall foliage I have noticed on this trip!

The American Tobacco Trail
A 22+ miles rails to trails project located in the Triangle Region of NC.
Glenn rode on 6 1/2 miles of this route today.

Still smiling after 100 miles on Day 4!

       
             We were fortunate to spend the evening with long-time friends and neighbors who live in Durham,  Rowie and Marcia Mandel.   Always fun to catch up and a great way to unwind after a long day!

        Tomorrow should bring us across the NC - Virginia Border!    Now Glenn is saying that we can go further......Tune in to see where we end up!
     

Forging Ahead on Day 4

   
     We have a winner!   My dear childhood friend, Carol Frank Brown, was the first person to respond with the correct total of miles for the first three days of riding.  Glenn has pedaled 258.89 miles in three days which makes my current donation pledge to I Care I Cure $1294.45!   That would put us at the Bronze Level of sponsorship ($1000) for the I Care I Cure.....I Run 5 K in February.   Now we'll just have to go for the Silver Level of $2500!    

      As you can see by my photos, Glenn departed this AM at 8:28 on 45 degree morning and, of course, that I enjoy listening to 60's music on XM radio!   Yesterday Glenn found a marked Bike Route which was very easy to follow....The NC State Bike Route 5.  He'll continue on that route today almost all of the way to Durham.  Once near Durham, he'll enjoy the American Tobacco Trail, a rails to trails designated bike/hike route for a few miles!    Today we'll see childhood neighbors and friends in Durham!  Looking forward to that!  Until later....Have a great day!
 

Forging ahead on Day FOUR!