There’s a bike ride in the east, a biathlon in the west, and a survivalist 5K in between this weekend in North Carolina.
Coast
The northeast corner of North Carolina may be the best-suited part of the state for cycling: two-lane country roads meandering past forest and cotton fields with little automotive traffic to compete with. Yet how often do you find yourself riding a bike there? Not very, I’m guessing. Usually in a case like this it’s because you simply haven’t had a good excuse to explore the area. An excuse such as this Saturday’s Country Roads Bike Tour. Starting and ending in Scotland Neck, the CRBT offers routes of 20k, 50k and 100k — basically a k for every style of riding, from not-much-at-all (20k) to long greenway rides on the weekend (50K) to the hardcore recreational rider who gets in 100 miles a week (100k).read more
I am rudderless — unless I have a goal. Stick a carrot in front of me and I can usually get it done.
Case in point: earlier this year I vowed to start using my bike more for utilitarian purposes. To date, I believe I’ve gone for coffee on it twice. Appalling as that is, it became even more so when I pulled up a map of everything within a two-mile radius of my Cary house and discovered my bank, Starbucks, REI, Performance, Harris Teeter, Home Depot, the Galaxy Cinema, two malls and a Taco Bell. My basic needs, all within two miles.read more
Can it already be competitive 2-on-2 beach volleyball season? Yes it can, apparently, at least in Emerald Isle where the “2v2 Beach Volleyball Tournament – Summer Series” will be in full swing Saturday morning. Competition begins at 9, runs until noon, at the Western Ocean Regional Access. Fee is $55 per team, players must be 16 or older and pre-registration is required, by calling 252.354.6350. (You can get more details on the tournament at that number as well.)read more
Say you’re driving through the Triad, you have some time on your hands and you think, “Hmm, I wonder if there’s a state park around here where I could do some rock climbing?” Used to be you’d have to be content to keep driving, keep wondering. Now, there’s an app for that.
The N.C. Parks Department this morning unveiled its Pocket Ranger app for iPhones and Droids that answers such immediate and pressing questions of the outdoor recreationist. Using our hypothetical situation, you could simply open your Pocket Ranger app, tap on “Park Activities,” finger down to “Rock Climbing” and tap on that, and discover that — holy cow! There’s not one but two state parks nearby (Hanging Rock and Pilot Mountain) where one can rock climb.read more
No matter where you plan to be in North Carolina this weekend, you can hook up with a good bike ride.
Piedmont
Often when you move into new digs there’s so much going on you don’t have time to throw an open house. A couple months may pass before it dawns on you, “Oh, yeah … .”read more