We’re visiting our recently-married friends Erynn and Ryan in the Southpoint area of Durham, NC. It’s cold. How cold? Check the thermometer. I’m going to call it less than 11 degrees cold. I did only 5.76 miles today.
American Tobacco Trail
The American Tobacco Trail passes right behind their house. It’s a 22-mile rails-to-trails project. In the winter, it’s cold. In the summer, it would be wonderful. The two or three miles I rode were well-shaded. You have to cross a fair number of roads but I never saw any traffic. There weren’t any cyclists out this morning but lots of walkers with their dogs.
Next time we’ll have to visit in warmer weather. I’d love to put some more miles onto this well-paved and groomed trail.
Bean Traders Coffee
Yum!
I don’t think of North Carolina as a bastion of good coffee but we have had two great days of coffee. This morning, I biked to Bean Traders Coffee They have three locations in the Durham, NC area.
Their coffee used to be roasted in the store (and you can still see the roaster) but they now do so much volume they can’t keep up so their beans are roasted off-site. Still, the coffee is fresh.
The folks working the counter know coffee. They pulled a perfect double espresso. Having just finished reading Starbucked: A Double Tall Tale of Caffeine, Commerce, and Culture, I have a renewed appreciation of good coffee.
In addition to brewing good bean, the place is very friendly to cyclists. No one blinked when I road up in a very bright outfit and undressed at a table. I sat near the counter and heard the baristas greet just about everyone who came in by name. Wonderful! Kid friendly, too. In addition to the main coffee slurping area, they have a second bay in the strip center with more tables and a small play area.
Bean Traders is just two and a half miles from their house by trail. It was a nice ride. I had good bean and read the newspaper then rode back. I would do that every morning if I lived here. But, maybe not at 11 degress.
—Matt
You done good, kid. Adam is on his way over and we’re meeting Keefer for my LHT inaugural ride.
It’s 64.9, with a sustained 12mph wind out of the north, gusting to 14, so Adam, coming from his house if going to feel like Superman.
He’s going to be in for a shock when he turns around.
Did you need the third sock?
Better check the thermometer again. It was 9 degress, not 11 degrees. Like you said yesterday, a short ride at 9 degrees so you never have to do it again.
I was using centigrade, so you never have to do it again. I got cold just reading about it.
Mom, not only were you looking at the C side of the scale, you didn’t notice that it was nine degrees below zero.
—Matt
An even better reason for not ever having to do it again!
Too bad you’re not going to be in Cape Girardeau on February 22. The local bike club, velogirardeau, is doing a 55-mile Advance Winter Loop. (They aren’t advancing Winter. Advance is the name of the town where your grandmother was raised.)
From the announcement:
Once again it’s time to plan the Advance Winter Loop. It’s a 55 mile ride, with a few rolling hills to start, culminating in one serious climb, then a whole lot of flat on the way back. My plan is to meet at 10 AM on Sunday, Feb. 22, at Cape Bicycle. From there we carpool to the start in Dutchtown.
Plan to take it fairly easy, as a lot of people aren’t in peak condition this time of year, and I never am. As always, the date is subject to postponement if the weather is too awful.
You can view the route here:
http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/mo/dutchtown/55956468
Photos from last year here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/93525584@N00/tags/advancewinterloop/
[Note: based on the pictures of folks in short sleeves, it must have been a warmer February than most I remember.]