For various reasons, I haven't been able to get in a solid ride since hittin' back State-side. (bad weather, cold weather, no-sunlight weather, bike-still-in-a-box, meteor crashing on my toes, etc.) But with it being sunny and in the mid 60's (that's like 15C), I just can't waste the weather. So the SL FINALLY makes its debut in NC!
Saturday I decided to ride out to the historic downtown Apex area for lunch and a workout. Since starting to ride in the area, the old town Apex has always been the most scenic (it also gives you a brand new appreciation of the town's name ~_^). After a rather annoying head-wind climb into the old town area, I was pleasantly surprised that a good few specialty shops were replaced by eateries. I counted 2 sandwich cafes, 1 pizzaria, 1 mexican restaurant for food! Here's a street-side view of South Salem st:
The plan was to get a sandwich and chill for an hour or so...but parking space, a.k.a. sidewalk space, were all taken up by other bikes! I saw entire FAMILIES riding out here for lunch! It was awesome chatting with the excited kids on their streamer bikes!
Anyway, as I was hungry, I settled for the next-best solution for lunch:
That's right! No old town is complete without its ice cream parlor! And business was good! I waited a whopping 20 minutes for my turn, but the icy-creamy goodness was sooo worth it! =DAfter Apex, it was my favorite stretch of road: 6 miles of 2% downhills and tailwind! Perfect time to crank up the speed...until I realized a senior rider on an old-school steel frame-converted TT bike was tucked away right behind me...AND HE KEPT UP! o.0 I was definitely impressed, hehe!
Of course, after the nice downhill stretch to New Hill, I lost him quickly by turning back onto 751 to go through Jordan Lake:
Seriously...days like these really highlights the kind of potential for bike trips in NC! Its GORGEOUS!...and for the record, the ride wasn't completely cakewalk either. Here are the stats:
Cheers! and expect more ride reports to come!
