RWright
Guru
- Location
- North Carolina
This is a ride I did on July 9th. The route is a 100k route that is used as part of a charity ride for the local animal shelter. They have other shorter routes that share parts of this 100k route but I had done them before. I missed the 100k ride this year (forgot about it until a couple of hours after it started 
) I still haven't done a group ride. Maybe one of these days. 
I had just done a 100 mile ride a few days before this ride so I felt confident I could handle it, so off I went. I also wanted to check out this state historic site I have not been to in a long time. An old house that was the site of an American Revolution battle between Loyalist and Patriots. I have been to the site before but never inside the house, so I thought it would make a good stop.
The Strava route is here http://app.strava.com/activities/65951435 The big loop section is the animal shelter ride route itself, the small loop and connecting line between them is my ride out to it and back home. It is mostly all out in the sticks so need to consider your water stops before hand. I planned them and it was no problem.
I started out mid morning and rode to the route starting point and took off. It was a not a bad day but overcast and with a chance of showers, mainly in the area I was going to be riding. There was some wind coming from the south, the direction I was going out into but I figured that will be fine, I will have the tailwind on the way back.
I rode the route for an hour or so against the wind and was ok. The only problem had been a road closed with a detour...on my planned course
, well not today for me, I blew right thru it and went right by the construction they were doing, the guy on the equipment just waved. I had plenty of room to get by and he didn't seem to have any problems with it so it worked out well, this time. It was not a daredevil stunt either, these roads are very low traffic to start with and I was very careful and going slow.
Next I had a planned stop in a small town called Goldston, when I say small I mean small, I don't remember for sure but I don't think they even have a stop light. They do have a small diner and a tractor place, hardware store and a small grocery store but not much else. I stopped at the diner and ordered a burger, hotdog and fries. It seemed like it took forever to get my order and this was during lunch time and the place wasn't that busy. The waitress was nice and kept my cup of ice water full but I did get tired of waiting. Then I got the check, almost 8 dollars, and I drank ice water, which is free. I then understood why the place wasn't that busy. The food was expensive and my burger was dry and it took forever to get it to me, not a good combination for a diner. Hot dog and fries were ok though.
I finally got out of there after about 45 minutes and was on my way. Next time I will make other dining arrangements. 
I was off again riding rolling hills constantly, some were pretty long too. The route had more elevation than I had thought but it wasn't too bad thus far, just combined with the wind in my face, I was getting my money's worth of work. I had my GPS with me but the route was marked with big white paw prints painted on the road, so it was pretty easy to follow without even checking the Garmin.
I finally got to the road that the historic site was very close to, the House in the Horseshoe is the name of it, aka the Alston house. The road I was on now was a long downhill, I figured out why I had been getting tired. I was pretty high up.
It was getting fun now, this downhill had a great view and it was fast. I was smiling, coasting at about 30 mph and checking out the great view when I see painted across the road in big letters WEEEEEEEE! This gave me a laugh as well. I wish I had taken a picture of it but I had not taken my phone out of the saddle bag yet.
I was soon at the House in the Horseshoe. I remembered there was a great view from the house to the river below that makes a horseshoe around the bottom of the hill the house sits on. When I get there I see this.
Corn. Someone had planted corn in the big fields all the way around the house.
It busted my little panoramic picture idea bubble. At least the corn looked like it was growing well.
I then decided to get a picture of the sky to show the blustery clouds I had been riding under so far.
Looks like a great place for a flag to me. I didn't even ask.
Here is the house. (along with the Red Rocket
)
I have been in a lot of old houses like this, had friends that lived in similar and nicer ones. This one was built in 1772 they say. I know, it is a young pup for over there.
Rather than explain stuff, I will just post a wiki site and state historic site for the house. I don't want to rewrite history incorrectly because it is late and I am a little tired. I will give a little spoiler, loyalist won.
I took pictures of the bullet holes that are still in the house.
I had a better one but uploaded the wrong picture. The black dots around the windows and doors are bullet holes from the battle. I got a few pictures on the inside too. I had to take my SPD SLs off to go inside but my feet didn't mind. There was also air conditioning inside, which surprised me but it suited me fine.
I am going to put the inside pictures in another message. Stay Tuned!
) I still haven't done a group ride. Maybe one of these days. I had just done a 100 mile ride a few days before this ride so I felt confident I could handle it, so off I went. I also wanted to check out this state historic site I have not been to in a long time. An old house that was the site of an American Revolution battle between Loyalist and Patriots. I have been to the site before but never inside the house, so I thought it would make a good stop.
The Strava route is here http://app.strava.com/activities/65951435 The big loop section is the animal shelter ride route itself, the small loop and connecting line between them is my ride out to it and back home. It is mostly all out in the sticks so need to consider your water stops before hand. I planned them and it was no problem.
I started out mid morning and rode to the route starting point and took off. It was a not a bad day but overcast and with a chance of showers, mainly in the area I was going to be riding. There was some wind coming from the south, the direction I was going out into but I figured that will be fine, I will have the tailwind on the way back.
I rode the route for an hour or so against the wind and was ok. The only problem had been a road closed with a detour...on my planned course
, well not today for me, I blew right thru it and went right by the construction they were doing, the guy on the equipment just waved. I had plenty of room to get by and he didn't seem to have any problems with it so it worked out well, this time. It was not a daredevil stunt either, these roads are very low traffic to start with and I was very careful and going slow.Next I had a planned stop in a small town called Goldston, when I say small I mean small, I don't remember for sure but I don't think they even have a stop light. They do have a small diner and a tractor place, hardware store and a small grocery store but not much else. I stopped at the diner and ordered a burger, hotdog and fries. It seemed like it took forever to get my order and this was during lunch time and the place wasn't that busy. The waitress was nice and kept my cup of ice water full but I did get tired of waiting. Then I got the check, almost 8 dollars, and I drank ice water, which is free. I then understood why the place wasn't that busy. The food was expensive and my burger was dry and it took forever to get it to me, not a good combination for a diner. Hot dog and fries were ok though.
I finally got out of there after about 45 minutes and was on my way. Next time I will make other dining arrangements. I was off again riding rolling hills constantly, some were pretty long too. The route had more elevation than I had thought but it wasn't too bad thus far, just combined with the wind in my face, I was getting my money's worth of work. I had my GPS with me but the route was marked with big white paw prints painted on the road, so it was pretty easy to follow without even checking the Garmin.
I finally got to the road that the historic site was very close to, the House in the Horseshoe is the name of it, aka the Alston house. The road I was on now was a long downhill, I figured out why I had been getting tired. I was pretty high up.
It was getting fun now, this downhill had a great view and it was fast. I was smiling, coasting at about 30 mph and checking out the great view when I see painted across the road in big letters WEEEEEEEE! This gave me a laugh as well. I wish I had taken a picture of it but I had not taken my phone out of the saddle bag yet.I was soon at the House in the Horseshoe. I remembered there was a great view from the house to the river below that makes a horseshoe around the bottom of the hill the house sits on. When I get there I see this.
Corn. Someone had planted corn in the big fields all the way around the house.
It busted my little panoramic picture idea bubble. At least the corn looked like it was growing well.I then decided to get a picture of the sky to show the blustery clouds I had been riding under so far.
Looks like a great place for a flag to me. I didn't even ask.
Here is the house. (along with the Red Rocket
)I have been in a lot of old houses like this, had friends that lived in similar and nicer ones. This one was built in 1772 they say. I know, it is a young pup for over there.
Rather than explain stuff, I will just post a wiki site and state historic site for the house. I don't want to rewrite history incorrectly because it is late and I am a little tired. I will give a little spoiler, loyalist won.
I took pictures of the bullet holes that are still in the house.
I had a better one but uploaded the wrong picture. The black dots around the windows and doors are bullet holes from the battle. I got a few pictures on the inside too. I had to take my SPD SLs off to go inside but my feet didn't mind. There was also air conditioning inside, which surprised me but it suited me fine.
I am going to put the inside pictures in another message. Stay Tuned!
He said sure, everything here is reproductions, we keep the real stuff at the museum in Raleigh. 
