We are on two wheels again. Yay!! Riding the Great Northern Historical Trail . On Tuesday we rode from Kalispell through Flathead Valley to Smith Lake. Fun ride with some rolling hills to challenge our heart rate a bit. The trail traveled through pasture land and passed a small water fowl reserve. We went on the road for a mile or so to reach Smith Lake.
Happy Bikers!
We were happy to do 30 miles on our first ride in Montana. On the trail into Kalispell there was an old wooden trestle from the original railroad. It was a hot day and the days ahead are forecast to be even hotter.
Railroad trestle near Kalispell.
Wednesday we headed from Kalispell to Somers and Flathead Lake. This was a fun ride. Not as many hills but more variety in scenery. Somers and Flathead Lake were the highlights of the trail.
Somers trailhead
There was one of the original train engines on display at the trail head in Somers. We road through town and rejoined the trail along the highway. The trail ended and we were able to ride along the north shore of the lake on some hilly streets.
Fathead Lake is the largest body of fresh water west of the Mississippi. The lake is 28 miles long and in one place 15 miles wide. It was refreshing to see in this tinder dry region. No rain here in 35 days. Lots of sail boats, pontoon boats, and we even saw a couple of house boats.
Bike in front of church in Somers.
We took a wrong turn in Somers and climbed a few big hills before getting directions back to the trail from some friendly residents. Without that wrong turn we would have missed this beautiful bike.
I really enjoyed seeing a herd of cows by the trailhead. They were so curious.
Curious cows
We made it another 30 miles today and it was hot as predicted. We were both feeling a bit weary on our return. Tomorrow we plan to ride the Gateway to Glacier Trail. We may have some hills in store tomorrow.
We left Ohio on Friday morning August 3rd and went a few miles down the road when we realized we had forgotten the salmon spread I had made the day before. So glad we retrieved it, great snack while traveling.
We planned to travel as quickly as possible to Kalispell, Montana so a few Walmart nights were ahead for us.
Chicago/Gary Indiana traffic was as expected. Thankfully we had an uneventful trip and made it to the Waterloo, Iowa Walmart. Long hot day and 722 miles into our trip.
Saturday found us on the road at 8 AM as we wanted to make it to Gillette, WY. We traveled through Clear Lake, Iowa – where the music died. Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson played their final concert here. It was a sold-out crowd of 2,000.
We also traveled through Sturgis, South Dakota. It was the 78th Annual Bike Week. We have never seen so many bikes. They were on the road, on trailers, at every gas station, rest areas and restaurants. The hillsides in Sturgis were covered with tents, and every kind of RV imaginable. We gave a shout out to our neighbors. They left with their bike in tow a few days before us.
Spent night at Walmart in Gillette, WY after traveling 782 miles. Walmart was packed with RVs.
Gillette, WY Walmart “glamping”.
Sunday we made our way to Helena, MT. Not as many bike sightings today. We traveled thru fields of hay and herds of cattle. Scenery changing – more trees and mountains. The Helena Walmart had over 20 RVs and even people pitching tents – never seen that before.
Made it to Kalispell on Monday. Yay! Yay! What a beautiful trip from Helena. Climbed over mountain into a beautiful valley with fields of hay bails, herds of cattle and horses. Heading north on Hwy 83 toward Kalispell we passed many lakes – deep blue in color surrounded by evergreens.
Our home for a few days. Flo loves stream right behind the motorhome
Rocky Mountain “Hi” RV will be our home for the next four nights. We have traveled 2,170 miles in 4 days. Time for some 2 wheel travel.
Spent the afternoon in town and visited the Wheaton bike shop for maps and trail info. Pleasant town – busy.
Outside Wheaton bike shop. That bike is bigger than our toad.
After finishing our Tennessee 100 in Chattanooga we headed for Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. Spent one night at a Walmart in Bowling Green, KY and then traveled to Cave City. We found a really nice, small campground called Singing Hills. Quiet with a big field for Flo to run and close to Mammoth Railroad Trail.
After getting settled into our campsite we headed for Mammoth Cave, the world’s largest cave. There was lots of interesting history of the area and informative video in visitors center. We left Mammoth Cave and headed for Detweiler’s Country Store, an Amish store recommended by owners of the campground. We enjoyed seeing all the things in the store and bought a few items we couldn’t live without. It was a fun side trip as we had to take a ferry to cross the Green River to and from the store. Nice to be tourists for the day.
Green River Ferry
We were on the Mammoth Railroad Trail at 9:30 the next morning. This is not your typical rail trail – there were many hills and steep grades. Loose gravel and some sand made it a bit sketchy in some places. We road from Zion Cemetery Road to visitors center and returned. It was a beautiful and shaded ride.
October 6, 2017 – our 44th anniversary! We headed for Grandma’s RV in Shepherdsville, KY which would locate us close to the Louisville Loop. We got settled into our campsite and headed for the Loop. I was a bit skeptical about this trail thinking it would be too close to the city. We were in for a wonderful surprise. Louisville has a real jewel in this trail. This beautiful trail is so well planned with different sections connecting parks along the way. The landscaping was beautiful and trail was concrete and in perfect condition.
Stone wall along Louisville Loop –
We rode the trail two days, day one on the north section and day two on southern section. We worked hard on this trail as there are some good climbs that challenged us. Love those downhills though!
Brown-Forman Observation Silo – Turkey Run ParkBeautiful bridges along trail.
Really can’t say enough good things about this trail – nicely planned, well maintained and beautiful. We will definitely return. Our plan was to ride the Legacy Trail near Lexington but the rain sent us heading for home. We have been on the road for more than 6 weeks and looking forward to being home.
We spent 30 days at home, closed up the house, packed the RV and headed to Florida for the winter. West Jupiter RV Resort was our home for the winter.
Our winter home -West Jupiter RV ResortSinger Island fun with Landon.Scott, Martina and Landon – our reason for being in Florida
After a 5 month stay in Florida (November to April) we decided it was time to head north. Before leaving Florida we stopped in Valrico to visit the Millers. We camped at Lazydays RV Resort. This place had it all and it was a good opportunity to have our RV washed and waxed while we were being tourists. As always Connie and Sam showed us a good time, good food and lots of laughs.
The Valrico MillersLegacy Trail – Lexington
We road the Legacy Trail on our trip north. Fortunately for us the weather cooperated. We camped at the Kentucky Horse Park Campground. Awesome place to stay, lucky to get campsite. We were right on the bike trail. Once again, YAY!
We enjoyed the Legacy Trail and the hills reminded us we were not in Florida any longer. The horse farms were beautiful.
Beautiful Kentucky countryside.
The highlight of this area was really the Kentucky Horse Park.
Kentucky Horse Park
We were able to ride our bikes throughout the entire park. It was interesting seeing the preparations they were making for a upcoming 3 day event. We loved this ride.
Secretariat – Kentucky Horse ParkKentucky Horse Park near arena.
Tennessee September 29 – October 3, 2017 100 miles
So here it is April 12, 2018 and I am just publishing our Tennessee ride from September 2017. No excuses. Guess it is better late then never. So here it goes.
On our road to Nashville, TN we stopped in Farmington, AR to visit the Pittmans. We parked in their driveway for a couple nights and used their electricity and internet! We were able to meet their foreign exchange student “Flip”. He makes an incredible chocolate fondue. We also went to a new restaurant called Pieology , where you build your own pizza. Yummy!!
Chocolate fondue by Felippi
We had a chance to watch Brittany play volleyball. She’s awesome – on varsity as a freshman. What a fun evening and popcorn too.
Awesome Brittany!
Time to head for Nashville, TN after a stop in Little Rock, AR to get the oil changed in the ACE. I spent the time researching trails, campsites and friendly Walmarts. We arrived in Nashville late and after some setbacks ended up getting a site at the State Fairgrounds. Water, electric and stock car races. Who could ask for more? It was a cool night and we needed heat in the morning.
Awoke in the morning discouraged! Really feeling like I would like to head home and stop chasing trails and campsites. We took off for a ride – I honestly wasn’t anticipating much, as our welcome to Tennessee hadn’t gone too well.
To my surprise we had a great ride on Stones River Greenway , Shelby Bottoms and Music City Greenway. These trails all seamlessly connect with one another. We crossed a beautiful pedestrian bridge with river boats going past. We rode into downtown Nashville to Titans Stadium. The bridge across the Cumberland River was a perfect place to view the city and activity on the river. There were some challenging hills but the scenery and beautiful parks made it all worth the effort. Sorry I was discouraged – I am blessed to be biking!! Lenny went to the stock car races in the evening and returned with the world’s best corn dogs!
Nashville from bridge over Cumberland River.Titan’s Stadium from pedestrian bridge.
Our second day in Nashville we rode the Cumberland River Bicentennial Trail. A rail trail, so no big hills. We road to Cheatham Lock and Dam. It was a fun ride with only four miles of asphalt. There was significant root damage and some washed out hills where I needed to walk my bike. Lots of shade, beautiful high bluffs, some waterfalls and wetlands.
Long bridge over wetlands.Looks like a Hobbit home. Bilbo Baggins was off on an adventure.
We were up early the next day to head for Murfreesboro to ride the Murfreesboro Stones River Greenway. This trail was beautiful with lots of history. Trail was in excellent condition.
Cannonsburgh Village gristmill.
Along the trail we passed Stones River National Battlefield – battle of Stones River is the 6th costliest land battle of the American Civil War (24,645 casualties). We also visited Cannonsburgh Village, representative of early Tennessee.
Cannonsburgh Village church
After our ride we headed for Chattanooga to spend the night at a Walmart. We had an early dinner at 3 Amigos and headed out first thing in the morning to ride the Chattanooga River Walk. What a fun ride. We parked near downtown and rode to the TVA Dam where we saw many Blue Heron fishing. The section in downtown Chattanooga passed over a glass bridge near the American History Museum. What a strange sensation riding across the glass bridge.
Glass bridge downtown Chattanooga.Cast bronze statue at American History Museum.
This beautiful statue looked like it was made out of drift wood.
The Chattanooga River walk also connects to the South Chickmauga Creek Greenway. We road on long elevated boardwalks over wetlands with steep inclines along the creek. These boardwalks were breathtaking – steep, long and sometimes high above the creek. Lenny felt like he was riding on a rollercoaster. What great way to finish our Tennessee 100. We are now headed for Kentucky and the Mammoth Cave National Park.
We had a good trip from Ouray to Kansas. We traveled through some beautiful canyons and over Monarch Pass in Colorado. We remembered traveling through Salida years ago with Heather and Erik while on our “Crested Butte adventure”. Heading into Kansas the mountains were well behind us and we drove through many small towns, wheat and corn fields, and huge feed lots with thousands of cattle.
Here is an interesting fact about a town we traveled thru: the small town of Kinsley, is best known for being halfway between San Francisco and New York City. It is 1561 miles from either city.
Our first day in Kansas was rainy so we spent some time checking out a couple campsites. We love to camp on the bike trails but that just wasn’t possible here. We decided on Hillside State Park south of Olathe, KS. Our first night we heard what sounded like a cat, a very big cat. Think maybe it was a bobcat. It made quite a sound!! Then we heard the coyotes. In the morning we could see evidence (scat) of the coyotes right in front of our motorhome.
April came from Arkansas and stayed 2 nights with us. We had a wonderful visit and she had some reading and relaxing time to herself when we were riding.
Lenny, Diana and April in front of our sates map.
Lenny gifted me with a new bike computer for my birthday. Our rides in Kansas were the first time I put it to use. It is awesome. It gives min/max heart rate, min/max speed, calories and fat% (like to know I am burning some fat), distance, duration, ascent/descent and max altitude. Probably more info as I discover all this little wonder can do.
Awesome Birthday gift
We spent four very hot days on the trails in Kansas. Temperature was usually between 88 – 90 degrees and there was always a strong wind blowing. While it’s plenty of work riding into a head wind we would have really suffered more from the heat without the wind. The wind is our friend!!
Huge tree -Tomahawk Trail
Most of the trails were shaded which was a relief and we tried to ride early to beat the afternoon heat. We never thought we would be riding in so much heat in September. All of the trails we rode showed evidence of flooding. I think the worst flooding was in August, about the time we had initially meant to be here. Had we arrived in August these trails would have been closed. Recent rains covered the trails with damp leaves and mud in some places. On the Gary Haller trail we saw many snakes and all different kinds. We think the wet weather brought them out on the trail. It resulted in lots of screaming on my part.
Box Turtle – better sight then SNAKES!
I think we may have wondered into the Three Acre Woods. We found Owl’s house and knocked at another door, but there was no response.
Owl’s home.
No one home.
Our last day in Kansas we rode the Prairie Spirit Trail. It is a Hall of Fame Rail Trail. It was the only packed gravel trail we rode in Kansas. It traveled through fields of corn and cattle, hundreds of butterflies and huge grasshoppers. We did not see any other bike riders or hikers. Think maybe the wind and heat kept people inside. It was the perfect trail to complete our Kansas 100.
We awoke to a heavy frost in Custer and headed for Casper, WY. We plan to do a few miles along the Platte River in Casper before heading for Colorado. Spent the night in the local Wal-Mart and parked at Fort Caspar on the Platte River Trail to do our biking. Really pleasant ride almost entirely along the river.
Along Platte River TrailDowntown Casper
We spent a night in Cheyenne, Wy and then headed for Loveland, CO where we had reservations for a couple nights. We settled into our campsite and headed to Denver to visit my sister, Sherry and her grandson Donavan. We watched the Buckeye disaster with Oklahoma. No words!! Donavan made us a wonderful meal of grilled skirt steak. He is a really fine cook. Flo had a chance to meet their dog Buddy and they became fast friends.
Flo and Buddy
On Sunday Sherry, Donovan and his friend Auna came to the rv park for a visit. We had a great time playing corn hole. So nice to visit, but sad to say good-bye.
Monday the 11th we were on the road at 5 AM. We wanted to get to Ouray early in the afternoon. The traffic was heavy until we got to Route 70, then it was smooth sailing going over the mountains. We arrived in Ouray about 3 PM, our friends Debby and Steve were already there as they had arrived on Sunday. Our campsite was right on the river with beautiful mountains all around. Steve’s sister Carolyn and her husband Dave arrived a few hours later. We had a relaxing evening reminiscing.
Our home in Ouray – we had good neighbors, Debby and Steve.
Our first full day in Ouray we did some shopping in town and checked on our Jeep rental which we would pick up in the evening. We couldn’t pass up the chance to try out the hot springs, so we spent the afternoon soaking in the warm Ouray springs. It was just what our tired biking bodies needed.
Downtown OurayTrail Map
Wednesday we were on the trail about 9 AM, the beginning of an 11 hour day. We were headed for Lake City over Engineer Pass., elevation 12,800 feet. Around every bend was one breath taking view after another. On our way up Engineer Pass we saw a Polaris which had tumbled from who knows how high up the trail. Very disheartening when we were just on our way up!
Someone had a very bad day.Engineer Pass and a great flag waving picture.
We came across a large herd of sheep. There were some dogs moving the sheep and a shepherd working the dogs. It was quite a sight!!
Herd of sheep along the trail.Aspen beginning to show their fall colors.
Wednesday evening the rest of the group arrived. Glenda and Carl from Texas and Mary and Jerry from New Mexico. What great people we have to enjoy 4-Wheeling with and all have so much knowledge to share with us. Blessed!!
Thursday morning we were on the trail before 10 AM, another long day of 4-wheeling. I think about 8 -9 hours. We took Ophir Pass, elevation 11,789 feet, to Telluride. Stopped in Alta on the way and had lunch beside the lake. It started to rain just as we were heading back on the trail. We kept Flo covered in the back seat. I may have forgotten to mention the Jeep we rented did not have any windows in the back. Minor detail!
Flo in her windowless Jeep ride.Mary the pole dancer on Ophir Pass.
We continued into Telluride which was very congested. They were having a Brews and Blues festival. We took Imogene Pass, elevation 13, 114 feet and Canyon Creek back Ouray.
View of Telluride heading up toward Imogene Pass.
The trip down off of Imogene Pass had some pretty steep downhills. Not so tough for us but a bit hard on Flo. By the time we were down it was a pretty steady rain but what a great day of 4-wheeling. There is just too much to tell and so many wonderful sights. Like I said before – around every bend in the road another awesome view.
Beautiful colorsThe whole gang on Imogene Pass.Beautiful views around every corner.
Friday found us or rather Lenny cleaning the Jeep and returning it to Switzerland of America tours. We also found time to head for the hot springs again. We were joined by Mary and Carolyn. Good place to relax and visit.
Hot girls in hot springs
Saturday we packed up, said our sad goodbyes and headed for Kansas to find Dorothy. The rest of the gang was headed for a couple weeks in Moab, Utah.
Up early on Thursday August 31st to do some laundry before getting on the road. We left Medora, North Dakota and headed for Rapid City, South Dakota. It was amazing how after only a few miles out of Medora the scenery began to change from badlands to grasslands, There were fields of sunflowers, grasslands, wheat fields and large herds of cattle.
We arrived at Cabelas in Rapid City with plenty of time to check satellite feed for the Buckeyes game against Indiana. Buckeyes got off to a slow start but in the end were victorious, 49-21!! GO BUCKS!! This Cabelas even had a corral for people traveling with horses. How nice. Good place for nights sleep.
The morning found us headed for Custer, SD and French Creek RV. Arrived in early afternoon in time for the Friday night potluck at the campground. Diane, the owner of French Creek RV hosts a potluck diner every Friday evening. This Friday she provided pulled pork and kielbasa which we could smell cooking when we checked in. We met a couple, Anna and Steve, at dinner who were avid bikers (tandem) from British Columbia, Canada. We really enjoyed sharing biking tales with them. We had ridden so many of the same trails all over the U.S.
One colorful buffalo in Custer
We are camped right on the George S. Mickelson Trail, a Hall of Fame Rail Trail. It did not disappoint. The trail is 109 miles long and we road all of our 100 South Dakota miles on this trail. It was packed gravel and had long uphill grades and long downhill grades. One of the days we rode a 12 mile uphill grade. Whew!! Who’s idea was this anyway?
Bike Art along trail.
There had been a fire south of Custer and we had a few days of smokey air which caused our eyes to burn. The last day we rode the weather had cooled and it was clear and beautiful. We rode through deep valleys surrounded by high cliffs and all we could hear was the water flowing through the stream. Some places we had to wait for the cattle to move off the trail. Deer were a common site and at times they would just stand and watch us. We also saw flocks of turkey, some looked bigger than Flo.
There were tunnels on the trail which provided a cool respite from the heat. The Mountain Trailhead provided a nice view of Crazy Horse Monument. The terrain was dramatically different from the south to the north. The south reminded us of the high desert while the northern part of the trail was green with ponderosa pines and wild flowers along the trail.
Rock wall along the Michelson Trail.Bike repair along trail – using our first aid kit.
One of the highlights of our trip to South Dakota was our visit to Custer State Park. We drove on the Needles Highway where we saw beautiful spires. The tunnels were narrow and low. Our little Fiat had no problems though. The visitors center has an awesome video narrated by Kevin Costner, it’s a must see.
Narrow tunnel on Needles Hwy – Custer State Park
Driving on the Wildlife Loop Road we saw feral burros, prairie dogs, pronghorn and most awesome of all was a herd of bison. We took a gravel road off the main loop road and drove a couple miles before coming over a hill to the sight of bison for as far as we could see. Awesome! I would love to return next year when they do the bison roundup.
BUFFALO and baby buffalo.Buffalo for as far as we could see.
Iron Mountain Road was another treat. This is a winding road which makes some 360 degree turns. The tunnels frame Mount Rushmore. It was a good rest day for us before our final ride on the Mickelson.
North Dakota August 25 – August 30, 2017 100 miles
We left Bellevue, Nebraska and hit the road for Jamestown, ND. First we hit a Sam’s to get gas and some supplies. There were tornado warnings north of us so we were nervously watching the skies. We traveled through some high winds and rain, lots of lightning. When we headed west from Watertown, SD we saw some odd looking clouds. We googled and found out they were called Mammatus clouds which are associated with severe thunderstorms.
Mammatus Clouds seen after nasty thunderstorm in South Dakota.
Passed many lakes, wide open spaces and cattle farms in South Dakota. Arrived in Jamestown, North Dakota about 10:30PM, lots of RV’s already in residence. Quiet night with a bit of rain late.
Bugs , oh the bugs. Hazard of traveling at night in the Dakotas.
Traveled to Mandan, North Dakota to stay at Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park. Awesome park, great camping on the Missouri River. We practically had the park to ourselves on Monday and Tuesday.
Heart River running into Missouri River, seen from bike trail. Campsite just south of here.
We were able to do 75 miles of biking from our campsite. We rode the trail in the park to the Lewis and Clark Legacy Trail, Millenium Trail and the Bismark Trails. Bismark is a beautiful, bike friendly town. We rode along the Missouri River through beautiful parks and east of the river past soccer fields, baseball diamonds and a huge indoor, outdoor archery center. There was a walking target range with 14 target stations. Did I mention the hills – yes, we climbed hills. Made us stronger!!
Fort Lincoln’s most notable resident was Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer. He and his wife Libbie lived here for 3 years. Custer and the 7th Cavalry rode out of here on May 17, 1876 to the Battle of Little Bighorn.
We left Fort Lincoln behind on Wednesday August 29, 2017 and headed for Medora, North Dakota. Hoped to stay in Roosevelt National Park but settled for private campsite in town. That is why we have internet and we are able to make this post. Yay!!
Plan to finish our 100 here in Medora if we can mange the hills. More to come later.
We did finish our North Dakota 100 miles near Medora on Thursday August 30, 2017. Jennifer at Dakota Cyclery was a huge help in getting us on a route to finish our 100. We had thought we may try and ride some of the Maah Daah Hey Trail but after talking with Jennifer we decided our bikes were not made for that technical of a trail.
Prairie dog city.
We road a small portion of the scenic trail in Roosevelt National Park and the rest of our ride was through some of the Badlands on Route 10 west of Medora. It was a lonesome highway – hills and wind. We both agreed we had never ridden for such a long distance in the sustained winds we experienced today. Badlands indeed!!
Nebraska August 23 – 25, 2017 and September 24, 2017 102 miles
We finally got on the road after many delays. Heading for Omaha, Nebraska area. We spent our first two nights on the road in Wal-Mart camping areas. The second night was at a Wal-Mart in Grimes, Iowa. Just a short distance from Saylorville Lake, where we did some biking last September. Very quiet restful night.
Iowa to Nebraska – cross this bridge and will cost you $6.00. View from campground.
We arrived at Haworth Park Campground in Bellevue, Nebraska early in the day. No frills camping along the Missouri River. We are near Offutt Air Force Base and we can hear their Reveille and Taps played at the beginning and end of the day. Reminded us of the time spent on Fort Bragg visiting Erik and his family.
We were able to get in a 30 mile bike ride the first day on the Bellevue Loop and Keystone Trail. We road through corn fields along the Papillion Creek. I thought it was a bit windy until we road today – it was really blowing. Not the most scenic trails but all cement and well maintained. We saw lots of beautiful butterflies, had grasshoppers hitting our legs, chest and face. Many jets flying overhead from the Air Force Base.
Part of Lewis and Clark Interpretive Art Wall.
The Lewis and Clark Interpretive Art Wall was in Haworth Park. It was made as a part of the 200th commemoration of the historic journey of the Corps of Discovery. Children from the ten states along the expedition route were asked to illustrate the people, events, and discoveries the Corp encountered. Each section looks like a quilt with small blocks of drawings by the children. Awesome to see!
Tomorrow we head for Bismark, North Dakota. We hope to revisit Nebraska later this fall to finish our 100 miles.
BACK TO NEBRASKA – September 23 -25, 2017
We made it back to Nebraska after finishing in Kansas. We actually thought it would be much cooler, but it was 95 degrees when we arrived in Lincoln. Found a nice campground, Camp A-way, in Lincoln. It was full of Nebraska Cornhuskers in town for Saturdays game.
Sunday we got up early to ride hoping to beat the heat. While Lincoln was not our first choice to ride (the trail we hoped to ride was in bad shape) they have a really nice trail system. Where one trail ended another began. We were able to ride 35 miles through beautiful parks and along the river which was just beautiful near the University.
Lincoln’s Trail System.
We arrived back at our car and had the bikes loaded just as a huge rain storm came through. Waited at the campground for the weather to clear and then set out from there for another ride. We only needed 15 more miles to complete our 100 and wanted to get it done as the weather report for Monday said: rain, rain and more rain. We ended the day with 51 miles and got back to the motorhome before the rain started.
Billy Wolf Trail. Good use for an old bike.
We left Lincoln in a pouring rain on Monday and headed for Arkansas to visit the Pittmans and meet Felippi, their exchange student from Brazil.
We rode some of our initial North Carolina miles with some of our favorite people on post at Fort Bragg. This was in December 2014 – Best rides ever!
Our favorite riding companions – Inga, Helena and Paul.The pedaling Peterson’s
Back to 2017 – we left Denver, NC for Jordon Lake Crosswinds Campground, state campground. Really nice place to stay and just a short distance from American Tobacco Trail, our next ride. It was a beautiful long ride and very isolated until we were near Durham. Trail heads were the nicest we’ve seen. We really enjoyed this ride – rail trail sometimes high above valley, tall pine forests. Perfect weather. All together awesome.
American Tobacco Trail: Tobacco Barn
The next day we road the Neuse River Trail. We will always remember this trail because we crossed 32 bridges and that was one way. We may have lost count at some point, but that was a lot of bridges. The trail ended at a large dam where we had lunch and enjoyed watching fly fishermen. We saw a beaver on the trail. I had never seen a beaver in the wild. 36 miles yesterday and 35 miles today.
Third day of riding in North Carolina and we headed for Lake Johnson to ride the Walnut Creek Trail. There were some really brutal hills at the start of this trail, then some construction which had us searching for the correct way to go. Not our favorite trail – Around Johnson Lake it was beautiful, other areas a little sketchy and a pretty ride near NC State campus. A lady in the parking lot saw our OSU flag and gave us a buckeye. She was excited to see Buckeye fans.
Finished our NC 100 miles near Lake Johnson.
We had hoped to head for Ohio but the weather was not cooperating. The cold weather was coming pretty far south so we decided to go to South Carolina. We stayed at Ocean Lakes south of Myrtle Beach. We spent 9 days here waiting for a break in the weather. We love the beach so it was not a hardship.
