BikeFest '07 in NC

[runner2]

Hi,

Any of you have experience of this even?
How's the route?
Thanks.

[Blueberry]

Lots of folks from TE are Tarwheels, and have ridden the event.

Which route are you looking at riding? Also, if you search under "BikeFest" you should find some posts talking about the routes, etc last year.

CA

[GLC1968]

My husband and I did the imperial century as our first last year. It was a really nice ride. It rained like crazy for the first 50 miles, but the route was good. Plenty of rolling hills, but nothing too crazy hard. There were a lot of riders (considering the lousy weather) but it didn't feel too crowded at all. I think it might have been pretty hot (not a lot of shade in the farmlands) had it not been overcast for so much of it, so you might want to be prepared for that. Oh, and the best part was that the rest stops were stocked with the BEST stuff...tons of home-baked goods that were AWESOME!!

We just signed up to ride it again this year.

Are any other TE'ers planing on riding??

[wannaduacentury]

I'm a Tarheel by association Half of my relatives live in N.C. and my grandfather graduated from UNC. Sounds like a great ride, wish I could go, but my calendar is full.

[Blueberry]

All sweep positions were full when we volunteered (at least they're better organized this year!), so I'm not sure what we're doing - we may just ride - we might go out of town, since it's our anniversary this year

CA

[GLC1968]

Since Bikefest is this coming weekend, I thought I'd bump this to see if anyone else will be there.

Any NC TEers planning on riding? Anyone we should look for?

We'll be there - I ride a beautiful Terry (in Carolina blue swirls) and wear a white helmet. I have no idea what bike DH will ride, but his helmet is red/gray/white. Look for us and come say 'hi'!

[Blueberry]

Some sweepers dropped out - and we're sweeping. We have no idea which distance (I requested the 31, but didn't ever hear back....) I'll probably by on my black surly crosscheck with pink wheels (hard to miss!)

Have fun!!

CA

[runner2]

Hope you all have a good ride at Bikefest. It's going to be HOT, be safe and have fun.
(last date to register is AUG 1st, and this is pre-registration only)

Since Bikefest is this coming weekend, I thought I'd bump this to see if anyone else will be there.

Any NC TEers planning on riding? Anyone we should look for?

We'll be there - I ride a beautiful Terry (in Carolina blue swirls) and wear a white helmet. I have no idea what bike DH will ride, but his helmet is red/gray/white. Look for us and come say 'hi'!

[Blueberry]

At least the heat is forecast to break a little before Saturday (I'll take what I can get). We still don't know *which* route we're sweeping, or any of the details regarding when/where they want us to show up.....

The lack of organization makes it quite frustrating to volunteer....I think it's probably great to register and ride....

[emily_in_nc]

So, how did Bikefest go for y'all who did it? GLC, did you do the century?

The heat did break since Friday's high of 104. It was a lovely OVERCAST day and only in the 70s throughout our 40 mile ride finishing up at 12:45 pm. We didn't do Bikefest ($50 each seemed like too much to pay to ride our normal weekend cycling roads), but DH and I did ride on many of the same roads as the 31-mile route, in the opposite direction. It was neat to see so many cyclists out, and most were very friendly, waving and saying hello to us. We were riding our Bike Fridays with panniers (DH) and Tailrider (me) from our trip to the post office and farmer's market.

CA, I looked for you, but we peeled off for home before passing the end of the 31, apparently, so if you and your DH were sweeping the 31, as you assumed, we missed you. Hope the sweeping went okay!

SO glad it cooled down here in NC!

Emily

[GLC1968]

Hey all...Bikefest was great!!

I did end up doing the full century. When I woke up that morning still sore from a weight workout on Wednesday, I was planning on opting for the metric. After it clouded over, I started thinking that maybe I could do more. When the routes split, I made the decision to go for the 100 with DH. I'm sooo glad that I did. It went really well!

Great weather (a bit windy at some points...but bearable), great rest stops and support, and great company. All in all, a fun day for us!

Every time we saw crowds, I found myself scanning the bikes for a Surly cross check, but never saw one! Did you have a good day too, CA?

Oh, and how weird is this...I had a fitting done at Cycling Specifics (in Carrboro)a couple of months ago and while I was there I was admiring a custom bike that had just been assembled and was awaiting pick up by its owner. At the first rest stop, I saw a woman with the same bike. I complimented her on it and mentioned that I bought my handlebar tape after having seen hers. I can't believe that of the 850 people signed up for the ride, that I just happened to run into her! It's a small world, isn't it?

Anyway, it was a great day and I'm only sorry that I didn't get to meet any TEers.