Concord to Albemarle, NC—51 miles

Wednesday, October 5, 2005

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The ride from Concord to Albemarle was relatively flat once again. As the crow flies, the distance between the two cities is about 20 miles. We looped south toward the town of Locust and the Reed Gold Mine, "Site of the first documented gold find in the United States". It was a bit cool and overcast by the time we reached the mine, and the idea of going into a cold, damp mine for an hour-long tour wasn't very appealing. The next stop was at Dennis Vineyards where I sampled several wines made from the Muscadine grapes.
It's a very distinctive, sweet, fruity flavor. I doubt they would receive high ratings from wine connoisseurs, but we liked them and ordered two bottles to be picked up after the ride. I can now report that the bottle of white didn't last long once we got it home.

By the time we reached the winery, Kerie's knee pain had gotten worse. She took the shuttle the last few miles into Albemarle. I rode hard again, passing a few of the road bike guys who had passed earlier. Camp was set up in downtown Albemarle, a short walk from Main Street.

We rode to our motel located on the edge of town a few miles away.
Albemarle church
The room turned out to be the worst of the trip, room 122 at the Best Western Inn located on the 24/27 Bypass. The smell of mold was overpowering and probably unhealthy. We tried another room but that smelled as bad so we stayed in 122. Other riders complained about their rooms as well. We didn't spend much time in the room, but it was a long night.

Dinner was at Blue Bay Seafood located about a mile away.
Crosswalk flag in downtown Albemarle,
storm clouds roll in
Of course there were no sidewalks or crosswalks along the state highway and people seemed to stare at the spectacle of someone actually walking somewhere. The fish was overcooked and dried out, but the hush puppies were great as were the fried potato wedges. We then caught the shuttle downtown to watch the “slow as you can go” race and to hear the band.

I couldn't resist entering the “race” which consisted of navigating a short, narrow, circular course laid out in the street.
Slow as you go race
The object was to see who could ride the slowest around the course without going outside the lines or touching the ground. I made it about halfway but got distracted by the hecklers. It was cheap, fun entertainment for about an hour until the band started playing. As with most bands, the music was much too loud; there's nothing worse than a bad, loud band. We caught the shuttle back to our smelly room to get ready for the wet ride the following day.

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