Hickory to Concord, NC—75 miles

Tuesday, October 4, 2005

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We were glad to have another decent breakfast at the motel, a Hampton Inn. It was still dark at 7:15, so we waited a bit for some other cyclists to gather at the entrance before heading out. We debated various routes, the worst being a shortcut along US 70, a very busy multi-lane road. We opted to return the way we came, eventually joining the stream of cyclists heading out from camp. The ride today was an abrupt change from the hilly terrain of the first two days. Much of the route was nearly flat, with a hilly stretch just before camp at the Cabarrus Arena in Concord.

Murray's Mill
One of the scenic highlights of the day was Murray's Mill, an operating mill and museum. The mill is fed by a pond above the dam. There's an adjacent general store where I purchased a print of the mill store. We lingered for a while, touring the mill and checking out the store. By the time we left we were at the tail end of the group once again.
Murray's Mill Store print
Most of the riders on this tour did not seem to stop for long at the rest stops, and their average speed was probably faster than ours, so that by the end of the day we generally brought up the rear.

The terrain had changed as had the general character of the area. In the mountains there were many unkept shacks and trailer homes. It looked like people were struggling to get by. Once we reached the flats, where the land was more productive and we were closer to larger cities, the houses were better kept and there were fewer mobile homes plopped on the land.

We finished the ride at around 4pm, one of our later finishes. We rode hard at the end, glad to be out of the hills. Just before camp we noticed Kerie's tire was low and we topped it up. It was low again at camp so I decided to put in a new tube. We had signed up for dinner again at camp, so after cleaning up we were one of the first in line. On other tours the line forms early and is usually very long. The CNC group appeared to be a bit more laid back, and there was a relatively short line that formed at the last minute. The dinner was excellent; vegetarian lasagne, salad, carrots, broccoli, pecan pie and cheesecake. We chatted with other riders over dinner, then headed back to the motel via the shuttle bus.

Riding to the motel was not an option. It was about 10 miles away and we weren't about to extend the already long 75 mile day, not to mention the return ride the following day.

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