# ride suggestions near Raleigh, NC



## tsunayoshi

I will be going down with my daughter for her team camp in the middle of May and will be bringing my bike so I have something to do during the day. We'll be staying in NE Raleigh (Hampton Inn) and I don't want to drive more than 1 hour to a start location.

Looking for 50-75 mile routes with some longer climbs, totaling around 500-1000' of climbing per 10 miles, that have water options of some sort (parks, general store, etc.) every 25-35 miles or so.

Thanks,
-Mike.


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## VinPaysDoc

Mike,

I know not about the Raleigh area. I'm about 2 hours West of Raleigh with plenty of routes that allow for climbing. The Three Mountain Metric course is particularly nice with very low traffic. Let me know if you're interested.

G


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## tsunayoshi

Thanks G, but doing the math with drive time and ride time, I can't make it out that far, route looks interesting though.

I'll probably choose some random 50 miler off of strava/rwgps that looks rural enough to hopefully not have a ton of traffic.


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## irish

I'm not that familiar with NE Raleigh as I live in Durham. The area west and northwest of Chapel Hill is very popular with cyclists.

However, from what I've experienced in North Carolina (the triangle region, Charlotte, mountains) is that it's pretty easy to make your routes, just look outside of the cities towards less populated regions (honestly - just look at the street density). NC is full of old farm-market roads that crisscross the country-side. Connect those roads together and avoid the state highways as much as possible.

Here are the ride cue sheets from the NC Bike Club - NCBC Ride Cue Sheet Index Page

Here's one of the bike shops in North Raleigh - Rides and Events Calendar - Trek Bicycles of Raleigh, NC


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## bruin11

I visited Apex/Cary which are in the Raleigh area last year. Didn't seem to be a lot of climbing but I was able to find rides from the various shops in the area.


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## oldroadie_nc

Mike - I am a member of the Raleigh Gyros. We have lots of rides from north Raleigh. Check out the ride calendar here: https://www.mytrainlocal.com/mtl.php?page=groupcalendar&groupid=247&context=1367869023


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## thumper8888

*Triangle area rides*

I've ridden the group rides in North Raleigh, and Cary/Apex... (Gyros for the first, Cycling Spoken Here or Inside Out Sports for the latter, check websites for info on all.
But by far the best rides in the region are out of Chapel Hill/Carrboro 35-40 minutes from where you will be. The full range of them, complete with start times, locations and route maps updated weekely are at chapelhillcycling.com The explications have pacing predictions that are accurate.
It's rolling country, and I'd generally expect about 1000 feet or so for the distance, but those routes that dip south into chatham can offer more, like 2000-plus.
Traffic is simply not the issue is for long stretches of the other two main options mentioned above....mainly we are talking about buccolic cow farms and quiet wooded country roads....some of the best non-mountain riding in the country.



tsunayoshi said:


> I will be going down with my daughter for her team camp in the middle of May and will be bringing my bike so I have something to do during the day. We'll be staying in NE Raleigh (Hampton Inn) and I don't want to drive more than 1 hour to a start location.
> 
> Looking for 50-75 mile routes with some longer climbs, totaling around 500-1000' of climbing per 10 miles, that have water options of some sort (parks, general store, etc.) every 25-35 miles or so.
> 
> Thanks,
> -Mike.


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## springs

Very timely thread for me since I'm considering a move to the triangle area, and need to decide where to buy a house. Looks like southern Durham (i.e. within a few miles of Southpoint) would be roughly equidistant by car to Gyros, Cary, and Chapel Hill rides, and Jordan Lake would be rideable from home. I classify myself as an A rider. Thanks for the good info.


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## thumper8888

Yes, that is a pretty savvy spot for sheer convenience, not just for cycling. I-40 is the region's Main Street and that puts you within easy striking distance of pretty much everything.
That said, you would prob fine tune based on the town or neighborhood that best suits you... Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Cary, Raleigh and Durham all have distinctive "personalities" and someone who's a good fit for Chapel Hill may not dig Cary very much at all and vice versa.
That part of Durham is only Durham by technicality and is its own place... much of it is new and soulless, but some of it, partic to north side of the area youre talking about, is more established. For riding right out your door, though you'd want to be south of Southpoint probably...north of that is pretty trafficky.
The better A-rides -- at least for my taste -- are out of Wilson Park in Chapel Hill and with the Gyros in North Raleigh.
Terrain, again, is notably better in Chapel Hill rides, which go west, and to a lesser degree south and north, and I like the group there quite a bit, so I'm biased. Two A rides there on Saturdays and a large mixed group with A component on Wednesday mornings that leaves from a church west of town.
For Cary/Apex group rides from the two shops its a bit of a pain in the butt to deal with the traffic as it takes a few miles to get out of town down to Jordan Lake.
The Gyros ride out of a park at Falls Lake north of Raleigh and its not too bad up there....good rolling terrain.
Riding around Jordan itself meanwhile is generally pretty good, traffic not too heinous and decent hills once you get away from lake proper... lot of the rides push on south of lake, which isnt very populated.
Chapel Hill/Carrboro has a no-growth boundary where urban water and sewer ends, so within minutes of starting a ride, boom, youre out in the countryside with few houses and traffic. Rides typically go to Saxapahaw, which is quite a little scene now, as well as Hillborough, Mebane and Pittsboro area for the hillier rides.
If the riding is going to be a large factor in picking location, its worth coming in, doing each of them for a look at the terrain and then i guess balancing that off againts where you need to live for work?
Just generally this is a terrific place to live, pretty low key.




springs said:


> Very timely thread for me since I'm considering a move to the triangle area, and need to decide where to buy a house. Looks like southern Durham (i.e. within a few miles of Southpoint) would be roughly equidistant by car to Gyros, Cary, and Chapel Hill rides, and Jordan Lake would be rideable from home. I classify myself as an A rider. Thanks for the good info.


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## springs

More great info, Thumper, just what I'm looking for. Factors in our location search are reasonable proximity to good food shops and restaurants, and of course non-urban bike start locations. I know these are conflicting requirements. Commuting and schools are not a concern. We visited for a weekend recently and liked CH, and parts of Cary and Raleigh. I can adapt to most any terrain, since I ride now in the PA Appalachians and spent decades in New England, but I also ride in the flats of Florida's west coast occasionally. I'm a decent climber and will probably miss the bigger hills that afaik don't show up in NC until you get further west.

At any rate I think I have a pretty good idea now about where the rides are and the basic lay of the land, and as you suggest now need to fine tune based on neighborhood characteristics and home styles.

Am I correct in assuming that organized rides occur year-round? Being a northerner the NC climate looks tame enough on paper for winter riding but temperatures can affect people differently.


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## blitzinger

Hey everyone. I live in Cary and just getting into the whole cycling scene. Mostly to get in shape but eventually I want to do some charity races or even some competitive races since I'm fairly young. Waiting to get my bike in from The Bicycle Chain in Cary/Apex. 

Let me know what some good routes in Cary are!


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## bruin11

blitzinger said:


> Hey everyone. I live in Cary and just getting into the whole cycling scene. Mostly to get in shape but eventually I want to do some charity races or even some competitive races since I'm fairly young. Waiting to get my bike in from The Bicycle Chain in Cary/Apex.
> 
> Let me know what some good routes in Cary are!


Most of the rides I did when I was in the area went out to Jordan Lake. Check with that shop you are buying from or the others in town. Cycling Spoken Here or Inside Out


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## blitzinger

bruin11 said:


> Most of the rides I did when I was in the area went out to Jordan Lake. Check with that shop you are buying from or the others in town. Cycling Spoken Here or Inside Out


Thanks for the heads up. You still in the area? Is anyone else from Cary/Apex/Morrisville?


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## oldroadie_nc

Springs, there are indeed organized rides year-round down here. The bike shops do weekend rides throughout the year, and the Gyros club has a variety of weekday and weekend rides throughout, and there are event rides as well.

Blitzinger, I live and work in Cary. The Apex Bicycle Chain has group rides every Sunday AM with various routes, generally heading west toward Jordan Lake and Chapel Hill, as does Cycling Spoken Here. The CSH Sunday ride is pretty mellow and good for folks just getting into riding in a group.


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## blitzinger

oldroadie_nc said:


> Springs, there are indeed organized rides year-round down here. The bike shops do weekend rides throughout the year, and the Gyros club has a variety of weekday and weekend rides throughout, and there are event rides as well.
> 
> Blitzinger, I live and work in Cary. The Apex Bicycle Chain has group rides every Sunday AM with various routes, generally heading west toward Jordan Lake and Chapel Hill, as does Cycling Spoken Here. The CSH Sunday ride is pretty mellow and good for folks just getting into riding in a group.


Thanks for the heads up oldroadie. I live and work in Cary as well. Do you ride with a group or anything?


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## oldroadie_nc

I do some of the Gyros rides and the Sunday Bicycle Chain rides. I ride 20-25 mi. at lunch from Weston Pkwy, sometimes hooking up with a group from SAS. And once and a while lunchtime MTB rides at Crabtree and off Old Reedy Ck to add some variety. It's a great area for all types of cycling!


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## bruin11

blitzinger said:


> Thanks for the heads up. You still in the area? Is anyone else from Cary/Apex/Morrisville?


No I don't live in the area. I'm from CT and I was visiting my sister who lives in Apex.


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## geekjimmy

tsunayoshi said:


> I will be going down with my daughter for her team camp in the middle of May and will be bringing my bike so I have something to do during the day. We'll be staying in NE Raleigh (Hampton Inn) and I don't want to drive more than 1 hour to a start location.
> 
> Looking for 50-75 mile routes with some longer climbs, totaling around 500-1000' of climbing per 10 miles, that have water options of some sort (parks, general store, etc.) every 25-35 miles or so.
> 
> Thanks,
> -Mike.


I may be too late, but you could just do a lap around Raleigh. 

http://ridewithgps.com/trips/908885


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## blitzinger

Jimmy you in the Raleigh area? Know of any other routes, perhaps a bit shorter for someone starting out?


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## geekjimmy

blitzinger said:


> Jimmy you in the Raleigh area? Know of any other routes, perhaps a bit shorter for someone starting out?


You can poke around my RWGPS errors to see the ones I've created/ridden. Most are less than 30 miles. They are mainly focused around home (south of Garner) or work (RTP). 

http://bit.ly/16pYmgS


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## blitzinger

geekjimmy said:


> You can poke around my RWGPS errors to see the ones I've created/ridden. Most are less than 30 miles. They are mainly focused around home (south of Garner) or work (RTP).
> 
> geekJimmy's Activities


Excellent. I actually work in RTP as well and live close by so that'll help get me started. Thanks


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## tsunayoshi

geekjimmy said:


> I may be too late, but you could just do a lap around Raleigh.
> 
> Lap Around Raleigh - Wake, North Carolina


How apropos...mile 34 on that route is where we'll be this weekend (soccer plex). However, now that the day's schedule came out, I won't have time to ride now , so I destroyed my legs on after work rides this week.

But thanks everyone for the suggestions. It looks like to get the kind of riding I was looking for I need to head an hour or two west.


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## thumper8888

Food shops and restaurants? that's chapel hill and (people will argue) to a slightly lesser degree durham.
There are more (numerically) interesting restraurants in durham by a fraction, but those in chapel hill have a quality edge. Lantern, Kitchen, Crooks Corner, Glass Half Full, Sandwhich, Neals Deli, Carrburrito and The Pig are just iconic, and there are half a dozen others that are at or near the same level.
Either town is better than the much-vaunted Charleston restaurant scene, and together it's not even close... I have to go to chucktown once a year and just shake my head at the hype every time.
But the food shops are a clear chapel hill edge. I hit Paris on the expense account regularly and I can assure you that A Southern Season is better than Hediard and Fouchon in Paris, no lie. And 3Cup has a tiny but damned interesting selection.
Both cities have Fosters restaurant/shops, which are solid in every way.
Place is a freakin foodie mecca, and if you are balancing out quality of live, biking and foodie crap, Chapel Hill has no equal east of Boulder, unless you have to have mountains, then it's prob Asheville.
And now that Green Man of Asheville is selling its beer down here, no real reason to go up there.


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## blitzinger

Guy at work showed me a (roughly) 17 mile course around Jordan Lake I'm going to probably hit up this weekend, weather permitting (as you all know weather here has been horrible). Thumper8888, there any routes around cary/apex that you ride consistently or do you always mix it up?


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## thumper8888

blitzinger said:


> Guy at work showed me a (roughly) 17 mile course around Jordan Lake I'm going to probably hit up this weekend, weather permitting (as you all know weather here has been horrible). Thumper8888, there any routes around cary/apex that you ride consistently or do you always mix it up?


Sorry getting back so late on this... I just fall in with the groups when I ride over there, which frankly is usually on weeknights in the summer as that's something I can work in on my way home to chapel hill from work in raleigh... 
My choice would always be with chapel hill rides.... not only because I live there, but the routes are simply just better in most ways...
but anything dow that way that works in Big Woods ( nice long stretch without much elevation change which is kind of rare around here) and maybe works south on Pea Ridge usually works well....better yet, work west and hit Bynum Ridge Road for some of the better climbing in the area...


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## blitzinger

Thanks for the heads up. Ill have to check out some routes in Chapel Hill. Saturday and Sunday I biked around Jordan. Went from a public fishing area off fairington to lystra to jack bennet and then took big woods to 64 and back to the starting point. Works out to 17.8 miles I think which is a ton when you're out of shape. Those two big hills on Big Wood can be a pain. 

I just found out that I can go from Green Level in Cary to Jenks rd which eventually dumps you out on 64. Think I might have to try that and then going around the lake once I get more in shape. All in all about a 50-60 mile ride.


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