Cycle North Carolina 2002

   By Roger Woolsey - New Bern

The ride this year took us through the center of the state from Statesville to New Bern. This year the weather had good and bad parts. The good was the decent weather, not too hot or too cold, and a lot of overcast skies for great riding. The bad was the rain most of the third day in Asheboro and the downpour the last 7 miles for our group coming into Kinston on the sixth day. Out of the 503 riders from North Carolina there were six riders from New Bern - Kerl, Sadler, three named Myers and myself. There were just under 1000 riders this year;  66% were men and 34% women. The average age was 48 with the oldest rider 79. There were riders from 40 states, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands. This year a guy named Bubba offered to rent a tent and air mattress, including the put up and take down of the tent and movement of your luggage. The only thing you needed to do was pack and unpack your luggage, eat meals and ride your bike. You could even rent a daily clean towel and wash cloth, a chair and a charger for those with cell phones. I did not get a century ride due to the rain in Kinston, but had a total of 430 miles on my computer. The CNC ride is a lot more challenging than anything around New Bern with hills. Hope to see you on the ride next year.

Note: This was Roger's 3rd trip across North Carolina (Dave W)