2016 Cycling Review

With the end of the year approaching, it is time to look back at the cycling events within the Raleigh-Durham, NC area.

Road Racing:

For road cycling racers there were many USA Cycling sanctioned races and series hosted by area bike clubs are businesses. The Keep Raleigh Boring Criterium on 21st of February, the Chatham County Road Race on 5th of March and the Bull City Grand Prix the next day all run by the Carolina Cycling Association. The NCSU Cycling Club hosted the Wolfpack Classic Road Race & Criterium on the weekend of the 23rd and 24th of April. On May 16th was the Falls Lake Road Race run by Team Spoke Cycles. In May and June was the Backyard Series Criterium. On the Forth of July was the appropriately named Firecracker Ride run by the Capital Cycling Club. Later in the month on the 6th was the Velo4Yellow run by the Raleigh Gyros Cycling Club.

Cyclocross:

Cranking out laps on pavement, on dirt and over obstacles, cyclo-cross provides a variety of challenges for competitors. The Cross Central Series with the local events held at the Dorthea Dix Campus in Raleigh, Fuquay-Varina and Rock Quarry Park in Durham in September and October. The North Carolina Cyclo-Cross Series had multiple events around the state, with two in the area. One in Durham and one in Raleigh on consecutive weeks in November.

Mountain Biking:

Triangle Off-Road Cyclists, the local chapter of IMBA, had racing events on single track ride in the woods. The competitive calendar was: Curse at the Crab Race on the 17th of April, Moar XC Racing on the 10th of July, Beaverdam/New Light Challenge on 28th of August, Briar Patch XC on the 18th of September, Umstead Gravel Grinder on 29th of October and 6 Hours of Briar Chapel on 6th of November.

Find activities that move you by checking the calendar, subscribing to the blog, following us on Twitter, liking us on Facebook or adding us to your circle on Google+

William B. Umstead State Park – North

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Have an adventure running, biking or horseback riding in the huge 5,599 acre William B. Umstead State Park. The Crabtree Creek Entrance on the northern side of the park is located of US Highway 70 in Raleigh, NC. The mostly forested park is in the center of the growing Raleigh-Durham area.

After turning onto Umstead Parkway, the road goes by the Visitors Center to a pair of parking lots where it ends. From the Visitors Center trail runners can take the Sal Branch Trail loop by Big Lake. At the two parking lots there is the Oak Rock Trail and the Potts Branch Trail that are both short loops. For a longer run and to connect to other trails, take the Sycamore Trail. It crosses Group Camp Road near the intersection with Sycamore Road then crosses the multi-use trail (MUT) that connects the horse trailer parking to the Graylyn MUT then does a loop that crosses the Graylyn MUT twice. The larger MUT are available for trail runners, cyclists and equestrians. Graylyn MUT, as seen in the above picture, connects the Graylyn Gate Entrance to Reedy Creek Trail. Along the trail is the connection to North Turkey Creek MUT, as seen in the picture below, which goes to the intersection with Cedar Ridge MUT.

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Just south of the visitors center of is Group Camp Road and off of it is Sycamore Road which ends at the horse trailer parking where equestrians can access the MUT.

The park hosts a few competitive events during the year: The Umstead 100 mile Endurance Run, Umstead Trail Marathon, Turkey Chase, Walk/Run/Bike for Umstead and Umstead Gravel Grinder.

Find activities that move you by checking the calendar, subscribing to the blog, following us on Twitter, liking us on Facebook or adding us to your circle on Google+

Recommending

Six months ago we made the first blog post on PeoplePorting. Since the beginning, we have been focused on delivering practical and fun information about running, cycling and driving for people in the Raleigh-Durham, NC area. We would like to receive your impressions of PeoplePorting and recommendations for modification in the comments.

Falls Lake State Recreation Area – Beaverdam

Run or bike on the trails and swim or boat on the water at Falls Lake State Recreation Area – Beaverdam. The North Carolina owned area has a shoreline on the enormous 12,000 acre man made reservoir. It has seven access areas including Beaverdam located off Creedmoor Road, NC Highway 50, north of the lake.

Mountain bikers have six and a half miles of beginning or intermediate trails over three loop trails as well as a separate six and a half mile trail for advanced riders.img_1952There is a short loop in the center of the area and an out and back Duck Cove Trail along the lake that can be used for trail running.

For those interested in the water, there is a beach with a roped off section for swimmers

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that can be seen in the picture above. Next to it is a boat ramp for trailers to place a boat in and take it out of the water.

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Harris Lake County Park

Run by the lake, ride on the mountain bike trail or float in your boat at Harris Lake County Park. The mostly wooded 680 acre park is on a peninsula in a man made lake is leased by Wake County. Its located off New Hill Holleman Road in New Hill, NC southwest of Apex.

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For trail runners, there is Peninsula Trail, as seen in the above photo, that follows the lake shore for most of the four and a half mile loop.

The Hog Run Trail is a separate dedicated Mountain Biking trail with three sections for beginners, intermediates and advanced riders.

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For mountain bikers who want to improve their skills, there a course with a variety of challenges beyond what is in the above photo.

For people who want to get out on the lake there are two areas to put your boat into the water. One area is for boats that fit on top of you car, seen below, and another separate the boat landing area for larger vessels.

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William B. Umstead State Park – South

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Go running, biking or horseback riding in the huge 5,599 acre William B. Umstead State Park. The Reedy Creek Entrance on the southern side of the park is located at the end of North Harrison Avenue in Cary, NC and is near Exit 287 off of Interstate 40. The mostly forested park is in the center of the growing Raleigh-Durham area.

Inside the park there is a parking lot from which hikers and trail runners can use the Company Mill Trail which descends to Crabtree Creek where the company mill was located before making a loop that crosses the Reedy Creek muti-use trail (MUT) twice or the Loplolly Trail which heads east crossing the Reedy Creek MUT and the Turkey Creek MUT before exiting the park and continuing to the nearby Carl Alwin Schenck Memorial Forest. Mountain and adventurous road bikers can ride on the Reedy Creek Lake MUT to the lake where it connects to the Reedy Creek MUT. The multi-use trails can also be used by equestrians. The park hosts a few competitive events during the year: The Umstead 100 mile Endurance Run, Umstead Trail Marathon, Walk/Run/Bike for Umstead and the Umstead Gravel Grinder.

 

West Point on the Eno

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For trail runners and boaters, the West Point on the Eno Park has trails through the riverside forest and the Eno River. The 388 acre park that is owned by the City of Durham is located on on both banks of the river between the main entrance in Roxboro Road, US 501, and Guess Road.

Trail runners have a choice of the Eagle Trail in the north side of the river, the appropriately named South River Trail and shorter trails that can be run in combination with the longer trails. The Eagle Trail, named in appreciation of the Eagle Scouts who made many improvements, goes the entire distance of the park, is part of the Mountain to the Sea Trail and can be seen on the right hand side of the picture.

Boaters and use their canoes and kayak to navigate down the river while seeing the wooded areas next to the water and floating by the rocks in and on the banks of the water.

For more trails and river there is the adjacent Eno River State Park on the upstream and western side of Guess Road.

 

Anderson Point Park

potw-2016oct03The Anderson Point Park named for the Anderson Family who resided on the property is now owned by the City of Raleigh and is located where Crabtree Creek flows into the Neuse River.

Not only do two waterways connect at the park but two greenways that follow both of them connect as seen in the picture. The Neuse River Greenway, that is part of the Mountain to the Sea Trail, heads north to Buffaloe Road Athletic Park then to the Falls Lake Dam and south to Poole Road Park and into Johnson County. Crabtree Creek Trail heads west by Kiwanis, Rothgeb and North Hills Parks and will eventually connect to William B. Umstead State Park. Runners and cyclists can go for miles only crossing a few roads while looking at nature around them. There is the Anderson Point Trail inside the park that makes a loop for those interested in a short trip.

 

To get on the water, there is a boat ramp on the Neuse River for canoes, kayaks and other boats. To get out of the water there are boat ramps at parks downstream.

Find activities that move you by checking the calendar, subscribing to the blog, following us on Twitter, liking us on Facebook or adding us to your circle on Google+

Fred G. Bond Metro Park

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Enjoy running or biking on the greenways and the wooded trails or boating on Bond Lake while at Bond Park. The Town of Cary park located off of High House Road has 310 acres centered around a man made lake and is a hub of the greenway system with other single track and wider trails in the wooded areas.

For either runners of bikers there are two exiting greenways and two future greenways that connect the park to other areas. The White Oak Greenway head west towards the American Tobacco Trail while the Black Creek Greenway heads northeast towards Crabtree Lake County Park and Umstead State Park. The future Crabtree Creek Greenway, with an existing paved section within the park, will follow the waterway to same two locations. The Swift Creek Greenway will follow the path of a current dirt trail and head south towards the Apex Community Park. You can view nature as you jog or crank your pedals for miles alongside streams and through adjacent neighborhoods.

Within the park, there are interconnected dirt trails that are for mountain bikers and trail runners that meander through the trees and share sections of paved greenways. The Lake Trail encircles the lake with the south side being single track. The Pine Cone Trail is a wide mulch covered loop on the eastern side and the Paw Paw Trail for dogs is a shorter trail around the community center. For competitors, there are a few 5K races held every year on these trails. All of the greenways and trails meet at the trailhead kiosk that is in the lower left of the picture.

For those that want to be on the water there is boating on the dammed section of Crabtree Creek. The boathouse has pedal boats, kayaks, canoes, sailboats and row boats to rent and a beach and boat dock, seen on the lake in the photo, to launch them into the water.

 

Raleigh Greenways

The Capital Area Greenway Trail System is the largest in the Raleigh-Durham, NC area. The 114 miles of greenways include sections of the Mountain to the Sea Trail and the East Coast Greenway. There are connections from Raleigh to other greenways in nearby Cary, Knightdale, Wake Forest and Johnson County. To guide you while cycling or running, there is a downloadable map.