This link
is a 'view from space' of the Saturday 75 Mile Loop
This link is a MapSource
view of the 75 Mile Saturday Loop
Here is my GPS program's view of the
Saturday Loop The route shows us going
over the 'old' bridge across the Neuse
because the topological map I have
does not include the new bridges.
Here is my GPS program's view of
the Sunday loop I think a good name
for this map would be the Neuse River
Valley ride because we cross the
Neuse River two times.
Saturday morning looking south.
Saturday AM looking south.
Saturday AM
John, Zach, Dave, Laviece
John, Dave, Laviece, Zach, George
THE 2005 MS150 Bicycle Tour
Emerald Express
Bicycle Team
A video clip of a bluegrass
band at lunch.
Dave and Amanda,
Amanda is our adopted
Emerald Express team mate.
Amanda, Laviece, Dave
Amanda, Dave, Zach, Laviece
at the end of the day
Dave, Zach, Laviece
Amanda, Dave, Zach, Laviece
Dave
Paul (our support staff)
Laviece
John (back from the century)
and Paul
Paul, Laviece, and Amanda
The director of WCTI-TV12
John
and George
(our century riders)
Sunday Morning
Amanda and John Sunday AM
Sunday AM (John's Bike Flag)
Sunday AM David
Amanda, Dave, Zach, John
The End Of 150 Miles
(and for John 175 Miles)
Heading out of town on Sunday AM
(that is me in the blue jersey)
Nora took this picture
Nora also took this picture at a rest stop.
Sunday version of the Emerald Express.
Sunday version of the Emerald Express.
Both days were very good for bike riding. Not a lot of sun, no rain, and moderate temperatures.
And just so we paid attention and did know we were on bicycles the larger circulation of
Hurricane Ophelia set up a brisk 15 to 25 mph northeast wind. On Saturday we rode roughly
northeast in the morning and south west in the afternoon. This meant when we all had fresh
legs we rode with mostly a head wind. And in the afternoon on the way back to New Bern we
had monster tailwinds.
On Saturday John and George rode the century loop. George, who is a triathlete, had a treat
because on a bike tour (but not during a triathlon) you can ride with other riders and they
can all share the load of punching a hole in the air. What this meant was that he finished
the 100 mile loop in the same time period that Dave, Laviece and I finished the 75 mile loop.
We figured it was somewhere near 19 miles per hour while we only averaged around
15 miles per hour. Here is George's web page for the ride.
On Sunday we rode mostly northwest in the morning and south east in the afternoon so we
had side winds and head winds both ways with a few instances of a tail wind. We got back
both days with a good average speed. However on Saturday night the weatherman predicted
very strong winds for Sunday and many of the riders opted not to ride on Sunday.
What this meant was that our respectable speed of 14mph was among the slowest on the
course for Sunday and we found the event venue almost deserted when we got back Sunday
afternoon around 2:30-3:00PM. Dave and I were actually in the shower when they turned off the
water and John did not make it in time. I also got the very last 'veggie-burger'.
Perhaps next year we can either ride faster or the event organizers can hold the event
open until normal paced riders return to the start finish line.
We all had a wonderful time on both days. I think this annual event (The Eastern NC MS150 Bike Tour)
truly is one of the best organized and run events I've ever participated in.