I have some big news, and those of you who follow me on my socials or Strava might have noticed a lack of posts over the past couple of months. While there was a week of sickness and a 2 week vacation there have been some other things brewing in the background that have kept me from riding/training/racing. I’m not sure the surrey and cruiser bike rides on vacation count.
My wife and I are moving to the Charlotte, NC area! We are so excited as we have been talking about moving south and getting out of NY or a few years now and low and behold I received a terrific job offer and we should be moving over the next few months.
Of course nothing is as easy as it sounds and it has been calls with banks, realtors, relocation people every day for a few weeks now, not to mention I’m finishing up my old job and trying to prepare for the new. Then there will be lots of flights and stays in hotels until we actually move. Not looking forward to that.
Hopefully things fall into place soon and I can experience some new and exciting adventures in our new city. I think the NC/SC cycling scene is far superior to what we have in this area of NY.
Any TrainerRoadites have any recommendations for clubs/routes etc? I have found some stuff online but always open to suggestions. Oh any good bike shops to rent road bikes from while I’m living out of a suitcase? I’m probably going to forego any more structured training for at least the summer and just get out and enjoy the riding. Maybe some fondos if I can get some type of fitness back.
There are a few fast group rides in Charlotte.
The race scene to me was lacking. Then again, I was coming from CO where we have something every weekend and usually midweek.
There’s a crit series MAC that is fun. Numbers are low, but it’s fun, fast crit racing. Stuff in Kernsville and Winston-Salem as well. There are some less than busy roads out towards Lake Norman on the Denver side of things. No shoulders or anything, but nice pavement.
I tried to get all my rides in before 10 am. Anything after that was miserable to me.
Thanks @JHow. Where I am right now there is no local race scene, unless I want to travel into the city which has it’s own challenges, so anything to me is better than nothing! I do know Cabarras county has some marked bike routes, but good to know about the riding around Lake Norman as well. I’m not sure where we are going to settle down, maybe over the border in SC, but I imagine, once I get some legs back, there will be a lot long rides exploring everything.
There is great mountain biking here if you are into that. In the Triad we have a regular race scene throughout the spring and summer. There are two groups who put on races in Western North Carolina that are very well supported.
Haven’t been mountain biking seriously in almost 20 years - thats how old my bike is! Might be a good reason to get something a little newer. Thanks for the links though, some stuff on their definitely interests me.
We are looking at a bunch of different places. I’ll be working in Ballantyne, but might end up in a neighborhood in Fort Mill as that seems to be a popular option with a short commute. We also like Harrisburg (thats the original town we fell in love with) but its a bit further away.
Welcome to North Carolina! I’m in Winston-Salem and have been here for the past 25(ish) years. We certainly are not ‘close’ to CLT, but we do have some incredible roads in this region with great proximity to the mountains and Piedmont.
As a person who’s in the process of moving to another state, I dare to ask what moving company you used? There are so many of them and no time to check out. I’m looking at MOD24, maybe you worked with them?
I lived in Rock Hill from 2000-2011, and taught at RHHS.
Fort Mill. Good schools, lower taxes, close commute to CLT and most importantly, you’ll be closer to the Rock Hill Velodrome so you can ride the track. For what it’s worth, the riding in SC is a little better than NC, since it’s a bit less built up and has lighter traffic on the secondary roads.
For group rides, ok, not so much, but I would do the Saturday ride out of Bike South (well, it was called that in 09-10, anyway). Short 20min drive to the shop.
I live in Ballantyne and know a fair amount about the road and mountain biking scene. Message me if you need any more specific answers. Weeklyrides is a good start. The Saturday Mojo ride is a nice one to get a feel for one of the great things about Charlotte in that the outskirts can be nice country roads.
As was said, Mountain biking is superb. 25+ trails, including the US National Whitewater Center and some other gems.
Thanks both! Looks like this thread was resurrected as I’ve been here 2+ years already.
We ended up in the Fort Mill “area”, Riding is ok, need to get out early though to beat a lot of the traffic as the area has been built up. My favorite rides up up to South Park and back or a “loop” I created which goes between Reagent Parkway out to the Catawba. Lots of variations in there so I can change it up and not be too bored with it. I like to head out to Waxhaw on occasion but again, need to get out early before the traffic on Marvin.
I’ve done a couple of local “event” but haven’t hooked up with any group rides yet.
No mountain biking yet for me, need a MTB first. I’ve thought about taking my CX bike to Anne Springs but haven’t done it yet, might try this fall.
