Route 2 is coming!

Want to ride in Raleigh, but don't know what's out there? Want to get to see parts of Raleigh you've never seen before? Interested in taking fun pictures? ... Then come out this Sunday at 1PM to Fred Fletcher Park to ride Raleigh's Bike Route #2! The ride will go from Fred Fletcher Park over to the nearest part of Bike Route #2, and then start the loop from there. If you would prefer not to ride from downtown to the route, then you can join us at the Panera Bread at North Hills at about 1:45PM.

When: Sunday, October 1, 1PM
Where: Fred Fletcher Park
What: Raleigh Route #2!
Why: Because its fun!

Route 1 is a success!

We completed Route 1 on Sunday, September 16, and it was a great success! We had about six people - well, five after we lost one to another ride, and we had a great time. The entire route was 5.7 miles, which took us 35 min 47 seconds, to make for an average speed of 9.57 mph.

Here's are some images of the group at the start of our ride:

This route goes through Raleigh's historic Oakwood neighborhood, through some quiet neighborhoods, onto the Buckeye Greenway, and then past St. Augustine's College. St. Aug's has what looks like an old burnt-out church on Oakwood between State St. and Tarboro Rd. - we wished we had gotten to take a picture. At Watauga and Oakwood, we took a little break, and I had a chance to take some pics:

Overall, we felt that the route was easy to follow - it was well-marked with signs like this one:

We thought this sign at Boundary and Watauga was funny:

It says: "Cyclists: Stripes do not designate bike lanes".

Unfortunately, we found there was some signage confusion at Brookside and Vale, where a sign was blocked by a large overhanging tree so that we didn't see it until we back-tracked to look for it. We also had some trouble on the Buckeye Trail figuring out the fork that occurs to get back to Crabtree Blvd.

At the end of the ride, we were pretty pooped, so we stopped in Turkish Delights on Glenwood for some tasty treats to boost our energy! I strongly recommend the chocolate milkshake.

We're looking forward to Bike Route No. 2: the North Hills Adventure! more to come...

Welcome!

Hi All,

Welcome to the Raleigh Routes webpage! This webpage has been established as part of a big adventure to ride all of the Bike Routes in the City of Raleigh. Throughout the adventure, I (Jennifer) will be posting updates about our rides for each route, what we see on them, and the fun things that we do along the way. I'll also be posting updates about upcoming rides for those who want to join in.

The Raleigh Routes Adventure is intended to be both part fun and part advocacy. If you would like to join in the fun, the rides are open to everyone of all skill levels and with all sorts of bikes. We go at a fairly slow pace, making plenty of stops to take pictures and water breaks along the way. We also encourage post-ride dining! Eventually, our goal is to do all 13 bike routes by the end of the year (for a route map, see: http://dotw-xfer01.dot.state.nc.us/gisdot/DOTBikeMaps/_Raleigh/raleigh-front-sm.jpg).

For more information, or if you're interested in coming and want to make sure we wait for you at a particular stop along the way, feel free to contact us at raleighroutes@hotmail.com.

Where did the Raleigh Routes idea come from? It all started when I attended ProWalk/ProBike 2006, a bicycle and pedestrian conference held this year in Madison, WI. I was so awed by Madison's bike facilities, that at first I thought - we don't have anything like this in NC! Then I realized I don't really know what any of Raleigh's bike routes are like so how can I compare? That's when I came up with the idea to ride all of Raleigh's Bike Routes, in sequence. I mentioned it to some friends, and they all thought it was a good idea, and here we are. We want to open it up to everyone in the hopes that more people will get a chance to see what's out there and be encouraged to ride.

Why ride the Raleigh Routes? First, because its fun. Second, cause you get to be outside. Third, because you get some exercise. Fourth, because you get to explore parts of Raleigh you might never see in your car. And fifth, to help maintain and monitor Raleigh's Bike Routes so that others may ride them safely and enjoyably. Our goal is not only to ride the routes, but also to document what we see along the way so that perhaps Raleigh's routes can be improved, and then so that some day, we can maybe be consider a bicycle-friendly city too!

We hope to see you out there!