Ride to the State Fair!
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Tomorrow, Thursday October 23rd, The Bike Library will host a film screening at the cafe. Doors open at 6, film starts at 7, bring a camp chair or cushion and watch Lael Wilcox ride around the world!
The State Fair is in town! it's that time of year to go and enjoy fresh-fried donuts, turkey legs, people watch, and see award winning vegetables and animals, all in a one-of-a-kind North Carolina experience.
What if you could bypass the worst part of the Fair: getting there and back?
Yesterday, several members of the TBL team (Lauren, Hira, and Cameron) rode out to the State Fair to recon a safe route to get there and back.
Things to know
- Riding in the day is usually safer than at night. If you're interested in trying this ride during the day, the State Fair has a lunch pass available – get in and out between the hours of 11:30am and 1:30pm and get your $20 entry refunded!
- If you ride at night, bring lights! It's also usually safer to ride in a big group with others who also have lights.
The route
- From TBL, get up and over Boylan to get to the Rocky Branch by the State Prison
- The Rocky Branch Greenway is a great way to get to Meredith, but there's not a great way to avoid getting on Hillsborough to pass under I-440.
- Take the lane after you pass Waffle House! We did this on our test run and it proved to be effective for letting cars know you're there. Under the bridge can be pretty tricky, so it's helpful to have the lane. It won't be for long – you'll be able to get on the multi use path soon.
- After the 440 bridge, get on the big multi-use path on the right hand side. This is a great piece of infrastructure and should soon be connected under the bridge – on your way over, see if you can scope the underlayment of the soon-to-be bike path.
- Gate 1 has a once-proud bike rack that is now in a bit of decay. (It's unbolted and leaning against a fence, useless.) I saw plenty of people locking their bikes together. I'd recommend locking bikes together or locking them to a fencepost in the chainlink fence.
- On the way back, don't use the bike path – rather, just stick on Hillsborough the entire time. The rationale here is that you'll want to avoid crossing Hillsborough near the bridge. It seems that that would be more uncomfortable and dangerous than riding in the travel lane until you get back to Meredith.
As usual, these are just opinions. Do whatever makes you feel comfortable! If that means riding during the day or in a group, that's great.
It's a great way to enjoy the weather, avoid the lines, and digest some food on the way back home!
And maybe... if enough of us ride there... they'll fix that bike rack ;)
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