roadskater.net

Part of a series of excellent free skrides (bike rides where skilled inline skaters are welcome) put on by the NC Central Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The rides are well-supported, marked, and free to all, including those who may not end up participating in the annual Tour to Tanglewood for MS (but you will love the training rides so much you'll be more likely to do the tour after trying most training rides). These rides are for beginners who've trained a little and everyone else on up to experts. SAG and rest stop and bike support team are great. These rides are often better than paid rides elsewhere. Give the tour a try!

Sign-In starts at 7:30 a.m. and safety talk about 8:20 a.m. so be ready to roll even though official start is supposed to not be before 8:30 a.m. It's always good to catch a rest room on the way to the hosting shop instead of waiting on the longer lines for relief there.

Cycles de Oro shows up to support almost every charity ride and skate I know of, and they host plenty of nice low-cost rides during the year. Sometimes the fee is a couple of cans of food for the shelters. This one's free!

Over the years the routes have changed somewhat and improved in almost every way. The start includes a drop into a T at Latham Park, so bring a brake or some nasty wheelage ye skaters. After that all is very manageable and usually there are lots of stream and lake crossings in the area north of Greensboro. Nice roads, with one tricky left turn we sometimes come back to (partly because the glide down to the Haw River is sweet), but nothing especially dangerous for the skilled roadskater. Somehow the slog along through the hills near the golf course takes it out of me and there's another minor T into Sunset (I think it is) but it's all good and you're close to the shop once you get there. A few more hills to climb up to the ridge of Battleground Ave., a left at Anton's, a right at Starbucks, and right back into a wonderful greeting at Cycles de Oro with tons of smiles, cool fruit, hot coffee and more, usually. It feels like home some days and it certainly is a great place to end the day after testing the muscles and mind in a most pleasantly painful way. This one's a mix of old urban shaded neighborhoods, new urban wide calm roads, and a trip to the countryside mix of older variety and newer homogeneity. It's a nice test and confidence builder for the tour.

Join us, or if there were ever a time to help while wearing a Roadskater.net jersey, this would be a worthy one. Dale of Cycles de Oro was one of the key volunteers who said sure if you're crazy enough to do the Carolina Century, I'll be there to host the short routes start after the century crowd has been long gone. (Thanks, Dale!)

Come on out and hang out even if you can't ride or skate. It's all free no matter what you do.

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