Riders take Raleigh routes

RALEIGH -- 'So how much diversity is there on this ride?" I asked Jennifer Lewis as she worked to get her bike off the car rack. She thought for a moment, aware that I was referring to what kind of riders she gets on her weekly rides that explore Raleigh's bike route system.

"All kinds, really," she said.

The bikes that show up for a ride say a lot about the ride itself. All road bikes suggest a fast crowd. All hybrids -- that mix of road and mountain that strives for comfort -- suggest a more civil, leisurely pace.

As if on cue, within five minutes an array of bikes had filled the lot. Two mountain bikes, a cross bike (for cyclocross), a pair of hybrids, a vintage road bike, a touring bike. And the rare Bike Friday. The mix was one I'd never seen on a ride and it said one thing about Raleigh Rides!: fun.

Last fall, Lewis started leading weekly Sunday afternoon rides exploring Raleigh's 150-mile bike route system. Unlike the city's nearly 50-mile greenway system, bike routes share space on city streets, capitalizing on wide roads and those less traveled to create north-south and east-west routes touching much of the city. Raleigh's Bike Route system has nine main cross-town routes that focus on getting from Point A (your house) to Point B (school a park, work or shopping) and four short recreational routes intended for family jaunts.

Several towns in the Triangle have such route systems (see box).

Precisely at 1:17 p.m. -- 17 minutes after the scheduled start time -- the 10 of us pulled out of Fred Fletcher Park off Glenwood Avenue near downtown. Nearly all of Lewis' rides start from here, in part because it's near where most of the routes cross, in part because one of the regular riders lives nearby and lets people use her bathroom.

Today's route: the northern section of Route 9, which begins on Sweetbriar Drive just south of Spring Forest Road between Six Forks and Falls of the Neuse roads, and heads generally south past North Hills shopping center, through the Five Points neighborhood, crosses downtown on Jones and Lane streets, goes east on Milburnie Road, cuts south near WakeMed and winds up at Walnut Creek. We were only doing the northern half because Lewis likes to keep the rides between 10 and 15 miles and never longer than 20. Bike Route 9 is 13.5 miles long; counting the return trip to Fred Fletcher, we would have easily exceeded the limit.

The tenor of the ride was established in the parking lot. Yes, we were here to get a little exercise and see some sights. But this was a social event as well, with ample pre-ride chatter about rides past. Shortly after pulling out of the parking lot and turning north on St. Mary's Street, I buddied up with Dilip Barman to find out more about his Bike Friday, a diminutive cycle known for its surprising performance and portability, folding into a small suitcase for easy transport.

In the time it took to ride up St. Mary's, go right on Williamson Drive, left on Carr Street, right on Harvey, left on Burton, left on Fairview, right on Duncan, left on Sunset and right on White Oak, I learned that:

* Barman bought his Bike Friday in 1992.

* He and his wife take their BFs to Hawaii regularly.

* Barman has ridden his BF down the 38-mile road up Maui's 10,000-foot Haleakala volcano, but never up it.

* For about $300 you can send your Bike Friday back to the shop and get it overhauled, including a new paint job.

Though known for its performance, Bike Friday isn't the best climbing bike in the world. Barman didn't tell me this; I noticed it when Bike Route 9 climbed Lassiter Mill Road up to the Beltline -- inside the Beltline's version of the Tour de France's Alp d'Huez -- establishing him firmly in the sweep position.

No matter. This is a friendly as well as social ride. There were no breakaways to see who could get to one of North Hills' three Starbucks the fastest. Rather, the riders reassembled at the top of the climb, caught their breath and, in the face of gathering storm clouds, debated how much farther to continue. All the way was the consensus.

Social, these Raleigh Riders. But spirited, too.