Tour de Moore Century (Moore County, NC)

Jim Parker

Cruzbike, Inc. Director
Staff member
This is one of my favorite rides (not a race) every year, sponsored by the Sandhills Cycling Club; 350 riders doing 102 miles with about 5200 ft of climbing along a loop course that covers some of the most beautiful parts of the "sandhills" of North Carolina.

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It ends with a live band, great food, and cold beverages. It's always on Labor Day. My goal this year was to do it under 5 hours, which some years I can do, and some I can't.

After the Hoodoo 500 which ended exactly one week earlier, Ben Tomblin flew home to Florida and Maria drove all his gear back to our house in NC. Since Ben had to come pick his gear up anyway, he wanted to ride the Tour de Moore with me even though I wanted to do it fast and he was fresh off a grueling 520 mile race. Maria decided at the last minute that she would do it, too, even though she was sore not just from the Hoodoo, but from running stairs at our local high school stadium in preparation for her Grand Canyon rim-to-rim run coming up next month (a charity run for brain cancer research).

At about 7:30 AM, the ride started and Ben and I quickly moved well beyond the "A" group. We had about 5 miles of mostly a gentle downhill before the climbing started and we wanted to build a cushion. While not officially a race, a lot of the cyclists are very competitive and try to do the course as fast as possible. As I rounded a left-turn at about mile 6, my front tire hit a rock or something and I heard a loud "bang" and had to quickly unclip and pull over. Ben offered to stop but I waved him on. As I began my inspection and repairs, the A, B, and C groups passed, with Maria near the back... taking her time.

Haley Beann, a cyclocross superstar, was driving a support vehicle for the lead pack and a local bike shop. Here's what she looks like on a bike:
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She stopped to help me out and we noticed that I had more than just a flat tire. I had a big sidewall gash in the tire. Unable to fix it, she offered to let me ride the rest of the way with her if I helped supply water and aid to the peleton. Deal!

A few minutes later, we pull up next to Maria as she pedaled down the road and I had to quickly explain why I was riding in a car with a beautiful young woman, rather than trying to catch up on my bike. "Do you want some water, Honey?"

Haley and I stayed very busy for the next four hours, collecting empty bottles, refilling them, and handing them back out. We saw a multi-bike crash at about mile 35 and we helped a scuffed-up guy get his bike going again. His front wheel was badly warped, so I loaned him my non-drive wheel since I didn't need it. He was thus able to finish the 102 miles. It took us a lot longer to catch up with Ben because we stayed near the lead peleton and it took THEM 60 miles to finally reel Ben in. Then he stayed with them until the end, finishing in a very solid 4:40.

Maria, never ceasing to amaze me, finished in 4:59. She rode almost the entire race by herself, at her own pace, and still came in under 5-hours. Here's Maria's Garmin summary of her ride:
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Maria also finally got to use the new double bottle cage with the utility pole that mounts solidly on the
headrest struts. It worked great.
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Next year, I'd like to invite all Cruzbike riders, and all recumbent riders, to come enjoy the fun of the Tour de Moore on Labor Day. We'll give away door prizes and some bling for everyone who comes and rides. More details later, but if you are an advance-planner, reserve Monday, September 5th, 2016 for a great century ride. There are also shorter route options for those not ready for 102 miles. The cost to register this year was $30, and I expect will be about the same next year.

Jim
 

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Loop course.... every foot you climb up; you can get to coast down.
Fear not the elevation gained, but respect the average gradient of all uphill miles :rolleyes:
Rode a 68 mile loop 2 weeks ago with 1700 feet of climb and by the end I was a wheezy, huffing and puffing, 2mph mess on the steeper uphills. Did pretty well keeping up with the B group for the first 3rd of the ride though, so with some climb training focus I could possibly make a respectable showing in NC ... one day.
 

Charles.Plager

Recumbent Quant
The Bloomin' metric (100 km - 62 miles) has 4,400 feet of climbing. I've done it twice and twice it kicked my @$$ (although I finished both times).

And I've been told that if you don't get 100 feet per mile, that ain't real climbing. (And I'm o.k. not doing real climbing... :D)
 

twhbent

Active Member
Interesting ride, my wife says Lets Go. Not sure about the elevation and miles but worth the challenge. Might take a day or two to complete the 102 route. Will be putting this on the to do list.
Thank you Jim.
 

ratz

Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
The Bloomin' metric (100 km - 62 miles) has 4,400 feet of climbing. I've done it twice and twice it kicked my @$$ (although I finished both times).

And I've been told that if you don't get 100 feet per mile, that ain't real climbing. (And I'm o.k. not doing real climbing... :D)

I computed my average ft climbed per mile last season; that was depressing. This year we have taken trips to flat places to see how the rest of the world rides.
 

LarryOz

Cruzeum Curator & Sigma Wrangler
My legs got tired just reading "5200 feet of climb"
In NC, you ride the Assault on Mount Mitchell first (100+ miles with 11K climbing), and then the 5200 feet of climbing feels flat! :)
Jim can confirm this, but I suspect the climbing in the Tour De Moore probably does not have much really steep grades to have to navigate.
See you all next year!
 

DuncanWatson

Well-Known Member
My commute is ~48ft/mile. Most of the local rando rides are more, the cascade event rides are less and the local shop rides vary but tend to have more.
 
Next year, I'd like to invite all Cruzbike riders, and all recumbent riders, to come enjoy the fun of the Tour de Moore on Labor Day.

Hey Jim, you might have forgotten this, but as you recommended, it was on my calendar :) I just signed up for the century and will give it a try. Rates go up on Aug 22. I'm sitting at home with pneumonia totally bummed I can't go to the Mid-Atlantic 24 hour. I love that course - fast and flat. I did 100 miles on it last month quite comfortably and was ready for many more this weekend. So I'll switch my focus two weeks out to the Tour de Moore and hope to catch up with some Cruzbikes there.
 

Jim Parker

Cruzbike, Inc. Director
Staff member
Anyone coming to the event, please give me a heads-up so I know how many T-shirts and other bling to bring.
We are going to make some utility poles, but they arent' ready yet.
 

Always-Learnin

Vendetta Love
Anyone coming to the event, please give me a heads-up so I know how many T-shirts and other bling to bring.
We are going to make some utility poles, but they arent' ready yet.
Jim, I'd be happy to beta test one of those for you! I'd like to have one, put me on your list.
 

LarryOz

Cruzeum Curator & Sigma Wrangler
I'm not gonna make it - because we are visiting Gayle's family in Savannah - but I'd love a Cruzbike t-shirt too - truth is: I don't own one - boohoo. :(
Good thing is that they have a Century "ride" here too - about 102 miles.
I am told "it is not a race".
Well based on the Strava KOM for the route at 4:01, I guess it safe to safe that it is a race for at least "a few" fast riders.. :)
The "ride" starts at 7:30am - so we'll all be riding at the same time I think.
Be safe and have fun - video on this end to follow of course! :)
 
I'll do a quick follow up on this from yesterday. I met up with the Parkers at the 2016 Tour de Moore. We had beautiful weather after Hurricane Hermine swept through a couple days earlier. I couldn't ask for a better day. And I have to agree with Jim that this is a very nice century course. I'll highly recommend this ride too.

I rode with Maria the first part of the day. This was the first time I'd ridden around another recumbent. She's a joy to ride with - a very efficient rider not over pushing the climbs and never wasting a good downhill. I can't overstate how nice that was, especially in contrast to the DF pack we were riding behind at the start.

60 miles in she started pulling ahead. At 65 miles she was a good 1/4 mile ahead when I pulled over for food and water. Then I caught back up with her at 70 miles after she had stopped to help another lady with a flat. But unfortunately I had some cramping starting up so couldn't hang with her anymore. Maria did that last 30 miles significantly faster than I did as I had to stop a few times to stretch out cramps. Maria and my wife were there to cheer me on at the finish. My moving time for the century was 5:11, which considering my pitiful lack of conditioning this year I'm happy with. It was my third century on the Cruzbike and 2nd with hills (5500 feet of them). All in all it was a very good day. Each day on this bike gets easier.

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Jim Parker

Cruzbike, Inc. Director
Staff member
It was a beautiful day and so great for Maria and I to see old Cruzbike friends and meet new ones. Here are a couple of photos of the after-ride lunch and a group shot.
The course was a little shorter this year due to some road construction, but still got the 5500 feet of climbing in and finished 100 miles in 4:47. That's a 20.9 mph average, which is a PR for me. Maria was happy with her finish time of 4:58.
Jim

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L-R: Barbara Wall, Rich Hayes, Maria Parker, Jim Parker, Doug Kline, and Dave Wall.
 

Rich

Member
It was great finally meeting some other Cruzbikers. I appreciate y'all fast riders hanging out with an old fat slow rider like myself.
Even though I only did the short course, it was a beautiful ride. Although that last hill nearly killed me.
I look forward to doing this again next year (hopefully a bit faster).
 
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