urban bicycle journeys

Warm sunny weather was predicted for the next three days before an extended period of rain and cold. I hatched an idea; why not take three days to bike from my home in Chapel Hill NC up to Petersburg or Richmond VA? As it turned out, I did not make it that far but I did have a nice bike ride.

I left Chapel Hill about eight in the morning and biked fifteen miles to my son and daughter-in-law’s house in the Duke Park area of Durham NC. Mary Hannah was out somewhere but I stopped for twenty minutes of coffee and conversation with Jack and less-than-a year-old grandson Frankie. He turns one on December sixth.

Onward! Because it was a Sunday morning traffic on Durham’s Old Roxboro Road was light. Can anyone else remember what 1960-70’s fast food chain had these distinctive buildings?

Old Roxboro Road led to Old Oxford Road and I was soon out in the countryside.

Twenty miles north of Durham, Butner NC is a strange beast. Barely a town, it was the site of a military base that closed in 1947. I guess because of the free land, Butner became the site of several federal and state “institutions.” I cycled by a huge newish federal prison. Depressing. I think Bernie Madoff served time and died here.

A mile or two after the federal prison I passed the state “Division of Juvenile Justice; C.A. Dillon Youth Development Center. ” I can’t image what awful stuff goes on in there but I couldn’t see much from the highway.

I cycled on. I also know there is some kind of state mental hospital in Butner. I did see two deer in someone’s yard; maybe not.

The next town was Stem NC; population in 2020 was 960, up from 463 in 2010 and 229 in the year 2000.

Stem NC has a gas station/mini-mart, a Dollar General, and a park with a playground and a picnic table. I stopped there for half an hour and ate my peanut butter and honey on Dave’s whole wheat bread.

I cycled northward.

Thirty-five miles north of Durham and fifty miles north of Chapel Hill, Oxford NC (population 8,600) is the county seat of Granville County. Its mostly unused movie theater is attractive in an Art-Deco way.

Central Oxford NC absolutely has signs of life, including a great downtown local bakery, which, unfortunately, was closed on Sunday. I wanted a coffee but nowhere seemed open. I bought a cold Starbucks milk drink at the CVS and sat for a while on a bench by the town offices.

I cycled onward.

Henderson NC (population 15,000) should not be confused with the western North Carolina town of Hendersonville. Back in 2016 I spent four days cycling up to Richmond VA, staying the first night here in Henderson NC. Back then there were no hotels in downtown Henderson and I was relegated to the strip of motels two miles out on the big highway. The situation in 2025 has not changed. I booked a room at a Hampton Inn right off I-85. Back in 2016 I tried to snobbily dismiss the chain restaurant Ruby Tuesday but I was pleasantly surprised not only at the vibrant bar scene but the delicious Hickory Bourbon Salmon. Nine and a half years later on this Sunday evening in 2025 Ruby Tuesday still had one of the better seafood entries I have had in a while and it all seemed healthy. There was no hint of a fishy smell, it was not overcooked, and the skin underneath the sweet-ish barbecue sauce was perfectly crisp. The grilled zucchini were another plus. I later asked for more rice pilaf.

My bartender was from near Chapel Hill NC and she complained about her Henderson NC native husband requiring them to live “out here.” She knew of the song “Tulsa Time” famously covered by Eric Clapton but not that it was written by a guy from Henderson NC. I described seeing him, Danny Flowers, at a small house concert in Durham NC about twenty years ago. That story seemed to brighten her day.

I do occasionally complain that my hometown of Chapel Hill NC is monocultural. Meanwhile, at Ruby Tuesday in Henderson NC eighty percent of the patrons and also the restaurant staff were African-American.

Earlier that afternoon I had passed the former home of Henderson’s Charles Boyd Chevrolet, which has now moved a quarter mile down the highway. I remember admiring this building back in 2016 when it was still an active automobile showroom. I worried even then that something would happen to it. It’s still there, now empty but at least someone is mowing the grass.

Back at the hotel room my suspicions were confirmed. I was definitely coming down with something, a sore throat and runny nose, a cold. I had had a wonderful day but cycling the next day while sick seemed pointless. I offered to take an Uber but the next morning Tootie drove sixty miles with our dog Rosie out to get me, in our Ford Escape Hybrid.