This route begins and ends not far from Jetton Park (making for great sunsets when timed correctly). It was created with slow-paced live streaming in mind (see rwxrob.tv). It connects some of the most scenic and safe segments through the bustling historic towns of Davidson, Cornelius, and Huntersville (collectively called “Lake Norman” by locals). North Carolina is one of America’s most historic and beautiful states. This route includes an ivy league college campus and amazing views of farmland complete with horses, cows, goats, antique grain silos, and water towers. It connects several major parks, baseball fields, and even concert venues. The route emphasizes safe roads over multi-use trails and paths to keep things relatively fast and free of pedestrians and bugs (which are extremely bad at dusk in July and August). While designed to be safe and scenic, it is still quite an effort with more than 500 meters of climbing on popular Strava segments. You may very well run into a peloton of group riders along the way.
One highlight of this route is the number of “watering hole” possibilities. In fact, most days you won’t even need a water bottle if you are okay to slow down and drink from a fountain. There are water stations on the trail coming out of River Run and Huntersville Veteran Park, and Birkdale has a very posh water refilling station. Coffee shops and pubs are very common since this route travels through the heart of some of the best micro-breweries the Lake Norman area has to offer. Bring a cooler for the car and grab a drink to take with you to the Jetton Park sunset for the perfect end to a great ride.
The route was originally designed to be a consistent daily ride in preparation for trans-America touring, but can also be ridden as a loop to get in a century on the weekend (2x for metric, 3.2x for miles).
Parking is in a well-lit and busy parking lot next to several pubs and restaurants where groups can easily and safely meetup. This is important since it allows riding the final distance from Birkdale during the dark safely through the suburbs. Just make sure to get across the highway in Huntersville before dark. After that, the rest is virtually traffic free or has good bike lanes. (Remember not to park at Jetton Park so you don’t risk getting locked in if you miss the sunset park closure time. The park is a very short ride from parking so you can always make your way out by bike.)
The two most dangerous parts of this route are very short (but very dangerous). One is from the intersection on Sam Furr to the left-turn onto Black Farms road—particularly before the traffic has the turn lane to use to pass you. The other is crossing the highway on Gilead. Thankfully, these are very short segments, but do pay attention. Watch out for people not watching for you. It isn’t as bad as it looks, however, because there are bike lanes leading up to it and traffic speed is kept low from all the lights. The highway crossing is undergoing construction. It is supposed to eventually be the safest highway crossing of them all (much like Cornelius).
https://www.strava.com/routes/3145718505310393562