September 10, 2024 • 24 mins
Let's explore the vibrant biking culture of Statesville, NC, with our special guest Wes Davidson, owner of First Flight Bicycles and the organizer of the Love Valley Roubaix event happening September 20-22, 2024. Wes takes us through the wide range of local biking options, from thrilling mountain adventures to serene gravel rides. Discover how First Flight Bicycles isn't just a shop but a community cornerstone, complete with a unique beer and wine bar that makes it a go-to spot for cyclists to connect. Wes also shares insights into the increasing popularity of gravel riding, offering a safer and more scenic alternative to traditional road cycling. You'll get a taste of the camaraderie and community spirit that defines the cycling scene in Statesville.
But that's not all—our conversation ventures into the future of cycling in Statesville, highlighting exciting plans to connect existing parks and trails. Wes and Richard shed a little light on the community-driven efforts to make these trails more accessible and enjoyable for everyone. And don't miss out on the details of the upcoming Love Valley Roubaix event, along with other notable cycling events in the area like the Purple Heart Homes, Take That Hill challenge and the Cycle NC, Mountains to Coast Race. Learn how First Flight Bicycles supports cyclists with tailored routes, ensuring an unforgettable experience for both locals and visitors alike. Whether you're a seasoned cyclist or just getting started, this episode offers something for everyone.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
We want to know are you brave enough to take on the
Love Valley Robe Tune in?
Now hear the details.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Welcome to Discover Statesville, the show that takes
you on a captivating journeythrough the heart of one of
North Carolina's most charmingtowns.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
Welcome back to Discover Statesville.
Today, we are joined by WesDavidson, owner of First Flight
Bikes and coordinator andco-creator of the Love Valley
Robe, coming up here very soon.
Welcome, wes.
Welcome back.
Yes, thanks for having me Gladto have you back.
Yeah, so I guess, before we getinto, before we really dive
(00:33):
into learning more about theLove Valley Robe, how about just
telling us a little bit aboutFirst Flight Bikes and all the
great biking that we have herein the area?
Speaker 4 (00:42):
Thank you.
First Flight Bicycles iscelebrating our 35th anniversary
this year.
Wow, so lots of good businessover the years.
We're deeply rooted inStatesville.
I've been there for 28 years.
We love our community and welove promoting cycling in
general.
Doesn't matter what kind ofbike you ride, we just want you
to ride and have fun.
We do mountain biking, roadbiking, gravel biking, town
(01:04):
riding, name it, and we probablydeal with it somehow.
So from there, yeah, that's usOkay yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
So all kinds of bikes Yep.
Bike repair yes.
Bike rentals Bike rentals yes.
Come grab a beer and just talkabout bikes.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Yeah, we do.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
I mean you can kind of do all of it in there right?
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Oh yeah, let's take a minute to focus on the grab a
beer part, because I really lovethat.
You added that niche to yourcycle shop.
Speaker 4 (01:35):
Yeah, a lot of shops have that these days, but we
just as being a third space fora lot of folks.
They have work and they havehome, but they need that third
space to hang out.
We added taps and beer to theshop.
We also have wine.
We added all of that to theshop in 2019, but it's a great
place.
People come back to the shopafter they go on a ride and sit
(01:58):
down, have a couple beers andtalk about bikes, maybe pick up
a couple bike parts.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
But even that opportunity, if you don't know
anything about bikes and you maybe in the market for a bike,
you can come in, grab a beer,walk around, look, talk to the
staff, Definitely.
It just sort of loosens thetension on the.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Or if you're tuning in and you're coming through
states when you're like man,that west guy just really seems
nice and I want to meet him.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
And I'm thirsty and I .
Speaker 4 (02:21):
And you also meet a lot of other cyclists as well,
so there's people that don'tknow each other, but they can
meet that way as well and startriding together.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
But you have some great beers on tap right.
We do, I know you have some ofmy favorite dark beers.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
No one strives to have bad beer on tap.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Well, fair Richard, I was trying to talk about the
beers on tap, the town's worstbeer.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
We're trying to carve out a beach.
That'd be the worst beer intown.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
We don't want to lift that campaign up.
It might be a cool campaignthough, but you said, if you
have a ride, you're talkingabout people getting together
after they have a ride, and Ialways think it's fun being here
in Statesville.
From driving down the road andI see these bike lights going
down the sidewalk or across theBroad Street Bridge I'm like, oh
(03:10):
, there's Wes, but you'll bewith a group of people.
Tell us about some of these,because you guys do them often,
these group rides, and is thereopportunity for people who are
looking for a group to ride withto participate in these rides?
Speaker 4 (03:24):
Yeah, we have a Tuesday night road ride that we
do.
It is pretty specific for thegroup that we have that it's
usually somewhere around 35 to40 miles distance at 6 o'clock
after we close the shop, but wealso average 19 to 20 mile per
hour pace From there just to domore rides.
It would take group rideleaders.
(03:46):
That's a ride that I lead.
We do a Thursday night mountainbike ride.
Depending on the time of year,what trails are open, that ride
can change venue, whether it'sout at Signal Hill Lake, norman
State Park or Big Leaf Slopes,based off of what the trails are
open.
During the winter, you know wewill ride more locally because
(04:07):
those trails are open for nightriding fun in the dark with
lights.
And then we do a Saturdaymorning road ride.
Road riding tends to not be aspopular in the winter months so
the rides are kind of fluid.
The best thing to do there is,if you're looking for a ride,
you know, contact the shop,because there's other rides that
start from places that aren'tat the bike shop but we can
(04:29):
direct you to that.
And if you have a certain styleof riding you're looking for,
we probably know somebody thatwe can direct that to.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
Yeah, and so, as of late, I've noticed on your
social media channels, you guyshave been doing more gravel
riding and I, you guys, havebeen doing more gravel riding
and I imagine that's a littlebit of training and preparation
for a big event that you guyshave coming up.
Speaker 4 (04:49):
Yeah, gravel is just fun.
I started riding a lot ofgravel in about 2010.
The big thing there is justgetting away from traffic,
especially if I was riding bymyself.
I wanted to be able to be onroads that there weren't going
to be as many cars.
Most people only go on a gravelroad because they live on that
(05:10):
gravel road.
It's not a cut-through road, sofrom there it was just the
exploration and finding those.
If you think back to 2010, wedidn't have the smartphones as
much as we did, and you know Iwould pull out my Atlas.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Good old days.
Speaker 4 (05:22):
Yeah, pull out the Atlas, try to figure out a route
and then just go explore.
And that was the fun, fun partof it.
But then I really realized thatit was just really beautiful
and just a totally differenttype of riding.
It's become more and morepopular over the past couple of
years, so from there it is justa really neat way to go out and
(05:43):
get a lot of miles, see a lot ofcountryside that you don't see
in a car or otherwise.
So we do it a lot because it'sjust really, really fun.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Okay.
Okay, so it's coincidence, butI would say Love Valley, the
Love Valley area, which is alsostatesville.
I mean Love Valley is instatesville, north Carolina, and
that is definitely off the road.
Lots of gravel out there.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
Off the beaten path in general.
Off the beaten path?
Yeah, in general.
And then you figure out thegravel roads up there.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
So that is why you chose that as the home for your
annual Love Valley Road Bay.
It's a beautiful town.
Speaker 4 (06:19):
You know we wanted people to be able to come see
that portion of Statesville.
The riding is fantastic.
You have a lot of mountains.
With the Brushy Mountains youhave the you know just great
sights.
But then from that it's just,it's a tough challenge to be
able to challenge yourself.
So Love Valley is a really goodhome base that is kind of in
(06:40):
the center of a lot of thenorthern Iredell gravel going
over to the Brushy Mountains, sothat it is a really nice hub
for the gravel cyclist.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
So what kind of so Love Valley Robe?
Is it a race?
Is it just a multi-day groupride?
What is the premise?
Speaker 4 (06:56):
It's technically a race, but a lot of people will
come and just come to ride theirbicycle so a casual cyclist can
come and do the event.
There are definitely peoplethere racing.
We do have cash prizes for theOmnium riders.
So the Omnium is somebodythat's going to do three days of
riding, that is, friday night,saturday and Sunday.
(07:17):
The Friday night is onlyavailable to the people doing
the Omnium and it's basically avery short two-mile hill climb
up Fox Mountain Road in LoveValley.
But it's based off of time andit's one person at a time in a
time trial.
Oh, wow, okay, so seconds count.
The faster you can do it, thebetter you are.
Sunday for the Omnium ridersthey're going to do 100 miles
(07:41):
and over 10,000 feet of climbing, so it's a brutal, brutal day.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Endurance for sure.
Speaker 4 (07:48):
Yes, there's a 50-mile option for folks that
just want to do Saturday andSunday or just Saturday.
That is the same first 50 asthe 100-milers.
So Saturday is unique thatthere are two options.
And then Sunday is our classicroute.
It's the very first route thatwe did that leaves Love Valley
(08:08):
and goes up and over BrushyMountain a couple of times.
So it's a diverse.
It's not the same course everysingle day, so some people will
come and just do Saturday,sunday Some people just do
Saturday, some people just doSunday.
Over half of our currentregistrations are for multiple
days, whether it's the three-dayomnium or a Saturday-Sunday.
That's the exciting part isgetting people into the town and
(08:32):
keeping them here so they cansee other things while they're
here as well.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
So you can come and be competitive, or you can come
and participate casually andjust enjoy the atmosphere.
Definitely that's awesome yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
So when we spoke earlier in the week, you were
happy with the currentregistrations you had and those
seem to continue to be climbing.
And what we've seen kind ofsince the pandemic is more and
more people wait until the lastminute, right, so it's harder to
plan Well, and they're weatherwatching as well.
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
Our past events have always been in the end of March,
so we've always experiencedweather watchers because it's
going to be cold, there'spotential of snow, there's
potential of rain.
We've moved it to Septemberthis year to try something a
little different.
Now, the only weather we reallyhave to worry about is a
potential hurricane.
Hopefully not.
It will definitely be hotter.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
The weather's going to be perfect.
I can see it, yeah.
Speaker 4 (09:23):
It's going to be good , no matter what I.
Oh, it's going to be good, nomatter what I mean.
Riding in the rain is not a badthing.
It's actually pretty freeingand very fun and kind of
energizing for me.
I like riding in the rain aslong as it's not too hard.
That's just going to make thatafter-ride beer taste that much
better and the grill's going tobe going, so come have some
refreshments afterwards as well.
Do most people camp in the area?
(09:44):
There are some campers, thenhotels as well.
Do most people camp in the area?
There are some campers thanhotels as well?
Some people are close enoughthat they will go home but, we
are pushing for more and morepeople to stay in the area.
There's Airbnbs in the area.
We've seen a little bit ofeverything.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
Okay, so Wes fun fact serves on the Statesville
Convention and Visitors BureauBoard of Directors.
So cycling in the outdoors isimportant to what the
Statesville Convention andVisitors Bureau does and we're
really trying to lean into that.
So I foresee in the future thatwe, as we can get ahead of it,
(10:24):
we'll do some stay-and-playpackages and be more intentional
with people staying in town.
But I think you said you wereanticipating maybe 75 upwards of
over 100 people cyclists tocome.
Speaker 4 (10:37):
Yeah, we're approaching that 75
registrations already.
So I would like to see over 100to 150 at least this year.
Fantastic and for multiple days.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Yeah, Now, forgive me if this is an ignorant question
, but is this a spectator sportLike?
Are you wanting the communityto come out to be at the finish
line?
Or you mentioned the grill'sgoing to be out.
Is that just for the cyclists?
It is.
Speaker 4 (11:02):
It's just for the registrars.
You know, you can always throwa couple bucks and we'd throw
another hot dog or piece ofchicken on the grill or
something like that for you.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
You'll feed me if I come.
Speaker 4 (11:13):
Yeah, 100%.
But from there, unfortunately,it's not a great spectator sport
because you are leaving thetown of Love Valley and you're
going on a 50-mile or a 100-mileloop, going on a 50 mile or a
hundred mile loop, so it's notlike the criterium that we used
to have in Statesville whereyou're being passed every six
tenths of a mile.
This is one long, long day, soyou're most likely not going to
(11:36):
get in a car and drive behindcyclists for 50 miles.
It's kind of boring For theriders.
It's exciting and very fun.
It's not a spectator sport,unfortunately.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Richard, do you have anyone ever ask you about the
Criterium?
I have people ask me a lot.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
Yeah, pretty often.
I mean I think the communityreally enjoyed that event for
sure.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
Do you know any people that have inspirations of
potentially bringing that backto Statesville?
I do get asked quite often.
Speaker 4 (12:05):
I get asked very often.
Unfortunately, Criterium Racingjust isn't as popular as it was
many years ago.
It's a very expensive event toput on, so the numbers just
weren't working out the last twoyears that we put it on.
Okay, I would love for it to beable to come back one of these
days.
I think it would take multipledays, like it was over 10 years
(12:29):
ago.
There was five days and fivetowns and that was really really
neat and that drew a lot ofpeople.
But as Criterium Racing justdeclined, a lot of other towns
weren't able to put it on.
Speaker 3 (12:41):
Yeah, a much larger partnership than just the city
and Statesville's piece of thepuzzle, yeah, yeah, than just
the city and Statesville's pieceof the puzzle.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
Yeah, I know I hear you and Richard just in passing,
talk a lot with Richard leadingour Recreation and Parks
Department here in Statesville.
Do you guys, either of you,have anything that you could
share about future aspirations?
I mean, it's obvious, based onthe conversation we're having,
that we are a destination forcycling, for bicycling, and I
(13:13):
don't know if I said that right,but but I there, there are
things that we can do right toto enhance our offering and, um,
I think there are things thatyou guys would hope for, like
what are, like, what are some ofthose things that you've
received for the future, forstates, if we can get everyone
in the right place to make thathappen.
Speaker 4 (13:26):
Putting you guys on the spot.
I don't want to speak out ofturn but Richard and I have both
talked about you know there'sstill plans to connect the two
portions of current Greenway.
That's been before all theinterstate construction.
I know that's just tied up in,I think shortfall.
We're hoping to bid that out,hopefully this fall shortfall.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
Yeah, I mean, I think that's a big piece is you know?
So Wes mentioned a little bitago.
So you know, here locally we'vegot, we've got big leaf slopes,
which is an auto county parkthat has a number of miles of
mountain bike trail.
The city has Signal Hillmountain bike trail and so you
know, one of the goals is toconnect those two, those two
parks, via Greenway.
You know, because now you knowmaybe you're talking, you know
four miles of trail over hereand four miles of trail over
here.
(14:10):
But if you could connect thoseto where you could, you could
park at either one and not everhave to get on the road between
the two.
It's like, oh, I'm going toride Big Leaf, then I'm going to
take the Greenway over and Ibeing able to ride multiple
different trails and not everhave to ride out on the road.
So those kind of things, Ithink, become a draw.
And then I think it's to Wes'spoint, figuring out, add some
(14:47):
additional, you know, trail outhere to where you'd have the
greenway and then you'd maybe,you know, cut off and there'd be
dirt trail out in this area.
So just trying to look at howwe can sometimes add small
pieces to our existing you knowour existing greenway, and
figuring out just how to connectall these dots to where it's it
becomes a draw.
I mean, we're probably a longway from having 30-plus miles of
(15:09):
mountain bike trail like theyhave down at Lake Norman State
Park.
But I think we can start tomake a dent in what we offer
here by connecting some of theseindividual pieces.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
Yeah, like we have at Lake Norman State Park is what
you meant, that's correct,correct, that's exactly right.
I didn't mean to put you guyson the no.
Speaker 4 (15:24):
Go ahead, go on from there, it's also we've talked
about it's connecting thecommunity to those trails,
making sure that we havegreenways that are accessible
from neighborhoods very easily.
As you said, in between BigLeaf and Signal Hill, there's a
lot of communities in betweenthere, so not only would you be
able to park at one of thoseparks and ride from one to the
(15:45):
other, but a lot of people wouldbe able to ride, and that makes
the biggest difference for alot of people.
They don't want to load thebike up and go somewhere.
They want to be able to leaveout their back door.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
Well, a lot of people ask us about what the big plan
is for the Greenway, and sooftentimes I'll use that bicycle
wheel analogy, in that we'retrying to build a loop that
circumnavigates the city andthen we start focusing on the
spokes of that wheel to whereit's.
Hey, here you know, how do Iget from, from where I'm at, to
get out there on that loop?
Um, so yeah, lots ofopportunity.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
Yeah, sorry to put you guys on the spot, but I know
you live breathing.
I mean you.
I knew it wouldn't be hard foryou guys to answer and I I
thought it would be cool for ourlisteners to hear.
You know, sometimes there arelots of great conversations
happening for the future of ourcommunity to be both a
destination and have even betterquality life than we have
(16:35):
already, and I just thought it'dbe cool for them to hear that
there are those conversationshappening.
There are those intentions?
Speaker 3 (16:41):
And I think one of the coolest parts about
certainly the cycling communityand the mountain bike trails
that we have here in the area.
Um, those are, those are laborsof love for the people that
maintain those yeah so you know,whereas like signal hill, the
city will come out and do someprojects that are necessary, but
that's primarily a volunteerdriven effort to keep that trail
(17:02):
open and operational martin ingeneral, yeah, and big leaves in
the same way I, so it's youknow, that's the coolest part
about, I think, the mountainbike community, or the biking
community in general, is thatit's a bunch of people that will
gladly put their money wheretheir mouth is.
You know they'll say we wantthis, we want more trail, and
we're going to be willing tocome out here and help maintain
it and they do, which is cool.
Yeah, big volunteer community.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
Yeah, well, I think you're a big part of that too.
I was going to say I think WesDavidson puts his money where
his mouth is.
You don't just ask you Shovelin the dirt it, shovel in the
dirt it's fun.
Yeah Well, I mean even servingon you.
Served on the downtownStatesville Board of Directors
and you served on.
Recreation Parks for the county,For the county, and you know
now on the CVB board that you'represent and you have a voice
(17:56):
for to bring our community allthese great things.
And while we have this timewith you, I just wanted to say
thank you, Thank you.
Speaker 4 (18:03):
I enjoy it.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
We are a couple weeks out, right from the Love Valley
Robe, so there's still time toregister.
Speaker 4 (18:10):
Still time to register Lovevalleyrobecom.
Robe is spelled R-O-U-B-A-I-X.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
Are you proud of me for saying it?
Speaker 4 (18:18):
right.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
Yes, you have learned over the last couple years.
Is there a deadline to register?
Speaker 4 (18:23):
We would love to have the registrations the week
before.
I do not have a cutoff date.
I will accept your money theday of Just bring me cold hard
cash please.
Speaker 3 (18:32):
That's what I was curious about.
If somebody woke up on Sundaymorning and were like you know
what?
I'm feeling spry today, I'mgoing to go up and I'm going to
write.
Speaker 4 (18:38):
It's tough out there because there's not great cell
phone reception so it's hard totake credit cards and things
like that.
Also, most people will show upan hour before the event, an
hour before any event.
You've run plenty of events.
We're running around like crazy.
The last thing I really havethe opportunity to do is take a
couple dollars, so it makes it alot easier on anybody planning
(19:02):
an event to sign up well before.
It also helps us plan for food,drink, any of that, but I'll
gladly take your money justabout any time You're willing to
give me money.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
It won't be me, it'll be you.
Speaker 4 (19:10):
I can drag you out there.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
I'll loan you an e-bike.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
He loaned me an e-bike for a spotlight we did
with Visit North Carolina.
Gosh, I don't know if I couldever go back to a red light.
What is happening right now.
I love beer, e-bikes, so wetalked a little bit about
Statesville being, or this, thegreater States area being, a
destination for cycling, and I'mvery, very excited about that.
(19:41):
So, after, after your event,well, I wanted to ask you are
you, do you ride the Robe or youdon't have time?
Speaker 4 (19:48):
I did in the first couple years because I was not
the promoter Right.
My friend Cameron Frazier was,but since we took it over I'm
not able to ride during theevent.
I'm way too busy running aroundtrying to fill gaps and make
sure everything's running assmooth as it possibly can.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
Well, there's another endurance cycling event that
our friends at Purple HeartHomes put together.
Take that hill.
They do it out, starting fromSouthern Distilling, or at least
the past couple of years, and Iunderstand or maybe I saw it on
your wall that you may haveconquered, you may have won that
event right.
I don't know if it's a winning,but yeah.
Speaker 4 (20:25):
I mean they have multiple distance available.
They have a 35, a 60, I believe, and an 85.
The 60 and the 85 go fromSouthern Distilling out to
Barrett Mountain in Taylorsville.
There's a tough hill calledBarrett Mountain and then they
do time just the segment fromthe bottom of Barrett to the top
(20:47):
.
A couple years ago I wasfortunate enough to be the
fastest person up BarrettMountain, so that was neat and
really cool.
It's a great event put on bywonderful folks.
I'd highly recommend signing upfor it as well.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
It's a very good time it's the weekend after the Robe
, so it's October.
Is it two days, one day.
Speaker 4 (21:05):
Just one day.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
It's on Saturday the 4th or 5th, 5th, okay, and I
only know these dates because onMonday, the 7th, and we have
Chip Hoffler is going to be onwith us this month or maybe next
month too, but Chip Hofflerfrom Cycle NC, the Cycle NC
Mountains, to Coast Race stateswill stop three.
So we're going to haveregistrations are up to over 800
(21:27):
people, I think, as of thisweek, um 42 states represented.
I think it's the last thing Iheard.
Alaska and alaska yeah, it wasjust very cool.
Speaker 4 (21:37):
So um I just think they said the united kingdom yes
, that's right, it's just atheme.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
I mean we I mean people aren't going to come here
for cycling events if we're notwell prepared for cycling
events, and I'm very excitedabout that.
And one thing I want to mentionbefore we finish the show is
that you guys have done a reallygood job of putting.
I'm going to say pass, that'snot right.
(22:02):
Routes, routes.
Speaker 4 (22:05):
Routes Okay, sorry yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
Putting routes together, and they are on your
website, right?
Firstflightbikescom.
Speaker 4 (22:15):
Yeah, that's always one of the number one things
when somebody comes and buys abike and is like, okay, now what
do I do?
And it's like, well, noteverybody that buys a mountain
bike knows where all themountain bike trails are.
Not everybody that wants toride or buying a road bike knows
where to ride a road bike,pathway, bike, same thing.
They're interested.
But that's also a part of whatwe do for our community is we
(22:35):
want to make sure we give youthe best experience and help you
find that best experience.
So we have a map on our wall atthe shop with great QR codes
that will send you to the routes.
We have all those listed on ourwebsite as well, and an
expanded amount of routes.
So whether you're wanting toride road, gravel, mountain bike
trails, pathways, we have agreat place for you to start and
(23:00):
then other places that you canlook to expand as well, yeah, or
you can go to states1ccom underthings to do.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
We've linked to all those great routes.
I mean, there's at least aminimum, I think, of four or
five, for each type of ride.
Like you said, there are manymore, and I think on your
website it says, or we can do acustom one.
Speaker 4 (23:19):
Yeah, I've done plenty of custom routes for
folks as well, from there.
Once again, it just depends onif somebody comes in and says
I'm a road cyclist but I don'tlike riding fast, I don't want
to ride very far, I'm staying at, you know, this B&B or this
hotel.
I can create you a route fromthere for you know, and give you
the safest roads.
That's the other big thing fora road cyclist is you want to be
(23:43):
safe?
I'm not going to put you, youknow riding up 115 at 8 am or
something like that.
It's just not good for the cars,it's not good for the cyclists.
We want you to have a good time, so we'll detail that for you
specifically, that's a greatresource.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
We're very excited about the Love Valley Robe and
thank you for bringing that hereto the community.
So lovevalleyrobecom LoveValley.
Speaker 4 (24:04):
Robe.
Speaker 1 (24:04):
You can still register or firstflightbikescom
if you need a bicycle and oraddress in downtown Statesville.
Speaker 4 (24:14):
It is 216 South Center Street.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
Yeah Well, we appreciate you, Wes.
Speaker 4 (24:18):
Thank you.
Thanks for everything you'redoing.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
Yeah, we wish you the best of luck with your event.
We invite you to DiscoverStatesville everyone Till next
week.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
Thank you for joining Discover Statesville.
You can email us at discover atstatesvillenccom.
Check us out on Facebook atDiscover Statesville, nc hashtag
Discover Statesville and ourwebsite, statesvillenccom.
Catch us next week as wecontinue on our journey to
(24:52):
uncover the hidden gems,culinary adventures,
entertainment, and to beinspired and enlightened as we
Discover Statesville.
We want to know are you brave enough to take on the
Love Valley Robe Tune in?
Now hear the details.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Welcome to Discover Statesville, the show that takes
you on a captivating journeythrough the heart of one of
North Carolina's most charmingtowns.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
Welcome back to Discover Statesville.
Today, we are joined by WesDavidson, owner of First Flight
Bikes and coordinator andco-creator of the Love Valley
Robe, coming up here very soon.
Welcome, wes.
Welcome back.
Yes, thanks for having me Gladto have you back.
Yeah, so I guess, before we getinto, before we really dive
(00:33):
into learning more about theLove Valley Robe, how about just
telling us a little bit aboutFirst Flight Bikes and all the
great biking that we have herein the area?
Speaker 4 (00:42):
Thank you.
First Flight Bicycles iscelebrating our 35th anniversary
this year.
Wow, so lots of good businessover the years.
We're deeply rooted inStatesville.
I've been there for 28 years.
We love our community and welove promoting cycling in
general.
Doesn't matter what kind ofbike you ride, we just want you
to ride and have fun.
We do mountain biking, roadbiking, gravel biking, town
(01:04):
riding, name it, and we probablydeal with it somehow.
So from there, yeah, that's usOkay yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
So all kinds of bikes Yep.
Bike repair yes.
Bike rentals Bike rentals yes.
Come grab a beer and just talkabout bikes.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Yeah, we do.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
I mean you can kind of do all of it in there right?
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Oh yeah, let's take a minute to focus on the grab a
beer part, because I really lovethat.
You added that niche to yourcycle shop.
Speaker 4 (01:35):
Yeah, a lot of shops have that these days, but we
just as being a third space fora lot of folks.
They have work and they havehome, but they need that third
space to hang out.
We added taps and beer to theshop.
We also have wine.
We added all of that to theshop in 2019, but it's a great
place.
People come back to the shopafter they go on a ride and sit
(01:58):
down, have a couple beers andtalk about bikes, maybe pick up
a couple bike parts.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
But even that opportunity, if you don't know
anything about bikes and you maybe in the market for a bike,
you can come in, grab a beer,walk around, look, talk to the
staff, Definitely.
It just sort of loosens thetension on the.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Or if you're tuning in and you're coming through
states when you're like man,that west guy just really seems
nice and I want to meet him.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
And I'm thirsty and I .
Speaker 4 (02:21):
And you also meet a lot of other cyclists as well,
so there's people that don'tknow each other, but they can
meet that way as well and startriding together.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
But you have some great beers on tap right.
We do, I know you have some ofmy favorite dark beers.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
No one strives to have bad beer on tap.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Well, fair Richard, I was trying to talk about the
beers on tap, the town's worstbeer.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
We're trying to carve out a beach.
That'd be the worst beer intown.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
We don't want to lift that campaign up.
It might be a cool campaignthough, but you said, if you
have a ride, you're talkingabout people getting together
after they have a ride, and Ialways think it's fun being here
in Statesville.
From driving down the road andI see these bike lights going
down the sidewalk or across theBroad Street Bridge I'm like, oh
(03:10):
, there's Wes, but you'll bewith a group of people.
Tell us about some of these,because you guys do them often,
these group rides, and is thereopportunity for people who are
looking for a group to ride withto participate in these rides?
Speaker 4 (03:24):
Yeah, we have a Tuesday night road ride that we
do.
It is pretty specific for thegroup that we have that it's
usually somewhere around 35 to40 miles distance at 6 o'clock
after we close the shop, but wealso average 19 to 20 mile per
hour pace From there just to domore rides.
It would take group rideleaders.
(03:46):
That's a ride that I lead.
We do a Thursday night mountainbike ride.
Depending on the time of year,what trails are open, that ride
can change venue, whether it'sout at Signal Hill Lake, norman
State Park or Big Leaf Slopes,based off of what the trails are
open.
During the winter, you know wewill ride more locally because
(04:07):
those trails are open for nightriding fun in the dark with
lights.
And then we do a Saturdaymorning road ride.
Road riding tends to not be aspopular in the winter months so
the rides are kind of fluid.
The best thing to do there is,if you're looking for a ride,
you know, contact the shop,because there's other rides that
start from places that aren'tat the bike shop but we can
(04:29):
direct you to that.
And if you have a certain styleof riding you're looking for,
we probably know somebody thatwe can direct that to.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
Yeah, and so, as of late, I've noticed on your
social media channels, you guyshave been doing more gravel
riding and I, you guys, havebeen doing more gravel riding
and I imagine that's a littlebit of training and preparation
for a big event that you guyshave coming up.
Speaker 4 (04:49):
Yeah, gravel is just fun.
I started riding a lot ofgravel in about 2010.
The big thing there is justgetting away from traffic,
especially if I was riding bymyself.
I wanted to be able to be onroads that there weren't going
to be as many cars.
Most people only go on a gravelroad because they live on that
(05:10):
gravel road.
It's not a cut-through road, sofrom there it was just the
exploration and finding those.
If you think back to 2010, wedidn't have the smartphones as
much as we did, and you know Iwould pull out my Atlas.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Good old days.
Speaker 4 (05:22):
Yeah, pull out the Atlas, try to figure out a route
and then just go explore.
And that was the fun, fun partof it.
But then I really realized thatit was just really beautiful
and just a totally differenttype of riding.
It's become more and morepopular over the past couple of
years, so from there it is justa really neat way to go out and
(05:43):
get a lot of miles, see a lot ofcountryside that you don't see
in a car or otherwise.
So we do it a lot because it'sjust really, really fun.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Okay.
Okay, so it's coincidence, butI would say Love Valley, the
Love Valley area, which is alsostatesville.
I mean Love Valley is instatesville, north Carolina, and
that is definitely off the road.
Lots of gravel out there.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
Off the beaten path in general.
Off the beaten path?
Yeah, in general.
And then you figure out thegravel roads up there.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
So that is why you chose that as the home for your
annual Love Valley Road Bay.
It's a beautiful town.
Speaker 4 (06:19):
You know we wanted people to be able to come see
that portion of Statesville.
The riding is fantastic.
You have a lot of mountains.
With the Brushy Mountains youhave the you know just great
sights.
But then from that it's just,it's a tough challenge to be
able to challenge yourself.
So Love Valley is a really goodhome base that is kind of in
(06:40):
the center of a lot of thenorthern Iredell gravel going
over to the Brushy Mountains, sothat it is a really nice hub
for the gravel cyclist.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
So what kind of so Love Valley Robe?
Is it a race?
Is it just a multi-day groupride?
What is the premise?
Speaker 4 (06:56):
It's technically a race, but a lot of people will
come and just come to ride theirbicycle so a casual cyclist can
come and do the event.
There are definitely peoplethere racing.
We do have cash prizes for theOmnium riders.
So the Omnium is somebodythat's going to do three days of
riding, that is, friday night,saturday and Sunday.
(07:17):
The Friday night is onlyavailable to the people doing
the Omnium and it's basically avery short two-mile hill climb
up Fox Mountain Road in LoveValley.
But it's based off of time andit's one person at a time in a
time trial.
Oh, wow, okay, so seconds count.
The faster you can do it, thebetter you are.
Sunday for the Omnium ridersthey're going to do 100 miles
(07:41):
and over 10,000 feet of climbing, so it's a brutal, brutal day.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Endurance for sure.
Speaker 4 (07:48):
Yes, there's a 50-mile option for folks that
just want to do Saturday andSunday or just Saturday.
That is the same first 50 asthe 100-milers.
So Saturday is unique thatthere are two options.
And then Sunday is our classicroute.
It's the very first route thatwe did that leaves Love Valley
(08:08):
and goes up and over BrushyMountain a couple of times.
So it's a diverse.
It's not the same course everysingle day, so some people will
come and just do Saturday,sunday Some people just do
Saturday, some people just doSunday.
Over half of our currentregistrations are for multiple
days, whether it's the three-dayomnium or a Saturday-Sunday.
That's the exciting part isgetting people into the town and
(08:32):
keeping them here so they cansee other things while they're
here as well.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
So you can come and be competitive, or you can come
and participate casually andjust enjoy the atmosphere.
Definitely that's awesome yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
So when we spoke earlier in the week, you were
happy with the currentregistrations you had and those
seem to continue to be climbing.
And what we've seen kind ofsince the pandemic is more and
more people wait until the lastminute, right, so it's harder to
plan Well, and they're weatherwatching as well.
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
Our past events have always been in the end of March,
so we've always experiencedweather watchers because it's
going to be cold, there'spotential of snow, there's
potential of rain.
We've moved it to Septemberthis year to try something a
little different.
Now, the only weather we reallyhave to worry about is a
potential hurricane.
Hopefully not.
It will definitely be hotter.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
The weather's going to be perfect.
I can see it, yeah.
Speaker 4 (09:23):
It's going to be good , no matter what I.
Oh, it's going to be good, nomatter what I mean.
Riding in the rain is not a badthing.
It's actually pretty freeingand very fun and kind of
energizing for me.
I like riding in the rain aslong as it's not too hard.
That's just going to make thatafter-ride beer taste that much
better and the grill's going tobe going, so come have some
refreshments afterwards as well.
Do most people camp in the area?
(09:44):
There are some campers, thenhotels as well.
Do most people camp in the area?
There are some campers thanhotels as well?
Some people are close enoughthat they will go home but, we
are pushing for more and morepeople to stay in the area.
There's Airbnbs in the area.
We've seen a little bit ofeverything.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
Okay, so Wes fun fact serves on the Statesville
Convention and Visitors BureauBoard of Directors.
So cycling in the outdoors isimportant to what the
Statesville Convention andVisitors Bureau does and we're
really trying to lean into that.
So I foresee in the future thatwe, as we can get ahead of it,
(10:24):
we'll do some stay-and-playpackages and be more intentional
with people staying in town.
But I think you said you wereanticipating maybe 75 upwards of
over 100 people cyclists tocome.
Speaker 4 (10:37):
Yeah, we're approaching that 75
registrations already.
So I would like to see over 100to 150 at least this year.
Fantastic and for multiple days.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Yeah, Now, forgive me if this is an ignorant question
, but is this a spectator sportLike?
Are you wanting the communityto come out to be at the finish
line?
Or you mentioned the grill'sgoing to be out.
Is that just for the cyclists?
It is.
Speaker 4 (11:02):
It's just for the registrars.
You know, you can always throwa couple bucks and we'd throw
another hot dog or piece ofchicken on the grill or
something like that for you.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
You'll feed me if I come.
Speaker 4 (11:13):
Yeah, 100%.
But from there, unfortunately,it's not a great spectator sport
because you are leaving thetown of Love Valley and you're
going on a 50-mile or a 100-mileloop, going on a 50 mile or a
hundred mile loop, so it's notlike the criterium that we used
to have in Statesville whereyou're being passed every six
tenths of a mile.
This is one long, long day, soyou're most likely not going to
(11:36):
get in a car and drive behindcyclists for 50 miles.
It's kind of boring For theriders.
It's exciting and very fun.
It's not a spectator sport,unfortunately.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Richard, do you have anyone ever ask you about the
Criterium?
I have people ask me a lot.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
Yeah, pretty often.
I mean I think the communityreally enjoyed that event for
sure.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
Do you know any people that have inspirations of
potentially bringing that backto Statesville?
I do get asked quite often.
Speaker 4 (12:05):
I get asked very often.
Unfortunately, Criterium Racingjust isn't as popular as it was
many years ago.
It's a very expensive event toput on, so the numbers just
weren't working out the last twoyears that we put it on.
Okay, I would love for it to beable to come back one of these
days.
I think it would take multipledays, like it was over 10 years
(12:29):
ago.
There was five days and fivetowns and that was really really
neat and that drew a lot ofpeople.
But as Criterium Racing justdeclined, a lot of other towns
weren't able to put it on.
Speaker 3 (12:41):
Yeah, a much larger partnership than just the city
and Statesville's piece of thepuzzle, yeah, yeah, than just
the city and Statesville's pieceof the puzzle.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
Yeah, I know I hear you and Richard just in passing,
talk a lot with Richard leadingour Recreation and Parks
Department here in Statesville.
Do you guys, either of you,have anything that you could
share about future aspirations?
I mean, it's obvious, based onthe conversation we're having,
that we are a destination forcycling, for bicycling, and I
(13:13):
don't know if I said that right,but but I there, there are
things that we can do right toto enhance our offering and, um,
I think there are things thatyou guys would hope for, like
what are, like, what are some ofthose things that you've
received for the future, forstates, if we can get everyone
in the right place to make thathappen.
Speaker 4 (13:26):
Putting you guys on the spot.
I don't want to speak out ofturn but Richard and I have both
talked about you know there'sstill plans to connect the two
portions of current Greenway.
That's been before all theinterstate construction.
I know that's just tied up in,I think shortfall.
We're hoping to bid that out,hopefully this fall shortfall.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
Yeah, I mean, I think that's a big piece is you know?
So Wes mentioned a little bitago.
So you know, here locally we'vegot, we've got big leaf slopes,
which is an auto county parkthat has a number of miles of
mountain bike trail.
The city has Signal Hillmountain bike trail and so you
know, one of the goals is toconnect those two, those two
parks, via Greenway.
You know, because now you knowmaybe you're talking, you know
four miles of trail over hereand four miles of trail over
here.
(14:10):
But if you could connect thoseto where you could, you could
park at either one and not everhave to get on the road between
the two.
It's like, oh, I'm going toride Big Leaf, then I'm going to
take the Greenway over and Ibeing able to ride multiple
different trails and not everhave to ride out on the road.
So those kind of things, Ithink, become a draw.
And then I think it's to Wes'spoint, figuring out, add some
(14:47):
additional, you know, trail outhere to where you'd have the
greenway and then you'd maybe,you know, cut off and there'd be
dirt trail out in this area.
So just trying to look at howwe can sometimes add small
pieces to our existing you knowour existing greenway, and
figuring out just how to connectall these dots to where it's it
becomes a draw.
I mean, we're probably a longway from having 30-plus miles of
(15:09):
mountain bike trail like theyhave down at Lake Norman State
Park.
But I think we can start tomake a dent in what we offer
here by connecting some of theseindividual pieces.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
Yeah, like we have at Lake Norman State Park is what
you meant, that's correct,correct, that's exactly right.
I didn't mean to put you guyson the no.
Speaker 4 (15:24):
Go ahead, go on from there, it's also we've talked
about it's connecting thecommunity to those trails,
making sure that we havegreenways that are accessible
from neighborhoods very easily.
As you said, in between BigLeaf and Signal Hill, there's a
lot of communities in betweenthere, so not only would you be
able to park at one of thoseparks and ride from one to the
(15:45):
other, but a lot of people wouldbe able to ride, and that makes
the biggest difference for alot of people.
They don't want to load thebike up and go somewhere.
They want to be able to leaveout their back door.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
Well, a lot of people ask us about what the big plan
is for the Greenway, and sooftentimes I'll use that bicycle
wheel analogy, in that we'retrying to build a loop that
circumnavigates the city andthen we start focusing on the
spokes of that wheel to whereit's.
Hey, here you know, how do Iget from, from where I'm at, to
get out there on that loop?
Um, so yeah, lots ofopportunity.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
Yeah, sorry to put you guys on the spot, but I know
you live breathing.
I mean you.
I knew it wouldn't be hard foryou guys to answer and I I
thought it would be cool for ourlisteners to hear.
You know, sometimes there arelots of great conversations
happening for the future of ourcommunity to be both a
destination and have even betterquality life than we have
(16:35):
already, and I just thought it'dbe cool for them to hear that
there are those conversationshappening.
There are those intentions?
Speaker 3 (16:41):
And I think one of the coolest parts about
certainly the cycling communityand the mountain bike trails
that we have here in the area.
Um, those are, those are laborsof love for the people that
maintain those yeah so you know,whereas like signal hill, the
city will come out and do someprojects that are necessary, but
that's primarily a volunteerdriven effort to keep that trail
(17:02):
open and operational martin ingeneral, yeah, and big leaves in
the same way I, so it's youknow, that's the coolest part
about, I think, the mountainbike community, or the biking
community in general, is thatit's a bunch of people that will
gladly put their money wheretheir mouth is.
You know they'll say we wantthis, we want more trail, and
we're going to be willing tocome out here and help maintain
it and they do, which is cool.
Yeah, big volunteer community.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
Yeah, well, I think you're a big part of that too.
I was going to say I think WesDavidson puts his money where
his mouth is.
You don't just ask you Shovelin the dirt it, shovel in the
dirt it's fun.
Yeah Well, I mean even servingon you.
Served on the downtownStatesville Board of Directors
and you served on.
Recreation Parks for the county,For the county, and you know
now on the CVB board that you'represent and you have a voice
(17:56):
for to bring our community allthese great things.
And while we have this timewith you, I just wanted to say
thank you, Thank you.
Speaker 4 (18:03):
I enjoy it.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
We are a couple weeks out, right from the Love Valley
Robe, so there's still time toregister.
Speaker 4 (18:10):
Still time to register Lovevalleyrobecom.
Robe is spelled R-O-U-B-A-I-X.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
Are you proud of me for saying it?
Speaker 4 (18:18):
right.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
Yes, you have learned over the last couple years.
Is there a deadline to register?
Speaker 4 (18:23):
We would love to have the registrations the week
before.
I do not have a cutoff date.
I will accept your money theday of Just bring me cold hard
cash please.
Speaker 3 (18:32):
That's what I was curious about.
If somebody woke up on Sundaymorning and were like you know
what?
I'm feeling spry today, I'mgoing to go up and I'm going to
write.
Speaker 4 (18:38):
It's tough out there because there's not great cell
phone reception so it's hard totake credit cards and things
like that.
Also, most people will show upan hour before the event, an
hour before any event.
You've run plenty of events.
We're running around like crazy.
The last thing I really havethe opportunity to do is take a
couple dollars, so it makes it alot easier on anybody planning
(19:02):
an event to sign up well before.
It also helps us plan for food,drink, any of that, but I'll
gladly take your money justabout any time You're willing to
give me money.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
It won't be me, it'll be you.
Speaker 4 (19:10):
I can drag you out there.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
I'll loan you an e-bike.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
He loaned me an e-bike for a spotlight we did
with Visit North Carolina.
Gosh, I don't know if I couldever go back to a red light.
What is happening right now.
I love beer, e-bikes, so wetalked a little bit about
Statesville being, or this, thegreater States area being, a
destination for cycling, and I'mvery, very excited about that.
(19:41):
So, after, after your event,well, I wanted to ask you are
you, do you ride the Robe or youdon't have time?
Speaker 4 (19:48):
I did in the first couple years because I was not
the promoter Right.
My friend Cameron Frazier was,but since we took it over I'm
not able to ride during theevent.
I'm way too busy running aroundtrying to fill gaps and make
sure everything's running assmooth as it possibly can.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
Well, there's another endurance cycling event that
our friends at Purple HeartHomes put together.
Take that hill.
They do it out, starting fromSouthern Distilling, or at least
the past couple of years, and Iunderstand or maybe I saw it on
your wall that you may haveconquered, you may have won that
event right.
I don't know if it's a winning,but yeah.
Speaker 4 (20:25):
I mean they have multiple distance available.
They have a 35, a 60, I believe, and an 85.
The 60 and the 85 go fromSouthern Distilling out to
Barrett Mountain in Taylorsville.
There's a tough hill calledBarrett Mountain and then they
do time just the segment fromthe bottom of Barrett to the top
(20:47):
.
A couple years ago I wasfortunate enough to be the
fastest person up BarrettMountain, so that was neat and
really cool.
It's a great event put on bywonderful folks.
I'd highly recommend signing upfor it as well.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
It's a very good time it's the weekend after the Robe
, so it's October.
Is it two days, one day.
Speaker 4 (21:05):
Just one day.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
It's on Saturday the 4th or 5th, 5th, okay, and I
only know these dates because onMonday, the 7th, and we have
Chip Hoffler is going to be onwith us this month or maybe next
month too, but Chip Hofflerfrom Cycle NC, the Cycle NC
Mountains, to Coast Race stateswill stop three.
So we're going to haveregistrations are up to over 800
(21:27):
people, I think, as of thisweek, um 42 states represented.
I think it's the last thing Iheard.
Alaska and alaska yeah, it wasjust very cool.
Speaker 4 (21:37):
So um I just think they said the united kingdom yes
, that's right, it's just atheme.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
I mean we I mean people aren't going to come here
for cycling events if we're notwell prepared for cycling
events, and I'm very excitedabout that.
And one thing I want to mentionbefore we finish the show is
that you guys have done a reallygood job of putting.
I'm going to say pass, that'snot right.
(22:02):
Routes, routes.
Speaker 4 (22:05):
Routes Okay, sorry yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
Putting routes together, and they are on your
website, right?
Firstflightbikescom.
Speaker 4 (22:15):
Yeah, that's always one of the number one things
when somebody comes and buys abike and is like, okay, now what
do I do?
And it's like, well, noteverybody that buys a mountain
bike knows where all themountain bike trails are.
Not everybody that wants toride or buying a road bike knows
where to ride a road bike,pathway, bike, same thing.
They're interested.
But that's also a part of whatwe do for our community is we
(22:35):
want to make sure we give youthe best experience and help you
find that best experience.
So we have a map on our wall atthe shop with great QR codes
that will send you to the routes.
We have all those listed on ourwebsite as well, and an
expanded amount of routes.
So whether you're wanting toride road, gravel, mountain bike
trails, pathways, we have agreat place for you to start and
(23:00):
then other places that you canlook to expand as well, yeah, or
you can go to states1ccom underthings to do.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
We've linked to all those great routes.
I mean, there's at least aminimum, I think, of four or
five, for each type of ride.
Like you said, there are manymore, and I think on your
website it says, or we can do acustom one.
Speaker 4 (23:19):
Yeah, I've done plenty of custom routes for
folks as well, from there.
Once again, it just depends onif somebody comes in and says
I'm a road cyclist but I don'tlike riding fast, I don't want
to ride very far, I'm staying at, you know, this B&B or this
hotel.
I can create you a route fromthere for you know, and give you
the safest roads.
That's the other big thing fora road cyclist is you want to be
(23:43):
safe?
I'm not going to put you, youknow riding up 115 at 8 am or
something like that.
It's just not good for the cars,it's not good for the cyclists.
We want you to have a good time, so we'll detail that for you
specifically, that's a greatresource.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
We're very excited about the Love Valley Robe and
thank you for bringing that hereto the community.
So lovevalleyrobecom LoveValley.
Speaker 4 (24:04):
Robe.
Speaker 1 (24:04):
You can still register or firstflightbikescom
if you need a bicycle and oraddress in downtown Statesville.
Speaker 4 (24:14):
It is 216 South Center Street.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
Yeah Well, we appreciate you, Wes.
Speaker 4 (24:18):
Thank you.
Thanks for everything you'redoing.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
Yeah, we wish you the best of luck with your event.
We invite you to DiscoverStatesville everyone Till next
week.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
Thank you for joining Discover Statesville.
You can email us at discover atstatesvillenccom.
Check us out on Facebook atDiscover Statesville, nc hashtag
Discover Statesville and ourwebsite, statesvillenccom.
Catch us next week as wecontinue on our journey to
(24:52):
uncover the hidden gems,culinary adventures,
entertainment, and to beinspired and enlightened as we
Discover Statesville.
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