Biking the Thermal Belt Rail Trail | Forest City to Gilkey, NC
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ส.ค. 2024
- Twenty-seven miles of rail trail (out-and-back) that connects five towns...it's an all-day adventure fueled by locally-made donuts and Mexican food! Forest City, Spindale, Rutherfordton, Ruth and Gilkey, NC are located in a thermal belt, hence the name. All five communities share this great trail, which features a church from the early 1800s and a historic site from the days of the North Carolina Gold Rush. Check out the Thermal Belt Rail Trail with me!
See my previous video on the Purple Martin Greenway in Rutherfordton here: • Biking the Purple Mart...
In the early days of forest city ,b4 it was incorporated and was named. the downtown area you saw today burned down so completely that the only thing left was a chimney that was badly scorched (burned) as the town was being rebuilt that was the only landmark that let you know where you were and that's how it was described and the name just stuck until the town commissioners changed it.Fun Fact, each of the trees you saw, that line the sidewalks, was planted in memorial of a resident that made the ultimate sacrifice during WW2, each of the trees had a plaque in the sidewalk with the name of the resident and date of death and where they died. Those plaques had to be removed as the trees grew and began to buckle the sidewalks. They are now in a special memorial garden located in the Cool Springs cemetery right behind what was Cool Springs School and is now the Rutherford County board of education.
For a real treat visit between thanksgiving and christmas for the christmas lights and carriage rides.
Thank you for that added layer of history! I do plan to ride that trail again when the Christmas lights are up. Maybe at that time I can convey some of the details that you shared.
Live local and love the trail- you need to come back at Christmas- Forest City turns into a winter wonderland!
Yes! I was reading about that online. Definitely need to come up again in December. I live only about an hour away.
This video makes me so happy! My husband and I are planning a 5-day trip in our RV to the area and are looking forward to riding this trail. I can't wait to watch more of your videos. Thanks!
Thanks! You will definitely enjoy it.
Great video of our Trail!
Thanks! I enjoyed it very much. That was my second time, driving from South Carolina, just to ride that trail. It's a keeper.
Another wonderful video. This looks like a great trail to ride, although the 35 road crossings are painful. The nighttime bridge lights are very cool.
35 isn't bad at all when some roads have 4 cars on it all day.
We've ridden this trail many times and love it! We get off the trail and also do the Purple Martin Greenway which adds a few more miles but it's a beautiful ride.
This is great. I ride the trail with my service dog in his bike trailer. He’ll ride in that for a couple miles then walk/run/bikejoring for a mile around the Ruth area where there’s definitely that side grass. 🐶
I like your vlogging style.👍
At some point I'm gonna ride this trail and gonna check out that famous donut place. 👍
Thanks!
Great video!! Really well done! Thank you
Okay, so that looks like a destination right there. I've already researched where to camp close by or at least close enough to make it a day trip. Looks like Kings Mountain fits the bill. Thanks for another great video! I'm glad I found this channel. God bless.
Very well done 🎥🚴♂️.. I’ve biked Thermal Belt Rail Trail a few times.. Nice Touch.. bike ride & explore the history, new coffeehouses, pastries, interesting restaurants.. A Full Tank of Gas Road Trips are all around US 🚴♂️😎
Thanks! I'm just having fun. I'm pretty much limited to weekend day trips right now. But retirement looms...
@@joyfultrails Good For you.. I retired 15 months ago.. for bigger bike adventures.. you’re really good at it.. Keep it up.. 🎥🚴♂️😎👍🍩
Lol, you eat junk food when you ride, so do I. I usually have ice cream after the ride. That looks like a really cool trail.
Just a tip, wear biking shorts, then wear sweat pants or baggy shorts over top of them. Forget the jeans. I used to wear jeans when biking. One of the best things I did was to switch to athletic clothes and later start wearing biking shorts underneath. The biking shorts really help with saddle discomfort.
Thanks for the tip… yeah, I don’t often put a lot of thought into what I’m wearing, and sometimes I’m sorry later!
Really well done and very enjoyable to watch. Thanks for taking on the ride.
I have always thought that your voice and accent sounds a lot like John Denver's. When you said the words "slap your grandma", it brought back memories of an interview I saw with him many years ago.
I’ve never been told that before! I don’t really know that much about him… This is making me want to google him. 😬
We live here, great to see it showcased and enjoyed.
I’ll be back in December; I hear y’all go all out for Christmas!
I want to ride with you! Subscribing and setting off to work my way through your archive.
Very nice
Thanks!
Great video, Forest City and Rutherford County is a great place. Another rail trail is being built in nearby Shelby, NC. The first mile segment opened this past fall. Called the Carolina Harmony Trail it will connect with other trails and stretch over 20 miles to the SC border and will pass through Shelby’s uptown and the towns of Lattimore, Patterson Springs, and Earl.
Wow, thanks for the info. That'll be nice when it's all done.
The Thermal Belt Rail Trail got its name from the Thermal Belt Railway (TBRY) who owned the tracks before the trail came about.
I want to get one of those Drones that can be programed to follow me.
The only complaint that I and other who use this trail daily is the Homeless that hangout on the side of the trail during the day.
Nice vid of my city
You were right 🍩 This Orange Twist Donut 🍩 🍊 at Davis Donut House is Phenomenal..
a quick bike ride on the Thermal Belt then heading to Greenville for a doubleheader of bike rides if your available later for a bike ride.. you can show me Unity Park.. maybe a snack at Swamp Rabbit Cafe 🚴♂️😎
Awesome! Unfortunately, I came in to work at 12 because I have to work over tonight. But the weather's great today, you should have a nice time of it. There may be a little extra traffic, as the Scottish Highland Games are happening at Furman University this weekend and there's a Scottish parade downtown tonight at 6.
@@joyfultrails I’m in no rush 🙂
We just rode the thermal belt RT today. The hottest day of the year and we both have mild sunburns but our engwe e-bikes handled it with no issues. Not sponsored. Lol
Awesome! It’s a lovely trail.
I like your road bike videos though I have to chuckle when you talk about Dragon Buffet in CLT & butter shrimp, now Davis Donuts, what's up? Is this a new carb loading trend?
Ha! Yeah, well...I never said this was a health food channel... 😆
@@joyfultrails 😳
Looking forward to adding this to our list. What is the name of the song playing middle of the video?
That's a song titled "Still Waters" by a group called Marshall McFerrin.
Beautiful trail even with all the crossroads. Who was that singing during the video of the trail
I use a service called Artlist for my music. I’ll have to check on that and get back to you…
@@joyfultrails thank you
@@johnlowry5311 That's a song called "Still Waters" by Marshall McFerrin. From an album titled "Spirited."
@@joyfultrails Thank you so much. That was very kind of you to get that
I ride there sometimes twice a week. How have I missed Davis Donut House?
I saw where it was recommended online somewhere. It really was good. Couldn't go inside, though. The creme-filled donut was amazing!
I see some of the road crossings have double bollards / posts. They look close together, have you seen recumbent trikes or bikes with full panniers fitting between these posts? Thanks.
You know, that's a great question... I don't have panniers, so I'm not sure exactly how much space they take up. But I can see where that might be a concern.
Great point, I have a bike with a dog trailer so turning can be a challenge near those. They’re mainly so cars don’t accidentally or purposely end up on the trail.
I've gotta do a night ride this Summer
I want to ride it at Christmastime. People say it's amazing.
First time watching. Do you always ride without a helmet?
No, not always. Depends on the situation.
Gilkey has a population of 2,540? No way. Other than that Sawmill and a Church. That's the only activities' happening there. I keep saying when I get back to the end of the trail, I'll drive to see what else is there.
Yeah…I don’t think that number is accurate. I guess you can’t believe everything you read on the internet!
Where's your helmet?
Nice one! I've enjoyed several of your vids. The east coast greenway is right out my door if your ever in Titusville for a launch it's worth doing. There is another trail nearby that has two different springs you can visit while riding. Cheers
Florida? I need to get down there! Well, I’ve been many times, of course, like most people… But I’ve never ridden any bike trails in Florida. Hopefully I’ll be able to branch out further once I I no longer have the 40-hour-a-week day job to go to..
Gilkey is a community not a town.
If you got an e bike, your subs would double
Hmmm... I'm probably a year or 2 away from getting one.
@@joyfultrails If you reach out to e bike companies, I am sure they will send you one of theirs for you to try out, especially since you're new at it. Trust me , there are e bike channels without the quality content you have, that get more subs and views because of the subject matter. Your production values and content are very, very good.
@@pedrofernandez8729 Thank you. Making these videos has become kind of a passion for me so I really appreciate you saying that.
@@scottbachmann1962 He's not lying, I feel like other videos of the area look like it was filmed by somebody's dog
Wear a helmet
I understand your concern. But I came of age and started loving bikes back in a time when there was no such thing as bike helmets. If there had been, I may have never started riding in the first place. I don't ride on streets with cars. I ride FLAT riverwalks, greenways, and rail trails. I have assessed the risk (which is minimal).
@@joyfultrails Hmmm. I guess old habits are hard to break. I just wish you were more of a cycling advocate. If you were, you’d promote helmets, especially when kids see you. It’s a”minimal risk” until your head hits the ground.
@@user-vo3ef9xl2n When I see little kids wearing helmets it literally makes me sad. It's most likely being pushed by their overprotective, millennial, helicopter parents...and it's very likely going to cause the kid to never fall in love with cycling. I see little kids riding bicycles so small that they still require training wheels...and the kid is being forced by their parents (or by misguided laws) to wear a helmet that is obviously uncomfortable and hot, causing the kid's head to sweat. I think this will lead to a lot of kids having a negative association with biking. Even if the kid fell over...they're already low to the ground to begin with. When I fell in love with bicycles as a kid, we jumped ramps (imitating Evel Knievel) constructed of plywood and concrete blocks. Helmets were not even sold in stores. We had a blast.
Well seeing the response to this point literally makes me sad. I also came of age in probably the same time as the youtuber. We didn't pay much attention to "safety" and I definitely have peers who didn't make it or had life changing injuries. I guess I was lucky I was "skeerd" and made it to adulthood mostly intact lol. Now a grownup who always wears a helmet and it takes nothing from my experience of riding. Maybe I push the edge a little bit more because I'm looking out for my future?
@@emaglott I watched a TH-cam video recently where they used data and statistics to debunk the almost religious zeal that is applied to bike helmets (by a lot of people). The fact is that you are statistically no more likely to sustain a head injury from riding a bike than from walking or jogging, and yet we see no one wearing a helmet just to go for a walk or a run. I just wish the disapproving Karens could mind their own business.