Birkdale Village/Lake Norman (July 22, 2012)

Got out on the bike on a very nice Sunday early afternoon....much less humid than it has been the past few days, and of course...for the past few days I have been in Richmond, VA. So it was nice to get out and take a short ride on a fine Sunday. This is actually at the second stop, but a nice view of the bike, and also a bit of the lake. Lake Norman can also be seen in the photo at the bottom of this page...its a massive lake, and as I understand it, man made. It's purpose is to provide cooling water for the nearby nuclear reactors, but its also a very popular place for boating and fishing, as well as some impressive houses on the lake as well. 

 This is a photo of Birkdale Village. It is a neat sort of thing; lots of shopping there, apartments (perhaps even condos, I am not sure), many good places to eat and drink, a movie theater....you can find pretty much anything (though I don't think they have a grocery...yet). A number of places such as these have been popping up in the North Carolina area (and I have seen a development like it in Chester, VA) but in the Charlotte area this was the first and the biggest. I stopped in to check out a brand new place called Big Daddy's Burger Bar which I read about this weekend in the Charlotte Observer, it is pretty neat, and I enjoyed the visit there.  

Nothing as peaceful (at least early on) as Lake Norman, took this photo shortly after noon. It is a big lake, and covers a large area (something to see from the air which I have done). Like visiting there, although it has been awhile since I rode out that way. Sure a very nice place, and a nice ride on a Sunday-sometimes though traffic in that area can be really, really bad...its a very popular place to visit, and I am sure it got that way later in the day.
Few things I enjoy more than a Sunday morning ride; and this one covered about 50 miles in total-did not have a great deal of time, as I had to get back to Richmond later in the day.