They are all pretty good. You have a ton of options. I live in Garner, but EVERYONE else lives up in raleigh/Cary side. I grow very invious of their ability to hit a green way, the ATT, or Umstead with relative ease.

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Qft. For a triathlete, lookup the ISO store group ride routes out of Cary. For Raleigh area lookup Team on Draft, TLC for bikes, or Spoke Cycle group rides. There’s a winter group lapping the PNC arena at night for roadies but I show up and TT it sometimes. There’s a weekly night gravel ride in Umstead also with either 12th State cycling or Team on Draft.

Honestly, I’d learn to like gravel and spend hours without cars in Umstead then brick a run in there also. So peaceful.

To me, I waste a lot of time riding out of town to get to riding country roads. Use the ATT or NRT greenways for some tri rides if pinched for time. Just be nice around runners and families. You end up with miles of uninterrupted rides without cars.

I live about 70 miles SE of Raleigh, got to run the Durham end of the ATT last month in the RDC Marathon. Beautiful trail, saw a lot of people cycling on the way back in.

Apex has a fairly ambitious bike and pedestrian plan that will connect to both the ATT and Holly Springs. Traffic inside 540 is becoming an issue. There are some new neighborhoods near Olive Chapel and Roberts (Arcadia West, Saddlebrook, Sweetwater, Stillwater, Buckhorn Preserve) that would work from a biking standpoint but the greenways, while planned, have not made it out there yet. That being said, it's very close to the ATT so that could work for you. That would be in the Friendship High School area though.

Also, be aware that NC DOT is planning to widen US 64 from Apex west. Phase One is from US 1 to Apex High School but the plan is to widen it all the way to NC 49 in Asheboro.

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Janyne

We're in Willow Spring, just outside of Raleigh/Garner.
Lots of nice country roads and ok traffic.

Be prepared for some sticker shock. Real estate is just bonkers anywhere in Raleigh/Cary. Especially where you are looking. There is also the potential for Apple to build a new campus somewhere in Raleigh or RTP soon, so it's just gonna get worse.

My wife and I both work in Cary, literally 1 mile from each other. We applied for a transfer for our son so he could go to the school close to my work. Easiest governmental process I've ever done. So now my son is .5 miles from me.
Wake County Schools are actually pretty easy to work with regarding transfers and once you're in the school, you're in until your kid is done.
Unless you really want to live where you mentioned, there's value in looking on the outskirts of Wake County and just transferring to the school of choice.

Personally, I like living a little outside of the city. It's quiet, my kids have a yard to play in, and it's (to me) a far better value.
We got a 1600sq/ft house, built in 2010, with 1 acre yard for less than what a townhouse built in 1970 went for in Cary.

I'm also very fortunate that I work about 1 mile from two Umstead entrances.
The Old Reedy Creek entrance has miles fire roads, a really nice Greenway, and they just completed a cool bridge over Lake Crabtree that connects to many more miles of greenway.
The Harrison Ave. entrance gives you your choice of half a dozen different trails and access to the fire roads- with a wicked downhill going in and a humbling uphill to get back out.
All the fire roads are ridable on a road bike with fatter tires or a mountain bike, but I agree with whoever said buy a cross/gravel bike and ride for days in Umstead.

Also, the Triangle Aquatic Center is in Cary.
It's very reasonably priced, pretty good schedule, and always a well maintained facility.

Good luck on your search.
There's plenty to do around here.

Yeah, we are already over the sticker shock. We don’t want to downgrade quality/size from what we got now so we’re resigned to spending in the $600-$700K range.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

For Jordan Lake OWS - Mary Gaal's One Step Beyond Coaching group puts on a weekly swim at Jordan lake when the weather is nice. It's usually a fairly sizable group that goes. Additionally, they put on a number of OWS races throughout the warmer months

Apple picked Austin instead. They won't be coming here.

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Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

I've been in my own little world for the last month. I missed that Apple picked Austin.
Too bad. Or good. Depends who you ask.

OMFG that will get you a lot in North Raleigh, where all the good road are

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Eric Reid AeroFit | Instagram Portfolio
Aerodynamic Retul Bike Fitting

“You are experiencing the criminal coverup of a foreign backed fascist hostile takeover of a mafia shakedown of an authoritarian religious slow motion coup. Persuade people to vote for Democracy.”

North Raleigh sounds great!

Sincerely,
The 1990’s

😉

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

In all seriousness Eric, office is in Cary, in-laws on that side of town, and schools are better.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

I'm in Apex/West Cary in a new development off Green Level West Rd., so right where you are looking. We've been here for 3 years and love it. White Oak Creek trail in my backyard that connects to the ATT about 0.5 miles away. I'm a cyclist only (son is the budding triathlete) and really appreciate being able to roll out the door to get some great gravel riding in without having to deal with traffic. Looks like it is great for running, too, based on the number of runners. Umstead Park, of course, is a great place for riding and running.

Housing has gotten more expensive in even the short time we have been here, but seems to have leveled off to some degree. Tons of new housing to choose from, but it will be in 600k+ range easy.

My daughter is a junior at Green Hope High and son is at Mills Park Middle. Great schools, but insanely competitive for academics and sports. My son will be going to the new Green Level High School, which is where a lot of the communities are districted.

Great cycling scene here, and seems like a very active tri scene, too. My son swims and plays water plo at TAC in Cary, and it is a nice swim facility.

You know the area from having lived here, but happy to answer more questions.

I hear you... I'm just sort of chuckling about the numbers you are throwing around just to get a reasonable house. The dream would be home, office, schools, pool, and trail access all together. Hope you can work that out.

E

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Eric Reid AeroFit | Instagram Portfolio
Aerodynamic Retul Bike Fitting

“You are experiencing the criminal coverup of a foreign backed fascist hostile takeover of a mafia shakedown of an authoritarian religious slow motion coup. Persuade people to vote for Democracy.”

I live in Apex, south of 64/west of 540 (off Olive Chapel Rd.). Love it. Easy to get to the ATT or other greenways, really great riding up toward Jordan Lake or down toward Harris Lake. I work in Cary, commute is easy for me, and being right off 540 I can get anywhere worth going in the triangle in 20ish minutes. Haven’t gotten much into the group ride scene (just shown up at IOS Cary’s Tuesday night ride a few times), but i know there are quite a few around here. I’m in the Apex Friendship HS area, which I hear is a good school/feeder system.

I'm moving to the area in March (job at UNC) so just went through the whole process. We actually decided on Chatham county - good schools that are continually improving with lower taxes than Wake or Orange County. Also lots of good new build communities depending on what you are looking for. Obviously depends on where in Cary the job is but just wanted to throw that out there.

Not to hijack but was wondering about Tri clubs in the area? I've seen stuff about Triangle and a few elite/development ones (definitely not me), but any others active in the area?

Houses I'm looking at are a little beyond what I would call "reasonable." We're talking 4,000+ sqft McMansions.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

I very much appreciate the comments so far. Thanks everyone.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

Can you please consider me for a job wherever you work once you move?! I need a new line of work that pays me more. . .

. . .just in case you can; I'm a GIS/Data analyst for a utility, smart, educated, and a fast learner :)

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Use this link to save $5 off your USAT membership renewal:
https://membership.usatriathlon.org/...A2-BAD7-6137B629D9B7

I work for the federal government and have no say in hiring matters. :-)

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

I live in Apex (Friendship HS zone). You're going to have lots of options for housing and lots of options for training. It's a very active tri scene. PM me for specific questions, I'm glad to help.

• Lifetime in Cary and the the UNC Wellness Center in western Cary are the main gyms in the area you outline. Lifetime has very active running and cycling groups
• The Carolina Brewing Company rides out of Holly Springs offer every conceivable speed and distance and there are many triathletes
• As has been mentioned there is a whole ecosystem around Inside Out Sports
• There are a number of coach/training groups like One Step Beyond, TriStacey, etc
• The roads around western Cary and Apex are growing ever more crowded. We're still on the edge of miles and miles of country roads to the west and south but for the best access the further west you are in Cary and Apex the better

I came here 8 years ago. I don't train with the organized groups as much anymore but that's because the network is so strong that I SBR with all sorts of informal groups of friends.

Out of curiosity, how is an ISO group ride done? Or a tri group ride for that matter. Does everyone sit up the entire time and ride together, or bring their roadies? Or you just kind of do your own pace and regroup along the way?

I've always wondered how that works since part of the idea of me riding that bike on a ride anyway is sitting in the bars and holding some kind of speed to train using the right bike.

I'd be down with attempting it, just would want to know the protocol without showing up and asking 1000 questions.

If it's a true group ride (as opposed to 3-6 friends who know each other) everyone sits up and rides on the horns. Some will say that the lead rider can get down into their aero bars. I'm not a huge fan of that in a big group but it's not outrageous. To your point, it's not ideal triathlon training. If I want race-specific tri training I'm on my tri bike by myself or with a couple of good training partners. If I want a good hard workout that is also social I'll go out with a fast group but on my road bike.

As to IOS, that's a whole can of worms. It's full of both roadies and triathletes. There has been all sorts of drama about who is in the A vs. B group and how fast they should go, blah, blah, blah. I steer clear of it.

By the way, riding Umstead on a cross bike (as has been pointed out) is fantastic!

About the tri rides, that's what I figured. I guess I'd have to find a training buddy or just ride solo.

My hard/fast personal opinion on A's and B's is that you should KNOW if you're an A or B grouper. I'd say you need a 3.25w/kg for 20 minutes or better to get called up to the A group.

A+/hammer? Run what ya brung. Fall off, do more training and try again later.