Plaza to Uptown

I agree with the last comment that the sidewalk is really not the best place to be on this or most other routes. I live on Pecan and Central, and my wife and I do this route frequently. We cross over Central on Pecan, go over the RR tracks and turn right on Bay Street. Make your first left onto Clement (there will be a house on the corner with a water fountain that offers you to take a drink) and then make your next right on 8th. Cross over Hawthorne, then go left on Louise when 8th ends. Make a right onto 7th and take it all the way to either McDowell or Davidson, which ever you are most comfortable with. The first few trips, you might want to take the sidewalk on much of 7th until you are comfortable, but force your self to get onto the road after that because it is really a lot safer and easier, especially once you graduate up to making left turns in with traffic and such. At McDowell or Davidson, make a left and take either one of those to 4th. Make a right onto 4th and take it all the way to Tryon, it has a bike lane, so it a nice segment to end on! On the return trip, take 3rd out to accommodate the one-way traffic (it has a bike lane too).

I commute each day from Pecan to South Park, and take a more direct route than through Uptown, but let me know if you would like for me to join you some morning or afternoon, I can easily do my route through Uptown. My wife bikes in to Uptown a few days a week to catch a bus so she can also join you/us.
-Bill and Julie gatorsailor1996@yahoo.com

When I bike to work, I ride through the neighborhood and come out at Central by the Dairy Queen (Pecan)

I cross Central and follow Pecan where I ususally turn right on Bay, 9th or 8th Streets (lots of choices)

I turn left onto Clement, cross 7th and go around the park to 5th Street on the other side...

down 5th Street, across Hawthorne...2nd or 3rd left towards Elizabeth

right onto Elizabeth and into uptown via Trade (what Elizabeth becomes)

Hawthorne isn't bad, and 7th isn't really that bad, either...but I like this way :-)

It's a pleasant ride and there are often may other bikers around

Hey Tugandbuster, I suspect a whole pile of us will step up to congratulate you on your first attempt. There are a couple of routes and a couple of riders on this forum coming from, more or less, your area, so you can probably hook up with any of them for your first ride.
Your question about where to ride (sidewalk vs street) is a good one, because so often it just seems like the sidewalk is a safer place to be. That's wrong, unless you're 6 and riding 5 miles and hour and there aren't any driveways or side streets to cross. YOU should definitely be in the road -- it's faster AND safer. However, if you find yourself overwhelmed by cars in the street, while you have every right to be there, there's no shame in getting up on the sidewalk and walking your bike until things calm down (fortunately, Charlotte traffic really isn't all that scary once you get used to it).
Your best bet is to try to get together with another commuter on this site for your first trip -- you'll probably get some responses in the next few days. With a good mentor, your trip can be quite safe, fun, and cheap!
Kudos for giving it a shot!
-tab