My first road ride is a relatively easy 4 day ride in coastal North Carolina organized by Will Truslow. Here is Will making a u-turn on the scenic route from Beaufort to Cedar Island. He has organized similar trips many times before.
Our itinerary is to congregate Wednesday evening in the coastal town of Beaufort. On the waterfront we stay and stroll and dine. The Shackelford Banks are visible. We scan them wild horses but see none. Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring has a preserve named in her honor here. She apparently conducted research here and was instrumental in preserving it.
One member has a punctured tire we discover this evening. A local bicycle shop is nearby and the owner operates the shop out of his home so we are able to make the necessary repairs in the hotel room.
I spend a restless night, anxious to get started. We are off close to first light in the morning. We have to ride the 40 miles to the Cedar Island ferry for a 10am departure to Ocracoke. A quick stop at McDonalds provides some coffee and calories for the ride. It is a gorgeous morning. There is no wind, no clouds and temperatures are just right.
There are a few convenience stores along the route and some very small communities but nothing else in the way of development. A couple bridges provide wide expansive views with lots of water and wetlands. At one bridge we watch stingrays in the water below. I don't know the proper term for a group of stingrays. I just looked it up. We watched a "fever" of stingrays.
We arrived at the ferry terminal with plenty of time to spare. Cars are $15 and bicycles with rider are $3. We load last and disembark last. The ride is over 2 hours crossing Pamlico Sound. Dolphins are spotted a couple times gracefully arching out of the water and slipping back in. A group of three brown pelicans skims the water and effortlessly pass the boat now cruising at top speed. Laughing gulls keep us entertained. Tom shares some crackers with some, trying to entice one to feed from his hand. The gulls are so agile they can snag a cracker scrap in midair.
To arrive in Ocracoke, we have to make a wide right, then left and right back into the slip. You can see the shallow water causing these maneuvers. As the waves created by the boat cross the shallow water, they break in a long continuous white capped wave along side the ferry.
Rooms are ready at the Harborside Motel. Most of us enjoy trout sandwiches or fish and chips for lunch on the waterside deck. Bicycling around the town, we visit the iconic lighthouse. It is the oldest operating lighthouse in the US, having been built in 1823. It is a beautiful white color. Walls at the base are 5 feet thick. It looks solid. We also stroll out to Springers Point, a maritime forest protected by an easement with Coastal Land Trust. Live oaks, eastern red cedar and various holly and bays make up the majority of the trees here. There is one grave, a fellow buried with his horse. On the narrow beach we are at the "point" separating Pamilico Sound and a broad inlet known as "Teach's Hole". Notorious privateer, Blackbeard (Edward Teach) sheltered his ships here until that fateful day in 1718 when he was killed by the Royal Navy. His headless body was tossed overboard where his body swam around the ship 7 times (other accounts place the laps at 5 - much more believable). His head was stuck on the bowsprit and paraded into harbor. His skull was later used as a punchbowl!
Continuing our tour of town, we visit a few local craft shops. Will purchasing a bamboo shirt at the Hemp Shop. The shop owner tells us bamboo is the greatest material for shirts. It doesn't absorb odor, wicks, feels great etc etc. Below you can observe the various high water marks on a nearby shop. Major hurricanes have hit Ocracoke in 1899, 1933 and 1944 according to historical marker. No one has ever perished in a storm. Another storm in 1846 created Oregon Inlet and Hatteras Inlet, the inlet separating Ocracoke from Hatteras Island.
It is birthday day. Daughter Amanda is 32, Pete in our group is 55 and Will is 60 but somehow still thinks he is in his 59th year. New math I guess. Howard's Pub is our evening destination. A pitcher of Two Hearted Ale and a bluefish dinner make it memorable. Somehow, Will's wife has arranged to pick up the tab and get a slice of birthday cake for the birthday boys.
Friday, we have a leisurely morning on the island and then are to ferry over to Swanquarter. Someone has alerted us of a Greated Horned Owlet in a tree by the ferry. We spend some time looking at the strange bird perched in a cedar keeping vigil.
The ferry ride over is relatively uneventful. A passing shower get everything wet. Once we land, we start riding with nice tailwind for half the ride into Belhaven. My foot is bothering me this afternoon so I opt for the sag vehicle the final leg into town. Will has secured a house for the evening. Built in 1906 the home provides everything we need. We manage taking creative showers in a old clawfoot tub with just a spray hose. No curtain or hose holder. The evening meal is at a local diner, Georgie's Sports Bar and Seafood Restaurant. Several of us like the crab cake description and lured into ordering it. Easily it was the most disappointing meal of the trip. Gary has dolphin and says it is the best meal he has had. Rain comes during the night, pelting the tin roof at a decibel level I can't sleep through.
After a quick breakfast at O'Neals we're back on the road racing to another ferry. We make the 9:15 Bayview to Aurora ferry. Above, we are warming up in the ferry terminal. The night storm brought a cold front in, knocking temperatures into the 50's.
Right off the ferry, we pass a huge mining operation. Phosphate rock is mined here. the open pit mine goes on for miles. A couple miles from Aurora I have a flat and ride the sag vehicle to town. After having a founder sandwich at Lyle & Shirley's Restaurant, I change the tube and am ready to head out again. I ride the first leg of the afternoon and drive the final leg into Oriental. We stay on the waterfront in Oriental at the Oriental Marina and Inn. Our three bedroom suite is right above the Tiki Lounge. Several of us, tour the town on bicycles. After, we retire to the Tiki Lounge and have several rounds. On our pre-dinner stroll we run into local Chrissy Fulcher Cahoon and learn all about crabbing, crab processing and marketing. She is involved with a mini crab processing empire and seems well versed in many aspects of it. I have a great crab cake tonight.
Here we are, stopping on Sunday morning at "Bama's" cafe for breakfast. This stop fuels us for the final ride back to Beaufort. We have wind in excess of 20 mph at our back on the ride to the Minnesott ferry. After getting off, the wind is coming diagonally into us. The final 10 miles are difficult. Crossing a high bridge, the wind blows all of us so hard there is concern we will get blown off the bridge. Tom takes a spill and his bicycle is damaged slightly forcing him to call it quits a bit early. We manage the final leg to town and cluster back at Inlet Inn where we began 4 days earlier.
No comments:
Post a Comment