Friday, March 22, 2013

Sneads Ferry to Bettie

Fed and well-rested, the morning of riding did not go quite as planned but, well, does anything?  We had a brief wrong turn which was quickly forgotten when we came to the sign that read "Military access only, 2 miles ahead".  Oops.  I had recalled seeing something about this at some point and had mentioned it in passing to Sam, but we did not think much of it and figured we would just try going this route that would avoid an extra 20-30 miles of detour up through Jacksonville, NC.  Not so much. Luckily, thanks to my morning cereal and peanut butter with banana, I was out of yesterday's funk and simply turned around to start pedaling the longer route.  Sam had been in touch with Zack and Courtney, another pair of cyclists headed to the Outer Banks, and it seemed like fate that we would meet up with them as this 'alternate route' would make us certain to overlap.  Another morning of ACA map following meant beautiful riding on country roads to skirt the edges of Jacksonville and, when I did stop for a snack break, I turned mid-chomp to see a trio of riders coming up the road!

Zack and Sam had been in touch for awhile due to the magic of internet-cycling-trip-partner-seeking, so it was great that the four of us could get together.  The two of them had started out of Charleston and were headed to Maine where Courtney will be working on an organic farm for the season while Zack will then continue on a wee jaunt around the world.  OK, not a wee jaunt.  An epic adventure, perhaps?  They had been concerned about whether Sam and I would fly by them with greater prowess and mileage, so when it seemed like riding together through the Outer Banks at least was a possibility it was very exciting for all.

Zack, partway into his around the world adventure by bicycle!  Check out his blog at http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=1&doc_id=11660&v=As

Courtney's sweet thrifty pannier setup using buckets

Courtney is riding from Charleston to Maine where she will work on an organic farm!


I rode solo for some of it, not feeling like keeping up at their pace, and was joined by Courtney for some as well which was lovely.  The four of us met up at a Subway later in the day, where Zack and Sam were just finishing and Courtney and I sat down in the parking lot for a snack, and we decided to ride until dark and find a spot to camp in the hopes of making the next morning's 10am ferry.  Courtney and I opted for one route, which was a bit more direct and went through Beaufort (which several people had told me was worth a stop) and Zack and Sam opted for the ACA inland route that was likely a bit calmer in terms of traffic and no doubt scenic.  Needless to say, we all had some great riding, I had a great cinnamon roll in Beaufort around 6 in the evening, and the sunset lighting was spectacular.

Courtney and I were surprised to discover when we met up as darkness got closer that the guys were a few minutes behind us.  Not keen on riding in the dark without a destination in mind, we set out on finding a spot to camp.  Courtney managed to get in touch with the pastor of a church who not only said it was OK for us to camp in the field behind it, but he also offered to come by and let us access the washroom and kitchen for a few hours.  Awesome!

Beaufort was certainly worth the detour, especially with the beautiful lighting on the harbour at that hour (not to mention the tasty cinnamon roll)

Just past Beaufort, some gorgeous marsh-gawking riding next to the water

Playing around with the camera with camp set up.  


We pitched our tents, cleaned up a bit, had a snack in the church kitchen, and agreed on a pre-dawn departure in the hopes of making it the 30 miles to the ferry before 10.  I was very keen on this as, while I'm not generally one to rush, the day promised great tailwinds with strong headwinds the next day, so I wanted to make the most of Saturday's winds and bike less on Sunday.

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