Day 3/4 Winton to South Mills and South Mills to just north of Nags Head 45/70 miles respectively

Combining two days of riding into one night of blogging! I didn't leave Winton yesterday till about 9:00. I had breakfast at the Shell station before I got on the road. Three ladies working in there that really loved their job and wanted to talk to me about my bicycle ride. Yesterday's ride was good mostly back roads and sunshine but very little in the way of any towns or services. Once I left Winton it was mostly cotton fields and swamp until I got to South Mills. I thought I was going further than South Mills yesterday but with the short days and the looming thunderstorm, I decided South Mills would work just fine. There's not a lot in South Mills. The closest big town is Elizabeth city. So after making a round through town I decided to stop at the Grocery and Gun to see if they might know if any place I could pitch the temp tonight. Misty was the lady running the store. Such a nice lady. She started making some phone calls and put me in touch with Mike. He made a couple of more phone calls for me and called me back. I was going to be able to stay behind the Masonic Lodge for the night and it had a shed which was something I really wanted with the weather getting bad last night. And it did!

Last night or some serious wind and rain. I got up at about 2 this morning and started trying to tie my tent to anything that wasn't blowing around. The shed helped I'm sure but it was still a damp night for sleeping. The transformer next to the lodge blew sometime before sunrise. Even though I was very happy to have the shed at the Masonic Lodge for the night, it would still be hard to give it more than two stars!! I got up, packed and hit the road by 7: 30 this morning. The heavy weather had ended for the most part. Just light rain and wind to start the day. The light rain ended but the wind, oh my gosh! When I first started going North I had to win to my back. I was cruising between 18 and 20 miles an hour fairly easily. Then I turned Southeast then eventually south! Crazy winds! I really didn't know if I would make Kitty hawk today or not. But I just kept saying another 10 miles. Then I got there and they really wasn't anything so I said another 10 miles and so on and so on. That mindset worked well until I got to the bridge that connects Point Harbor to Kitty Hawk. I took a look at that bridge and immediately realized I was not going to ride my bike across that bridge with the wind and traffic. I went back to the gas station just before the bridge with the plan of waiting till somebody in a pickup truck was going across the bridge. In just a few minutes John pulled up in his F-350 and after he topped off his tanks we were on our way. Me and Fancy in the back!  So, I did make Kitty hawk and beyond. Tonight I am just north of Nags Head. Where I am staying at the Marriott TownePlace suites which I would give 10 stars if I could!! 

Even though my bicycle tours have ups and downs, good days and maybe some not quite as good as you would like days, the people I meet are a constant. No matter where they're from, how they talk or what they look like. There are a lot of great people just waiting to be met. 

Pics from the last two days. 

Back road leaving Winton

rolls of cotton. Your next pair of Levi's may be here. 

riding through the swamp

lunch in South Mills while I was trying to decide where to stop and sleep for the night

last night at the Masonic Lodge

The pink is severe weather warnings

My route today feel mostly within the pink

I did a video of the wind today. Here's the link. https://photos.app.goo.gl/D5UwLqjj9GXZj15NA

I didn't get a picture of John before he left but here was the truck I rode across the bridge  

first sight of the ocean

my trusty steed that got me here

home for the night. Before picture

The picture on the TV says it all!

after picture

first real seafood meal of the trip!!

Wow!

Day 2 Ferry dock near Bath North Carolina to Winton North Carolina 85 miles

It was an early start this morning from the ferry dock. They start warming the engines up on the ferry at 4:30 to be ready for the 5:45 trip. 

I forgot to mention that I did get my first seafood meal last night. Wonderfully seasoned Starkist tuna mixed with Ramon Noodle soup!

The Coyotes were really making some racket last night. Maybe because of the full moon. It's amazing how two or three of them can sound like 50.

I started riding at 6:00 this morning. 

It was good to get out before sunup and traffic. The new head lights I have can really light up the road. Bath was a neat town to ride through this morning just as the sun was coming up. Pretty boots docked right next to main Street. The rest of the ride today was through fairly nondescript small towns and large cotton and tree farms. By leaving so early I was hoping to get in a hundred or more miles today. But  roads and headwinds and rain  caused me to lose daylight and desire before the hundred mile mark. I know, stop the whining! 85 miles today.

Staying in Winton tonight behind the Baptist Church. I went to the pastor's home and asked if he would be okay with me camping here  Super nice guy! Fixed me up with electrical cords and ask me if I wanted a heater and something to eat. I turned down the heater which was probably not the best idea. 37° tonight for the low. Looks like I'll be sleeping with coats and hats tonight. Maybe when I get back I'll look for a sleeping bag rated higher than 45 plus degrees!

Pics from today:

Daybreak along side a cotton field

quiet back road

10:30 breakfast. First town that was open. I got a sandwich from Wendy's but had to eat it under the gas station awning to stay dry. Some days you just do what you got to do!

Home for the night. Winton Baptist Church. Nice?

Day one - New Bern to Aurora 40 miles

Got to New Bern NC about 12:45. I was able to park my car at the Aerie B&B which we've worked at in New Bern in the past. I talked to John for a little while. John is the owner of the B&B. I got on the road about 1:45 maybe 1:30. I had hope to make it to you a state park about 52 miles up the road. But with leaving at 1:30 and sunset at 4:30, that didn't quite work out. The ride out of New Bern starts off with a bang. No time for warm up or settling in. Just jump right on highway 17 bridge going over the Neuse river. It changed quickly when I got to the other side.  I stayed on two lane roads which were mostly quiet for the rest of today. The traffic that I did encounter gave me plenty of room. I made it to the Aurora ferry in time to catch the 5:00 ride across the Pamlico River.  I rode off the ferry and started looking for options of a place to stay tonight. Didn't really like the idea of riding another five miles to the next town in the dark. The captain of the ferry boat (David) came over and asked where I was staying tonight. I said that's exactly what I'm trying to figure out. David went inside and talked to the night guard on duty (Jason) and got permission for me to stay at the dock. It turned out awesome! I'm under a shelter with a picnic table and unlocked bathrooms thanks to Jason. This is my version of Glamping! I even have my own personal guard. 

Pics from today

Polliock Street in New Bern

This is the bridge I had to go over

I couldn't stop to take a picture so I used Google's of the 17 bridge

waiting on the ferry

link to ride over...I hope!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/LuhQRBBDdnxVzVZR7

Glamping spot for the night

Outer Banks of North Carolina November 27th 2020

Well, it looks like Fancy and I will be embarking on another adventure! This will be a loop route from New Bern North Carolina along the Outer Banks and back to New Bern. A distance of about 500 miles more or less. It should be quite a bit different than my last adventure on the Blue Ridge Parkway with my buddy Charlie. I'll be solo on this one.  Also, The Parkway had a total elevation gain of 46, 000 plus feet. The Outer Banks Loop will have an elevation gain of about 13 ft!!  Actually I really have no idea of how much elevation change there will be, but it won't be much. I'm confident that whatever this trip lacks in elevation it makes up in seafood! I'm not packing any Spam or Ramen noodles! Well maybe a couple of packs of ramen noodles just to be safe. There's no

 real set plans of where to stop for the day or be at any particular time. I've got everything I need with me and hope to find some great places to camp each night.  It does look like going north from New Bern and then toward the coast and down will give me the best chance for good weather on the two and a half hour ferry ride from Ocracoke Island to Cedar Island. I would just kind of like for this to be a nice sunny day, if possible.

Here's a screenshot of my planned route. The starting point (New Bern) is at the bottom left of the map. I'll start riding the day after Thanksgiving and try to update the blog every evening.

Follow up on all the wonderful and much appreciated comments!

To all who posted a comment and followed my latest bicycle adventure, I want to thank you so very much! I also want to apologize for not responding to the comments as they were posted. For some reason I was not receiving notifications on my Android device and only found the comments after getting on my laptop this morning. It's probably a very good chance that there was operator error involved in this:)!

But I did want to let everyone know how much I appreciate and enjoyed reading the comments this morning. It means so much to know that family and friends care and are interested in what's going on in your life. Some of our paths may not cross again while others I will probably see today. To all, I am thankful and better for knowing you. 

Durell

Greenville SC

durellkayaks@yahoo.com

Day 12 / milepost 408 to 469/ 61 miles 10 hrs 45 min riding time

The Parkway Milepost markers start at zero and go to 469. As you can see from the miles done yesterday, we completed our journey. I'm finishing the blog about this adventure as I'm sitting at home in Greenville with my wife after a great breakfast with plenty of hot coffee and a dry place to sit. Charlie has just headed back to Peachtree City Georgia. My buddy and I had another great adventure together. I'm thankful that we were both able to experience all that is encompassed on a trip like this. We were able to slow down meet great people along our way. We saw some amazing beauty both on the grand and small scales. We had great days and maybe a day that was less than great( heavy traffic)  The weather provided a mix of warm sunny days, cool evenings and some of the hardest rain and dense fog that I believe I have ridden in. The Parkway provides very few flat stretches of road. You are either going up or going down most of your day. The physical challenge of this type of tour is fairly tough but extremely rewarding. Charlie and I were both very thankful that we we're able to complete this ride. I always enjoy keeping a blog/journal of my travels. It helps me to look back and remember. I hope people reading this have enjoyed hearing about the journey, seeing the beautiful scenery and have been inspired to get out and explore!

The next Adventure awaits. 

Durell

Pics from yesterday:

We were on the road by 7:00 a.m.

I only turned my front lights on when I heard cars coming or going through tunnels. The back was lit up like a fire truck all the time

yesterday's ride had two tough climbs and we did a total of 61 mi

We started at Mount Pisgah on the top map and ended at the southern terminus on the bottom map

The sky cleared for a couple of hours

After you've been on the bike for almost 11 hours, a sign like this means fast downhill and puts a smile on your face

End of the trip. My phone died so I will have to add Charlie's picture here as soon as he sends it. 

Day 11 / milepost 382 to 408

Tunnels, climbing and great weather was the theme of the day. We came through nine tunnels today ranging from a little over 200 ft long to a little over 1,300 ft long. These tunnels have changed a little bit in their design over the previous tunnels. For some reason they started using cement walls instead of just carving them out of the rock. It's fun riding through the tunnels when you have them to yourself. They're pitch black, always a cool breeze blowing through them and usually water dripping from the walls that sounds really neat. On the other hand, when you ride through them while being passed by 15 extremely loud Harley-Davidsons it is total sensory overload :). 

 Again today we did a little bit of climbing. I think I've mentioned the climbing before :). We climbed a little over 3,700 ft from the French broad River to Mount Pisgah. We're camping in Mount Pisgah campground tonight. If you get a chance to visit this area, the campground is the best on the parkway! It's also the only one with showers. If camping's not your thing, Mount Pisgah Inn is just north of here and has gorgeous views. Here is a link to the Inn webcam. Pretty awesome views. 

https://www.pisgahinn.com/live-video-camera/

Pics of the day:

The French broad

climbing out of Asheville

snapshot of elevation gain today

view from Pisgah

campsite for the night

Last but not least. Answer to the age-old question!! Do bears poop in the woods? Yes and also on the path to the bathhouse!!