The Explorers got a fairly early start; leaving the campground without having ever having talked to the guy who ran it (they had slipped their money under a door as instructed). The bad news was they had to backtrack about 4 miles to get back to the main road; there was no way to “short cut” to it. The good news is the sun finally started to come out after several days of gloom and rain. It felt good to be riding in shorts again, with no rain coat.
Once back on the route, the road was the worst, most dangerous road the Explorers had traveled on this trip. It was two lanes of busy, 55 mph traffic in both directions, with a very skinny shoulder. The drivers were not very welcoming of bike traffic, and several vehicles passed way too closely for safety. The Explorers took their 10 mile break at a gas station and got their morning soda, but still had to negotiate the scary road for another 5 miles.
Finally, the route turned off a side road that took the Explorers through some swamps. The mile 20 break was by the side of the road in Grandy by a golf course. They enjoyed the peace of the side roads, which weren’t any better as far as having a decent shoulder, but at least the traffic was lighter and friendlier.
Unfortunately, it was necessary to rejoin the highway in order to cross the bridge over to the Outer Banks. They took a final rest stop at an Exxon station right before the bridge where there was indoor seating for the Explorers to have a snack and make plans for the evening. Crossing the bridge to the Outer Banks was even worse than the highway. Not only did the Explorers have the same skinny shoulder and unfriendly traffic, but they had to climb to the crest of the bridge (which means they are going very slow) AND they had a concrete barrier on their right with traffic passing closely on the left. Not a bike friendly route at all.
After crossing the bridge, they detoured to a Harris Teeter grocery store to pick up more protein bars (they have 3 more campground stays before the next hotel). From there they could take backroads to the town of Kitty Hawk. It was nice to ride down the less crazy beach street, looking at all the beach houses and catching glimpses of the ocean when there were dips in the dunes.
The Explorers had their daily meal at a restaurant called Spanky’s and then returned to the road that ran parallel to the beach. They took a right back toward the main highway in order to stop and visit the Wright Brothers Memorial and Park. It turned out to be paid-entry national park, and the Explorers had not thought to bring their National Park Pass. Nonetheless, they decided to fork over the $20 bucks to enter, as Captain Mark, having read a great biography on the brothers, is a fan-boy of the Wright Brothers (and Engineering in general). The Explorers visited the exhibits and then stretched their legs by walking up Kill Devil Hill to see the memorial. It is a grass covered hill, but back in the day, it was a huge sand dune that the brothers used to launch their gliders. Many years ago, grass was planted to stabilize the dune so that the stone memorial could be built.
The Explorers had to get back on the busy road for another mile before turning off on a paved bike trail headed to their campground. The campground is by far the most minimalistic campground the Explorers have seen on this trip. There are chickens running around and a rooster crowing every few minutes. Sidekick Sue rates the bathrooms as the most disgusting so far as they are coated with spider webs and bugs everywhere. There isn’t a clean surface to set down your things or even sit on a toilet seat. Ick!
The Explorers must have found some extra energy today with the sun returning. They hit a record with a 50+ mile day. Sidekick Sue’s Fitbit recorded over 33,000 steps which was a new record.
Captain Mark looking over Kitty Hawk from Kill Devil Hill.
