Phoenixville, PA to Columbia, SC:  Day 18: Jacksonville, NC to Burgaw, NC

The Explorers left their hotel outside of Jacksonville, NC.  They started out on a busy divided highway, temporarily found a diversion on a rail trail that took them through downtown Jacksonville but, after crossing the Jerry J. Popkin Bridge over New River, they ended up back on busy Route 17.  After another mile, they were able to turn off onto 258, a smaller road that led to route 53 where they pedaled the rest of the day.

Route 53 was better that Route 17, but still not optimal for biking.  It had one lane in each direction with a middle lane for turning.  There was no shoulder to speak of, so the Explorers had to ride on the right side of the lane, forcing passing traffic to swing into the turning lane to pass.  They got lot of “beeps” and they still aren’t sure if they are friendly beeps, alerting them to a passing vehicle, or angry beeps telling them to get off the roadway.  

Since heading inland, the Explorers have noticed that NC doesn’t prioritize safe passage for either bikers or pedestrians.  Sidewalks seem to be required for new construction, but these sidewalks just end if the next lot is undeveloped or contains an older building (which is obviously grandfathered from having to install sidewalks).  The road have no shoulders at all.  There are occasional bike route signs or “share the road” signs, but drivers don’t seem that used to “sharing the road”.  Luckily Route 53 was fairly rural, but the Explorers still held their breathes every time they were passed by huge tractor trailers and logging trucks.  Sidekick Sue really loved the yellow daisy-like flowers growing wild along the sides of the road.

The first stop of the day was after only 8 miles since it was their last gas station before leaving the city.  The second stop was a gas station around the 21 mile mark, and the third break was in an empty parking lot.  During the first two stops, they encountered multiple local residents that were very interested in their story and amazed to find that they’d come all the way from Philly.  One of them even got his wife on the phone to tell her about this crazy couple on a bike.  She wished us good travels.

The ride today was short…. only 36 miles.  Captain Mark would have preferred to stop after 45 miles, but there were just no hotels in the area.  The Explorers are also finding that there aren’t many campgrounds now that they have left the coast, so they have been staying in more hotels than planned.  For the same reason, tomorrow, the Explorers will have to ride 55-60 miles to find a decent place to stay.  Sidekick Sue is dreading this ride, especially since it is supposed to rain.  

The Explorers ended their day in Burgaw, NC in the Burgaw Motel (the only option in town).  It’s an older motel, but the desk clerk was very accommodating, giving them a larger room on the ground level (at the smaller room price) so that they could roll their bike indoors for the night.  After getting settled, they walked into the historic district of Burgaw.  Some of the buildings seemed to be very well preserved, including the old Woolworths (which is now a thrift store).  A few stores looked particularly attractive, but on closer inspection, the Explorers noticed signs on the doors indicating that they are “movie sets” not real stores.  A little digging showed that the town is being used to film a Fox Comedy called “Welcome to Flatch” which the Explorers are not acquainted with, but may try to watch, just out of curiosity.  The Explorers grabbed a quick dinner in town.  On the way home, they found a nice recreational path that wasn’t on Google Maps.  It was a much nicer walk back to the hotel than walking on the busy shoulder of the road with no sidewalks.