Today we were treated to something we haven't seen since we left Richmond VA, sunshine!!! It was a real treat to be able to get on the bikes without having to wipe the rain from our glasses. We still had the tailwind out of the North at about 10 - 15mph. Bob and I decide to stay on Rte 17 until we reached Dixon to decide what we were going to do about going into Surf City. We continued to see signs of the flooding from the last few days. At Maysville, we saw a detour sign just as we also saw a Burger King sign. We went in for a cup of coffee and a brief break. After our coffee, we decided to go down to see what ever was causing the detour. Bikers know that they should always go down to see if it is possible to get through. Remember Meiri and I were able to go past the bridge construction in Pa last week. Anyway Bob and I went continued down past the detour sign and eventually came to the problem area. It was a bridge that had been partially eroded by the flood. Just as we got to the bridge, an ambulance came through so we knew it was possible to go past the damaged area. It turned out that the flooding had washed out half of the bridge and the construction crew was repairing the washed out area. They allowed us to get by on the good lane and we had a relatively traffic free route for about 20 miles as the detour was substantial.
The tailwind was ripping and we had a good road so we were flying again. It is really fun to ride when it is almost effortless. As we approached Jacksonville, the home of the Marine base Camp Lejune, we found a bike shop for Bob. The problem was Bob's bike sandals had disintegrated from all of the rain we have had in the past week. He patched them with duct tape but he knew he needed new shoes. We went into the store and he picked out some shoes.In the meantime, I started talking to a couple who were admiring our bikes. As we talked, Sue said she was from Pittsburgh. I asked where and she said Wilkinsburg, She moved when she was 15 and eventually wound up in Jacksonville. Her friend Bob said he could never do something like we were doing but then he mentioned that he was riding a thousand miles a month. I pointed out that if he could do that, he could do the ride Bob and I are doing. Sue said she was going to follow my blog and we said goodbye.
As we were leaving, a woman came up and said that she was the wife of one of the bike shop employees but also that she was a pastor in the United Methodist Church and she asked if she could pray for us this Sunday. We of course agreed as everything helps.
We continued flying down the road and decided that we would continue on to Wilmington instead of stopping in Surf City. The ride was going to good to stop. We were averaging 14.5mph and hitting 20 to 22 mph on the flats sometime with our tailwind. We decided if we could get to Myrtle Beach tomorrow, we would recover our hurricane day. The bonus would be we would be able to get through Wilmington early on a Sunday morning before everybody woke up.
I passed a Studebaker Silver Hawk and had to take a picture. My friend George's cousin used to have a Silver Hawk and he used to let me drive it. I loved that car and I have wanted one ever since. Maybe some day!
One thing is obvious, the Northeast is more interesting from a picture taking perspective. In New England, there are very old buildings and houses, In the south, anything that is old is usually in very poor shape. I suspect that the civil war destroyed most of the historical buildings in the south so there is not much to see from a historical point of view.
The tailwind was ripping and we had a good road so we were flying again. It is really fun to ride when it is almost effortless. As we approached Jacksonville, the home of the Marine base Camp Lejune, we found a bike shop for Bob. The problem was Bob's bike sandals had disintegrated from all of the rain we have had in the past week. He patched them with duct tape but he knew he needed new shoes. We went into the store and he picked out some shoes.In the meantime, I started talking to a couple who were admiring our bikes. As we talked, Sue said she was from Pittsburgh. I asked where and she said Wilkinsburg, She moved when she was 15 and eventually wound up in Jacksonville. Her friend Bob said he could never do something like we were doing but then he mentioned that he was riding a thousand miles a month. I pointed out that if he could do that, he could do the ride Bob and I are doing. Sue said she was going to follow my blog and we said goodbye.
As we were leaving, a woman came up and said that she was the wife of one of the bike shop employees but also that she was a pastor in the United Methodist Church and she asked if she could pray for us this Sunday. We of course agreed as everything helps.
We continued flying down the road and decided that we would continue on to Wilmington instead of stopping in Surf City. The ride was going to good to stop. We were averaging 14.5mph and hitting 20 to 22 mph on the flats sometime with our tailwind. We decided if we could get to Myrtle Beach tomorrow, we would recover our hurricane day. The bonus would be we would be able to get through Wilmington early on a Sunday morning before everybody woke up.
I passed a Studebaker Silver Hawk and had to take a picture. My friend George's cousin used to have a Silver Hawk and he used to let me drive it. I loved that car and I have wanted one ever since. Maybe some day!
One thing is obvious, the Northeast is more interesting from a picture taking perspective. In New England, there are very old buildings and houses, In the south, anything that is old is usually in very poor shape. I suspect that the civil war destroyed most of the historical buildings in the south so there is not much to see from a historical point of view.
We arrived in Wilmington and found a hotel about 4:30PM. 83 miles and it felt like 50, a great riding day. Hopefully tomorrow will bring more of the same. It is supposed to rain but the wind is out of the Northeast again Whahoooo!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment