Today’s Date: August 6, 2024

Today’s Start Point: Buxton, North Carolina

Today’s End Point: Swansboro, North Carolina

Today’s Miles: 98.81 Miles (by bike); 54.89 Miles (by ferry)

Cumulative Miles (bike only): 4,910.33 Miles

I didn’t get the best sleep last night as my legs kept cramping, but some sleep is better than none. The plan today was to ride ten miles to Hatteras and take a passenger ferry from Hatteras to Ocracoke and then immediately get on a car ferry from Ocracoke to Cedar Island. The ferries are the only way to get across since there is no road connecting the islands. From Cedar Island I hoped to pedal 70 miles to Swansboro, which is only a stones throw from Camp Lejuene.

The weather called for rain showers with hot and humid conditions (oh joy). According to the reports, it looked like there would be a gap in the afternoon with no rain.

I was concerned about missing the first ferry that left Hatteras at 8:30 am, so I arrived about an hour early. This ferry was for passengers only, no cars. It loaded on time and a couple of crew members asked where I began my trip and where I was going. We talked about it a bit and I settled into my seat for a one hour ride.

A crew member gave a presentation on the area and in particular Ocracoke. Some of the facts: Ocracoke was the home of Blackbeard the pirate, over 2,000 ships have been lost off the Hatteras coast, that multiple ships (I saw a plaque that said over 100) were sank off this coast by German U-Boats during WWII, that Ocracoke and the Hatteras Island were connected until a hurricane hit in the mid-1800’s.

She also mentioned that I had ridden my bike from Oregon, which prompted a round of applause. Ok, I have an ego just like everyone else and it felt good. The shoutout prompted numerous people to come up and ask me questions and wishing me good luck. My ego was completely satiated.

I had 20 minutes between the first ferry and the second ferry that went from Ocracoke to Cedar Island. Unlike the first ferry, this was a car ferry. I loaded my bike onto the ferry and settled into the indoor lounge area for the next two and a half hours.

The ferry docked around noon and so far the weather looked good. Cloudy but no rain. I gathered up my bike and headed south. There was not much traffic because only those getting off the ferry would be on the road. The ocean would occasionally come into view and there was some housing, but not much else.

I had a pretty strong headwind so I settled into what I thought would be a long day (little did I know it would be a long day, just that it wasn’t because of a headwind). After about 10 miles I was hit with a strong storm burst but it only lasted about 10 minutes. Miraculously after this brief storm, the wind turned into a tailwind and I would have it for the rest of the day.

I continued on through protected coastline and sporadic housing. I was hit with some gentle rain which was not a problem, as a matter of fact it helped cool me down.

With about 30 miles to go, I stopped at a convenience store and called Les and told her that it looked like I would make it to Swansboro and could she get me a room. She asked how the weather was and I said that there had been a couple of minor rain bursts but so far, so good.

Within five minutes of leaving the store, the skies opened up and starting dumping rain on me. Visibility was good so I kept going. It would continue to rain until I arrive at my hotel four hours later.

One problem with the Garmin and its touchscreen is that if a raindrop hits the screen hard enough, it can activate and deactivate certain features. Unfortunately for me, the rain turned off the navigation feature that tells me when to turn. I didn’t notice and happily kept pedaling along. By the time I realized what happened, I was nine miles off course. I had to retrace my steps to get back to the route, adding a total of 18 miles to my day. Oh well, what’s a few extra miles on such a lovely day. I was not pleased, but all you can do is keep turning the pedals.

By now it was pouring, but traffic was light. Some of the roads were newly paved and looked slick, with water running down from the middle crown of the lane. I was hoping the water would not take out my wheel.

With the late start due to the ferries and my extra miles, my new concern was daylight, or the lack thereof. I wasn’t worried about my front light, but my taillight only has so much juice for a single ride.

My taillight finally quit with five miles to go. It was getting dark and the road I was on was busy. Just then, a cycle path appeared and my worries about traffic vanished.

I think it rained the hardest in that last five miles. I arrived at the hotel at 8:00 pm and checked in. The front desk clerk was not exactly pleased to see this soggy mess in front of her along with his bicycle. She gave me a towel and I used my camp towel on the bike, which she appreciated. Uber Eats was accommodating and I did my last laundry for the trip.

Camp Lejuene is only 20 miles down the road and once I am on base Osprey Beach is only 10 or 15 miles from the base gate. It might be raining tomorrow, but I will be putting my wheel into the Atlantic Ocean.