Carolina Tailwinds Bike Trip
I intended to post a blog entry for each day of our bike trip but I got virtually no reception on the AT&T laptop air card and only sporadic wireless. So this is the one and only entry.
Bill and I decided to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary with a bike trip to the Outer Banks. We used to go on lots of trips with Michigan Bicycle Touring, where the roads are flat and the shoulders are broad. Carolina Tailwinds advertised a flat route in the beautiful Outer Banks so we decided to take a chance.
Day One: We started the trip in New Bern, NC where we were dismayed by all of the McCain/Palin yard signs, including one at our B&B. Nevertheless, the trip started well and we traveled an unbelievable 52 miles before lunch! We shuttled the rest of the way into Beaufort (where the yard signs happily turned to Obama/Biden) and spent a lovely afternoon getting reacquainted with our favorite town, even snagging the elusive Beaufort flag that we had been seeking for years.
Day Two: We cycled 27 miles from Smyrna, NC
to Cedar Island, which doesn't sound like much but
it did include the two biggest hills (aka bridges) of the trip and also was mostly into a direct headwind. We took the ferry 2 1/2 hours into Ocracoke, the funky, mosquito-ridden pirate town.
Day Three: We chose to tool around Ocracoke rather than biking/ferrying to Hatteras Lighthouse. Bill swam in the ocean and I read on the beach - two of our favorite activities. We ran into several swarms of mosquitoes and I swelled up into a hot, red, itchy mass of welts. Yuck.
Day Four: We caught the early 7:00 am ferry and went back to Cedar Island, this time biking south but for some reason meeting headwinds also on the way back. How does that happen? We went 29 miles to lunch in Marshallberg and then caught the free ferry to Oriental. We had always wanted to visit Oriental, thinking it might be a match for Beaufort. It was even prettier than I imagined, but it is mostly for sailors, with no beaches to speak of, so we agreed to stick with Beaufort.
Day Five: We biked out of Oriental 22 miles before the rain threatened and I caught my wheel against a high curb under construction and wiped out. We called it a day along with about half our group and shuttled back to New Bern.
Overall, we had a great time and would recommend Carolina Tailwinds to anyone. The owner/operators live in Winston and stop at nothing to ensure a superb trip for all their guests. They even hauled our bikes to and from the trip because we live so near. They are super-organized and we are already thinking we will try another one (or more) of their trips. The flat ones, at least!
It was a great way to spend an anniversary!
Lynn
Bill and I decided to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary with a bike trip to the Outer Banks. We used to go on lots of trips with Michigan Bicycle Touring, where the roads are flat and the shoulders are broad. Carolina Tailwinds advertised a flat route in the beautiful Outer Banks so we decided to take a chance.
Day One: We started the trip in New Bern, NC where we were dismayed by all of the McCain/Palin yard signs, including one at our B&B. Nevertheless, the trip started well and we traveled an unbelievable 52 miles before lunch! We shuttled the rest of the way into Beaufort (where the yard signs happily turned to Obama/Biden) and spent a lovely afternoon getting reacquainted with our favorite town, even snagging the elusive Beaufort flag that we had been seeking for years.Day Two: We cycled 27 miles from Smyrna, NC
to Cedar Island, which doesn't sound like much but
it did include the two biggest hills (aka bridges) of the trip and also was mostly into a direct headwind. We took the ferry 2 1/2 hours into Ocracoke, the funky, mosquito-ridden pirate town.
Day Three: We chose to tool around Ocracoke rather than biking/ferrying to Hatteras Lighthouse. Bill swam in the ocean and I read on the beach - two of our favorite activities. We ran into several swarms of mosquitoes and I swelled up into a hot, red, itchy mass of welts. Yuck.Day Four: We caught the early 7:00 am ferry and went back to Cedar Island, this time biking south but for some reason meeting headwinds also on the way back. How does that happen? We went 29 miles to lunch in Marshallberg and then caught the free ferry to Oriental. We had always wanted to visit Oriental, thinking it might be a match for Beaufort. It was even prettier than I imagined, but it is mostly for sailors, with no beaches to speak of, so we agreed to stick with Beaufort.
Day Five: We biked out of Oriental 22 miles before the rain threatened and I caught my wheel against a high curb under construction and wiped out. We called it a day along with about half our group and shuttled back to New Bern.
Overall, we had a great time and would recommend Carolina Tailwinds to anyone. The owner/operators live in Winston and stop at nothing to ensure a superb trip for all their guests. They even hauled our bikes to and from the trip because we live so near. They are super-organized and we are already thinking we will try another one (or more) of their trips. The flat ones, at least!
It was a great way to spend an anniversary!
Lynn
posted by Lynn at 9:29 PM
2 Comments:
Isn't it strange how a beach bike route can seem to have a headwind in both directions? Glad you all had a good experience, I'd love to try a "high end" bike trip some day!
Wanted to report that there was an abundance of McCain/Palin yard signs in Wilmington also.......
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