September 28 Crossing America

Conway, SC – Wilmington, NC a distance of 84 miles, rode 77 of them.
Today put me over 6,000 miles of travel, 6,038 to be exact.  4,970 of them on a bike.

Abandoned homestead I thought would make for an interesting picture

Yesterday I had a tailwind most of the day, today I had one all day and what a difference it makes.  First, I felt strong and second was able to maintain a 13.4 mph average for the entire day another record.  I did deviate from the Adventure Cycling maps half way into today’s ride as I found US Hwy. 17 fairly easy to ride and  motorist are giving me at least a 3 foot safety margin when passing.  Don’t know
if folks are more cognoscente of bike riders on the East Coast or it’s the fact I’m flying the US flag from my bike.  I’m beginning to suspect it’s the latter as I couple stopped me and thanked me for flying our Country’s colors this evening.

Today I passed a group of 11 self-contained riders heading south, looked like they were enjoying the ride.  We were unable to stop and visit as it we were passing while on a narrow two lane road with no shoulder and no driveways to pull into.  I think I’d like to try riding with a group again if they were all near my age but then again I like the freedom to stop when I want and visit with folks I meet as long as I want.  May give it a try next year as I’m thinking I want to ride across Wisconsin and the Upper UP of Michigan or ride the Great River Route from Minnesota to New Orleans or vice versa?

Today was a day for meeting “Road Angels”.  The first Road Angel was Regina Williams a waitress at Granny Allyn’s Country Kitchen in Calabash, NC.  When Regina came to wait on me she asked if I was part of the group which passed through last weekend.  I told her no but shared my journey with her briefly.  I placed my order and while waiting for my lunch to be served was perusing my maps trying to decide if I wanted to stay on the Adventure Cycling route or deviate to US Hwy. 17.  I overheard Regina telling the other waitresses about my journey.  When Regina served my lunch she told me it was on her and thanked me for the good work I was doing on behalf of folks with MS which made me feel good.  Next thing I know I’m visiting with three of the waitresses sharing my experiences and answering their questions.  They were truly a joy to visit with and once again I’m humbled by the generosity of total strangers.  Well, no longer a stranger as Regina is now a friend.

Road Angel #2  appeared at a convenience store just south of Wilmington when I needed a ride to cross the bridge on US Hwy. 17.  Yep, I decided to deviate from the Adventure Cycling route to get to Wilmington as the difference in mileage was only 10 miles but would cut a day off my ride to Richmond.  While at the convenience store I phoned bike shop Two Wheeler Dealer to ask if they would clean the drivetrain on Spirit and check if I needed a new chain or any other work if I brought it to their shop when I arrived in Wilmington.   Corey the technician I spoke to said they would as they give touring cyclist priority, I wish some other bicycle shops I’ve encountered along the way would have been as considerate.
While on the phone with Corey I asked him if he thought it would be safe to cross the two bridges on US Hwy. 17 as I entered town.  He said the first bridge would be fine but the second it would be best to walk my bike across as it had no shoulder, a
metal grid on part of it and heavy traffic from three major highways converging on the bridge and I would be crossing at rush hour.  OK, I suddenly got a bit nervous about my choice to short cut the Adventure Cycling route.  Time to go to plan B find someone with a pick-up truck to haul Spirit and me over this bridge.  The first driver I asked wasn’t going but another mile down the road.  The second driver said his pick-up cab was full of auto-parts and had no room to carry me.  The third driver, Road Angel Neal said he wasn’t going across the bridge but would take me to the bridge.  I accepted the ride.  Once we had Spirit and my gear loaded into the back of his pick-up, I climbed in and we headed toward the bridge.  Neal and I  chatted about my journey and to my surprise and relief said he’d take me across the bridges.  When we crossed the second and one of the most dangerous bridges I have ever encountered I thanked God for sending Road Angel Neal to my rescue.  This bridge would have been a nightmare for me.  Corey at the bike shop had told me when I crossed the bridge to walk my bike and not attempt to ride across.  Thus I thought there was a pedestrian walkway, no there was a shoulder maybe 18 inches in width, there were two narrow lanes but as mentioned above there were three highways of rush hour traffic squeezed onto this bridge zooming along at 50 or 60 mph hour.  Nope, I would have rather jumped off the bridge than attempt to ride or even walk a bike across it.  Thank you, Neal for coming to my rescue!

Once across the bridge it was a fairly easy ride, though with heavy motor vehicle traffic, to get to the bike shop but made it without being run down.  I make this statement as I had made a brief stop to check my iPhone Maps GPS directions at a convenience store.  While checking my map a young gal, Sherrie came out of the store and walked up to me and began asking questions about my ride.  Turns out she moved to Wilmington from Garnet, Kansas.  What a small world we live in.
She said motorists in this town are crazy and frequently run over and kill bicyclists, so be careful and stay safe, that made me say to myself, “Thank you Neal”.   Sherrie also told me she had lost 30 lbs. doing a cross-x workout program and she would like to add bicycling to her routine and thanks to me may do so.  I hope you do Sherrie.

Upon arriving at Two Wheeler Dealer technician Nick immediately began working on Spirit.  While he was doing that I phoned Lisa a Warm Showers member who had agreed to host me tomorrow night to see if there would be a problem with me
arriving tonight.  There was as she was getting ready to go to church and wouldn’t return until after eight PM.  I told her no problem as I would linger at the bike shop until it closed and then stop somewhere for dinner before coming to her home.  She then surprised me by saying I could go ahead and set up my tent in her  backyard when I got to her home and when she and the kids returned from church I could come into the house to shower.  Oooh, tent!  I told Lisa I didn’t have a tent and thought I’d be sleeping on the floor in her home.  To which she replied she has it posted on her Warm Shower profile that folks are allowed to tent, not sleep in the house.  I apologized for not reading her profile fully and respectfully declined her invitation for tenting in her backyard.  Jim the owner of Two Wheeler Dealer must have overheard my conversation and asked if he could be of assistance.  Sharing with him my need for a place to stay this night, it was almost 6 PM and not enough time to go looking for a fire station or knocking on doors of churches I decided I needed to find a motel to stay.  We first checked the Adventure Cycling map route to determine where to look for a motel on his computer.  He decided my best  option for finding a motel would be on Market Street, which happens to be US Hwy. 17 Business route, about two miles from his shop.  I thanked him for his help and we began visiting about his shop and that his arm was in a sling.  I guessed correctly he had had rotator cuff surgery recently.  Actually it wasn’t hard to guess as I had the same style sling when I had my rotator cuff surgeries.  In a short while Nick wheeled over Spirit and told me it was in good shape, didn’t need a chain yet
but he did say the left crank arm was loose and would most likely fallen off in the near future.  Thank goodness I decided to have Spirit checked out as I would have been upset to have to end my journey short due to mechanical failure.  Jim wanted a picture of me to include on his store’s Facebook page and I wanted a picture with Jim to include in this journal entry.  He has a fully stocked shop, several mechanics on duty and gives touring cyclists priority.  If you are in Wilmington and need bike
repairs go to Two Wheeler Dealer, the store is listed on the Adventure Cycling map.  Jim and his crew will take good care of you.

Jim the owner and me standing in front of his shop

The ride to Market Street went well, even though it was rush hour traffic Sherrie I didn’t  encounter any crazy motorists.  I had to stop at three motels before I met Road Angel #3 of this day, Brian at the Red Roof Inn.  The first two motels which I will not name weren’t sympathetic to allowing me any additional discounts from their quoted rates, even after visiting with managers.  Brian basically said the same thing but upon visiting with him further he surprised me with a rate of $35.00 instead of the quoted rate of $49.99.  I thanked him for his change of mind and asked why he decided to meet the rate I said I needed.  His reply, “Because you are a nice guy and doing a good thing”.  Thank you, Brian for the discount and even more for the compliment.

Well friends that brings to a close another day on the road Crossing America.  It has been a very good day.  Thank all of you who have responded letting me know you are still reading this Old Guy’s ramblings.  I still haven’t heard from you George and Jeanne are you out there?

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