It really was a lovely day. Tropical storm Ana left us some time yesterday, and we woke to sunshine and tailwinds today.
Yesterday was a rest day for us. Not too much available to get us into trouble. Surf City is on Top Sail Island, a long & narrow strip of land between the ocean and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. Tiffany's Motel is a block from the beach, but at least a mile from any restaurants or shops. So - laundry, bike cleaning and a walk to eat & stroll through shops.
It was an early start to the day - 97 miles ahead of us! On the road shortly after 7am. We rode about 7 miles to the north end of the island before crossing a bridge over the intracoastal waterway. Pretty much all the houses are built on stilts. Apparently the area is prone to storm flooding from both sides.
The roads were good today. We spent some time on US17 which had a bit more traffic than is fun, but the shoulders are good. The rule of thumb generally (excluding South Carolina) is that busy roads we use have good shoulders and shoulder-less roads have less traffic. That's the way it worked today. We were mostly in rural residential areas, with some farmland (corn & a few other crops, some cows & horses), some national forest, some undeveloped land, a US Marine base, and some new housing subdivisions. Just took one picture of a "typical" house along the way.
We went through a number of small towns including Maysville. I took a picture there in honour of our Southern Tier friend, May, who is a native of North Carolina.
An interesting yard ornament...... Uprooted tree stumps, in case you're wondering.
It was the easiest century I think I have done. Lots of tailwind, although not always. Temps got a bit challenging, though, as we started at 19C and humid and watched the thermometer top out at about 36C. Drank lots of liquids today! Speaking of liquids - I think lots of critters must have crawled out on the roads the last few days when they were covered in rain. Lots of roadkill of frogs, turtles, snakes and even a crab.
I was at about 98 miles when I reached the hotel, but it was still early and I wanted to see town. New Bern was founded by Swiss & Germans and has lots of historic buildings as well as some interesting architecture. It really plays up the ties to Bern Switzerland. Below are some photos from around town. All the houses in the historic district have a plaque on them indicating when they were built and who the first occupant was. Kinda cool.....
The above photo is "Bear Plaza". The one below is our hotel - across the harbour from downtown.
We'll head out over the bridge below first thing tomorrow.
We're missing the Outer Banks on this trip. Also missed some of the larger cities that would have interested me. I may have to come back with a car some time.....
Stats for the day:
165 km from Surf City NC to New Bern NC
Still flat - only about 1400 feet of climbing all day.
Temps from 19C to 36C and humid, especially by the ocean early in the day.
Never been to Maysville, but happy it is "naturally welcoming.". Maybe you could come back and we could do a NC road trip:-)
ReplyDeleteWhat's with all the bears? They must have had a 'buy and decorate a bear' contest similar to our 'moose' contest here in Toronto... Love all the bears though!
ReplyDeleteAnd the Clark House. My Dad's family came over from England in the late 1600s, and settled in Vermont/New York. But who knows it could be a long lost relative...
Have you been to Bern Switzerland? The bear is their symbol.
DeleteI have not been to Bern. So, that explains it!
DeleteIt still looks like the 'moose' campaign we had here in Toronto several years ago -- moose statues were sold for charity and people who bought them painted them and put them on their lawns or in front of their businesses, etc. A fun time! Some of the moose still are around if you look hard...