The Outer Banks by Bike
New Bern, Beaufort, Cape Hatteras, & back to New Bern N.C.
This article was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, as the lead story on the cover of the Travel section, Sunday, February 23, 1992.
The catalog promises, this trip is absolutely flat from beginning to end! It sounds like a casual spring bicycle ride for five days. There should be plenty of time each day to ride about 40 miles and stop along the way to explore the historic countryside and sandy beaches. There are options for additional miles if the spirit moves us and a van if it doesn't.
The tour begins in New Bern, the second oldest city in North Carolina. The city's major attraction is Tryon Palace which was the home of the English Royal Governor in colonial times and the first state governor after the revolution. It has been beautifully restored and furnished, and provides a perfect center piece for the historic part of town.
We meet Sunday afternoon at Harmony House, a bed-and-breakfast that was built in the mid- 1800's, remodeled, expanded, and even sawn in two to become an early duplex. We are welcomed by the Hansen's and given the stories behind a few of the many family antiques displayed throughout the house. They also give us brief history of the area including the source of the town's name, the city of Bern in Switzerland, and a footnote that Pepsi-Cola was created here in 1895.
The two guides from Backroads Bicycle Touring, Alan Jay and Mark Mauchline extend their welcome. One of them will drive the van and one will ride sweep to lend assistance and encouragement as needed. Mark will drive on Monday and then they will alternate.
Getting to Know You
Before dinner, there is a meeting in the living room. There are 17 of us plus the two leaders. Self introductions show that this is a diverse group. Half are from New York and New Jersey, the rest from West Virginia, Kentucky, Michigan, Wisconsin and California. Three have flown in and are renting Backroads bikes The rest have driven and brought a variety of touring bikes with 12 to 21 speeds; there is one mountain bike. This is the first bicycle tour for three people. Many of us have been on at least one tour with Backroads.We are given a list to help us attach names to faces and stories. The list shows five couples sharing the same address, three of whom share last names. There are two married ladies whose husbands have gone fishing, four single women and one single man.
Wall Street is well represented, there are three management consultants, an editor-in-chief of a book publishing company, an optician, a lady doctor and a male nurse. Discreet questions and consensus guessing suggest that more than half are in their 30's with representation from the 40's through 60's. We walk through the historic part of town to dinner and continue the getting-to- know-you process.
On The Road
Along with the guest list we receive 13 pages of day-by-day, landmark-by-landmark instructions. After breakfast Monday morning, Alan explains how to read the instructions. When we start to bicycle, notations such as "Veer RIGHT onto Madame Moore's Lane" and "Possom Trot Road on the right" begin to provide directions and welcome assurances that we aren't lost. They also mark our progress toward tonight's bed-and-breakfast.There will be two changes from the itinerary in the catalog. The first, a ferry isn't operating so today's ride will take a longer route.
Arrangements have been made to have lunch in the yard of a church founded in 1790 where they still hold services. When we arrive, Mark has a picnic lunch with something for everyone including carefully cut and beautifully arranged fruits and vegetables. It is set out on tables in the shade of the churchyard trees.
Head Winds
Before lunch we start to encounter a head wind. After lunch it becomes a force to be reckoned with. The catalog promised no hills; it didn't say anything about wind. The struggle to get up a hill at least carries the promise of coasting back down. A head wind only promises more wind. Most of us feel we have earned a van ride to finish the day after cycling 44 miles into the wind.In Beaufort our bed-and breakfast is the Cedars. It is even more charming-some of the accommodations are suites with sitting rooms-and each room has a decanter of sherry. Here we encounter the second change in the itinerary. Based on suggestions from last year's tour, we will spend two nights at the Cedars and then combine two short routes on our last day.
"Rest Day"
Tuesday is a well deserved "rest day" for bodies that are not used to long rides and head winds. Some of our group take a ferry to Shackleford Banks to see the sea, sea shells, white sand and wild ponies. Some of us take our bikes and head across Bogue Sound to visit Fort Macon, one of a series of forts built along the coast after the war of 1812. A ranger explains the fort's role in the Civil War and World War II. Back on our bikes, we head for the North Carolina Aquarium were we are invited to explore up close, and even touch, fish and crabs and other marine life. On our day off, and by our choice, we ride 26 miles.There is wine and cheese this evening, courtesy of Backroads. It provides an opportunity to share adventures, get to know the people we are riding with, and to question Alan and Mark about other tours.
A Leisurely 40 Miles
Wednesday is a leisurely 40 mile ride with an optional shopping stop. But not too leisurely, we do have to be in Cedar Island by 2:30 to catch a ferry. There are a variety of sights along the way including commercial clam-divers working in the shallow water. We stop to watch them and discover wild blackberries that are ripe and sweet. A few more miles and we stop for some handicraft shopping. The van comes to our rescue to carry packages.Since Monday, the wind has shifted and once again we are riding straight into a wind that is growing stronger as the day wears on. We are just above sea level and the ground is marshy. It is pretty, but Mark has warned us that we are fair game for mosquitoes if we stop. The last few miles become a double challenge against the wind and the clock, but we make it with time to enjoy an ice cream cone before the ferry is ready to leave.
Just over two hours later we arrive at Ocracoke Island. Tonight's accommodations at the Berkley Inn are not as fancy, but they have the warmth and charm of pine paneled walls and ceilings.
The evening wind comes fresh from the ocean and is punctuated
with the cries of sea gulls and the sea sounds of boats at anchor. There
are fishermen dressing their catch and people out for a stroll. The setting
sun casts a warm glow and leaves long shadows. It fits perfectly my mental
pictures of life on the outer banks.
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
Thursday is a round trip to Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. A few minutes on our bikes and we are on the road out of town with the Atlantic Ocean on our right, the waters of Pamlico Sound on our left, and low sand dunes and sparse scrub-brush as far as we can see ahead. The dunes are protected by law and beach access is limited. We catch occasional glimpses of the beach and sea between the dunes. The wind is strong enough to kick up small white caps, but it is now a quartering wind from the front rather than head on.Near the small town of Frisco we have another shopping stop with a distinctly different type of local crafts. After picking up our packages, the van goes ahead and Mark again has a carefully crafted picnic lunch waiting for us when we get to the lighthouse.
The lighthouse at Cape Hatteras was built in 1869 and is the tallest in the United States. It has black and white spiral bands to distinguish it during the day from the other tall lighthouses on the outer banks.
I find a near-by museum. It has stories of ship wrecks and the German submarines that prowled just off the outer banks in both world wars. Pat finds the turtle pond and hand feeds them peanuts.
On the way back, we board the ferry to go from Hatteras back to Ocracoke Island. Everyone is accounted for except Rachel and Al. They round the corner leading to the ferry just as the gates are being put up. A loud cheer from us and a hard charge by them and they join us on board just before the ferry starts to move-in the nick of time as if scripted for a movie.
Rain has been threatening all week and the cloud cover has kept the temperature cool enough for biking. Just before we get back to town, there are a few refreshing sprinkles.
No Wind
Friday is our longest route, but length is only half the challenge. The wake-up call is at 5:00 a.m., luggage on the van by 5:45 and bikes and bikers on the ferry by 6:30. We arrive at Swan Quarter about 9:00 a.m., and there is no wind. No one dares comment, but there is a noticeable sense of relief.It is 40 miles to the Pimlico River ferry and then 37 more to New Bern. Our best bet is the 1:00 ferry. About half of us finish the morning by taking the van for the last 12 miles. Rachel joins us in the van but Al rides and makes the ferry, this time without the drama of a last minute dash.
The ferry ride is our last time together. From here, some take the van to New Bern to get a head start on the journey home. Some of us decide that a windless day is just too good to pass up so we bike the rest of the way. Sixty-five miles, no wind, a few cooling showers, water lilies beside the road, and just one hill-the bridge over the inter-coastal waterway. A perfect last day!
Al and Rachel were two of the people who had never been on a bike tour before. They both did fine and Al rode with the best of us. Paul was the other first timer. He came down the off ramp from the bridge over the inter-coastal waterway at full speed and went by us yelling "Passing On Your Left," as if he had been bicycle touring for years.
The Route
Our trip began in New Bern. We bicycled south and then east to Beaufort. After spending a day near Beaufort, we cycled northeast to Cedar Island and took the ferry to Ocracoke. We bicycled to Cape Hatteras Lighthouse and back with a ferry ride each way. We took a ferry to Swan Quarter and then bicycled northwest to Belhaven then southwest to the Pimlico River ferry then back to New Bern.The Details
The tour began in New Bern late Sunday afternoon and ended Friday back in New Bern and is scheduled to end as early as 3 p.m. or as late as the last bicyclist arrives. Our group finished about 6 p.m.Our bicycle tour was arranged through Backroads Bicycle Touring
Contact them by phone: 800/GO-ACTIVE or 510/527-1555, fax: 510/527-1444 or E-mail: goactive@backroads.com
1516 Fifth Street, Berkeley CA USA 94710-1740
Your can arrange a trip or ask for the 1996 Backroads bicycling vacations catalog that lists the trip as:
North Carolina - The Outerbanks & Albermarle Sound
5 day inn trip
1996: 5/12, 5/19, 5/26, 8/25, 9/1, 9/8
Trip price: $1,195 (includes most meals)
Rental bike: $109
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This material is copyrighted and all rights are reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part, in any form, without written permission from the authors is expressly prohibited. Pat & Hal Amens 310/822-1243.
November 5, 1995