Saturday, October 17, 2009

Into Wilmington and on our way



We rode for only our second day in the rain, albeit a full one this time, our spirits were kept up by our singing, relentless jokes and thoughts of our day off in Wilmington in one more day. It was originally scheduled as a 30 mile day, but when you are already wet and its cold, might as well ride some more and stay warm rather than put your self in a tent for the afternoon eh? Spent the evening with our tents set up under a picnic hut at cedar riverside campground which was the absolute best place to be, thanks to the owner Joyce for being so cool with a little unorthodox camping. Spent the evening next door at Dales Pub owning high scores on the magic touch teamstyle and myself and aaron practicing our aim on the dart board. The locals were happy to chat and the morning brought dry skies and dry clothes thanks to the campsites drier.

On the way to Wilmington, we passed the Lejune Marines base where the fences on the side of the highway were covered with banners welcoming folks home from their military tours abroad. Some were family appropriate, but for the most part, I would say that there are some mighty aggressive women around the base, Yow. Ask us about that later.
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Wilmington itself brought our first encounter with fellow tourists. In a totally unbelievable coincidence, they are also riding for charity, also going to Florida and just like us are outstanding individuals. The difference is that they are riding from Pittsburgh to Orlando with backbacks and brakeless BMX bikes. Lets make sure that's clear, these dudes Bryce and Jeff are riding about 1500 miles with BRAKELESS BMX BIKES AND BACKPACKS! Outstanding, especially after I have spent a lifetime riding BMX, poorly, and always getting asked when I am giving my little brother his bike back. Just goes to show that the runwhatyoubrung philosophy holds true for bike touring as well, you just have to have a lot of heart. All of our hat's are off to these fellow warriors of two wheeled travel, please go to their blog and check them out, they are raising money for a memorial skatepark in Pittsburgh and they can be found at . See you in Florida guys!

Wilmington also brought excellent hang out sessions with our hosts KC and Trever, some great bike path rides, good bike shop[ experiences and our first case of conflict between rock and roll and bike tour lifestyle. Nothing big, but lets just say that going out and then watching movies until 3:30am does not lend itself well to an early start to the day. Fortunately we had a short ride to the gorgeous Carolina Beach State Park. We will be on the Ferry tomorrow morning to continue or trek, I hope to see you along the way.

Blake

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