May 13, 2014

Day 67: May 10, Beaufort to Avon, NC

sophia Blog Post

This day was to include multiple ferry rides, which is very exciting because that meant we would be making forward progress while not having to peddle our  bikes! We got up at 5:30am and were ready to roll (get it?).

We had to crank out 30 miles to reach the first ferry, which left Cedar Island and took us 2.5 hours out and onto the Outer Banks. Really, riding ferries is quite exciting.

After the first ferry ride, we were on Okracoke Island of the Outer Banks. We were hungry (from all the sitting) and found a local joint on the recommendation of a fellow ferry rider, where we enjoyed the first of many seafood meals of the Outer Banks. But then we had to ride another 15 miles to the second ferry ride of the day, which continued the ferry excitement, over to Hateras Island. This was a shorter ferry ride, less than an hour, but we did make a new friend who was also into bike touring and was eager to hear any tricks of the trade we had picked up. All we could offer in the way of advice was to share the wisdom our gargantuan breakfasts.

Then a VERY cool thing happened: we were biking from the ferry to our campsite for the evening, when this girl flagged us down on the side of the road. She said she had seen our jerseys on the ferry, gone to our website, thought it was cool and wanted to make a donation! So she handed me $40! Another example of spontaneous good deeds by strangers met on this trip. It made the last few miles to our campsite in Avon go by extra fast.