Poseidon wishes he had Richard’s Gazelle…

Wow! Only 47 degrees on Knotts Island this morning… 

Bidding goodbye to the homey cabin at Sandy Point Campground & Cabins on the North Carolina side of Knotts Island.

Many Yellow-bellied sliders spotted near the Mackay Island Wildlife Refuge on Muddy Creek Road. 

Jeff “the navigator” on point ensuring we stay on route. Near Virginia Beach, VA.

Quick stop to shed layers as the morning heats up — we started at 47 degrees and ended up with a beautiful 63 degree blue-sky day. Near Virginia Beach, VA.

Bag o’ freshly shucked corn for the gang, but not the most popular snack … as I ended eating 4 fresh, raw, ears throughout the day. Good eating from the Flip Flop Farmers Stand. Near Virginia Beach, VA.

Pre-second breakfast snacks from the Flip Flop Farmers Stand.

And breakfast for lunch at the Sunnyside Cafe in Virginia Beach, VA.

Jeff and Ashley take lead at the southern trail terminus at Virginia Beach, VA

Virginia Beach Fishing Pier.

Poseidon wishes he had Richard’s Gazelle instead of a turtle.

Trying to digest lunch from the rear of the pack.

Last moments with Ashley before she heads back home. We already miss her.

Who’ll be the expert logistician now? Who’ll make the executive decisions? Oy!

Waiting for the shuttle across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. Pedestrians and bicyclists must contact the authority 24 hours in advance for a shuttle across the bay.

We topped off the day with a police escort across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.

I had the less eventful, but no less important, shuttle with the bike van across the 21 mile bridge-tunnel.

Quite the twist to a bike tour … on the Delmarva Route at Kiptopeke State Park Campground tonight. Cape Charles, VA.

Day 6:
Start: Knotts Island, NC
Finish: cape Charles, VA
Miles: 51.4

A 70+ mile day on the schedule tomorrow up the Delmarva Route, and we meet Bobby, yet another Spinner to pedal with up the Delmarva Route.

What I’m Reading:

The most common turtle found in the freshwater areas of Knotts Island and the surrounding Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge is the Yellow-bellied Slider (Trachemys scripta scripta). These turtles are frequently seen basking on logs and in the wetlands of the maritime forests.

— Google 

So very spent from a day riding into gradually increasing headwinds that were sustained at 25 mph at mid morning to 32 mph gusts by midday.

Thoroughly enervating, but great to be pedaling with a group of others living out this adventure, no matter how hard you pedal into the wind.

Over the Currituck Sound, Jeff, Lois, Ashley lead straight into the teeth of it.

We made stops along the way to recoup at Han-Dee Hugo’s.

… and at Redhead Bay Cafe in Grandy, NC for massive breakfasts.

Somehow the smiles belie our spent legs. We were hoping the ferry to Knotts Island, NC wouldn’t be canceled due to rough seas. 

Recovering at lunch at Pass the Salt Cafe, figuring out the logistics of a potentially canceled ferry and where to go instead. Currituck, NC.

The ferry is ready to go despite 25 knots per hour winds (36 mph) — later ferries to Knotts Island were canceled after our crossing. Currituck, NC.

The sound was quite choppy, but this image doesn’t do it justice. Currituck Sound, NC.

The bikes stayed dry during the crossing…

… so did we ensconced in the passenger compartment.

The view of a becalmed Currituck Sound from our cabin at Sandy Point Resort Campground. Knotts Island, NC.

Day 5:
Start: Kill Devil Hills, NC
Finish: Knotts Island, NC
Miles: 53.9

Into a new state — Virginia — first thing today.

Sunset over Currituck Sound — we are tired! Knotts Island, NC.

What I’m Reading:

Friend and foe—
all feel the heat.
                War is at
fever pitch.
                I won’t desert you.

— Antarah ibn Shaddād / “I didn’t start this …”

Two Days / Two Ways

May 9

Yesterday’s ride was punctuated by a severe weather system moving through the southern outer banks. The 13 mile ride from Jerniman’s campground to the Ocracoke — Hatteras ferry featured diminished visibility rain squalls that forced me to lean degrees to the right to stay upright to avoid being blown off the bike. Crew on the ferry said the gusts were approaching 25 mph. It was memorable, taxing, and beautiful all at once. The flashes of the angry steel gray ocean and sky frosted with roiling surf was astonishing.

The 70 minute ferry ride made us shiver in our drenched clothes, as hanging out in the air conditioned passenger lounge was more hospitable that out in the driving wind and rain. At one point on the Ocracoke leg of the ride the rain was sonpointedly flying sideways into our right flanks, that it felt like hail.

But a hot lunch at Isola Pizzeria in Hatteras, NC helped to set us right again. And so did the sorely needed partly sunny afternoon that followed. It was a 35 mile ride to a very nicely appointed KOA and a fairly spectacular sunset that topped off a tale of a Janus-faced weather day.

May 10

Started the morning with a brisk pedal across the NC 12 causeway bridge over Pamlico Sound, NC.

Scott and Ashley ahead approaching the dunes of the Pea island National Wildlife Refuge.

The view of the dredging from the Marc Basnight Bridge over Pamlico Sound at South Point, NC.

We…

Arrive…

In…

Nags Head, NC.

The Outer Banks route connoisseur “Big Bite Combo” lunch at 7-11. Nags Head, NC.

Big Foot over Roanoke Sound, because … why not? Nags Head, NC.

Scott fulfilling a lifelong ambition of hang gliding at Kitty Hawk Kites Headquarters at Jockey’s Ridge State Park, Kill Devil Hills, NC.

The intrepid pilots after hang gliding second thoughts, proximity will suffice at Jockey’s Ridge State Park, Kill Devil Hills, NC.

Birthplace of American aviation at the Wright Brothers National Memorial. Kill Devil Hills, NC.

The origination point of the Kitty Hawk flight at the Wright Brothers National Memorial. Kill Devil Hills, 

A replica of the Kitty Hawk at the Wright Brothers National Memorial. Kill Devil Hills, NC.

Hashing out logistics…

… Ashley takes control and gets it done. Kill Devil Hills, NC.

The gang’s all here version 1 — (l-r): Jorge, Lois, Richard, Jeff, Ashley, Scott — after first group dinner, 2026, at Noosa Beach Grille, Kill Devil Hills, NC.

Day 4:
Start: Hatteras-Avon, NC
Finish: Kill Devil Hills, NC
Miles: 36.82

First time the group will ride together today will take us just shy of the North Carolina / Virginia border — 25 mph sustained headwinds are forecast. Time to get the quads & calves ready for heavy duty.

What I’m Reading:

Something in me watches me from foreign dimensions. Something in me walks barefoot. Something in me thuds like tactical boots heard by neighbors down the street. And then something in me stays, inaudibly staring at no one. In every state, I hope to be understood. “Wait, what?” My needs, my errors, my missteps, my love, my extended giving nibble like besotted puppies with immature teeth.

— Anita Nahal / “The Quiet Shift”

Memorable Stuff I Read This Week

The rabbits here are built like 40-year-old toddlers.
Sometimes all I want to do is sit & pet them.

— Othuke Umukoro / “Passing”

---

Laws govern people; constitutions govern governments. Lately, American democracy has begun to wobble, leaning on a constitution that’s grown brittle. How far can a constitution bend before it breaks?

— Jill Lepore / “The United States’ Unamendable Constitution” / The New Yorker

---

There is too a way to die like this
Each day it comes and
puts us to sleep and
orders us to practice again
While hiding a heart so indecent
it mumbles words of blessing

— Kim Hyesoon / “Practice”

---

Some researchers are getting increasingly nervous about the possibility of doomsday scenarios brought about by ever more powerful and autonomous artificial intelligence systems. Others say that such warnings distract from well-documented risks of AI, such as spreading misinformation and enabling mass surveillance — or motivate leaders to join a dangerous AI arms race, lest they be left at a disadvantage. Studies suggest that some systems are already becoming misaligned with human goals, but evidence that AI could cause human extinction is hard to come by. “The companies are raking in funding, and letting society pick up the pieces,” says neuroscientist and AI researcher Gary Marcus.

— Flora Graham / “Should we worry about AI doomsday?“ / Nature Brief

---

And in the back seat
Childhood is normal but the scaffolding thrown up around
The road is built with an insane logic
Which is at once its interest and its uselessness
Save as torment

— Ron Padgett / “Mister Horse”

---

For most of history, people pondered the future in a practical sense—worrying about tangible things like planting, harvesting, the weather. But today, with prediction markets, climate change, and the threat of technocracy, forecasting what’s to come is woven into the fabric of our lives. Are we prophesying ourselves into hopelessness?

— Ian Crouch / “Do We Think Too Much About the Future” / The New Yorker Daily

---

. . . I’ve read
the dead in dreams are never dead,
and yes, it is their aliveness that is reassuring,
their going on even as they leave us here.

— Maxine Scates / “Flyaway”

What I’m Listening To:

I grew out of somebody else
She wore a wedding ring
And when I decompose I will be
Part of everything

— Robyn Hitchcock / “I Am This Thing”

in this (my) neighborhood pt. 135

Day 3:

Start: Ocracoke, NC
Finish: Hatteras – Avon, NC
Miles: 52.15

Amazing breakfast! Courtesy of Ashley and Richard. Fuel for the 47 mile day to Ocracoke, NC. At the Air BnB in Morehead City, NC.

Preparations underway for the ride — we could have used headwinds deflectors (if such a thing existed). We experienced brutal headwinds all day. Morehead City, NC.

Scott on his way for a “wheel truing” at a nearby bikeshop. Morehead City, NC.

After the first of the headwinds rush over the multiple bridges on the route today — off of US 70 near Radio Island, NC.

Scott catches the group after the bike shop visit. Near Beaufort, NC.

Outer Banks bound, near Bettie, NC.

Quick lunch stop, after morning buffeting of headwinds, in Davis, NC.

Past the midway point in Davis, NC.

Marshlands within the Intracoastal, overlooking Brett Bay, near Stacy, NC.

First flat tire of the trip. Ashley’s front tire needs changing, a group effort at the Dollar General parking lot near Sealevel, NC.

The view of Thorofare Bay from NC 12 bridge near Atlantic, NC.

The Cedar Island town line, 3 miles shy of the ferry. Cedar Island, NC.

Paying the $3 bike fare at the Cedar Island ferry to Ocracoke, NC.

Good vibes, killing time waiting for ferry with Richard. Cedar Island, NC.

On our way to Ocracoke entering the Pamlico Sound.

Water miles don’t count in today’s mileage, just happy that we’re not battling the headwinds for a couple of hours.

The port of Ocracoke, NC as seen from Cedar Island ferry.

Scott and Ashley ready for de-embarkation at Ocracoke, NC.

Campsites at Jerniman’s Campground in Ocracoke, NC.

Day: 2 (8)
Start: Morehead City, NC
Finish: Ocracoke, NC
Miles: 46.49

More massive portions for dinner. The Big Pig pizza at Jason’s Restaurant. Ocracoke, NC. Tomorrow out to Cape Hatteras and Rodanthe, NC.

What I’m Reading:

“Not one single nation among you can afford this, as climate disasters rip double digits off GDP,” he said. “To falter whilst megadroughts wreck national harvests, sending food prices soaring, makes zero sense economically and politically. To squabble while famines take hold, forcing millions to flee their homelands – this will never be forgotten as conflicts spread.”

— Fiona Harvey / “‘It will never be forgiven’: UN climate chief warns world to act or face disaster” / The Guardian

To Rain Gear, or Not to Rain Gear…

What a day! What nerves, what consensus-building, what roar of traffic from the left lane, what rain, what bliss — what a first great day!

We were expecting the rain, and we had different perspectives on departure, but a well-reasoned meeting over breakfast led to an 8:30 am departure time, come what may.

And after a 3.4 mile detour, which was an upshot of my bad navigation, we had a 2-hour window of rain free riding on lightly travelled rural roads. 

What a pleasant ride through North Carolina coastal farm country.

Our first break of the day at Hunter’s Crossing  near Silverdale, NC, and an opportunity to get out of rain gear, and a caffeine fix (an Orange Celsius for me).

At Hunter’s Crossing, Silverdale, NC

After lunch the rain started in earnest. Off in a driving rain that often became torrential. Taking a much needed moment away from traffic and donning rain gear again on NC 24. Broad Creek, NC.

No one stayed dry, especially Scott who ran point most of the day without rain gear. At least temperatures were in the low 70’s and manageable, but traffic was s constant roar four feet away to our left.

Ashley taking control to get us the last few miles to our Air BnB for the night in Morehead City, NC. For the record second, and last, Celsius stop of the day for my, with a much needed bathroom break at CVS.

The patio at our spacious Air BnB is a good place for a pack explosion and staging area for the bikes. Morehead City, NC.

More executive decisions being made: lodging for the next two evenings; where to eat dinner; where to resupply; ferry schedules; what to make for breakfast tomorrow … the crucial stuff! Morehead City, NC.

Do you know the way to Staples? Morehead City, NC.

Shipping stuff home…

… shopping for breakfast at Walmart …

… Mexican dinner at Plaza de Mexico Restaurant …

… massive portions … you know, the crucial stuff!

Day 1 (7):
Start: Jacksonville, NC
Finish: Morehead City, NC
Miles: 49.0

Leisurely start tomorrow, around 10am, after a home cooked breakfast — that’s why we shopped at Walmart, after all, and we’ll take our time riding to the 4:30 pm Ocracoke ferry. Much better weather forecast — that’s a welcome respite.

What I’m Reading:

Much of our country’s private lands have fallen into just a few hands, and there’s also an emerging crisis with the management and ownership of our public lands.

— Ken Ilgunas / This Land Is Our Land: How We Lost The Right to Roam and How to Take it Back

So… here goes… again (again)…

Today’s objective was to arrive in Jacksonville and meet the first three members of our loose bike touring cooperative — the Spinners. 

As you may know I rode half of the East Coast Greenway / Atlantic Coast Route last year, and unbeknownst to me a group of 5 other riders (the Spinners) started about a week or two after I did and were on the trail at the same time. Oddly enough after a member experienced bike trouble they decided to call it a section tour at Washington, NC. I ended the southern portion of my tour last year about 200 miles south in Georgetown, SC. I then rode from Calais, Maine to Stafford Spring, CT, and ended riding just over half the mileage of the entire trail.

Sometime last fall I came across a Facebook group organized by Scott and Richard, two of the member Spinners, and learned they were planning on finishing the second half of the route this year. I was keen to join them, and six months later here we are in Jacksonville, NC, about to finish what we started (separately) last year.

So, today some of us will start the ride up to Lubec, Maine — approximately 1,300 miles — and some will ride for a week or longer with the core group. At the end of this ride in Maine, 8 riders will have participated, and 5 of those will have ridden 1,300 miles in addition to approximately 1,500 miles last year, thereby completing the Atlantic Coast Route / East Coast Greenway Trail. It should take a bit over a month to complete provided all goes well.

 Tomorrow Scott, Richard, Ashley and I will start from Jacksonville, and will be joined by Lois and Jeff in about a week’s time, and Ashley will head home at Norfolk, VA. In Norfolk, Bobby will join us for a week (or some unspecified longer period); and then in Poughkeepsie, NY, Mark will join the ride for a period of time.

It’s a long ride and a short month with many variables mixed in — that’s what makes it interesting — that’s what makes it a challenge worthy of undertaking through injuries, bad weather, technical problems, equipment failure, et al.

And again, any day spent on a bike is better than most others, no matter the weather, the vibes, or the physical challenge encountered. It’s what makes going cross country on a bike to see America, as it truly is, at a human pace and scale, so worthy of the effort. Here’s to all that try it no matter the outcome. 

So Day 6, for me, drops me at the precipice of a new beginning — another Day 1 (but I’ll call it 7, why not?). So… here goes… again (again)…

Day 6
Start: Sneads Ferry, NC
Finish: Jacksonville, NC
Miles: 23.22

There should be a group picture of the Spinners here, but we forgot to take one (instead you get gratuitous bike tubes!) … the group picture will have to wait until tomorrow (probably in our rain gear, as it’s going to be a soaker!)

What I’m Reading:

My springtime, a sobbing hunger, 
   my summer, a hot struggle— 
                      what 
          will my autumn be?

— Arno Holz / “[My springtime, a sobbing hunger,]”

The Wahoo Element Roam 3 head unit is operational again. Now I have maps and directions off the phone, and the phone off the handlebar. Wilmington, NC.

I still have to tweak it because it’s not talking to me, nor giving me upcoming cues, but I can still follow the arrow along the dashed line — 90% effective is 100% better than what I dealt with the first four days. Wilmington, NC.

The one thing every cyclist hates to see is a ghost bike, the spot marks and commemorates a fatality involving a bike on the road. Wilmington, NC.

If you need a couple of pounds of gator and crawfish (read the signs) for your éttouffée the Atlantic Seafood company in Hampstead, NC is the place for you.

I didn’t realize it was Cinco de Mayo until I saw it was el cinco de mayo. Mexican lunch at Los Primos Restaurant in Hampstead, NC was de rigueur. 

Cinco de Mayo lunch at Lois Primos. Hampstead, MC.

A turn eastward toward the beach brought me to the Surf City Bridge over Topsail Sound. Surf City, NC.

Very laid back beachside pedaling on lightly traveled roads on a mid-spring beach Tuesday. Surf City, NC.

Surf City Beach, the first Carolina beach I see this week that wasn’t socked-in by clouds and rain.

Almost went in for a dip. The bike deferred. Surf City Beach, NC.

Quite a surprise finding this thriving produce stand at the beach. Andrew’s Produce 50 years of farming in Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas. All produce from their farms. Topsail Beach, NC.

But this is the sign that hooked me… what better on a 75 degree beach day?

8-ounces of homemade peach ice cream made with Andrews Produce own peaches. Burned it all off in 30 minutes. Topsail Beach, NC

North Topsail bridge over Goose Bay on the westward turn away from the beach toward Sneads Ferry, NC.

The apex at Topsail Bridge with the Atlantic Ocean on the horizon line. North Topsail Beach, NC.

47.16 miles later, at tonight’s destination in Sneads Ferry, NC.

Bike has the prime air conditioning spot for the evening. Sneads Ferry, NC.

Hokkaido Ramen and Sushi Bar for dinner.  Opposite ends of the earth for meals today. Sneads Ferry, NC.

Chicken Katsu Don for dinner… a big-ass plate o’ food. Sneads Ferry, NC.

Day 5

Start: Wilmington, NC
Finish: Sneads Ferry, NC
Miles: 47.16

What I’m Reading:

You can rebuild a building. But if attacks on universities become a normal thing, then they can happen in any future stupid war. And this idea is much more destructive than attacking a single building…

— Ali Gorji / ‘”Heartbreaking’: Iranian scientists on losing labs, libraries and liberty” / Nature

Day 4

Start: Carolina Beach, NC
Finish: Wilmington, NC
Miles: 25.0

What I’m Reading:

will we inherit everything
on the internet:
miles of sand melted into windows, click

— Nell Wright / “The Future”

A brisk 49 degree start to a glorious blue sky day. Little River, SC.

North Carolina! It wasn’t a day deferred — it was deferred by a year, as I left the East Coast Greenway in Georgetown, SC last year on March 25th.

The two nutritional rudiments of my bike touring: protein shakes and caffeine from Celsius. Shallotte, NC.

The serendipitous savior of many a bike tourist or traveler — the randomly found porta potty when you just happen to need one in the middle of nowhere. Near Bolivia, NC.

A laughing gull spotted at the Southport Ferry landing. Southport, NC.

On my way to Fort Fisher from Southport on the 30 minute ferry ride. On the Cape Fear River, NC.

The mood / Traced in the shadow / An indecipherable cause. — Wallace Stevens / “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird.”

Yeah . . . just a pelican taking flight. Cape Fear River, NC.

Memorial to the Confederate Unknown Soldier at the former site of Fort Fisher Headquarters, c. 1862-64.

Beach House Burgers, highly recommended by a local, ran out of propane and had to refund all of us with $50 worth of burgers & $10 worth of hot dogs on the grill and spoiled. Kure Beach, NC.

The only other nearby outdoor eatery just 5 minutes shy of closing. Kure Beach, NC.

All they could offer was a pumpernickel bagel with a schmear of cream cheese. Good enough with a chocolate softy. Kure Beach, NC.

The campground check-in at Carolina Beach State Park was at the marina, not in the boats — but here’s the view. Carolina Beach, NC.

Finally drying out the ground cloth from 2 nights ago. Considered doing a fast pack set up as there is no chance of rain in the forecast . . .

. . . but set up the full tent instead. Only 56 degrees for a forecasted low, so it’s definitely warming up. Tomorrow a short day and the historic sites of Wilmington, NC.

Day 3

Start: Little River, SC
Finish: Carolina Beach State Park, Carolina Beach, NC
Miles: 58.7

Only 2 days left . . . until I meet the first 3 Spinners.

What I’m Reading:

The company credited “exceptional oil trading” for its highest quarterly profit since 2023, triggering an immediate backlash from campaign groups and calls for tougher windfall taxes on fossil fuel companies.

— Jillian Ambrose / “BP profits more than double as oil prices soar in Iran war” / The Guardian