Cross-Carolina Motorcycle Adventure - Part 1

Ok, I know it wasn't that much of an adventure, but for the three of us, it was certainly our longest trip on motorcycles... 870+ miles (round trip) and we did as little planning as possible! Richard came from Asheville in the Appalachians to Charlotte in the Piedmont of North Carolina on a Wednesday afternoon. As he pulled into my driveway, Joe and I had to laugh; his luggage was stacked higher than his head on the back of his KLR 650.

The plan was to traverse the state to Corolla in the far northeast corner of the Outer Banks, down Hwy 12 through the Outer Banks to Ocracoke, and back, avoiding highways the whole way. This put us on a line directly through the middle of NC; definitely the road less traveled for East-West journeys.

Joe was riding a 1995 Honda Shadow 600 cruiser, Richard, a 2004 Kawasaki KLR 650 dual sport, and me, a 1988 Kawasaki KLR 250 dual sport. The 250 was kick start only and I had just got it back on the road after a rebuild 3 days prior! It was rather difficult to start in the beginning but now it's 1st or 2nd kick, every time.

We left at sunrise... at least that's what I like to say. It was more like 8:45 when we got on the road, but anyway... It was beautiful. Our first stop was at a motorcycle dealer in Albemarle so Joe could find some nice socks and sunglasses. He did. The place was Crossroads Yamaha-Suzuki and our salesperson was nice enough to snap this shot for us. Note that we were able to reduce Richard's luggage burden. That said, his KLR was certainly the bike of ours best suited for the trip and he was, therefore, our camping gear pack mule!

Then it was off through the Uwharrie Mountains; not very tall, but very old and beautiful...

...to the small town of Troy...

...then Carthage...

...Fayetteville and Fort Bragg, home of the famous 82nd Airborne... 

...at this point we got a little off track and ended up chasing the Cape Fear River for a spell... A quick jaunt on I-95 got us back on track but put my little 300 lb, 250cc dirt bike to the test. It was actually kinda fun passing a tractor trailer at 75 mph and getting tossed all over the freeway by the wind! One of those situations where you just go wide open, trust your instincts, and know everything will be fine...

By this time, we were out of NC's deciduous-dominated hilly Piedmont region and descending into the Sandhills Region of the coastal plain; characterized by white and black sand, black rivers, pine forests, cotton, tobacco, and peanuts... The region holds the inspiration for the nickname "Tarheels" because bare toes and heels quickly turn black from the fertile sandy soils. It is also NC's golf mecca. 

After Fayetteville, we had lunch at Waffle House and then made good time through Goldsboro and Greeneville. US 13 through this part of the state is really beautiful and showcases Eastern NC's farmlands. Here the landscape changes to a more coastal/swampy setting. Pretty soon, we'd be smelling brackish/salt water! 

Next was Washington, NC, aka: Little Washington. This is a beautiful Historic town, along with nearby Bath, but sunlight was fading and we were in "cruising right along" mode. So no time for sight-seeing. But all three of us remember the earth-shattering sunset behind us as we rode across a bleach-white bridge over a marsh as we entered Belhaven. It was phenomenal and a struggle to keep our eyes facing east on the road ahead! An epic sunset that is easily in my top 5 EVER! Little did we know the test of endurance and sanity that lay ahead over the next 140 miles!

After Belhaven, US 264 passes Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Lake Mattumuskeet (NC's largest natural lake) National Wildlife Refuge, and the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in succession as it skirts the length of the Pamlico Sound (Note: I would have linked to the US Fish and Wildlife websites for these refuges but the site is currently not functioning due to the stupid Government Shutdown thing). I'm sure these refuges were incredible but it was pitch black out - a new moon. 

Once out of civilization, our bikes were the only vehicles on the 100 mile flat, straight, two-lane, marsh road with seemingly random 90 degree turns. Richard's headlight was pointed somewhere else, and every time Joe got in front, we encountered a deer, so I led for most of this stretch. In all, we saw two deer and a fox or two. It's possible that a fox could have been a red wolf, but the sightings were too brief and the night too dark to tell. As you probably know, being alone on a dark highway such as this begins to seem like a tunnel over time and this tunnel just kept going and going! Coupled with the knowledge that a deer could jump in my path and kill me at any moment, this road was an exhausting challenge of vigilance and endurance. But then I looked up! I could see the milky way clear as day! While riding! 

Joe and I could both go about 130 miles on a full tank of gas before switching to reserve. We both hit reserve long before we made it out of the marsh, hoping our remaning .9 gallon would be enough! But then, out of nowhere, we saw the lights of US 64 and a gas station. All I can say is thank god for debit card-capable pumps because the station was closed! With another 10-20 miles, we would have been borrowing gas from Richard's tank!

It was then just across a long, windy, tall bridge into Manteo, across to Nags Head, and north a few dozen miles to Corolla. Of course we missed the house and went an extra 5-10 miles but we eventually found it with the future bride and groom waving us into the driveway! In all, it was about 400 miles, 14 hours (We usually stopped for 30+ mins at gas stops), and immeasurable lessons about riding in groups and in general.

Part 2 is coming soon... The Wedding...

P.S. Images are creative commons/wikimedia, property of linked websites, or my own. I am working on getting more pictures from my compatriots to share with you! Unfortunately, it's difficult to shoot photographs with a quality camera while riding a motorcycle...