Tour de Outer Banks

I did my long bike ride today on the Outer Banks. I rode from Waves, NC, past Avon, and all the way down to Buxton and even a little further before turning around to head back. All total, I rode 54.2 miles, average speed of 18.2mph. Average HR of 136 bpm.

The first half of the trip felt like I was riding against the wind the whole way. I focused on maintaining a tight aero position the whole way. Every time I looked at my watch, my HR said 144. I wondered – no I hoped -that the way back would be easier, because this felt like hard work. Perhaps it merely was just hard work, and the wind was not a factor. Or, what if I was actually riding with the wind now, and it would be HARDER on the return trip. I decided that I must be going against the wind because it truly felt like I was riding up a false flat that lasted forever!

Most of Hwy 12 looks exactly the same. Just a long stretch of road with sand dunes on the beach side, power lines on the sound side, and windblown maritime forest all around. Fortunately, the shoulder was very wide and smooth along the undeveloped parts of Hwy 12, so I could really focus on my riding.

I was worried the unchanging landscape would get monotonous and I would get bored. I did not. The challenge of working hard riding against the wind kept things interesting. Plus I made an effort to look around a bit and enjoy some sights.

I noticed some pretty wildflowers growing along the shoulder. I wanted to pick one for my 17 year old daughter. She loves to put flowers in her hair. I knew the flower would not survive the bike ride back home, so instead I stopped and took a picture of them for her:

As I got back on my bike, I saw a male biker approaching. Lo and behold, it was another Buffman. I wondered if he would pass me. He did not. I rode for another 45 minutes before entering the town of Buxton. Once in town, I had to concentrate more on things like not getting hit by a car. While glancing backwards before swerving to miss a gravel patch, I noticed Buffman about 20 yards behind me. Traffic was heavy enough here, with twists and turns and hidden drives, that I decided to slow down and let Buffman catch up to me. That way we could ride together through town – you know, there’s safety in numbers. We rode together for about 10 minutes. When traffic thinned out, I forgot to speed back up. He passed me, saying “Good call”. I guess he meant good call to ride together through town. Anyway, I didn’t want to speed back up, so I watched him inch away from me. Then I thought of taking a picture of him for my blog. He was already pretty far in the distance. I worked hard for about 5 minutes to catch back up to him and snap this picutre of his buff behind. 🙂

I just noticed the sign in this picture of Buffman says “Frisco Tackle”. Apparently I rode farther than I thought – all the way to Frisco! Anyhoo, after snapping that picture, I looked at my watch. The time said 1:35. I had planned on a3 hour ride, so I turned around to head back. I stopped several times to snap photos.

Here is a quaint little beach shop in the town of Buxton…

Allegedly, here is a view of Cape Hatteras Lighthouse looking back toward Buxton. My cell phone camera is pretty lousy. The lighthouse was there, really it was, right between the light pole and the cars on the beach. I can’t understand why you can’t see it at all in this photo! sigh.

Vacationers flying a kite and fishing in Pamlico Sound. Shoot, can’t see the kite either. Well, just use your imagination. I won’t even tell you what color it was.

As I went through the town of Avon on the return trip, my water bottles were nearly empty. I stopped at a little rental shop hoping to buy some water. They rented surf boards, bikes and wetsuits. They didn’t sell any drinks, but a very sweet girl offered to fill up my bottle with fresh cold water. Here’s a photo of that store: Ocean Atlantik Rentals in Avon, NC:

Oh, and the ride did feel alot easier on the way back. Except for the pain in my butt and the numbness in my feet. This ride was NO LONGER than my usual long bike. I think that the long stretch of unchanging terrain just meant that I was spinning steadily in the same body position for a long time, without any rest. When riding on the rolling country roads in my home territory, I have to stop at intersections and get to ride down hills. That gives my body tiny bits of rest along the way. I guess it matters!

Anyway, a good workout.