{"id":21841,"date":"2017-05-28T09:28:26","date_gmt":"2017-05-28T13:28:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=21841"},"modified":"2017-05-28T10:02:45","modified_gmt":"2017-05-28T14:02:45","slug":"day-37-saturday-may-27-sneads-ferry-to-morehead-city-north-carolina","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=21841","title":{"rendered":"Day 37. Saturday, May 27. Sneads Ferry to Morehead City, North Carolina"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was a cool crisp 65\u00b0 morning, when we pedaled past the golf course \"\"<\/a>and\u00a0through\u00a0the outskirts of town. \u00a0It was not long before we were hiking a high bridge over the New River \"\"<\/a>(fisherman already on the water) \"\"<\/a>and dropping to\u00a0the gates of Camp Lejeune, \"\"<\/a>where my sister was born.<\/p>\n

Though the gate looked foreboding, the young Marine checked our I.D.’s and waved us through. \u00a0This is a huge base (246 square miles) and it took us 15 miles to bike through. \u00a0Tall pines shaded the road,\"\"<\/a> keeping our morning cool on the\u00a0mostly deserted road. \u00a0With the exception of a few vintage\u00a0tanks\"\"<\/a> and a Vietnam War Gun Boat,\"\"<\/a> there was little to see.<\/p>\n

When our ride through the base ended, we were in the middle of the country; \"\"<\/a>no shoulder, but little traffic.<\/p>\n

Around 30 miles, our course on the country road turned to a country<\/em> commercial highway.\"\"<\/a> \u00a0Still no shoulder, but the\u00a0speed limit was low, so\u00a0the ride was not bad. \u00a0The road between Swansboro \"\"<\/a>and Cedar Point is a slightly elevated and narrow land bridge over the White Oak River.\"\"<\/a> \u00a0A couple miles later, we took a right turn on the very busy road and bridge\"\"<\/a><\/em> that led to Emerald Isle. \u00a0We could have continued straight and avoided this tall bridge\u00a0over the Bogue Sound,\"\"<\/a> but we would have missed this beautiful area.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

But, first stop was a bicycle store to repair a broken spoke.\"\"<\/a> After almost 30,000 miles on the bike, Jerry’s wheel\/rim\u00a0was feeling the strain. \u00a0Considering the miles left before reaching home, Pops recommended a totally new rim.\"\"<\/a> \u00a0It was going to take some time for\u00a0him to get us going again, so we took a break next door and enjoyed a cold drink and delicious\u00a0coffee cake. \u00a0Even with a store full of customers, this family owned business <\/a>could not have been more helpful and attentive.<\/p>\n

This island stretch is made up of Emerald Isle, Indian Beach, Pine Knoll Shores and Atlantic Beach. \u00a0The first part of our ride was along a nice bike path \"\"<\/a>that skirted the traffic coming in for the long weekend. \u00a0Once the cars dispersed, we were back on the road enjoying the\u00a0very\"\"<\/a> colorful \"\"<\/a>homes \"\"<\/a>and rentals \"\"<\/a>with views of the Atlantic, Bogue Sound\"\"<\/a> or both;\"\"<\/a> built high for protection and sight-lines.<\/p>\n

Long boardwalks \"\"<\/a>led to the beach, protecting the sand dune, but shielding our view of the ocean; naturally, we had to take a look. \"\"<\/a>\u00a0Once again the sea glowed with color.<\/p>\n

But on this 20 mile stretch, there is very little in the way of restaurants. \u00a0After 51 miles, we finally found a place to eat;\"\"<\/a>before even looking at the menu, they plopped down an over-sized basket of hushpuppies.\"\"<\/a>We added the Flounder and Paper Skin Crabs;\"\"<\/a>\u00a0lunch was fabulous, albeit fried and too much. \u00a0There was still more to see \"\"<\/a>and miles to pedal before our hotel, but our two long stops earlier had kept us in the heat of the day longer than normal. \u00a0There had been\u00a0a nice breeze coming off the water all day, but a\u00a0shaded break was necessary\"\"<\/a>before heading over \"\"<\/a>the Intercoastal one last\u00a0time (today) \"\"<\/a>and into Morehead City. \u00a0This is another stop and tomorrow another day off, due to the lack of rooms over the holiday. \u00a0And though our hotel does not have much around it, we did manage to find a delicious dinner\"\"<\/a> and a beautiful sunset\"\"<\/a> to end our 63 mile day.<\/p>\n\n\t\t