East Coast Greenway – Page 9 – Exploring by bicycle

Bet you haven’t heard of this Revolutionary War battle in North Carolina

The battle at Moores Creek probably doesn’t get much attention beyond fourth-grade North Carolina history class. But it’s the colonists’ first victory.

Our ride ended prematurely, as I mentioned earlier, at Moores Creek National Battlefield about 20 miles outside of Wilmington, NC. It bills itself as the first victory by the American colonists, in February 1776, and came more than four months before the Declaration of Independence. Depending on who you believe, the fighting lasted as little as three minutes (an early account) or 20 to 30 minutes (the volunteer at the visitors center).

This is a battle that I am guessing doesn’t get much attention beyond fourth-grade North Carolina history class. Basically, a group of Scottish loyalists needed to get to Wilmington to link up with the British. In their way were a few groups of patriots who came together at Moores Creek. The loyalist commander sent an emissary the night before saying give up and all will be forgiven … or else. And reported back that it was just a small group of fighters. The main group was actually across the bridge, and the small group moved there under the cover of night. So when the loyalists attacked just before dawn (with just broadswords, not guns!), well, it didn’t go well. It’s a really swampy area (this is the view from the boardwalk, not the bridge), so no one knows how many drowned as they fled.

Beyond the immediate victory, this battle undermined hopes that the South would side with Britain. Instead, North Carolina was one of the first to instruct its delegates to vote for independence a few months later.

Stopping at sites like this is part of what I enjoy about touring by bicycle. This is not the sort of National Parks Service site that draws lots and lots of visitors. How many will detour off Interstate 40 for this? But it’s on the East Coast Greenway. And I would have stopped even if it wasn’t the end of the ride.

Another factoid: in the aftermath, the patriots captured more than 15,000 pounds, which is nearly $14 million today (maybe I should say $13 million given the pounding sterling has just taken!).

The bridge itself has been replaced many times since the battle, most recently after Hurricane Floyd demolished it in 1999. Here’s hoping Hurricane Matthew doesn’t do the same.

Day 2 — 68.9 miles from Smithfield to Fayetteville, plus a long car ride

This was our longest day. It’s also the day we found out that the ride will end early because of Hurricane Matthew.

This is about all I saw of Myrtle Beach. — This is about all I will see of Myrtle Beach on this trip.

Today was our longest day on the East Coast Greenway. But today was more than the bike. The forecast for Hurricane Matthew is turning grimmer, and we’ve been told that the ride will end after 3 1/2 days. So we’ll be back in Raleigh on Thursday night instead of Saturday night.

That’s fine for all of us who’ve come from the north. But Chris, who I met on the Maine ride, had left a car at our end point in Myrtle Beach. So he needed to get that car out — today. So he rented a car after we spent seven hours on the bike with no proper lunch break, and we drove two hours to Myrtle Beach, moved it to Elizabethtown, where we will be tomorrow night, and then got back to Fayetteville.

Today’s route was heavily on roads, but we still had a taste of trails. We started with a repeat of Monday’s trail in Smithfield, then enjoyed the Cape Fear River Trail before the unpleasant ride through Fayetteville. We did miscalculate at one point, getting off the trail at the rocky parking lot instead of continuing on to the nature center and beyond. We thought we would have to climb a hill to get back on track — or backtrack. Neither was that appealing. The maps on our phones gave conflicting information about the neighborhood streets — did they dead end, or could we find a path to the other side?

Fortunately, we found a way to squeeze through. Note the barbed wire protecting the no-cursing neighborhood we escaped! (Oops, I almost cursed going through it.)

Here are some of the day’s other sights:

The lower price is what farmers will be paid. The higher price is for dried kernels of corn (no longer on the cob) that can be fed to pigs and other animals. Even deer, if you’re crazy enough to do that.

Lesson learned about venturing into the fields: beware of fire ants. My ankles are still swollen. How did the slaves tolerate it? And yes, the cotton does feel as soft as a cotton ball.

Pie and an odd food discovery

Spotted along the East Coast Greenway: Chess pie and pig picking cake.

I know — bike rides are really all about the food (or for some, the beer).

And when we topped that hill into Clayton and reached Main Street, it was too early for lunch. But is it ever too early for something sweet?

I peered into the pie case at Nancy Jo’s Homemade and settled on a lemon chess pie. Chess pie is a southern classic; I discovered it in Occoquan two years ago. Amazingly, I couldn’t take more than a few bites. Into the rear bike bag it went, to be eaten further along the route and polished off once we got to the hotel.

But this is what really caught my attention. It’s not something we have in New Jersey:

Why the crazy name? The key ingredients seem to be a cake mix, canned mandarin oranges and canned pineapple. There’s no pig in it. But it does seem to be served at barbecues, and people there pick at the pig, I guess like we pick at the turkey leftovers after Thanksgiving.

There wasn’t exactly a stampede of riders with me into the bakery, so I couldn’t suggest that we share this half a cake. But you can bet I will be looking for a single-serving size further along the East Coast Greenway. Or riders to share something bigger.

I’m guessing I haven’t seen the last of boiled peanuts either.

Day 1 — 49.1 miles from Raleigh from Smithfield

I’m back in love with the trails in the Raleigh area.

Wow, what trails!

I can’t rave enough about the first 20 miles of our ride today. We were outside of downtown Raleigh within a matter of blocks and on a trail in just over a mile. And then we stayed on them for 20 or so meandering miles, at times along a river, at other times along fields (apparently full of sunflowers at the height of summer). Sometimes we saw neighborhoods with a connector to the trail. Lots of boardwalk (so lots of money spent), many short bridges and then some serious ones. It’s all part of the Capital Area Greenway Trail System. We rode parts of the Little Rock Trail, the Walnut Creek Trail and Neuse River Trail into the next county.

This fuzzy photo of a map gives a sense of what Raleigh has to offer — and remember that we rode from Durham to Raleigh via Cary last year primarily on trails too, and I fell in love then. So those red lines capture only part of what the area has to offer, and obviously it’s more than just the East Coast Greenway. But like the East Coast Greenway, it shows the power of connecting trails.

Here’s a view from the trail:

That may look like a harmless stream or creek but clearly it had recently flooded:

A view from a bridge:

The value of trails couldn’t have been made clearer than when we reached the Clayton River Walk’s trailhead at Covered Bridge Road and had to leave the trail. We had a long, steep-ish hill on a somewhat curvy road with the tiniest of shoulders. One motorist patiently held back behind a few riders slightly ahead of me, and traffic started backing up. The third in line became impatient at one point, pulled out and zipped past the two cars in front. Another thought about doing the same. I was equal with him at that point and the passenger window was open. I could see a car in the oncoming lane and quickly said there’s a car coming. So one mess averted. But I do wish there had been a trail to take us to downtown Clayton.

We hit another lovely (much shorter) trail toward the end of the day — the Buffalo Creek Greenway/Smithfield Neuse Riverwalk. Unfortunately, the local hotels are a few miles away at the other end of town, by the interstate.

Why is today’s distance longer than advertised? A bit of backtracking to reach that last trail — and more backtracking from the hotel to visit the Ava Gardner Museum that tacked on about four miles.

Day 0 — Raleigh

I’m ready for this 325-mile bike ride along the East Coast Greenway in the Carolinas.

I’m ready to start this six-day, 325-mile bike ride along the East Coast Greenway. It’s great to see so many familiar faces among the riders and to start catching up with people, some of whom I haven’t seen since we ended last year’s ride in Raleigh. Thank you, Sherri, for welcoming all of us on the beautiful terrace in your downtown building. And now we’re all well-fed after that dinner at the Greek restaurant next to the hotel! Lovely to be eating outdoors, especially after all the rain and fleece-like weather we’ve had at home.

Tomorrow’s ride will have a good chunk of trail. That’s a nice way to get out of Raleigh, letting us avoid traffic. We’re headed to Smithfield 42 miles away. It’s a county seat with a population of about 13,000. So I’m really hoping our dinner choices are better than Chipotle (one of the three suggested options). But I’m definitely checking out the Ava Gardner museum.

Got to be ready to go at 7 a.m. Someone’s coming to film us heading out for some documentary that’s in the works.

Carolinas, here I come

I’m getting ready for my second big bike ride of the year along the East Coast Greenway.

This is the second big East Coast Greenway ride of the year. It’s 325 miles — similar to the fall rides of the past two years — but crammed into six days instead of seven. That’s what happens when hotels dictate where you can stop.

So I’ve got three days over 50 miles and one that is just under that. On the flip side, it’s mostly flat, unlike Maine, the hilliest section of the 3,000-mile route. I figure it will be cooler too — yay. There are 40 of us riding (plus staff and support), and I’m looking forward to seeing many people I know from previous rides. It’s going to be fun! Just hope we don’t have any big storms.

Here’s the itinerary:

Sunday, Oct. 2: We gather in Raleigh, NC, where we ended last year’s ride.

Oct. 3: 44 miles to Smithfield, NC.

Oct. 4: 69 miles to Fayetteville, NC

Oct. 5: 40 miles to Elizabethtown, NC

Oct. 6: 58 miles to Wilmington, NC

Oct 7: 66 miles to Ocean Isle, NC — after an early-morning boat cruise on the Cape Fear River.

Oct. 8: 48 miles to Myrtle Beach, SC and a celebration to mark a trail opening. Then we get shuttled back to Raleigh.

Any suggestions for sights I should see out? Places to eat? If Maine was about lobster, this ride may be about barbecue…

After this, I can say I’ve ridden from Philadelphia (really just outside, in Conshocken) to Myrtle Beach — about 1,000 miles. Plus, of course, there’s the Maine ride earlier this year as well as training segments in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey.

I’ll be blogging every day of the ride, so check back for tales from the road.

Finally, this is a fundraising ride for the East Coast Greenway. If you’d like to support the cause, you can donate here. All the money goes to the cause; I’m paying for food and hotels.

The week, summed up by the chairman of the board

Bob Spiegelman turns poet.

With this ride, these six closed their personal gap from Calais to Raleigh.

Bob Spiegelman says set this to the tune of “McNamara’s Band” (if, unlike me, you know it). We groaned at first — but it was a lovely end to our final group dinner.

Down East’s East Coast Greenway is the place we love to ride.

We bust our butts on up the hills and down the hills we glide.

We biked on trail, we biked on roads, we sometimes biked on sand.

Our week in Maine helped us see the Greenway’s great grand plan.

Our fearless leader Molly always kept her smile.

Andy did his best to keep us riding single file.

Alan and Walt supported us so we could ride carefree.

And Silvia’s blog kept track of things so we made history.

Barb and Bev together were an inspirational pair.

Russo bought an extra tire so now he has a spare.

Ash explained the local scene as we were near his home.

And Bob spent his time taking notes so he could write this poem.

Helen enjoyed her tour, without her bike buddies.

Aaron and Emily spent the week with a dozen old fogies.

Kate signed up and took the challenge with bravery and class.

We welcomed her to her first tour-it will not be her last.

Tina drove from Florida excited by the challenge.

But when she hit adversity she found a work around.

Donna was as steady as anyone could be.

Now she’s looking forward to October in Raleigh.

Chris showed everybody how to tear off lobster parts.

Don was chasing Pokemon while Clive missed playing darts.

The tour held close together, we had a lot of fun.

No other way to say it than “our group was number one.”

Down East’s East Coast Greenway is the place we love to ride.

We bust our butts on up the hills and down the hills we glide.

We biked on trail, we biked on roads, we sometimes biked on sand.

Our week in Maine helped us see the Greenway’s great grand plan.

I just want to thank everyone who supported the East Coast Greenway through this ride. (It’s not too late to show your support — click here for Silvia and here for Clive.) And thank you for reading about our adventures over the week.

Meet Ash, one of our new riders

Do you know anyone who has built his own cabin, beginning with felling the trees and turning them into logs?

There were a bunch of first-time Week-A-Year riders on this trip — Chris and Don, Kate and Tina, Emily and Aaron. Clive. And Ash.

Ash, one of the two Maine residents on this trip, rode the entire route on a mountain bike — and took the road the first two days, rather than the Down East Sunrise Trail. Being a Down Easter, he’s already ridden a lot of that trail and figures he can do more whenever he wants. Hills were tougher than for those of us on road bikes, but he wasn’t the only one who walked a few of them.

He rode in regular shorts, no padding hidden underneath. Seven days and 350-plus miles? That can be painful.

We were in awe that he has built his own log cabin, beginning with felling the trees himself and turning them into logs. The cabin has solar power and well water but lacks every modern convenience — making it too rugged for Alan, our mechanic who dreams of being off the grid as long as he can still somehow run Netflix.

Ash has a deep interest in caring for the land — he built and maintains trails in his area. He’s ready to share it through a primitive campsite he has built on his property for cyclists.

When Clive spotted outdoor cookers near homes on Day 2, Ash explained they are outdoor wood-burning furnaces. People use them to heat water that runs through their homes and radiates heat. Of course I then had to start looking too. Clive spotted plenty of shed-like buildings with a smokestack that houses furnaces — and even a furnace for sale for $900 — but I never saw a one.

I’d include a link to his local newspaper’s article about him and this ride, but I can’t find it.

Day 7 — 64 miles from Auburn to Portland

We capped off our week-long ride along the East Coast Greenway from the Canadian border in Calais to Portland with a victory lap around Portland’s Back Bay with an inspirational group from Maine Adaptive Sports. And we saw where a 10-mile trail could go between Lisbon and Brunswick.

These are people in wheelchairs, perhaps since they were born, who bike, ski, kayak and golf with the help of volunteers. I chatted with one who started skiing in 1999 and added the other three sports in 2009. He regularly does three loops around the three-mile route, cranking with his arms instead of his legs, on a customized 20-plus speed bike that is built like an upside-down version of an able-bodied person’s bike (except for the seat, which isn’t upside down, of course!) and just flies down the descents. He’s now a mentor to others who join the program.

I hope this is the first of many ways the Week-A-Tour reaches out to groups beyond the local trail advocates.

Watch this one brief TV clip about it.

Another highlight of the final day was a beautiful three-mile trail in the Lisbon area, at least part of which is known as the Papermill Trail. It went by schools and dropped us off in a residential area at the edge of Lisbon. Once again, we rode through woods and along the river — what a wonderful way to bike to school!

When the trail ended, we found ourselves on the shoulder of a road with fast-moving traffic and of course climbing a few hills. And I could see a rail line in spots along the river (flat!), with weeds that aren’t kept in check by freight trains. It turns out that stretch of many miles from Lisbon to Brunswick on the other side of the river is abandoned — and owned by the Maine Department of Transportation. The state, however, doesn’t want to convert it to a rail-trail because it sees its mission as preserving it for future rail service. Fortunately, it is open to a rail with trail, and I will thrilled to hear of progress there. And yes, the old railroad bridge is still up.

As we left Bruswick (home of Bowdoin College), we stumbled across a very popular farmers market. It’s in a field just outside town, with lots of cars pulling in and out and parked along the road — not the most family-friendly bike ride to reach it. It really could use a multi-use trail alongside the road.

But there are bike racks, and they were pretty full (not just with a good number of our group!). We fell into conversation with a family of four at the nearby picnic table. The mother lamented how difficult it is to find a place to take the kids biking (the youngest son is about to start first grade). Seems kind of odd since Brunswick is a bronze-level Bicycle Friendly Community, according to the League of American Bicyclists, but that says a lot about how families define bike-friendly (and how well or not the word gets out about area trails).

I encouraged her to drive out to Lisbon for those trails (such a shame you have to say drive to bike) — but of course also had to fill her in with what I knew about the saga of that abandoned rail line.

From the moment we got on the Lisbon trail until we crossed the river into Brunswick was 13.5 miles. Imagine if it was all trail — so there was an alternative to those 10 miles of road. OK, it might be a little shorter and more direct, but you could organize a half-marathon from Lisbon (the schools?) to the Brunswick waterfront or Main Street. Double back and you’ve got a marathon. The training routes runners would have!

Imagine the bike rides locals would do, with a stop for a snack at one end. And how families could get out and ride without worrying about cars speeding by with nothing but a line of paint to separate the two. There’s an Amtrak station in town — think cyclists coming up from Portland or beyond. What an impact that could have!

Day 5 — 50 miles from Unity to Augusta, with detours

This hot day made for a tough day of biking.

It once cost two cents to walk across this bridge.

I thought Maine weather was supposed to be on the cool side, and I packed accordingly.

Wrong move.

Today was particularly hot — I think it topped 90 — and that made it a tougher day, especially on the back half of the ride, all along U.S. 201 with barely a lick of shade.

Once again, the East Coast Greenway route overlapped with U.S. Bicycle Route 1. Climbing-wise, the “official” cue-sheet estimate was 2,032 feet, which seemed OK. But there was a really nasty hill in Augusta, after the heat had worn us down, and we had already detoured to the Viles Arboretum, which involved another big hill.

The day’s big highlight was being guided by Peter Garrett during the first half of the day, until we got to Waterville. Peter has led an amazing effort to build trails in the area — 40 miles and counting, for astounding low cost of about $2.5 million. He’ll be the subject of a separate post.

We stopped at the headquarters of Johnny’s Seeds, a fun spot for any gardener. Wouldn’t I like this sort of protective set-up in our garden!

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