I woke up at 5:45. I had my trailer and bike ready to roll inside the motel room, so I carried them downstairs and into the sand-covered parking lot. I hitched up the rig in no-time–that was a first. I crossed the road onto the beach side and got a few shots of the sunrise:

After that, I had to gun it across the rest of Hatteras to make the ferry to Ocracoke. I had a little less than an hour to make the 12 miles, and I swung by the motel office to drop off my key and the nice lady’s charger.

I made it to the ferry just as the last person was getting on. They gave me a little tude, but let me on, thank goodness. I needed this day to be as seamless as possible, or else I would run into some major issues. If I hadn’t made that ferry, I would have to wait two hours for the next one, and there would be no chance of Emereld Isle by nightfall.

It was cold on the water, so I tried to find some sunlight. It was supposed to be another beautiful day, and the sound was pure glass. There was a massive pod of dolphins swimming around our ferry. They were definitely munching on something, and it was really cool to see those guys away from their day jobs up in Bethany: daily dolphin shows that our patrons never cease to be excited about, and some say they also do great impersonations of sharks.

We made good time to the ferry exit, and I had about an hour and twenty to make it the 13 miles from one end of Ocracoke Island to the other. It was a beautiful ride through a basically uninhabited island. At the other end there was a little town, but other than that it was one flat road with some beautiful views. Somehow, I didn’t get lost, and made it to the ferry with time to spare.

This was the only ferry that charged me for a ride. They’ve got a pretty solid monopoly on rides from the isolated island to the mainland, so I had to pay through the nose: $3!

I also barely made it under the clearance.

And I took a quick lap to see if they kept a surfboard on deck. No luck. Looked fun though.

I was 25 miles in, and I had a few hours on the ferries to get me to Cedar Island. Because I timed everything right, I would have the afternoon to make some solid headway. This was the last stretch before I hit mainland again, and from there I was going to put my head down and gun it to camp. My goal was Emerald Isle, and I figured I should eat and get some rest while I can.

PB no J’s taste great sitting Indian style on the deck of a ferry. Then I stretched out in the sun and caught some Z’s.

I woke up just before we docked and tried to shake myself awake. I had a long ride ahead, and as soon as I had service again, I double checked my route and hit it. It was a little after 1, and I had 65 miles to go to Emerald Isle. Sunset was right at 5, so I really needed to charge.

There were some beautiful views along the way. Still no camera, but you gotta trust me. It was the perfect day to ride and I got to enjoy it all while chugging along.

I made it to Morehead City, just inland of Atlantic Beach at about 4:30. I had another 20 miles or so to camp, and I was determined to make it. I decided to cross the Atlantic Beach Bridge while I still had a lot of daylight, and then hope for wind at my back on the ocean route.

I headed south through Atlantic Beach and Indian Beach. My legs were really starting to go at this point, but I was so close. Every single pedal was tough. I would put my head down stand up in the saddle as if I was going up a steep hill, and then I would look up to see a flat road. It was so weird. I was barely thinking–my legs, my hands, my hips, my butt, my neck, my lower back, they were all on fire. Then I started to do these really longs blinks where my eyes would be closed for much longer than normal.

I had to pull over. I hadn’t eaten since the ferry, and even though that meant stopping and losing out on whatever was left of daylight, I had to refuel. I didn’t feel hungry at all. In fact, the thought of food was disgusting to me. But I knew I needed something to burn. I forced a cliff bar down and tried to stretch out my muscles.

Five minutes later, I was back on the bike. In those five minutes, someone had decided to flip off the light switch. It was almost completely pitch black, and I had about 6 miles to camp. I threw on every light I had and charged. I felt much better after the food but it was still pretty slow going. I had to be super cautious about potholes I couldn’t see.

Then I saw the streetlights of town and knew I had finally made it to Emerald Isle. Even at night, I could tell the place was pretty. In the comfort of a bike trail parallel to the main road, I cruised through town to camp.

They were already closed for the night, but the nice guy at the gas station next door showed me to the site. 3 hours of ferries and 90 plus miles on the bike, and I made it. I took my sweet ass time setting up camp. It was nice and dark, but the stars were out in full. I almost decided to just pass out under my bike, but decided to pitch up. I enjoyed another few PB no J’s as well as a pot of Ramen. I know that’s not exactly the most nutritious dinner, but I didn’t care. Plus, I had to save money due to that ridiculous ferry ride.

I think I fell asleep mid-stretch.