Touring - Inland or Outer Banks?

I'm on tour up the Atlantic Coast and am currently in Wilmington, NC going North. My original plan was to ride up the Outer Banks but knowledgeable locals have made a strong case for skipping the OBX and taking the inland route instead.

Does anyone here any suggestions of the Outer Banks verses inland, North Carolina?

Thanks,

Ray

I'm on tour up the Atlantic Coast and am currently in Wilmington, NC going North. My original plan was to ride up the Outer Banks but knowledgeable locals have made a strong case for skipping the OBX and taking the inland route instead.

Does anyone here any suggestions of the Outer Banks verses inland, North Carolina?

Thanks,

Ray

My tour last summer (August) was to the Outer Banks from Buffalo, NY. I enjoyed cycling to Oracoke. long beachs covered up by sand dunes. The worst part of the trip was getting to OBX (no shoulder & fast cars) but once on the island the riding was quite enjoyable. Avoid Satrudays (I believe that is the day) because every one arrives to OBX on the same day.

I lived in NC for many years.

Ocracoke is the loveliest road accessible island on the Atlantic Coast.
14 miles of protected seashore and one magical village on the southern end.
You can watch the sun rise from the Atlantic and the sun set over the Sound.

The ride from Beaufort is also quite nice - usually with a SW wind.
Traffic continues to decline as you head out towards Cedar Island.
Not to mention that the ferry ride is inexpensive and gives you a feel of the water.

North of Ocracoke it gets busier on the Outer Banks.
I suggest, perhaps a back and forth trip to Hatteras Lighthouse -
Then take the Swan Quarter ferry from Ocracoke.

From Swan Quarter -
Take Hwy 94 to Columbia and back roads to Pettigrew State Park
Somerset Plantation is one of the finest restorations in the South - including rare slave quarters,
Then follow NC Bike Route 3 - generally signed thru Edenton to Merchants Millpond SP
Edenton is a lovely colonial townwith out all of Williamsburg's tourists.
Merchants Millpond has rental canoes to tour the cypress swamps.

<<<>>>

Further south -
Hwy 172 thru Camp Lejeune has been closed to nonmilitary traffic for "security" reasons.
(The amount of land in the U.S. controlled by the military is obscene - and it only gets worse.)

If riding north then I recommend Outer Banks. If riding south, Outer Banks if the 20+mph headwind doesn't bother you.

OBX - Bumper sticker short hand for obnoxious.

Haven't ridden there myself, but my concern from having been on the Outer Banks before would be headwinds/crosswinds, though the Outer Banks would definitely be more scenic and a lot less likely to smell like hog s^&t.

Eastern NC has a lot of intensive hog farming operations.

OBX - Bumper sticker short hand for obnoxious.

In a similar vein, the town of Cary (near Raleigh) is often referred to as "Concentrated Area of Relocated Yankees" :)

I'm on tour up the Atlantic Coast and am currently in Wilmington, NC going North. My original plan was to ride up the Outer Banks but knowledgeable locals have made a strong case for skipping the OBX and taking the inland route instead.

Does anyone here any suggestions of the Outer Banks verses inland, North Carolina?

Thanks,

Ray

Hey, Ray,

I thought I might run into you on my ride. It looks like you were about a week ahead of me. What route did you go with, OBX or inland?

I did the OBX - north to south route. The wind was rarely ever a factor -- almost no headwind, but never a tailwind. I managed to make it down the entire OBX and over to Cedar Island on my first day. The second day was slightly longer - 157 miles, from Cedar Island down to Wilmington (Wrightsville Beach).

I rolled into downtown Savannah,Ga, pedaling over the Hwy 17 bridge, on Friday afternoon. It was a great trip. The parts on Hwy 17, at least down into and through Myrtle Beach were kinda sucky, but from there to Charleston and from Charleston to Savannah, weren't too bad.

Hope you you had a good safe trip, too!

Nota