Originally Posted by
klnasveschuk
This will be my 3rd long distance solo tour. Beginning to plan a September 2014 ride from South Carolina north most likely to Philadelphia. I've already researched one stumbling block, crossing the Chesapeake at Virginia Beach. I'd like to ride the outer banks of North Carolina. I'm most concerned about the NC part. It would be a big deviation riding inland as opposed to the coastal route.
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Absolutely not trying to dissuade you; quite a few people do bicycle tours on the OBX. However, I suggest you invest some time in a alternate inland route as a back-up plan. A big hurricane in June or July or August could make the OBX unfriendly for cycle touring in September. Parts of NC-12 get washed away almost every hurricane season; nothing bad happened this year.
My recollection is that you'll likely find shoulders along much of that OBX route. 'Course, could be a game of dodge-em to avoid all the nails and screws and glass and etc., not to mention the possibility of sand periodically covering the entire shoulder in places.
If your travels on the OBX coincides with a warm weekend, plan on traffic, as many will head to the beach one-more-time. Weekdays in Sept., not so much traffic.
Btw, best sleep I've had in recent years was on the lobby floor of the Currie, NC post office -- approx 350-kms into a 600-km rando brevet in 2011. (Your route goes through, or at least quite close to, Currie.)