42: urp, NC drivers, road hieroglyphics, concealed carry, headstone, drowning creek, intimidating, crossword, home of american gold, p.t. barnum

April 29, 2025

Laurinburg to Southern Pines

“I saw some vomit today.”

In addition to calling upon my own familiarity with the English language, I also placed an individual call to 147 professors of English across the country... this, in order to carefully craft that sentence.

Heather, on occasion, has a tendency to catastrophize, and when I texted it to her I didn’t want her to think I was sick or anything. So, 1.89 seconds after I hit send, I was surprised to get a call.

“Are you okay?”
“Of course, why?”
“You sent that text.”
“Yes, I did, but I didn’t say I vomited, just that I saw some. Why in the world would you think it was me??”
“Was it?”
“Well .... …. …. yeah.”

How does she do that?? Does twenty nine years of marriage somehow create a psychic link between our brains?

We're so different in some ways. If I had received that text, I would've responded with something like, "Cool! Send pics!"

So, yeah, I saw some vomit today and, unfortunately, it was mine. I'll spare you the graphic details, but you know how sometimes you inhale your own spit? Then you start coughing? A lot? I did exactly that until, very abruptly and without any warning, out it came... maybe two tablespoons at most. Like a baby's urp. I was rather proud of myself that none of it landed on my knee or foot as I was riding, although my phone will never be the same.

The above picture is a great lead-in to talk about the drivers I've been seeing recently. Since beginning this trip I've been on some crowded roads, but fortunately most of the people have been respectful and courteous.

Upon crossing the border, I realized that North Carolina drivers are unusually conscientious about car maintenance. As far as I can tell, they're particularly zealous about not wearing down their brakes, and in an attempt to save those expensive brakes pads simply don't use them.

Additionally, starting yesterday I noticed that even when there wasn't an oncoming car, people would barely move to the left when passing. They were all Close Passers, and today the attitude of drivers progressed to "Get off the road, asshole. It's for cars and trucks."

Even Mark's Tips on How Not to Die While Riding a Bicycle in Congested Conditions was completely ineffective.

With the exception of about three people, every single car today squeezed past me, even if I was riding the center of my lane. It didn't matter if there was an oncoming car, they just pulled out in front of it. On two occasions, the driver behind me waited until there was an oncoming car, then pulled out.

And what did the other driver do? Simply move over to the right, where there was no shoulder (if there had been, I'd have been on it). The oncoming drivers never even honked, as if "Well, of course you're driving in my lane. This is North Carolina, so it's okay. Now let me get back to my texts." Is it that common?

Fortunately, it was only at the beginning and the end of the ride where the larger towns were; the roads on middle section was blissfully barren.

I glanced over and saw what appeared to be a headstone, so I went to investigate.

It was a lone headstone, and on the side of the road, not in a cemetery... which seemed odd.

It's on the left. This picture shows that there's really nothing else there, just the grave.

You know, I AM a bit warm... a swim would be nice about now.

This is a different phone number than the previous one, and just a couple of miles down the road.

16 Down: What's a five letter word meaning "when a person talks to God but isn't necessarily schizophrenic?"

I'm starting to see some hills. This one topped out at 9%.

As I approached this structure I originally thought it was a mailbox, but it's a place to buy eggs which uses the honesty system.

At the Southern Pines and Pinehurst City Limits, everyone gets stopped to make sure you're carrying golf clubs. (Fortunately, I packed a couple of sets and a golf cart into my panniers so I was allowed to pass.) Within a fifteen-mile radius of Southern Pines there are 38 golf courses. Pinehurst, which abuts Southern Pines, is called "The Home of American Golf."

My only official Point of Interest today is P. T. Barnum's house, the co-founder of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which is located in Southern Pines. This has a 4,000+ square foot main house with 4–5 bedrooms, originally set in four acres of mature trees and over 300 azaleas, but the land has since been subdivided.

At least, that's what I thought when I took the picture, but when I did some additional reading I found that this house was built in the 1920s, and Barnum died in 1891, soooo....

As it turns out, the reference stated that the house "has historical significance due to its association with P. T. Barnum," meaning, I suppose, that his third cousin once removed likely built it.

Keep those seatbelts tightly buckled. You're getting to see some pretty heady Points of Interest on this tour.

Digging even deeper into the Points of Interest barrel, I learned that Sandy Koufax, the Hall of Fame pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, once owned a home in Southern Pines. Carwood Lipton, a member of the 101st Airborne Division in World War II, portrayed in Band of Brothers, spent his retirement years in Southern Pines.

Still reading? Good, because who knows what's around the corner in this blog. Clearly, things are getting pretty crazy.

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Today's ride: 35 miles (56 km)
Total: 1,131 miles (1,820 km)

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