New Bern to Plymouth:

October 18, 2011

Is the mosquito the North Carolina state bird?

We got an early start from New Bern but the temperature was already in the 80's. . We immediately crossed the bridge on the Neuse River.

We cycled into Aurora since we had to wait for a ferry crossing.

Aurora was flooded during the hurricane. We stopped to ask for directions from people unloading books from the library so that renovations could begin. The line on the door jamb on the left shows the height of the water. One of the guys said the salt water from the Pamlico River was rushing down the street.

We were directed to a community park across from the Aurora Fossil Museum. Pictured is a shovel from the nearby potash mine. The park was nice, but I was not interested in touring the museum. Fortunately, curious Rhona went inside and we decided to take the tour.

A prehistoric Great White Shark was a menacing creature.

A previous meal's view as a Great White Shark attacks an unsuspecting cyclist.

After leaving Aurora, on our way to the ferry we encountered two long distance cycle tourists going the opposite direction. We could not stop to talk to them for long because we didn't know how long it would take us to get to the ferry. We learned they were keeping a blog at

https://sites.google.com/site/pedalstory/home

It would have been nice to spend time talking to them about their travels. As we continued down the peninsula we passed the potash mine which was not a scenic area. Upon arrival at the ferry crossing we passed several cars waiting in line. None of the passengers were out walking around even though there was a nice little shelter in the grassy area. As soon as we stopped, we learned why they were all in their cars. A flock of the North Carolina state birds attacked as soon as we stopped. We attempted to put on bug repellent while slapping the mosquitoes off of each other. I suspect the action was pretty entertaining to the watchers in their cars. I think I heard tiny little mosquito burps.

On the other shore the waiting area included an air-conditioned waiting room. At least south-bound cyclists would not end up several pints of blood low.

On the ferry one of the workers engaged us in conversation. I asked him what he experienced during Hurricane Irene. It turns out he spent 39 hours in the storm in the ferry terminal. I'm not sure if he stayed in order to keep the ferry open for emergency reasons. Regardless, he said in the future he would never stay during a hurricane. In his case his river home, his mother's home and his truck were damaged or destroyed. In their cases the insurance payments were prompt. As we continued on toward Bath we saw a lot of damage to homes and uprooted trees.

While sitting outside a convenience store outside of Bath we talked to a farmer. He said his wife is a substitute teacher in the public schools. It was very dry in the area in spite of the hurricane just a month and a half earlier. Many crops appeared stunted to us. He said he personally lost one million dollars as a farmer the previous year. He observed a person needed to be a gambler to be a farmer.

Today's ride: 75 miles (121 km)
Total: 123 miles (198 km)

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