UNC Sea Grant 



<° 9 , 



NORTH CAROLlfTSTATE LIBRARY 



April, 1980 



N. C. 

 Doc. 



S & 1 8 W8Q 



coast Swatch 



Photo by Jim Erickson 



Cyclist and shadow pedal in harmony along coastal North Carolina 



A pedal-powered excursion to sun, sand and scenery 



By Kathy Hart 



From my left, the ocean crashes 

 against the sand. From my right a bird 

 wails in the marsh. Ahead of me, a flat, 

 two-lane highway weaves between the 

 sandy dunes and the grassy marsh. On 

 my face are the spring sun and gusts of 

 ocean air. Beneath me is my bicycle. I 

 am bicycling through the Pea Island 

 Wildlife Refuge, caught up in the 

 scenery, my own thoughts and the 



cadence of my pedaling. I'm glad I'm 

 not in a car. 



Before today, I had never spent 

 more than hour at a time on a bike. 

 But now, I'm touring the Outer Banks 

 along N.C. 12 from the Herbert C. 

 Bonner Bridge to Buxton, 40 miles. 



The first few miles were spent 

 finding a good, steady pace that kept 

 us together, getting into a gear that 

 gave us the right combination of pedal- 

 ing and gliding, and adjusting to a 



steady stream of traffic. 



We stopped soon to adjust our seats 

 and handlebars. We had brought along 

 an array of tools, including enough bug 

 repellent to ward off an army of 

 skeeters. Right away the first scouting 

 party was taking taste samples from 

 my arms and legs. 



As we pedal through the refuge, I 

 shout to my friends, as an egret rises 



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