Laurinburg to Whiteville, NC—71 miles

Friday, October 7, 2005

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Fortified by an excellent breakfast at the Comfort Inn, we rode off in the rain once again. The special treat for the day were the Gala or Fuji apples instead of the red delicious from previous days. While there was always plenty of food at the rest stops, we were getting really tired of the Lance's cheese or peanut butter and cracker packets, the cut up red delicious apples, the bananas, and the Gatorade, day after day, rest stop after rest stop. The change in apples was a big deal.

It was another flat day in more ways than one. Before the first rest stop I noticed that floating sensation that occurs when a tire is going flat. We stopped to replace the tube and a nearby resident came out to check out the action. He stood in the rain without a coat or umbrella and talked while I worked on the bike. He was very interested in the recumbent. As I pumped up the tire I heard a hissing sound; even though I had checked the inside of the tire for sharp objects, I had missed a piece of glass embedded in the tire and I had another flat. About that time the sag wagon stopped and I was ready for a lift into the rest stop about a mile away.

An REI mechanic had set up shop at the rest stop and I waited for him to finish some repairs before he could dig out a couple of tubes for me. He helped put it on and I gave him a large tip; noticing that no one else had done the same. I doubt that the mechanics were making much for their labors, and it was unfortunate that others weren't helping out. I guess I have a little more empathy for their plight now that I'm working in a shop.

There were not many sights along the way today, but it was a pleasant ride through the pine forests and cypress trees, along the Lumber River. At camp, located at Whiteville High School in town, there was a hose set up for rinsing the bikes. The Best Western was located across the street. It's always a relief to get to the motel and find the bags piled in the lobby. Despite our recent experience with the Best Western in Albemarle, we had an OK room. We even had an outdoor balcony where I could wipe down the bikes and empty the brake and gear cable housings of standing water.

I walked to camp to buy some chain lube and on the way back picked up dinner at a nearby Chinese restaurant. Afterward we caught the shuttle to the train depot for the evening festivities. We even managed to do line dance to a geezer doing a great impression of Jimmy Buffet. We didn't stay long, a little bit of karaoke goes a long way. We returned to the room to get cleaned up before our finally rainy ride into Wilmington.

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