Worship and Cycling [news]

Every Sunday Paul and I try to attend a church service on the road. At these services we have met some of the most amazing individuals on our trip. For touring on a bike there seems no better way to get to know a community than at a place of worship. Riding through Jacksonville, North Carolina we stopped at a Church of God for Sunday Service. We were initially greeted by Shirley, and waited to meet with Rev. Jason Murphy. He allowed us to stay and gave us time to talk about our trip at the end of the second service. The congregation was touched to have us with them and to be apart of our tour. We felt uplifted leaving that morning and set forth south.

We bought our daily rations at the local Dollar General and continued on our way. The ground was soaked from the last rain storm and finding a place to camp would be very difficult. On either side of the road was either swamp or thick brush. Around sunset we saw a few cars at a local baptist church and though we would ask for a recommendation on finding a place to sleep. The only conclusion the folks at Harris Creek Baptist Church settled on was that the ground was too wet for camping and we would have to wait for the pastor to arrive.

To our surprise we had just been invited to the annual Harris Creek Baptist Winter Program. We stayed through the entire night of worship and were entertained by the youth of the church in song and act. That night we met many of the locals and learned much of the heritage to the town. We were only upset we missed one of their famed hog cookouts they had in seasons past. Sheriff Ed Brown of Harris Creek talked with us as most of the congregation left for the night. He allowed us to take a few photographs with his '47 Packard. The car was bought in recognition of his marriage with his wife. We were allowed to stay in the Fellowship Hall for the night. We woke up that morning with a few traditional brown bags of oranges and sweets and left. The large water oak that is rooted in front of the church glistened with all of the frost from the night before as we pedaled past, hopefully to a warm and sunny day.

Westward Ho! [news]

After two months of working our way south, down the eastern seaboard, Team Bowditch has made the turn west and has crossed the fault line.   The kindness and generosity of so many people have made the beginning of this trip a great experience and we both look forward to the adventures of the road and chance meetings as we make our push west.  
 
We could not possibly thank all the people that have helped us so far but here is a start.  First on the list would have to be Clint's father, who has done a wonderful job of building and maintaining our website.  Neither Clint nor I could do this trip, as a fund raiser, without his many hours of work.  A simple thank you does not seem enough.  
   
A very big thanks to the many people that have allowed us to spend time with them.  Some for a night and others for days.  This is above and beyond and we are forever grateful. The Dorrs, Naglers, Brewsters, Coppolas, Martins, Valentines, Laquerres. Boulwares, Donsons, Skerrets, and the Brockways. Thank you Larry, who let us camp in his yard and brought us coffee in the morning. To the campsite owners who waved their fees and gave us a place to set up camp for the night.  The Wenger family who took us in for the holidays and shared a great christmas feast with us.

The folks at the Congregational Church in Mansfield, MA, the Church of God in Swansboro, NC, and the Harris Creek Baptist Church near Jacksonville, NC who welcomed us in, listened to our story, and opened both their hearts and their wallets.  We can not thank them enough.
  
Then comes the many people that we have met just ever so briefly.  The USN Master Cheif who gave us a weeks supply of nutrition bars and the Folks at DeLorme Maps for allowing us to set up camp on their lawn. Appreciation to the motorists and truck drivers that have gone out of thier way to give us room om the roads shoulder. and the people who have stopped us on the road to ask about our mission and contribute to the cause.

Outerbanks Desolation [news]

Paul and I awoke in our backpacking tents on the front lawn of a Kitty Hawk resident, Larry, who was holding doughnuts and hot coffees. We knew this was going to be the start of a good day biking. We bid are farewell and I posed with him for a photograph. Paul and I were sporting our newest shirts made for our mission. We will wear them from now on but will not forget our Bikesenjava shirts that have carried us up to this point.

Regionally we were biking in an extremely unique environment for the East coast. Shoals that make up a barrier to the Albemarle Sound are home to famous towns such as Rodanthe and Ocracoke. For the first time in weeks we had a strong tail wind that helped push us south. The islands and inlets are navigable by ferry, bike, and car. Stopping at the nearest ranger's station after passing Roanoke Island we were advised to fill our bottles; The next place with fresh water is 25 miles south through barren drifts and grassy dunes.

The wind howled behind us when we stopped for lunch but as we biked with it we felt no breeze at all. The sun beat down and we kept pedaling, hardly passed by a car or service vehicle due to the recession of winter tourism. We had the road to ourselves and only had telephone poles to mark distance traveled. It was nice to be isolated on such a beautifully paved road.

Sunset was coming and we had already logged near 70 miles. Visitng Cape Hatteras Light at sunset was a pleasant coincidence of natural and manmade beauty. There was, however, no campgrounds available. We biked farther south in the dark and unrolled our mats in a baseball field dugout. We had ramen noodles with spicy sausage and went to bed. The next day we would make Ocracoke Island and the mainland.

Ocracoke was even more desolate and seperated from land connections. Coming to and from on ferries, most cars on the road were only passing through. Most of the scrub was pruned from the salty air and the town on the island was empty and lacking activity. We were able to take the afternoon ferry off the island and head towards Columbia South Carolina where we had intentions of making christmas in a home.

Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills [news]

As a cyclist and having a fascination for all things mechanical I was especially delighted when we visited the very site where man first succeded in powered flight. Kill Devil Hills, NC, on December 17th, 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright created a machine that flew for twelve seconds. The only spare man they had to take the single famed photo of the instance had never used a camera before in his life. At the time of exposure the film could not be developed anywhere but Dayton, Ohio. At that site now lies a monument in recognition of their achievements. We were allowed free access to this sandy and wind battered location and took our time reading all historical markers.