Day 6

A little corner of paradise
The plan for today was simple: ride to the end of the NC-12 South to Cap Hatteras, North Carolina, site of many a shipwreck. You can go even further south by taking a ferry, but that wasn’t part of my plan.


The Outer Banks, as they’re called, are a series of small islands made up of sandy dunes south of Virginia Beach and off the coast of North Carolina. Many ships wrecked along these shores, and the first lighthouses and Coast Guard rescue units on the East Coast were founded here. The use of metal detectors is prohibited on the beaches to prevent any damage to the archaeological sites.

Between Kitty Hawk, where the Wright brothers first took flight, and Virginia Beach, wild so-called “Spanish” horses that landed after one or several shipwrecks still roam freely. Management is varied, with automobile access to the beach and beach campground allowed in certain areas and somewhat mysteriously prohibited in others. Everyone gets their money’s worth.

Access to the Wright brothers’ testing ground costs $per person. The facilities dating back to December 1903 have been recreated, and the flight lines of the day are charted. A monument to the Wrights stands on Kill Devil hill, where the brothers flew their first glider in 1901. Various artefacts and period photographs bring those glory days back to life.

When you stop to look at the stones marking the first flight paths and the launch rail, with the historical buildings close by, you can imagine for a moment the glorious days when two bicycle repairmen achieved the impossible.

The schedule for tomorrow shows a 1,300-km drive back home.


The Big Adventure - Day 4

The Big Adventure - Day 3

The Big Adventure - Day 2

A new adventure - Appalachia aboard a Harley-Davidson CVO Road Glide




Photo Credit : Luc Brière