Viva La Vagabond: THE JOURNEY GROWS SHORT- NC

Hello again from your two favorite wandering cyclist ! Picking up from where we left off, we survived the sketchy motel night in Ashboro! Leaving Ashboro we took beautiful highway 42 towards Sanford. All day we had perfect weather and great road conditions which was a change for North Carolina. About 60 miles later we arrived at Sanford. Upon arriving at Sanford, we headed directly to the famous Yarborough's ice cream parlor! At Yarborough's we dug into some of their famous malts, burgers and ice cream! Having enjoyed the local flavor we rode to the local police station in hopes of landing a place to stay. Without much effort the officers on duty allowed us to pitch a tent behind their station. Once we'd found a camp we decided to explore Sanford a bit more. Riding through the historic streets, we caught the sound of some banjo and fiddle pickin' tunes. Due to our love for blue grass, we were forced to join the music. At the park where the show was, a local group of seniors gave us free pizza, ice cream and cold drinks. One particular gentleman named Joe, seemed very interested on our story and took a liking to us. All night we listened to banjos playing and shared stories with Joe, which made for a perfect night. When the music stopped we fell back to camp and slept till morning.

The next day we had a long 80 mile ride to Goldsboro. It was a really hot day for riding but we were grateful for the lack of rain. Through the endless tobacco and cotton fields, we completed our 80 miles but also reached our 4,000 mile mark. Ecstatic about our new accomplishment we entered Goldsboro. Once again we decided to check out the police dept. for help. On our way to their offices, we passed a group of cyclists at a pub who asked us about our journey. After chatting with them we arrived at the station where the captain allowed us to pitch tent at a local park. With our camping issue resolved, we headed back to the pub to quench our parched throats. At the pub we were invited to join the cyclists we'd met before. Once again, we were really fortunate and were invited to spend the night with our new friends Tom and Barbara Bradshaw. Our new Goldsboro hosts proceeded to buy us dinner and allow us to stay in their home. We are very lucky and grateful to have met Barbara and Tom.

The following morning, after Tom rode out with us for about 20 miles. Heading towards New Bern the reality started sinking in. We were less than 100 miles from reaching the coast! Most of that days ride was spent talking about all the friends we'd met and lessons we'd learned. Unfortunately, out of nowhere, the temperature shot up and the road turned into another busy highway with little shoulder. Lunch time eventually rolled around and with no restaurant or gas station insight we found a bridge to eat under. Fully embracing our homelessness, we proudly ate out of cans and yelled absurdities at passing trucks. After our hobo lunch, we finished our last 16 miles into New Bern. Once we had reached town Israel realized he had a flat on his trailer and had no patch or tube for it. The only thing left to do was to call our hosts in New Bern and see if they could help. Fortunately, Marshall and Betty came to the rescue and picked up the trailer while we biked to their home. Marshall and Betty are Warm Showers hosts who very gracefully accepted to hosts us despite our last minute notice. The next day, Betty and Marshall took us out to their favorite breakfast place and helped us get our errands done. We really enjoyed our day off with our wonderful hosts and felt very welcomed at their home. With our legs well rested and our bikes repaired,the next day, the vagabonds embarked on what would be their last ride to the coast. . .

Please stay tuned for the next post if you want to find out what happens to us upon reaching new shores!