Day 2 - My Trail Angels

Day two (Tuesday, May 9, 2023) started off so well that I never imagined that at the end I'd need rescuing from a trail angel. I can't thank Jim enough! He was my savior for the day but more on that later.

The day started off great. I awoke in a comfy bed and had an easy start in the morning since I didn't have to break down camp and my bike was ready to roll. I was so thankful for Melissa and Kurt (not sure of spelling:) and their kindness in letting me stay at their lovely home. Around five miles into my ride, I entered my second state of the trip, South Carolina.

After entering SC, I encountered a traffic backup as I had to wait for the Captain Archie Neil "Poo" McLauchlin Swing Bridge in Little River. It took about 10 minutes and when traffic resumed I made sure to step out of line and let the cars pass before taking the lane to cross it safely. It was a short bridge and still early so there were no issues, unlike later in the day.

Riding through North Myrtle Beach and the other beach towns along the coast in the early morning hours was nice. The tough headwinds of the day before had subsided and it was still not too hot.

I took breaks every 10 or 15 miles to enjoy the view. That's Panda on the back of my bike. He's technically a floating can holder that I take to Jordan Lake in the summer but for this trip, he's my mascot who watches my back in traffic. 

After passing the Myrtle Beach airport the temperature started to climb. There was some shade on the trail that ran alongside the road so it wasn't too bad but I did start to feel it.

There was some really cool artwork on the utility boxes around Myrtle.  

On the other side of Myrtle Beach, I found a nice pavilion to take a break and escape the heat. 

Further down the road, I took a break to dip my toes into the ocean and bum sunscreen off some beachgoers so I didn't have to dig it out of my panniers. I've since learned the need to keep sunscreen more accessible.

I really dug the vibe of the different beaches I stopped at after the trail ended. Since the speed limit is usually under 35 mph it's a nice ride. 

When I was passing through Garden City Beach I was starting to get hungry and thinking about where I'd stop to eat the Italian sub from the night before that was cooking on the back of my bike. Suddenly I saw a sign in a strip mall that read Blitzburgh. I had to stop and I'm really glad I did. 

When I walked up to the bar with my PGH bicycle jersey and Steelers gaitor around my neck the bartender, Red, asked, "Are you my boss?" I was just going to take a few pictures but I decided to sit down, have a beer and a few tacos, and socialize with the locals. That is what this trip is all about after all.

A female bartender joined behind the bar and in my head, I thought how much she looked like my cousin Jennifer. She was a seasoned bartender but this was her first day here and so she began to introduce herself. "I'm Jen," she said as she greeted me. "Of course you are," I responded. She was also really friendly and I really enjoyed the break I took.

Back on the road, I was enjoying the trails that ran along the road which kept me out of the traffic that was increasing with the afternoon. There was a really great path through Huntington Beach State Park that provided shade and reminded me of the greenways back home in Raleigh. 

The universe sends me signs every so often that I'm on the right path. I've become much more open to listening on this trip. 

Around 4 p.m. I was in the homestretch for the day and looking forward to getting through Georgetown, SC, and finding a campsite for the night. The 10-mile ride along US 17 had high volumes of traffic and a very slim shoulder. It felt iffy but I was okay and just looking to get across the bridge.

As I approached the Waccamaw River Bridge to get into town my heart sank and obscenities flowed from my mouth. The shoulder went away leaving an elevated curb that couldn't have been more than two feet wide. The guardrail "protecting" me from falling into one of the two rivers or island below was about shin height on a bike. Not ideal. There was also a sign warning of high wind gusts. So if the 75 mph traffic didn't get me, mother nature likely would have. I was scared and didn't know what to do. It just wasn't safe to try and cross.

Since I had ridden 10 miles to get to this point with really nothing but traffic in between, I couldn't go back and find another way around. I was hot, hungry, and worried. I decided to walk my bike back up the road a few hundred yards and hitchhike. I've never done it before but it seemed like the only option. After about 10 minutes of sticking out my thumb to every passing truck, a black Mercedes Sprinter van put on its turn signal and pulled over behind me. As I frantically pushed my bike toward the back doors of the van I couldn't believe it had actually worked. 

Jim jumped out of the passenger side and asked what he could do to help. I told him I needed a ride over the bridge and he helped me load my heavy bike into the back of the empty van. We had a nice chat going into Georgetown and I thanked him repeatedly. I had read about "trail angels" before this trip but didn't know what to expect. Jim was my trail angel.

The town of Georgetown was cute but I didn't spend much time there because I needed to find a place to stay. I called the Hidden Marina Campground and the woman who answered said they just did RVs but she'd let me pitch my tent in the field and I'd have access to a shower. And she didn't charge me for it. Two trail angels in one day!

I set up my tent, got showered in the bathhouse, and finally got to eat my Italian sub from the evening before. It marinated nicely on the back of the bike. Though I would have eaten anything at that point. 

It was nice being right by the river and the storms that were around during the night somehow missed me. I let everyone know I was alive and then got in my tent and ready for bed. It was a hell of a second day but as I thought about it, I am happy there was some early adversity in this trip.

As Anthony Bourdain once wrote, "Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you."