Our little adventure today turned out great~ . We had a crue of 15 Cruisers from the PC 162 and South Coast 457 join us at the Circle K for 8:30am departure. We did our pre-ride, cleared the runway and took off!
The gang headed out toward Burgaw and 53. Making a right onto 53 we cranked it up a notch and had a smooooth cruise into JVille. Another right and follow 17 North young man! Our first rest stop was a little further than expected at 80 miles, but everyone was good and we took our time, gassed up, got drinks and chatted.
We were well ahead of schedule as planned. We only had about 40 miles to Oriental at that point, so the ride in on 17 business/70/55 was leisurely. Crossing the bridge on 70 over the Neuse River started to provide some spectacular views of nautical life up in these parts! Arriving in Grantsboro and turning the bikes right had us heading toward Oriental on Route 306. We went thru Arapahoe and turned left on Buckland Rd which ran parallel to the river and provided more memorable views of summer life by the water. We snaked thru the narrow county roads past marina$ and $ummer home$ until crossing the Oriental Bridge and arriving in sleepy little Oriental and the Silo's Restaurant around 11:30am.
We were the first to arrive and got situated inside. As others arrived we ordered and socialized. Our group has gotten a little too large for this place, but the Silo staff did their best. 50/50 tix were sold, Sp!ke said a few words and we raised $123 for St. Judes! The lucky winner of the 50/50 was Cowboy from South Coast, but unfortunately he had to leave early with the rest of his chapter due to a family emergency.
Back on the bikes at 2pm, we head about 8 miles over to the Minnesott Ferry crossing. Making the 2:30 ferry in perfect time, we loaded onto the boat and enjoyed the breezy ride across. Back on solid ground, we worked our way over to Cape Carteret and Route 24. Things were a little slow through this section with a lot of lights and beach traffic around Emerald Isle and Swansboro. It was nice to finally get past Camp Lejuene and get onto 17 south for a straight shot back into Wilmington!
Our final stop was in Hampstead at the Circle K. Folks got cold drinks, hit the head, and I stood in the beer cooler for awhile!! Road Queen hugged everyone and we finished the trip into Wilmington with Cruisers peeling off one-by-one to head home.
266 clicks on the clock today! Thanks to Scotty for tailgunning! Great Job!!! It was a great day! Thanks for following me!
'Til the Next Ride....
rePete
First Officer
SCRC PC 162