British Bikers Pedal Through
County As Part Of World Tour
BY DOUG RUTTER
A British couplc pedaled their mountain bikes
through Brunswick County last week as part of a world
bicycling tour expccted to last at least five years and
cover nearly 50,000 miles.
Bikers Steve Bradford and Emma Scrimshaw said
they hope to see the world and experience its many dif
ferent cultures during their long-distance ride.
At the sansc ume, they hope to help educate a spe
cial group of youngsters back in their homeland. The
11-year-olds are in a class for children with learning
disabilities at Hayes School in Kent County.
The students will stay together for the next five or
six years, and the two bicyclers plan to keep in constant
contact with the youths dunng the duration ot their
world tour.
"We thought it would be nicest to do that with them
because they don't get too much attention," Bradford
said. "They're a special group of children."
The bicyclers already have sent three or four pack
ages to the class and plan to send more as they gather
tourist leaflets and photographs at their different stops.
The purpose is to help teach geography and culture.
Before leaving England, Bradford had worked 12
years for a finance company and Miss Scrimshaw was a
nurse. They lived in Nottingham, which they described
as "Robin Hood country."
Their tour began Nov. 29 in Miami, where they pur
chased 21 -speed hybrid mountain bikes, loaded them
down with camping gear and the bare necessities and set
out for southern Florida and Everglades National Park.
They had covered just under 1,500 miles by the
time they crossed the North Carolina state line last
Monday and got their first look at Brunswick County.
According to current plans, the couple will pedal
through the United States and 31 other countries during
their trip. The world tour will cover six continents, with
Antarctica omitted for obvious reasons.
From the United States, the bicyclers plan to make
their way through Central and South America before
taking a ship to New Zealand. Then it's on to Australia,
Indonesia, Pacific islands including the Philippines and
Japan, China and southeast Asia, Africa, Spain and
France before returning to the United Kingdom.
"All of that is subject to change. We haven't cast
anything in stone," Bradford said. "The rule is there are
no rules. If something looks better than something else.
we'll change the itinerary."
The bicyclers have already modified their original
plan to pedal as far north as New Jersey before heading
west. Friends they've made along the way have wanted
them about urban traffic in the Northeast, so they've de
cided for now to only go as far north as Washington, D.C.
Miss Scrimshaw said they decided to start the tour
in the United Stales because it is a friendly culture and
there is no language barrier. Neither one of the bikers
had been farther from home than Turkey before the lour
began last fall.
What they've seen so far has blown away any ex
pectations they had about the United States. Southern
hospitality is alive and well as far as they're concerned.
Bradford said whenever they stop ai a small-town
store for a drink and a break, a friendly American will
ask them where they're going.
"It's confounded all of our pre-conceived ideas about
the United States," he said. "I didn't think we would
meet as many people. We were warned about all of the
bad people over here, but we haven't met any yet"
When they got to Brunswick County, they happened
to meet Don and Deborah Arnold, who own property at
Brick Landing Plantation.
Mrs. Arnold said she first saw the bikers posing for
photographs at the North Carolina state line and saw
them later pedaling up N.C. 179. She offered assistance
and ended up "adopting" them for two nights.
Miss Scrimshaw said bicycling in America is a lot
different than England, where it's only 500 miles from
one end of the country to the other.
"Here it's so vast. You could pedal for a couple days
and be surrounded by pine forests and swamps the
whole time," she said. "You could spend easily seven
years in the states and still not see it all."
She's convinced that bicycling is the best way to see
the world. "It's not too slow, and it's not too fast. You
can take everything in as you travel."
Miss Scrimshaw said the couple sold all of their
possessions, including their apartment, to finance the
trip. "The whole lot went," she said. "We haven't got
any ties at all back in England."
They said they didn't do any special physical train
ing to prepare for the world tour. "We just enjoyed cy
cling," Miss Scrimshaw said. "We weren't long-dis
tance cyclers."
Their practical preparation included determining
Burning Car Found At Shell Point
BY TERRY POPE
Investigators say a fire that burn
ed a car near Shell Point early Sun
day is of a suspicious nature. The
Brunswick County Sheriff's Depart
ment is looking for the owner, a res
ident of the Shallotte area, accord
ing to the vehicle registration.
A sheriff's dispatcher received a
call around 12:26 a.m. that a car
resung on its side in the ditch on
Gator Pond Rcsu Oti iuc. 1 uc
driver's side door, resung against
the ground, couldn't be opened.
1T?e 1980 Pontiac was fully en
gulfed when fire fighters from Civie
town Volunteer Fire Department ar
rived, reported Deputy Becky Mc
Donald. Coastline Volunteer Rescue
Squad also responded, but no victims
were found at the scene
Deputy McDonald reported there
were footprints leading from the car.
In other reports on file at the
sheriff's department:
?An employee of Wilson's super
market in South port was taken to
the hospital after an alleged shop
lifter ran over his foot in the parking
lot Deputy McDonald reported that
two employees spotted a bottle of
wine protruding Lent a lady's purse
while she was shopping inside the
store Saturday. When she failed to
pay for the wine, the employees ap
proached her outside, but she re
fused to re-enter the store. The left
rear wheel of her car ran over the
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employee's foot He was treated at
Dosher Memorial Hospital and re
leased.
?An estimated $6,970 in tools were
taken from a storage shed at a home
in Ash Saturday when the home
owners were in Shalloue washing
clothes and buying groceries, re
ported Depuiy George Stanley.
?Vandals caused an estimated
$2,000 in damage to a garage door
at the Smithville District Park in
South port Friday night, reported
Deputy William Hewett. The door
had been dented by a blunt object
and was discovered around 8 a.m.
Saturday by park manager Arch
Wilson.
?A Leland home was burglarized
Friday when someone broke a win
dow to gain entry through a rear
dcor. A videocassette recorder, tele
phone, jewelry and television games
valued at $1,925 was taken, report
ed Deputy Richard DuVall.
?Someone broke into a Leland mo
bile home Saturday and took a tele
vision, radio and $17 in cash, re
ported Deputy Robert Allen. The
items were valued at S125.
?Windows to three vehicles parked
at the Rite Aid, Hill's and Wilson's
stores in Leland were broken Satur
day night, reported Deputy DuVall.
A passenger side window valued at
S350, a rear window valued at $350
and a rear door window valued at
$300 were broken.
? A Leland woman reported she was
robbed of S230 Saturday by three
suspects that ripped her clothes and
took money from her purse. She also
reported that her identification cards
and keys were taken by the suspects,
reported Deputy Randy Robinson,
who said the victim was highly in
toxicated.
?Someone broke into the Southport
Solid Waste Transfer Station Friday
night causing S7S in damage to a
window. A $20 pitchfork was taken,
reported Deputy Hewett
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STAFF PHOTO BY DOUG IUTTH
BRITISH BICYCLERS Steve Bradford and Emma Scrimshaw prepare to move out after a stop at
Brick Landing last week. Their world tour is expected to last at least five years and cover approximate
ly 50,000 miles.
their basic course and reading about people who have
pedaled around the world.
"If the truth be known, the only way to prepare for a
worldwide cycling tour is to cycle around the world,"
Bradford said. 'There's really nothing you can do to
prepare for something this big."
When they're on the road, the couple tries to aver
age 30 to 40 miles per day and stay at state parks or
other campgrounds. "We have succumbed a few times
to a motel when it was freezing," Bradford said.
They recently were forced to stay in a motel in
Georgetown, S.C., bccause both of the camping sites on
their map had been wiped out by Hurricane Hugo. They
follow bike routes on maps published by an United
Stales organization callcd Bike Centennial, which they
said has been a big help.
The two bicyclers, who have lived together for the
last four years, say the world tour should be a great test
of their relationship. They are together just about 24
hours a day.
Some of the biggest challenges so far have come
from dogs they've passed on the side of the road. "The
people have been fine," Bradford said. "One thing we
didn't think of were dogs."
Bradford said they learned quickly that they could
n't outrun very many dogs on their bikes. So they've
developed several techniques to discourage the animals,
including squirting them with bottles of water.
THE
BRUNSWICK
HOSPITALS
EXCHANGE
The Stork Exchange
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THE BRUNSWICK HOSPITAL Beta
Highway 17 South / Supply, North Carolina 28462 / (919) 754-8121