TRY TOURING BY B'.CYCt F
See The Coast From A Different Point Of View
BY SUSAN USHER
Why not check out touring
by bicycle, either the en
tire trip or just a daytime
sightseeing junket for the entire
family while in the South Brunswick
Islands?
Bicycle touring is becoming in
creasingly popular as a way to see
and experience North Carolina. The
coastal plain's flat terrain lends itself
to easy peddling, particularly in the
cooler, less humid days of spring
and fall.
Like any vacation, though, a cy
cling junket requires advance plan
ning.
One recent spring day, for exam
ple, Keith Maupin pulled a well
equipped louring bike with off-road
lires to the shoulder of Village Road
and wiped his brow.
On his way from Charlottesville,
Va., to St. Augustine, Fla., Maupin
didn't know the secondary routes
that parallel U.S. 17.
In blissful ignorance of what was
ahead, he struck out south from
Wilmington on the Ocean Highway.
He breathed a sigh of relief upon
reaching N.C. 179 and its route
along the South Brunswick Islands
beaches to the South Carolina line.
"Boy, am I glad to be off that," he
said of U.S. 17 with its rush of mo
torists and frequent construction
projects, shaking his head in amaze
ment. "It's for the birds."
' ????? ?*
YOU'LL LOVE OUR
Ham Biscuit 99c with Egg *1
Steak Biscuit 89c
with Egg *1??
Link Sausage Bisc
89c with Egg M09
New Breakfast
Bacon Biscuit 89e
New For Lunch! Chef's & Garden Salads
Chicken 2-pc. Snack Pack $-.99
2 pc dark meat, 4 potato wedges (add 99c for white meat) I
2 Liter Pepsi $1 29 Hotdogs 2/$1 00
Daily Hot Lunch Specials with cornbread . only $1 25
Buy any frozen yogurt product &
GET 1 FREE
4 AAMMILjAAi ^ -A ~ fcj Ml A I _ r* ? I w L A*
1 coupon per item. Also good at our N. Myrtle Beach & Yaupon Beach Stores
Bui the glories of ihe road make
up for the rough moments. By head
ing south, said Maupin, "I get to
force spring. It's beautiful to see
everything coming alive."
While roads like N.C. 179 may be
narrower and busier than a bicyclist
would wish, Maupin finds it and
other sideroads much more to his
liking that U.S. 17.
After all, the routes may lake him
a little out of the way, but ii is the
trip, not the destination, lhat pro
vides the greatest pleasure for bicy
clists.
As Maupin learned the hard way,
most of North Carolina's official
"biking highways" don't show up on
the state transportation maps.
That means if you're ready to
head to the beach again, but want a
vacation with a different twist, you
need to plan ahead.
Whether you're arriving from the
mountains or piedmont or from a
neighboring state, there's a North
Carolina "bicycling highway" to fol
low to or through the South
Brunswick Islands.
In this area, for example, you'll
follow the signs for Route 3, beuer
known presently as "Ports of Call."
The vertical signs in green and white
include an arrow, the symbol of a bi
cycle and the route number.
State highway maps don't show
the bicycling routes, but the
Department of Transportation
(DOT) bicycling program provides
on request free route guides in sec
tions that average about 45 miles
each in length, along with helpful
information for those traveling by
bicycle.
The signs make sticking to the
trail easier and alert motorists to the
possibility of bicyclists along the
way.
Route 3 or "Ports of Call" rough
ly parallels U.S. 17. The South
Brunswick Islands segment tracks
along N.C. 179 from Calabash to
Shallottc then follows N.C. 130 east
to Civietown Road (S.R. 1132).
(See SEE, Page 52)
Chandeliers &
Lighting Fixtures
O. itHnnr
I >? V* 'W w ?
Lighting
C199? THf BRUNSWiTKOFACON
See Yourl
Home
In A
New
Light
Whether you're building or re
modeling, come see the ex
perts at...
Marsh
Lighting, inc.
Showroom
Island Village Shoppes
Hwy. 179, Ocean Isle Beach
579-7180 (Behind IGA)
SIGNS such as this mark the
J way.