Outer Banks (OBX)

The Adventure Cycling Association (ACA) offers a six-day inn-to-inn tour of North Carolina's Outer Banks, often abbreviated as OBX. The tour starts and ends in Elizabeth City, with stops in Nags Head, Buxton, and Ocracoke on the way down and Waves and Kill Devil Hills on the way back. Inn-to-inn tours are self-supported with hotel stays every evening and breakfast and dinner at local restaurants. Lunch is sandwiches and snacks we make at breakfast before starting the day's ride.

This was my first tour with ACA. I wanted to try a short tour with them where I knew the area before seeking out one of their longer adventures. We vacationed on the Outer Banks almost every year when I was in elementary and secondary school, and this ride provided a chance to visit long-familiar places at biking pace.

Elizabeth City

Day 0. We drove to Elizabeth City. The tour meets up at the Hampton Inn at 4 p.m. for an introduction, safety briefing, and map meeting for the next day's ride. We then went out to dinner at a nearby restaurant. Our guide was Rich Mead. Rich was great. He's a very experienced rider and  guide. He was very quick to point out that his role is primarily for safety and overall tour organization. He doesn't consider himself a "leader" for the group. In fact, he rides sweep and follows everyone else rather than leading. But he does highlight important sites to see, optional ride paths and side attractions, etc.

The Hampton Inn was very nice. It was probably the best hotel on the tour. Dinner was also very good.

Elizabeth City to Nags Head

Day 1: 63 miles and 600 feet of elevation gain. We had three types of fun on this trip. Type 1 is fun while you're doing it. Type 2 isn't fun while you're doing it but you're glad you did it and look back on it favorably. Type 3 isn't fun, you wouldn't do it again, and you wouldn't recommend it. But, having survived it, you can brag about the experience. Today's ride was mostly in the Type 3 category. We started out on a four-lane highway. The first part was in town and it was a Sunday morning, so it wasn't too bad. We stopped for a nice picture along the Pasquotank River as we headed out of town.

After that, we traveled 45 miles along Route 158. It's all 55 MPH highway, mostly four-lane, but with about 10 miles of two-lane no-shoulder road in the middle. The rest alternated between small shoulder and no shoulder. It ended with a two-mile, two-lane, no-shoulder bridge across Currituck Sound. The only savior of the day was that we had a very strong tailwind. I achieved my second-fastest 10-mile ride ever during this part of the journey.

I frequently had to motion vehicles to move over and go around me. Several were confident their time was more important than my life. As I said, Type 3 fun. We all survived, but this section is absolutely not recommended. Google and Ride With GPS have alternate routes that avoid about half of the high-speed traffic. They would be worth considering for anyone willing to ride the extra distance, but that's not the map we were given.

In terms of attractions, There is a rest stop about half way, and shortly after that there is Grave Digger's (monster truck) garage. There are also stops on either side of the road just before crossing the Currituck Sound bridge. You definitely want to stop and be fully prepared for the crossing. There is also a Welcome Center about a mile after crossing the bridge that is worth a stop. Some of us ate our lunches there.

The last 15 miles are along the beach road in Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head. Traffic is slow and there's either a good shoulder or a bike path for safety. We got in about 2 p.m. and had to wait for the hotel to be ready. We stayed at the Comfort Inn. It was okay, but nothing special, and most restaurants were a half-mile or more away. We had dinner at Miller's Waterfront Restaurant. The food was excellent and the restaurant has beautiful sunset views.

Nags Head to Buxton

Day 2: 53 miles, 600 feet of elevation gain. Today was Type 2 fun. Wind was 15 MPH with 25 MPH gust headwinds. The gusts increased as the day went on. It's the first time I've ever had to use first gear to ride into the wind on a flat road. But, other than the wind, the traffic was manageable, the shoulders between towns were very good, and there were sidewalks in the towns if you didn't feel comfortable on the street. The scenery was wonderful, including Bodie Island Lighthouse and Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge.

Typical for the second day, I got really hungry by mid morning. I stopped at a rest stop after the first bridge for a protein bar. Then I stopped at the grocery store in Waves and got honey and a Snickers bar. Then I stopped for lunch at one of the roadside pull-overs. Then I stopped again in Avon for a muffin and smoothie. It was just enough to get me the last 10 miles down to Buxton.

Our hotel for the evening was the Cape Pines Motel. It's a typical older local motel, but they were very accommodating to bikers. There's a good grocery store across the street (Conner's) and the group walked to Diamond Shoals Restaurant for dinner. I didn't mention it above, but my wife came along on this trip and drove the jeep. I kept with the theme of inn-to-inn and carried all of my belongings except evening shoes. On an unsupported ride, I would have made due with Crocs or water shoes. In fact, on this trip I decided that I'll try water shoes as my non-biking shoes for the next adventure.

Anyway, as I passed one of the other riders on the way down, she said her battery gave out at around mile 37 and she couldn't fight the wind any longer. I gave her my wife's phone number and my wife picked her up and brought her to the hotel.

Also, because we had our jeep available, after dinner we went out on the beach at Cape Point to watch the sunset.

Buxton to Ocracoke

Day 3: 39 miles and 300 feet of elevation gain. This was more of a sightseeing day. The wind was still against us, and we had more first-gear riding. We also endured a bit of a sandstorm south of Frisco and again on the northern part of Ocracoke. But we had a ferry ride in the middle that accounted for 12 miles of today's distance. With the wind and the ferry speed, it took 5.5 hours to cover 39 miles.

But, again, the scenery was beautiful, the sun was shining, and the traffic on this part of the islands is more limited. The only cautions I have for the day include: Don't ride over sand on the road. Even just a little bit of sand is very slippery. Don't drink the water at the Ocracoke Ferry Dock. If you need water, there is water available at the campground bath house about eight miles down. About six miles down is the Pony Pasture, which is where we had lunch.

On the ferry I met a young woman from Italy who was working as an au pair in Washington, DC. Her host family went on spring break without her, so she took a vacation to the beach. She was sleeping in / camping in her car. She had spent time in Australia and spoke English very well. We talked on the ferry for a bit and I saw her again on the ferry ride back the next morning.

Our hotel for the evening was the Anchorage Inn and Marina along Silver Lake. It was fine, although I'm not sure they would have enough parking if you come in-season. We went to Howard's Pub for dinner, which is one of our favorite places to visit on Ocracoke.

After dinner we went out to the beach to watch the sunset again. One of the local fishermen was kind enough to show us his catch and talk about their fishing adventure. A beautiful day other than the wind.

Ocracoke to Waves

Day 4: 59 miles and 500 feet of elevation gain. This was my favorite ride of the whole trip. It's the best part of both islands, the traffic was more limited, and the wind was in our favor. We rode up Ocracoke Island, caught the ferry, and then stopped at the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum in Hatteras. It's a nice, free museum that people tend to visit while waiting for the ferry.

The ride up Hatteras Island was nice and uneventful. We had dinner at Waterman's Bar and Grill. The food was okay, but the order-at-the-counter process didn't seem to be very efficient. We stayed in two AirBnB houses. Our house was clearly a rental-only property. The owners never visited and it needed some attention and maintenance.

Waves to Kill Devil Hills

Day 5: 39 miles and 300 feet of elevation gain.

We stopped at the rest stop on Pea Island and then crossed the bridge and stopped at Oregon Inlet Marina. There were a couple of boats coming in and we got to see their catch of the day (five 15-inch or so fish). It likely cost them $125 per fish. From there, it's a quick ride up to Nags Head and the beach road.

North of Nags Head I stopped at Jockey's Ridge for lunch. It's the largest sand dune area on the East Coast. You need to bring your lunch with you, but they have an excellent picnic area under some pine trees opposite the visitor's center. After lunch, I rode to and visited the Wright Brother's Memorial. Then our hotel was ready. We stayed at the Days Inn. It was okay, but the floors were quite thin. We had a family of small children in the room above us running around while we were trying to sleep. If you get a second-floor room, it's likely better.

Dinner was at Miller's Seafood and Steak House, and was very good.

Kill Devil Hills to Elizabeth City

Day 6: 11 miles and 100 feet of elevation gain. Today was supposed to be 54 miles. I opted for safety instead. I rode to the bridge and off the Outer Banks and then met my wife and loaded the bike onto the car to end of my ride. Along the way to the bridge, I took a detour through the woods north of the Wright Brothers Memorial. It was very peaceful and a good chance to experience the local housing and culture vs. the beach vacation culture.

After my wife picked me up, we continued on up Route 158 and caught up with several of the other riders. One of them had a flat tire and we arrived just in time to lend them our bike pump. We then served as a chase vehicle and blocked traffic for the next few miles until they turned off toward Elizabeth City. We continued on toward Norfolk to start our own after-ride vacation.

Epilogue

Six riding days, 264 miles and 2,400 feet of elevation gain, at least according to Ride With GPS. That's probably a bit high on the elevation. There were a few bridges to cross with some climb here and there, but otherwise, it's a flat ride. The wind was challenging for a couple of days, but we were very lucky to not have any rain on this trip. The ride between Elizabeth City and Kitty Hawk should absolutely be avoided. The rest is nice and manageable. Just be prepared for the wind and try to adjust your daily mileage accordingly.

Based on my experience, the Adventure Cycling Association inn-to-inn tours stay in just-okay hotels but select excellent restaurants. Our tour guide was excellent, and I will likely seek out more rides with him in the future. OBX is a nice place to visit, and doing so by bike was a great new way to experience it.