Southport: Lucky Lobster Pasta

We set out this morning from Myrtle Beach without knowing which roads to take, how many miles we would have to ride, or where we would stay once we arrived. Initially, we had hoped to make it all the way to Wilmington, but after a few hours of riding, we realized that we had underestimated the route by about 30 miles.

So, after a few minutes of sweating over the maps (literally), we decided to trek on. We rode another 4 miles, and my tire went flat. I had a tiny sliver of metal stuck in my tire. Perhaps that was the reason for my last few flat tires.

This series of events left us slightly frustrated. In addition to this, we had our support crew phoning ahead to Wilmington to find a place to stay for the night, but they hadn't had any luck. I started to think to myself, "this is what Mom and Dad were warning me about."

With exhaustion we pedaled on to North Carolina. We passed a bicycle shop in Southport, and I pulled off of the road. I was thinking, "surely there will be some guys in the store who will help us find some food and a place to stay" . . . it was closed.

Suddenly, from the store next door, a guy ran outside towards us! He was so excited to see us, and we began telling him about our trip. As it turns out, Robert was from France and traveling by bicycle from Washington, DC to Miami.



He offered us a donation, and when he found out that we had nothing to eat, he treated us to dinner at the finest restaurant in town!! At the restuarant, we had lobster pasta and key lime pie. When it was all over, we felt a guilty to say the least. All I can say is . . . the cycling frenchman insisted. Robert was great - we're definitely going to keep in touch.

To top that, we met a couple in the restaraunt who offered to put us up for the night. So here we sit in a beautiful home after a long day and a plate of lobster pasta. Special thanks to Robert from France and Vince and Andrea Gubey.