Day 19: To Kitty Hawk. NC

May 4, 2017

I left the motel in Rodanthe at 7:45 and pedaled a mile south for breakfast. Service was slow. Island time. Most businesses are poorly staffed because they have difficulty hiring workers. That's life in a remote tourist town.

The wildlife refuge has no visitor facilities. No toilets, parking areas, trails, etc.

Heading north on NC 12 I quickly leave the town of Rodanthe and enter Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Then after a tiny bridge I enter Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. The Wildlife Refuge has no visitor facilities along the road and no trail access to the water on either side. Closest thing to wilderness around here.

It's actually a good thing when the dunes are tall enough to block the ocean view.

Pea Island looks very fragile. The elevation is very low and the dunes are small on the north end. A Category 3 hurricane could make it disappear. The highway floods regularly due to wind-blown high tides. A new 1.5 foot higher road is under construction in the area that floods most often.

The visitor center in Nags Head gave me an aerial view post card. This is north of Buxton where the Outer Banks are narrowest, lowest, most likely to wash away.

Oregon Inlet separates Pea Island from Bodie Island. It was all one long barrier island before a hurricane opened the large gap in 1846. The first ship to discover the new gap was named the Oregon.

At Oregon Inlet I must cross a decrepit 2.7 mile long bridge. The bridge was completed in 1963 and only cost $4 million. But the bridge was built on shifting sand. Over the years $100 million has been spent replenishing sand to keep the bridge from falling down.

Adjacent to the bridge is a massive $1.4 billion construction project to build a new bridge. The bridge was originally planned to be built 20 years ago but was delayed because of environmental disputes. I presume the new bridge will be anchored much more deeply. The new bridge will be longer and higher than the old bridge.

Ocean currents cause the sand in this area to migrate south an average of 66 feet (20 m) per year. Oregon Inlet has migrated south more than 2 miles (3.2 km) since 1846! It's not clear how any bridge across Oregon Inlet can have a long lifetime.

The new $1.4 billion bridge at Oregon Inlet will be longer and taller than the old 2.7 mile long bridge. The gap was created by a storm in 1846.

A couple miles past the bridge I turned left on the spur road to Bodie Island lighthouse. I bought a $10 ticket to walk the stairs to the top. Ticket sales are limited because only one person at a time is allowed on each semicircular iron staircase. This lighthouse is almost as tall as Cape Hatteras lighthouse. 214 stairs versus 248 stairs.

Bodie Island lighthouse. Completed in 1872.

The lighthouse only recently opened to tourists in August 2013 after a $5 million restoration made the structure safe to visit.

The structure is brick. The top is made of iron.

The semicircular iron staircases have no bracing in the middle. The staircases flex noticeably near the middle of each span. The weight limit is 270 pounds (123 kg). They are strict that only one person at a time is allowed on each staircase.

Looking up the spiral stairs. One person at a time on each semicircular iron staircase. Weight limit 270 pounds (123 kg).

Bodie Island lighthouse has its original Fresnel lens! 344 glass prisms. During this tour I saw 4 lighthouses up close and went to the top of 2 lighthouses. But only 1 has a Fresnel lens.

They allowed me to go high enough for my camera to have a good view of the Fresnel lens.

The view is spectacular. The Outer Banks have fewer clouds and less humid haze than most places on the mainland.

View west towards Pamlico Sound. The light keeper's house is now a museum and visitor center.

My first time to see a combination bottle filling station and human/pet drinking fountain.

After a long visit at the lighthouse I continued north on NC 12 towards Nags Head. Through the National Seashore for the first few miles. But dense development begins immediately after leaving the National Seashore.

Nags Head is the biggest town on the Outer Banks. It sprawls for miles but is mostly houses. No high rise buildings. NC 12 becomes a busy 4-lane divided highway lined with shopping centers. Fortunately a parallel road is to the east, going through residential neighborhoods near the dunes.

I stopped to see the view from Jenette's Pier in Nags Head. The private pier has tight security, so it was impossible to go far onto the pier without paying admission.

Jennette's Pier in Nags Head has 3 small wind turbines.

View from the gate at Jennette's pier. I didn't pay admission to go farther.

Nags Head has a reputation for endless sprawl, but pedaling through Nags Head is easy. The traffic is slow and light on the residential beach road which has a paved shoulder. Every few blocks is an access boardwalk that crosses the dunes to the beach.

NC 12 passes sprawling residential development in Nags Head.

My last time on a beach before the storm.

The south part of Nags Head is all new. The north part of Nags Head has many old buildings and is more charming.

Early 20th century houses in the oldest part of Nags Head.

In Nags Head I turned left to see Wright Brothers National Memorial which is the site where bicycle shop owners Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first controlled, powered flight on December 17, 1903. They lived far away in Dayton, Ohio but came here for the reliable wind.

Big monument on top of Kill Devil Hill commemorating the world's first controlled powered flight.

The Wright brothers spent 4 years doing glider tests from the top of the dune, constantly experimenting to improve the lift of the wings, and eventually to invent methods to steer the glider. The project was more difficult than expected. Their first glider generated only 1/4 as much lift as the calculations predicted. It took incredible dedication because the travel time from Dayton to Kitty Hawk was 7 days, and they still had to earn a living running the bike shop in Dayton.

In 1903 Kill Devil Hill was bare sand. Vegetation was established after the monument was completed in 1932.

The first powered flights took place on level ground near the visitor center. The first flight was 12 seconds, 120 feet. The second flight was 12 seconds, 175 feet. The third flight was 15 seconds, 200 feet. The 4th flight was 59 seconds, 852 feet.

These flights were truly groundbreaking. Despite great efforts, 5 years later nobody in the world had duplicated this feat. Others developed powered machines that could fly but could not be controlled. The Wright Flier could be controlled to ascend, fly level, or descend. It could fly straight ahead, turn right or turn left. It could land safely.

Bronze replica of a Wright flier installed in 2003 to commemorate the centennial of flight.

A full scale bronze sculpture of the Wright Flier was installed in 2003 to celebrate the centennial of powered flight. The original Wright Flier is on display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

The first Wright Flier had no wheels. It took off on a short rail and skid-landed in soft sand.

A 3000 foot paved airstrip is only a few hundred feet from where the world's first powered flights took place. It is sort of a pilgrimage site for flying enthusiasts. You can fly your own plane here and walk to the site of the world's first flights.

This public airstrip is near the site of the Wright brothers' first flights. A sentimental destination for amateur pilots.

Back on the coastal road Nags Head sprawls into the smaller town of Kitty Hawk. Parts of Kitty Hawk have no dunes to protect the road and buildings from storm surges. Every major storm pushes the island west.

Kitty Hawk has places where the dunes have completely washed away, leaving the road and houses unprotected.

Some houses in Kitty Hawk were built 75 years ago with big dunes between the house and the ocean. Now the dunes are behind the house. Many oceanfront houses have washed away over the years and it's clear that more houses will wash away in the future as the island migrates west and sea level rises.

Sea level has risen nearly 1 foot since 1900. I try to imagine Kitty Hawk in the year 2100 when sea level is 3 feet higher than today. Will they build a sea wall? Will most of the area be abandoned because it floods every month? Will the Outer Banks even exist? Storms will create multiple new Oregon Inlets. Today's nearly continuous barrier island chain will become widely spaced isolated islands.

This house is no longer protected from storms because the dunes have migrated past the house. The next big storm will take it down.

I rode the entire length of Kitty Hawk, then backtracked 2 miles to get a room at Baymont Inn. The first motel I stopped at had a room for tonight, but not for tomorrow (Friday). Baymont Inn had an available room, but it cost $299 for a 2 night stay. The motel is "oceanside" a block away from the dunes.

Lodging places commonly use the precise words oceanfront or oceanside. Oceanfront means there are no buildings between you and the ocean. Rooms have an ocean view IF the room is on the correct side of the building. Oceanside simply means the motel is walking distance from the ocean.

Today was my favorite kind of touring day. Easy beautiful miles on the road, plus I visited two interesting tourist attractions. And the weather was perfect. High of 78F with moderate humidity. The morning was sunny but clouds built in the afternoon. I had the usual south wind but that will change soon. A storm is coming tonight.

Distance: 53.4 mi. (85.4 km)
Climbing: 285 ft. (86 m)
Average Speed: 10.7 mph (17.1 km/h)

Today's ride: 53 miles (85 km)
Total: 880 miles (1,416 km)

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