| I am not sure what you mean by the coastal plain, and I do not have
a map here. We will be staying in Avon, so prefer to ride around
there, but would not mind traveling for a day.
Thanks in advance for your help.
_kathy
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| If you want a serious training session, take a road bike. The sand
at Hatteras is *very* soft. I got stuck 8 inches to one side of the
pavement once. It isn't the kind of stuff you could do much riding
on, even on fat tires, and have fun. The roads are not very wide, but
traffic should be light that time of year. Note that the roads run the
same way the islands do, (N-S), and that fall winds are either flaky
or steady southerly. Riding home into an NC beach breeze is worse than
hill climbing, IMO. Your only real choice for a ride will be "up the
beach first" or "down the beach first". The road is generally behind
the dune, too, so the scenery is a little monotonous.
Practically speaking, a mountain bike is probably more useful. A
daydream on skinny tires could lead to a spill if you drift off the
asphalt. The non-paved roads (such as they are...) are generally
oyster shell instead of gravel, and can shred a light tire if you're
unlucky. I don't think there are many rideable trails, but unless
you hit a weird November, you'll be sailing as much as you can stand.
Finally, whatever you take, plan on re-greasing things as soon as you
get home. The sand is everywhere, gets into everything, and will
score cups amazingly rapidly. I finally gave up and built my training
wheels on el-cheapo hubs so that throwing them away periodically
wouldn't be as painful.
Have fun. Hatteras is wonderful, and Fall is when I miss NC's beaches
the most.
...Will
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