
Almost 1,000 cyclists from Cycle North Carolina arrived in Elizabethtown Friday for the “Mountains To Coast” Tour. They began arriving into town in the afternoon and spent the night celebrating the community Pink-Out at the Farmers Market. Each rider averaged 65 miles per day.
CYCLE NORTH CAROLINA JOINS PINK-OUT
ELIZABETHTOWN – The first leg of the three-day Trifecta in Bladen County began Friday afternoon as cyclists peddled their way across Sampson County into Bladen County for the Cyle North Carolina “Mountains To Coast” Tour.
The town was dressed in pink as the community designated the day for a “pink-out” which brought awareness and support for the fight against breast cancer. October is the official Breast Cancer Awareness month with the goal set to raise awareness of breast cancer, encourage regular screenings and to educate people about the risk factors.
It also is a month to celebrate those who have battled and defeated breast cancer, support those who are still in the fight and to mourn and remember those who have lost their lives to the disease.
The pink-out celebration began that night as the sun was going down and it was a surreal sea of pink mixed with the incredible sounds of the Pink Slips band. The venue on-site was Barefoot’s Sandwich Shoppe and people enjoyed some good eating, good dancing and good fellowship with friends.
For the cyclists coming in during the afternoon, the welcoming committee as they arrived into Elizabethtown included the Elizabethtown Fire Department which had a firetruck set up just south of Tory Park with a huge American flag hanging over the bike path.
Bikers traveled over the HWY 701 bridge over the Cape Fear River and came into town with a full police presence that included escorts from the North Carolina Highway Patrol. They made a right onto King Street and arrived at the soccer field behind Town Hall where there was a makeshift biker community that had formed with hundreds of tents, vendors, shower facilities and in close proximity to downtown restaurants for the weary travelers.
“We wanted to give them a warm welcome,” Director of Communications and Marketing Terri Dennison said, encouraging residents to come out and cheer on the bicyclists as they cross the day’s finish line at King and Moorehead Street.
Cyclists were on a trek of nearly 450 miles from Spruce Pine to Ocean Isle Beach and there was one more leg of their race to ride before reaching their final destination Saturday.
Cycle North Carolina began an all-new route for the 2024 “Mountains to Coast” tour of scenic North Carolina, and spent their last night in the Town of Elizabethtown. This was the 25th anniversary of the first “Mountains to Coast Ride” held in 1999, running from Murphy to Manteo. This year’s event was scheduled for a Spruce Pine to Ocean Isle Beach journey from Oct. 6 to Oct. 12.
When they reached Elizabethtown, the bicyclists completed 355 miles across North Carolina, starting Oct. 6 from Riverside Park in Spruce Pine, North Carolina. On Saturday they finished the last 63 miles of the tour, ending at the Town Center Park in Ocean Isle Beach. During the week, riders biked an average of 65 miles per day.
The majority of the cyclists tent camped behind Town Hall either in the “exclusive” tents that were set up by Summit Cycle Solutions or on the soccer field where riders could pitch their own tents. Hotel accommodations were also available at the Grand Regal, Melwood Court and Knights Inn. The Town also arranged a shuttle loop that transported the cyclists from base camp at Town Hall or their hotel to local restaurants and points of interest. Many cyclists visited downtown and participated in the Pink Out watching and dancing to the band, “Pink Slips” at the Farmers Market Friday which lasted from 6 – 9 p.m.
The cyclists represented 42 states plus the District of Columbia, Canada and the United Kingdom. An Oak Island, North Carolina, rider who had been a part of the tour for his fourth “Mountains to Coast” ride hails from Holland. Dirk Spit, 72, who still retains his Netherlands accent even though he has been an American for 32 years was with riding partner, Mark Segal, 68, from Chicago.
“Today was really the best day for us,” Spit said. “Perfect weather and even coming across the bridge, they were holding the traffic back to make way for us and I didn’t have anybody passing me.”
“That first night was pretty amazing,” Segal said. “We ate in a little place in downtown Lenoir which was very nice. It’s all run into each other now trying to look back and remember. We had more time in Lenoir that first day, so we had more time to relax in the town.”
Both riders were looking forward to getting home to sleep in their own beds and Spit was anticipating being back home in Oak Island on Saturday and for Segal, it will be Tuesday before he arrives back in the Windy City.
The youngest cyclist to ride for the entire week is 10 years old, while the oldest participant is 87 years old.
The Cycle North Carolina “Mountains to Coast” Tour is the state’s only fully-supported ride. Luggage is transported in vehicles from one overnight host community to the next; rider support vehicles are available to aid cyclists who experience physical or mechanical trouble; outdoor camping areas with amenities are set up in overnight host communities; and rest stops will be available every 15-20 miles along the route, with beverages and snacks for all participants.
Curt Scoville was a North Carolina, hailing from Cary and was enjoying his first ride with Cycle North Carolina. Scoville and his family chose to stay in White Lake for the night in a hotel.
“The best part was being able to take this ride with my wife and my friends,” Scoville said. “The group’s been talking about it for a few years and this year we just decided to do it. We started in Lenoir and had to cut off that first part around Ashville because of the storm. It’s been incredible – every town and their accompanying countryside have been good. It’s been quiet, not a lot of cars and the roads have been good; well, this last few minutes over the bridge was a bit dicey, but we had police support all the way across so it went well. When it’s all done, I’m just going to go home and get a massage and sleep for about a week.”
Will Merrill, 66, who said he was averaging around 65 miles per day was one of the cyclists who chose to pitch his own tent. He has biked in this specific tour since 2018.
“Each city has a different flavor, each one being really nice, so it’s hard to pick out a favorite,” he said. “Some of the restaurants and welcoming committees and just what the towns do for us is great. The only challenges have been yesterday with the headwinds and the hills, but that’s all a part of the experience. As for the tent camping, it’s been great. We load up our stuff every morning and we load it on the trucks that they provide and they haul it to the next campsite. We pick it all up, carry it out to the campgrounds and set up our tents. The North Carolina ride is my favorite ride and I’ve done six rides this year and eight last year. This is always my favorite. When I get home this week, I’m going to clean my bikes and get a new knee so I can keep riding.”
A trio from Cartersville, Georgia, came up for the North Carolina ride this year and were having what they called, the time of their lives. Dan, 54 and Meredith, 53, Dollevovt have been riding together for many years and also had a family friend, Rock Nelson, 63, ride with them.
“The whole countryside has been beautiful,” Nelson said. “We did the back ride across Georgia this year, and the North Carolina ride has been greener, cooler, not as wet and it has been a very well-organized ride. People are so friendly; the towns are charming and there are a lot of things to do in each town. We use GPS so it keeps up with your time, the duration and where you are. Now, Dan and another friend got me hooked on riding when we were all in graduate school and it’s been in my blood ever since. We’ve been riding 25 years now.”
“This is the second year that we’ve done this ride,” Dan Dollevovt said. “We really had a great time last year which was caused us to go ahead and do it again and bring him (Nelson) along with us this time. We’re spoiled a little bit. The people across the way are ‘really’ tent camping, meaning they are putting up their own tents. We use the service that brings our luggage right to our tent and sets up our tent. In the morning all we do is throw our bags out and when we show up at the next town, our bags are there. Sleeping on an air mattress for a week is fun and I love biking and the fresh air, but there’s nothing like sleeping on your own bed. And my butt is getting a bit sore.”
“I’ve got a gel pad for my bike seat,” Meredith Dollevovt said. “I can honestly tell you that I love this. There is no other way that I’d like to vacation. After we did our very first weeklong bike ride, we were like, we don’t want to ever vacation without cycling being a part of it. You go through all of these areas that you wouldn’t see on a vacation otherwise. You stop in all these little rest stops you wouldn’t necessarily go to. You meet amazing people and simply amazing sights like the dam, soy bean fields, cotton fields, it’s just stunning and it’s so peaceful. We all have our electronics plugged in, but you’re not looking at your phone or your email… you’re not texting. You’re just out enjoying the beauty. It’s been phenomenal.”
Grason Curtis who is in the midst of his sophomore riding season in North Carolina did the ride with two friends, Glenn Russell and Brad Goulding.
“It’s been fun,” Curtis said. “The weather’s been beautiful other than being a little windy yesterday. It was challenging.”
At this point of the ride, there are two sentiments. The first being “I can’t wait to be done – and get back home,” or “This went by too quickly, I wish it would last longer.” Curtis said that not being a retiree and in sales, the working world begins calling louder toward the end of the journey and the mind has to shift back to the rigors of everyday life.
“It’s good, though,” he said. “To get a few days off work to do this, and so I think, for me it’s about the right length of time. This does take me away from all the stress.”
“I love all of this,” Russell said. “All the camaraderie with our friends, and like this kind of hospitality in Elizabethtown. Every town puts out to the nines and they all do a great job. It’s just fun. This is my fifth time doing it.”
Both Curtis and Russell said they were taken by surprise at what Elizabethtown had to offer.
“The town is beautiful,” Russell said. “My wife just called me and I told her that this is a cool little town and we would have to come visit sometime. We came by a bunch of massive big sod farms today and it was just mesmerizing. I’m a big farm-guy. I love riding past the cattle farms and horse farms.”
“I think my favorite was the beautiful rolling scenery,” Goulding said. “The roads were spectacular, great people and we just had a good time. All the talk about the wind, but when it was at my back, it was a beautiful thing.
Hosted by North Carolina Amateur Sports (NCAS), Cycle North Carolina was developed to promote North Carolina’s scenic beauty, heritage tourism, visitor attractions, historic sites, state parks, fitness, healthy lifestyles, and the benefits of bicycling to individuals and our state. During the past 24 years, Cycle North Carolina has stopped overnight in more than 100 North Carolina towns and visited over 800 North Carolina communities.
Cycle North Carolina is presented by Retire NC. Partner organizations of Cycle North Carolina include: BODYARMOR, Truist, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC, Capitol Broadcasting Company, Harris Teeter, Fat Tire and the N.C. Department of Transportation.
For more information on Cycle North Carolina, contact NCAS at (919) 361-1133, or visit the Cycle North Carolina website at, www.cyclenorthcarolina.org.
North Carolina Amateur Sports is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization that annually organizes the BODYARMOR State Games and Cycle North Carolina. NCAS is dedicated to the promotion of the spirit of amateur sports, physical fitness and health to all ages and skill levels through the participation in organized events which enrich the state of North Carolina. For more information on NCAS and its events, please access www.ncsports.org.
More pictures on page 11.
Mark DeLap is a journalist, photographer and the editor and general manager of the Bladen Journal. To see more of his bio, visit him at markdelap.com or email him. Send a message to: mdelap@bladenjournal.com