Day 31: Shallotte to Murrells Inlet, SC

Yesterday after I left Mulberry Park, I arrived at the fire station again and set up camp. It was around 6:30 PM when I decided to call it a day. I was worried that there might be mosquitoes because I saw a bucket full of water and it had larvae floating inside. I don’t know what the bucket is for so I camped away from it, hoping that no mosquitoes will bite me during the night.

Third time camping on this trip

My sleep wasn’t good since I didn’t take a shower and my skin was sticky. I woke up a few times during the night, too. I ended up waking up at 6 AM and packed everything by 6:30. I saw a cafe called The Purple Onion that was open and it was just a block over. I had a huge breakfast burrito that would fuel me for today’s 61 mile ride to Murrells Inlet, where my Warmshowers host David is.

Morning rest at the Sunset Beach Park

I followed the East Coast Greenway for half of the ride. After I crossed the South and North Carolinas state line I rode on the dreaded route 17 that I’ve been hearing about. It had rumble strips and narrow shoulders with a lot of cars.

Made it to South Carolina!

Crossing six lanes on route 17

Later, I turned from route 17 to ride on North Ocean Boulevard, which ran parallel to the coast. This was a much more pleasant ride and the houses had pastel colors that indicated the beach life.

I thought about living in a beach house if I had the money. I would have an open invitation for any of my friends to live there rent free. I think we’d have a great time.

The route took me to route 17 again, but the weather was getting hot. I saw a McDonald’s on the corner of the intersection and went inside to get an iced mocha and a couple of burgers, even though it was only 10:30 AM. I also charged my phone there since I needed to do that once during my ride so I could continue using my navigation app until I reach my destination.

Since David had sent me Komoot directions that will take me closer to the ocean, I decided to use that for the second half of my ride. I was so glad to have followed his route and not go on route 17 too much. There were fewer cars and I got to cycle through North Myrtle Beach. There were some mansions as I rode through the neighborhood and it made me wonder about how much money I needed to have to be financially free.

One of many mansions

I cycled on route 17 a couple more times before I reached Myrtle Beach. The place seemed too touristy to me with all the hotels, resorts, and souvenir shops. I enjoyed the ride nonetheless since the tourist season is not in full swing yet.

Downtown Myrtle Beach

Around 2:45 PM, I arrived at David’s house situated in a very nice community, several miles south of Myrtle Beach. David is involved with his ministry and goes on bike tours with his church. They helped raise over one million dollars to churches in other countries. Their website is endscycling.com.

I took a shower, which felt great since I didn’t get an opportunity to do so last night. My cycling gloves was torn so I decided to throw them out. I brought an extra pair just in case.

For dinner, David made a huge pot of pasta and we had some salad and bread. I had three servings of the pasta. I guess I was really hungry. Both David and his wife, Janet, are avid cyclists so naturally David and I talked a lot about cycling and gear.

Janet came home around 7:30 and we all chatted while David made some bread. I will go to bed soon and enjoy a pull out couch to sleep on.

Janet and David