Finally! Bikes at the Beach

Our first forray on the beach was really just my son wanting to see what it would be like. He rode in the waves along the coast and enjoyed the freedom of doing so.

Soon enough, however, The Ocean beckoned.

And we did what you do at the beach.

We All Scream for What?!
The next event was just a grocery and ice cream run up the island. This was a big deal in that RAB was taking her first real ride on her new bike.  Sunset Beach is really low key on the traffic and there are almost as many cyclists/pedestrians as cars, so everyone gives plenty of passage and is considerate. A perfect place to test out the new steed!

This photo method was stolen from Stevil Kinevil. Fortunately, I like my armpits well enough.

When we bought a skim board, the family had to be proven that it could be toted by cyclist. I stood tall to the challenge.

Back to the Beach... in Force!
With the beach scouted and the errand run by bike, it was beginning to get real comfortable to travel on two wheels. And so, as a family, we took the bikes to the beach (I made everyone carry their bikes over the soft sand. Okay, I carried the bikes...) and rode across to Bird Island, which is accessible by land at low tide. The end of Bird Island is the North Carolina State line.

As you'd expect, it was rough riding one way, but pleasant as you please on the other. In this case, it was a windy wall we had to ride through to get to the sound.

We agreed to no helmets on the beach.

Admittedly, I'd had some worries about taking my beloved bike out to the sands and through the waves. I knew I was going to do it. I knew that I wanted to make my cycling experience more about enjoying the bike and less about wearing the kit and only 'cycling.' Then I remembered that this was a bike that I'd ridden through sand a half dozen or more times out on the cyclocross courses of North Carolina. I remembered riding through water and mud in Virginia and through the dirt and rocks of Northern Georgia. It was meant to be ridden. So I did. Gleefully.

There you have it.

I'm riding gleefully here.

The ride back to Sunset Beach had the wind to our backs and we were loving it all the way.

Again, I carried the bikes over the soft sand to the boardwalk, one by one. I was ridiculed for this by my lovely, better half. Still, there was less sand and I put the Steelman through a quick rinse at the beach house and a well-earned rest. Now, I can add that the Steelman has taken a dip in the Atlantic Ocean. Cool.

Next: Riding to Earn our Keep!