The bed itself was surprisingly comfortable in this otherwise terrible motel. Perhaps it was because I was so exhausted. None of my clothes had dried, and now they all smelled like ashtray and piss on top of it. I was hungry again and thought about the Philly cheese steak I didn't get to have the night before as I packed up.
The phone rang twice at 9:30: I'm sure it was a not-so-subtle wake-up call. I started wondering if this creep was going to start hassling me for staying too long, when his checkout time was clearly printed on his window for 11 am, but then again, he didn't seem to give a rats' ass about his own policies. I headed off about 10:30 to look for the library. It was closed. So was the welcome center. I found a Subway in a gas station and got my sandwich. Then I stopped at the police station again to verify my directions. They were still closed. (Don't ever need a cop in Tabor City on nights or weekends it would seem.)
I grudgingly changed into my stinking damp riding clothes because it had gotten unbearably warm out, and I finally started down the busy 701 highway to Loris, SC. I want to thank everyone that put up with me on that stretch without much fuss.
I stopped at a food lion and picked up some more cheddar cheese sticks as soon as I got into town, and asked the cashier if there was a library. It was also closed. I tried to bum the internet from outside, but gave up after a while, and called my mom to regroup. I still hadn't heard back from the couch surfer I had contacted, and it was getting to be about mid afternoon. I finally decided to head on, as I had found some back roads into Conway, so I could get off the busy 701.
For the most part, this was a nice ride: almost like the roads I took on my Wilmington trip. I found a nice little hidden spot to go pee at near one intersection, and debated spending the night there but it was still rather early for stopping, I thought. On a different road I found a closed tanning salon with some chairs sitting under a porch in the front. It looked rather inviting so I went ahead and stopped for a while and regrouped. I called my mom and asked her to start finding out some options for me to spend the night, because it was getting to be a few hours before dark, and I heard 4 or 5 gunshots in the woods somewhere, bringing back bad memories of the dogs. It was also getting to be about rush hour.
The last 4 or 5 miles into Conway were terrible. The traffic was too heavy for the two laned highway with no shoulder. One old woman took the time to slow down and lecture me about riding here. As she drove off, I almost flipped her the bird, but thought better of it and waved with a smirk (I swear it was meant to be a smile) and I think that gesture made her more angry than if I had given her the bird. A little while later, the road curved to the right and a big RV was coming up too fast behind me. He tried to pass even though there was no room with all of the oncoming traffic, and everyone had to slam on their brakes because of it: him, the people behind him, and the people on the other side of the road. Horns blared from all around. I held my position and held my palm out to him to tell him to slow down! Once he pulled up next to me, he came back into my lane before he had completely passed me, which would have effectively forced me off of the road, had I not come to a stop myself. I would have given anything at that moment to have a Batman type bike with mistles to shoot that that guys' tires. I didn't get a good look at the driver's face that was behind him. I wonder if he saw the recklessness of the RV driver, or if he blamed me for all the trouble as well.
After finally getting into town, things changed quickly for the better. There were signed bike routes and bike lanes. I wondered why a city that would have such bike infrastructure would be so hostile to me only a few miles from town. I found my hotel easily enough, (The EconoLodge) which my mom had so very kindly paid for. (Thanks mom!) After a hot shower, laundry in a real washing machine, and dinner at a Chinese buffet on which I absolutely gorged myself, I went to bed.
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