Day 6: October 15, Conway to Myrtle Beach

The hotel in Conway was a welcome change from the place I stayed at the night before. With clean laundry and a bike (tolerant) atmosphere, my batteries were recharged and I was ready to get some stuff done. First thing on my list: weatherproof my stuff, as the forecast was calling for 30-40% chance of rain, and no one likes soggy clothes or sleeping bags. After lining all my bags with a garbage bag (like I should have done from the beginning), I headed over to the library! I ended up spending several hours there, as although they had a one hour time limit, they didn't have a limit to how many one hour time slices you could use. I was able to post a few days worth of blog posts here, and I was careful to take a few breaks so I wasn't hogging the computer, as there were a lot of people that wanted on around lunchtime. After not hearing anything back from the couch surfers for Conway, I again decided to move on.

There are only two routes to Myrtle beach from Conway: 501, which is the most direct route, and 544, which is a little more bendy. After my harrowing experience yesterday, I decided to ask around for some local advice. The librarian made it seem that 501 was the best option, as it was 4 lanes "with a shoulder," whereas 544 "was 4 lanes only in some parts and didn't have a shoulder." Based on this information, I decided to go against my instinct and take 501. (I can tell you now: if you are ever going to ride your bike from Conway to Myrtle, please take 544.) First, to get out of town, I had to go up a very steep 2 laned bridge with a raised sidewalk and no shoulder. To get on the sidewalk, you had to go up two tall steps. I knew right away that if I attempted to bike it, the people behind me were going to be *pissed* because I would be crawling due to the incline and they wouldn't be able to pass because of the bumper to bumper traffic.

So I dragged my bike up the two stairs and walked it across the bridge. Much catcalling ensued. I was also disappointing to find that it continued to be only a 2 lane road on the other side of the bridge, and that the "shoulder" was a 6 inch strip of crumbling asphalt. I pushed on until I came to an overpass which was curved to the right (creating a blind spot), only 2 lanes, and no shoulders, as well as being very steep. I bailed and found a round about way to the street light I could see in front of me, a mere half mile away. Over 5 miles later I finally made it there. Crossing over 501 brought me to 544, which I was pleased to find had a nice sidewalk, as well as being 4 or 5 lanes wide (I can't remember if there was a turning lane or not.) At some point, I stopped at a Subway, where I found out about a storm blowing in, and where I dropped my phone, shattering the screen. I was very upset about this, and was starting to feel all the negativity building from the last few days and I started to feel like I couldn't do this. After eating my sandwich I started to feel a little better, and getting to ride the sidewalk almost the entire way to Myrtle Beach also did wonders for my sanity. (Once again, sidewalk riding is statistically more dangerous than road riding. Please do your research and understand how accidents are likely to occur so you can be on the lookout for those situations.)

Myrtle Beach itself was very good to me. A woman in a blue car that looked like should could have come straight from California with a surfboard on the roof pulled up next to me and asked me about my trip before telling me that she thought I was awesome. Thank you random woman! You have no idea how much that meant to me that day!

I pulled into Myrtle Beach State Park with lightning and thunder threatening. I got a site and set up (the lady that signed me in was the best in helping me pick a spot with the best trees for my hammock), including my tarp (for the first time), and all that happened was a few drops. The shower was great, and I went to the beach and ate dinner there. I would have slept like a baby if it wasn't for the couple in the pop up camper next to me watching TV all night...