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May 15, 2005
Old Beater Honda Rally, Population One
MOREHEAD CITY, NC -- May 15
It goes to show on a trip like this that the most interesting events happen by accident, and often on days when you had planned nothing special in particular. Setting off from my shabby North Charleston Ramada, I decided to abandon decadence for the time being and succomb to the motel's seedy hot breakfast buffet and hit the I-526 directly to US 17 North rather than descend into the city proper and find a memorable breafkast cafe.
The distance between Charleston and Myrtle Beach is deceiving on a map, but the two oases in a South Carolina desert of palmetto bushes, confederate flags, and poverty turn out to be 100 miles and change from one another. Included in that change are Georgetown, an industrial city whose pungent smokestacks I could smell from 5 miles out, and Murrells Inlet, a suburb just south of Myrtle Beach where my real adventures for the day began.
The lack of much motorcycle activity a couple of days back in Daytona should have been one sign. The increasing density of riders as I made my way up US 17 through South Carolina was another. But even as I neared the southernmost reaches of Myrtle Beach, I was still completely oblivious to the fact it was that city's annual Bike Week, second only to Daytona for massive beachfront biker rallies. As I stop for gas, I'm seeing harley "trikes", motorcycles with luggage sidecars, and a few long-forked choppers, the sort of two (and three!) wheeled things I haven't seen this whole trip. I stop for gas just south of the main drag of Murrels inlet when suddenly a caravan of 50 identical Harleys blows by.
At this point, the aftermarket-tweaked sound of loud Harley-Davidson pipes is nearly constant and ubiquitous, echoing off every building in the area in an endless cacaphony. I hop back on the bike with a full tank of gas ready to blow right through Myrtle Beach, and around the next bend I begin to see the pavillions. Parking lot attendants are waving large day-glo flags to lure bikes into the already-stacked neatly-ordered deep rows of gleaming (and mostly domestic) chrome. Beer banners are hung up everywhere, and every inch of green grass in front of every roadside establishment has vintage choppers and T-shirt tents. I blow through this expanse thinking I can be prudent and make good time for North Carolina.\
I get to the next light in the endless sprawl between Murrels Inlet and Myrtle Beach before temptation finally gets the better of me. I throttle into a decisive illegal U turn and head back for the Inlet strip, making a left turn into the first bike parking area I see. Next thing I know, I'm being herded among a long line of Harley touring bikes into a spot right snug next to the barbecue stand. One pulled pork sandwich later, and I'm strutting around the sweltering parking lot, admiring all the Harleys, and scanning every bike to see anything remotely resembling an early 80's Honda inline 4.
A few words on what is known as "biker culture": I neither consider myself a part of it, nor look down upon it. This rally more or less confirmed the ambivalence, as I neither got much friendly conversation nor had anyone pick fights with me for daring to ride in on an old piece of shit Honda with a helmet and full touring garb. In fact, I hardly spoke a word to a soul the entire 30 minutes I spent walking from parking lot to parking lot, through various pavilions, and even along the open outdoor promenade of the legendary S.B.B. ("Suck Bang Blow") biker bar.
I might as well have been invisible, which is utterly preferable in every way to being assaulted. Maybe my opinion and experience would have been different had I arrived at 5 pm instead of 11:30 am to a host of liquored up rallyers (the whole concept of riding a bike to a bar to drink is probably the one thing I do take issue with in this so-called biker culture). No mind, I had an excellent time windowgazing the scenery both two-wheeled and two-legged (with some three-prong versions of each laying about, scarily enough). After 20 minutes snapping photos, I had had my fill. It was time to move on.
Moving on, of course, meant plowing through another 20 miles of traffic going to, from, and within the rally; I was still on the southmost end of the festivities. Thus ensued a slow but fun ride almost all of which was among other bikers for increased solidarity. I passed a "Loud Pipes Illegal" sign or two, and for the life of me have no idea how they decide to selectively enforce that on this week. The monotony of US 17 traffic was broken up somewhat once I was in North Myrtle Beach, which has its own smaller and sparser oceanfront drive. Alas, they have no concept of the yellow "no outlet" diamond, so unalert cruisers who are happily gliding past the Sea Mountain Highway turnoff are met 40 blocks later with this scenic vista:
Backtracking a bit and leaving what was at this point North Myrtle Beach brought me into the neighboring town of Little River. This scenic little fishing village is home to the annual Blue Crab Festival, which no doubt has to have enough loud music to drown out the Harley pipes. It was really too bad I had already filled up at the rally BBQ pit, as it would have been nice to check this little shindig out. Shortly thereafter, the North Carolina border loomed and I was soon swept far away from the ocean heading inland northbound.
Wilmington, NC provided the final stop of the day for coffee and rest. The downtown waterfront of this once grand military/manufacturing center has really made a nice comeback, and I enjoyed a good rest at the Port City Java. This rapidly spreading franchise, which can be found from Atlanta all the way through Asheville, actually got its start right here in Wilmington. Hence the 6 locations in this town alone. With free wireless, fair trade beans, and good sandwich and sweets menu at all its locations, one could do a lot worse.
The final intrigue of the day came in the decision to cut through Camp LeJeune, the main US Marine training base, rather than head up through Jacksonville and then east. No map actually verifies that civilians can use the roads inside the base, but with no "authorized personnel only" sign to deter me on the turnoff to NC 172, I went for it. The ride was actually quite beautiful. When you come off the bridge and enter the gate to the base, a marine sentry briefly checks your vehicle over and lets you ride on if nothing looks overly suspicious. The road that goes through is mostly rural, and the only signs you are in a base are the oddly marked side roads leading to restricted access gates, and large swathes of trees that look as though they were touched up with a big flame thrower from the ground to a height of 6 feet.
After exiting the base, I was almost at my destination. I decided to take NC 58 onto the Emerald Isle, a beautiful 20 mile long tubular island that has a corresponding bridge at the other end to Morehead City where I'd be staying for the night. This was my first exposure to the unique character of North Carolina beaches, with their characteristic large sprawing wooden cottages on stilts with about 23 wooden staircases and balconies poking out of each side. It was a pleasant teaser for what was to come the following day on the Outer Banks proper.
Once in Morehead and safely parked in my hotel for the evening, it was time to procure dinner and a long overdue laundry run. The former came at the nice (if touristy) Channel Marker restaraunt on Atlantic Beach. Due to the hotel's 3-4 mile distance from the waterfront restaurant area, I had to take Diana back out with me to dinner. But it was worth it to get a heaping plate of fresh oysters, shrimp, and lump crabmeat sauted in drawn butter. The laundry came courtesy of a laundromat about 3 interconnected parking lots and shopping centers from my hotel.
I got in just in time for last load, and got a nice rambling stream of consciousness from the pleasant, if a bit loony, night shift manager. After I packed everything back in the saddle bags, slung them over my shoulder, and walked through the umpteen parking lots back to my hotel room in the dead of night, it was time for a much earned rest. Tomorrow's forecast called for morning rain, so I planned to sleep in a bit and catch the noon ferry to Ocracoke rather than the 9:30 one.
Here's the gallery for today:
And the final playlist I was able to get due to a timely iTunes crash that hosed my 'recently played' tracker:
| Title | Artist | CD |
|---|---|---|
| I Heard It Through The Grapevine | The Slits | Cut |
| Flash Light | Parliament | Pure Funk |
| Wouldn't It Be Nice | The Beach Boys | Pet Sounds [Bonus Tracks] |
| Witcyst / Witcyst Play Piano Is Spirit | Witcyst | Le Jazz Non |
| Motor Away | Guided By Voices | Alien Lanes |
| Master Of The Universe | Pulp | Freaks |
| Rock That Harpsichord Shit | Stereo Total | Harpsichord 2000 |
| Tong Tong | Liliput | LiLiPUT (Disc 2) |
| Funeral Tango | Scott Walker | Scott 3 |
| About This Time Each Day | Herbert | Bodily Functions |
| Little Moses | The Carter Familiy | Anthology Of American Folk Music (Disc 4) |
| Small Was Fast | Pere Ubu | Datapanik in the Year Zero (1978-1979) |
| A Night In | Tindersticks | Tindersticks [II] |
| I Can't Make It Alone | Dusty Springfield | Dusty In Memphis |
| Isle Of Islay | Donovan | Donovan In Concert |
| On That Day | Leonard Cohen | Dear Heather |
| Electricity | Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band | Safe as Milk |
| Sound of Wind and Limb | Z'ev | |
| Otherwise | Morcheeba | Charango |
| Brown Mama Blues | Bracey, Ishmon | Masters of the Delta Blues - Friends of Charlie Patton |
| Crowleymass Unveiled | Current 93 | Island |
| Water | Silver Apples | Silver Apples |
| Amelia | Cocteau Twins | Treasure |
| Promise True and Grand | Bukka White | Masters of the Delta Blues - Friends of Charlie Patton |
| 3 A.M. Eternal (Live at the S.S.L.) | The KLF | The White Room |
| Leather | OP8 | Slush |
| Reaching Out From Here | The Boo Radleys | Wake Up! |
| I Betray My Friends | Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark | Navigation |
| . ] . ] . ] . [ . | User | Symphony #2 For Dot Matrix Printers |
| Tom, Dick & Harry | OP8 | Slush |
| The Sea Priestess | COIL | Astral Disaster |
| Go! | Soffy O/Tokotok | This Is Tech-Pop: 21st Century Electro and New Wave |
| Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien | Edith PIAF | The Voice Of The Sparrow - The |
| Wardrobe | Einstürzende Neubauten | Strategies Against Architecture II |
| Amsterdam | David Bowie | Bowie At The Beeb (Disc 1) |
| Drunken Spree | Skip James | Complete Recorded Works (1931) |
| Hair Pie: Bake 1 | Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band | Trout Mask Replica |
| C'mon Billy | PJ Harvey | To Bring You My Love |
| Jiving Sister Fanny | The Rolling Stones | Singles Collection: The London Years [Disc 3] |
| Home Sweet Home | Breaux Freres (Clifford, Ophy, Amedée) | Anthology of American Folk Music - Volume 2: Social Music |
| Black Velvet | Swell Maps | Train Out Of It |
| Loose Joints | This Mortal Coil | Blood |
| Johnny Cash - (ghost) Riders In The Sky | Johnny Cash | The Essential Johnny Cash (1955-1983)_ Volume 3 |
| Soon Forward | DJ Spooky | Incursions In Illbient |
| She Hangs Brightly | Mazzy Star | She Hangs Brightly |
| Ivyhouse | Saint Etienne | Places To Visit |
| Partynummer (Live) | Einstürzende Neubauten | Strategies Against Architecture II (Disc 1) |
| Brenda Lee - I'm Sorry | Brenda Lee | Casino Soundtrack [Disc 1] |
| Cherry Blossoms | Tindersticks | Tindersticks [II] |
| Horse Latitudes | The Doors | Strange Days |
| Garage Piano | U.N.K.L.E. | Headz 2a |
| Good For Me | Medicine | The Mechanical Forces Of Love |
| The Crowd | Roy Orbison | The All-Time Greatest Hits Of Roy Orbison |
| Hard Times In New York Town | Bob Dylan | The Bootleg Series, Vols. 1-3 : Rare And Unreleased, 1961-1991 (Disc 1) [BOX SET] |
| Rainbows | Cranes | Forever |
| California Tuffy | The Geraldine Fibbers | Butch |
| Rose Of Los Angeles | Angels Of Light | Everything Is Good Here/Please Come Home |
| Naked, Drunk and Horny | The Pukka Orchestra/Yellow Note | This Is Tech-Pop: 21st Century Electro and New Wave |
| Dogun | Current 93 | Calling For The Vanished Faces - Funeral Music For Us A |
| Sharch Of Tearry | Alva | Slattery For Ungdom |
| Into Dust [Live] | Mazzy Star | The Other Side |
| Penetration | Iggy & The Stooges | Raw Power |
| I Need More Time | The Meters | Funkify Your Life: The Meters Anthology (Disc 1) |
| I Feel Pretty | Jarboe And Lary Seven | Beautiful People Ltd |
| The Flower Of Carnage | ???? | Kill Bill, Vol. 1 |
| She Smiled Sweetly | The Rolling Stones | Between The Buttons |
| Dancing In Your Eyes | The Magnetic Fields | The Wayward Bus / Distant Plastic Trees |
| Lucifer | Jay-Z | The Black Album |
| Moroccan Peoples Revolutionary Bowls Club | Blur | Think Tank |
| Happy House | Siouxsie and the Banshees | Once Upon A Time / The Singles |
| Musette And Drums | Cocteau Twins | BBC Sessions (Disc 1) |
| Ever Fallen In Love | Buzzcocks | Singles - Going Steady |
| 'Quiddity' Last Visit | max 404 | Headz II Part B (Disc 2) |
| Haleluia | Os Mutantes | A Divina Comedia Ou |
| (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction | Devo | Greatest Hits |
| Cold Cold Ground | Tom Waits | Franks Wild Years |
| Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) | US3 | Hand On The Torch |
| Oh Death Where Is Thy Sting | Rev. J.M. Gates | Anthology Of American Folk Music (Disc 4) |
| This Town | Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark | Navigation |
| Two Women | The Angels Of Light | How I Loved You |
| Thee Full Pack (for Bachir attar) | Psychic TV | Force Thee Hands Ov Chants / Blinded Eye In Thee Pyramid |
| Split | Liliput | LiLiPUT/Kleenex (Disc 1) |
| Please Wake Me Up | Tom Waits | Franks Wild Years |
| Detached | DNA | Dna On Dna |
| How Soon Is Now | The Smiths | Hatful Of Hollow |
| A Message From The Meters | The Meters | Funkify Your Life: The Meters Anthology (Disc 1) |
| Colour Slide | The Honeycombs | The Joe Meek Story-The PYE Years |
| In Harm's Way | Neurosis & Jarboe | Neurosis & Jarboe |
| Twisterella | Ride | OX4_ The Best Of Ride |
| Dear Heart | Cocteau Twins | BBC Sessions (Disc 1) |
| The Wild Wagoner | J.W. Day (Jilson Setters) | Anthology of American Folk Music - Volume 2: Social Music |
| Baby [Gal Costa e Caetano Velo | Tropicalia ou Panis et Circens | Tropicalia ou Panis et Circens |
| The Dark Age of Love | Coil | |
| Caboclo Do Matto | BRAZIL Regionale Archestra | The Secret Museum Of Mankind Vol. 4: Ethnic Music Classics: 1925-1948 |
| It's A Fine Day (Edit) | Opus III | It's A Fine Day (Single) |
| Ant Man Bee | Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band | Trout Mask Replica |
| La Danseuse - Fox Trot | Delma Lachney & Blind Uncle Gaspard | Anthology of American Folk Music - Volume 2: Social Music |
| Like a Drug (sha la la la) | Swans | Children of God [1987 original] |
| Words | Low | I Could Live In Hope |
| Old lady... | Bill & Belle Reed | Anthology of American Folk Mus |
| Mean Woman Blues | Roy Orbison | The All-Time Greatest Hits Of Roy Orbison |
| She's A Rainbow | The Rolling Stones | Singles Collection: The London Years (Disc 2) |
| Don't Get 2 Close (2 My Fantasy) | Ween | Pure Guava |
| Slumber | Scorn | Evanescence |
| The Upper Left Hand Corner Of The Sky | Jimmy Vann Band | It's A Soft Rock World Vol.3 (Sr9605) |
| Giant | The The | Soul Mining |
| All The King's Horses | Dusty Springfield | Dusty In Memphis |
| The Black Arts | Stereolab | Sound-Dust |
| Untitled : Arnulf And Zappi On Drums | Faust | Tapes |
| Passover | Joy Division | Closer |
| Something Better Change | Stranglers | Greatest Hits 1977-1990 |
| Buried Dreams | Clock DVA | Buried Dreams |
Posted by Todd at May 15, 2005 11:19 PM