I think we all want to be on 30-A, regardless. It's beautiful.
I have seen some bizarre forms of transport here, ever since first coming down in the early 90s.
The first time I saw a recumbent bike was on 30A.
Seen all you could see in the recumbent position whilst pedaling on land? Nowadays, you can kayak... with your feet.
You drive over the Western Lake bridge these days and you are guaranteed to see someone canoeing on a surfboard.
Also, it's not enough to "just" skateboard, now, apparently. You have to have a broomstick with an eraser on the end to push off with.
Recently, I've seen what looks like an elliptical machine on wheels scooting along in Dune Allen. I thought a Precor had fallen off it's base and was rolling out of control.
For the first time in nearly a decade, 3 days ago I spotted someone rollerblading. Rollerblading!!! (And I mean "rollerblading serious" with the wrist guards, a helmet, etc., leaning into the turns.)
Reader, I kid you not, earlier this season I saw someone on a unicycle going from Grayton to Seaside. I know what you are going to ask... and, no, he was not juggling bowling pins.
Bicycles...
We've got trail bikers, beach bikers, and road bikers.
Me, personally... Beach cruisers are a no-brainer. Mountain/trail bikes make some sense here. We have all the state park areas...
But, the Tour de France types... C'mon! I mean, I "get" it. It's your golf... your fishing... your jazzercise, etc.
But, "share the road" is really dangerous here. This mentality just doesn't work in the real/practical world on 30-A.
It's a 2 lane, narrow black-top designed, engineered, and built for automotive transport. It has no shoulder in most places. The ground along the road is extremely soft. A car or a bike could tumble just by letting one tire sink into the sand. Why risk it?
I also think it's a rude hobby. Yesterday morning I was subjected to a pack of Lance Armstrongs who had the ball to roll up to Modica Market with their wedding tackle shrink-wrapped to their thighs and their kits unzipped. Gag a maggot. I'm trying to eat breakfast.
To respond to previous posts, I see problems with a few comments I've read.
First... "Cars driving the open road should slow down for cyclists, who use the highway because people on the bike path are too slow for them."
Second... "It only takes 30 seconds to wait to pass a cyclist." (in an isolated scenario of 1 car and 1 bike.) and "This is the beach. Relax!" In theory, that's great. We all should slow down and relax at the beach. In reality... I'm not the only car behind the bike going 7 miles an hour up the curvy hill at Camp Creek. In fact, it's pretty hard to relax when I'm being tailgated by the spa manager, who is being tailgated by the cook, who is being tailgated by the waiter, who is being tailgated by the shop worker, who is being tailgated by the real estate agent, who is being tailgated by the Texan in the Land Cruiser. All of us will have to wait 30 seconds or more, each, to pass the bicyclist who is going 7MPH up the curvy road at Camp Creek because the bike path is unsuitably slow for him.
And, basically, what it all boils down to... a road bike can cost $2,000/$5,000/$9,000. By the time he's bought the bib, the race replica kit, the Oakleys, the goofy helmet with the tail fins, and the clip-in shoes, a middle-aged-man-in-lycra is wearing between $500 and $2,000 in overpriced sporting apparel with unnecessary logos.
It's all just another silly toy for grownups. But, it's causing unnecessary danger for the hobbyist and the general public.
And the reason it is dangerous is because 30-A is the only road here. And the reason 30-A is the only road here is because the land is finite, as we are next to an ocean, and there are coastal dune lakes and state parks. And there is pedaling exercise to be had in the ocean, the dune lakes, and the state parks.
Thanks for reading. Here is a video of jazzercising:
