Ride 1 - Myrtle Beach - Single Speed

My bike for a day. 2/9/25 dwm photo

 The first ride of 2025 was February 9 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It was a spectacular day; sunny with temps in the upper 70s!

 I was in South Carolina for the Association of Christian Fundraising conference with a free day Sunday before the conference started Monday afternoon. The Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort has a nearby fitness center with everything you could ask for, and bikes to rent.

 The rate was reasonable, $8/hour or $20/day! I took one for a day.

 I didn't ask about the bikes, and was mildly surprised that the rentals were beach bikes. It makes sense, because the fitness center is literally in Myrtle Beach. These bikes have balloon tires, which make the ride comfortable by absorbing bumps and potholes, one speed (how fast you pedal), and manual brakes (coaster style). I'm not sure when I rode a single speed bike like this for any appreciable distance.

Ocean Blvd, Myrtle Beach. 2/9/25 dwm

The center opened at 7:30, I was there to rent a bike and get a lock and helmet (no additional charge) then ride to Risen Christ Lutheran Church. It was an 8-mile round trip.

It warmed up quickly, so back at the hotel I changed into shorts with a t-shirt for a ride downtown Myrtle Beach to see their Boardwalk and Sky Wheel.

Before flying to Myrtle Beach I looked on Google maps to figure out the best ways to get to each location and was given complicated maps that still spent some time on a major road. 

On the way to church, I discovered I didn't need to ride on U.S. 17 because there was a five-foot wide asphalt path next to the road. At the time I was riding to church, traffic was light, but I knew it would pick up so the road-adjacent sidewalk was very helpful.

Going downtown, that roadside path ended after a block. I wasn't sure what to do, so turned on to a road I wasn't sure of, when two bike riders came my way. After getting their attention, they stopped and offered directions.

A short bike path in MB. dwm

 The first couple turns went as scripted, but when I turned and didn't see a specific path one rider mentioned, I used what I would back home, dead-reckoning. I knew where the ocean was, so if it stayed on my left, I would have to get downtown at some point.

 It's a longer ride on a single speed, my average speed was around 10, although I returned home faster which may have a southerly breeze to thank.

 While in Myrtle Beach back in 2023, I didn't get downtown, so this was a first-time experience with a lot of picture-taking. the ocean-front properties were colorful and designed to withstand the storms that hit occasionally. 

 There was other kinds of houses that looked more like a tiny home or cottage; a sign in front of one called it a cabana. Some had a deck with a furniture on the roof, most had a pier connection to the beach and nearly all were on stilts to keep dry. 

I was a few blocks away when I saw the Sky Wheel and stopped for a picture. I rode into the park near the ride and found a bike rack and locked it up. I walked around to get shots of the ocean, wheel, and boardwalk.

After riding Sky Wheel, I checked out the tourist shops, and found a place to eat before heading back. This trip seemed to go quicker. I stopped a couple times to drink water (the one feature missing on the rental bike was a bottle holder) and get some pictures. Before turning the bike in, I had one more stop at a convenience store for more snacks.

Based on Google maps, the first trip was between 28 and 30 miles, based on the additional work with no gears, I'm putting ride 1 in the book for 30 miles.