By By CHRIST PROKOS
Staff Writer
=Motorists who take to the roads of Beaufort County on Saturday should not be surprised to be sharing the pavement with more bicyclists than usual.
The second-annual Down East Century will be held across the county beginning around 9 a.m. at Havens Gardens. Roughly 40 cyclists will pedal their way through Washington Park, out past Pamlico Plantation and Goose Creek State Park, to the Bayview ferry landing. Following a 30-minute ferry crossing to Aurora on the south side of the Pamlico River, they will mount up and head to Bayboro in Pamlico County for lunch. The return ride in the afternoon will take them across Blounts Creek to Chocowinity then north up U.S. Highway 17 Bypass back to Washington.
Most participants should complete the ride in five to six hours. For a $20 fee, each participant receives a Down East Century T-shirt and lunch.
“It’s a ride that I put together and designed, and it allows us to give back to the community,” said Dr. Kirk Harris of Doctors Vision Center in Washington, one of the sponsors along with Inner Banks Outfitters. “We’re expecting 35 to 40 riders, which is great for the area considering last year we had six. It wasn’t bigger than our evening bike ride.”
Harris’ vision for the event is that in subsequent years it will continue to grow.
“I am hoping in the future, it turns into a fundraiser for a worthy cause,” Harris added. “Right now, we are trying to break even for the cost.”