What to do when you are looking for miles and everyone else is just riding to the beach.

“Let’s vacation on Hilton Head.  It’s like a paradise for bicycles!”

That’s vaguely what I remember a family member saying last winter as we pondered our summer vacation plans. 

She knew that Mary and I won’t consider vacations that don’t include bike riding.

A (very) quick Internet search confirmed the beauty of the place and lots of bikes. 

A week later we had booked a rental for June.

Dreams of riding 20 miles a day without the hassle of going to work floated through my mind during the cold weather months and the rainy spring.

Finally, the weeks melted away and my cycling getaway was looking so good.

But then we got there.

The Hilton Head Reality

The beauty was as advertised.

And in fact, there were more people riding bikes than I had ever seen.

But they were the wrong kind of bikes.

I’m not trying to be snobbish.  Really, I’m not.

It’s just that beach cruisers are a long way from the road, mountain, and gravel bikes I ride at home.

And on vacation.

Historical perspective

For years and years, we did a beach week at Holden Beach, NC.  Mary and I would get up every morning and knock out 20 miles on our road bikes.

These rides were as regular as the changing of the tide.

We enjoyed the relatively flat beach area roads, compared to riding at home in the mountains.

Cycling during beach vacations was a foregone conclusion.

Follow me on Strava to see the rides we actually did — including some rides on real gravel!

So, what’s wrong with Hilton Head

We rented a home big enough for Mary and me and our three sons’ families including six grandkids four years old and younger. 

Needless to say, there was a lot going on.

Nothing like a bike ride to get away for a couple of hours.

We brought gravel bikes instead of road bikes because the bigger tires seemed to be a good solution for what I expected would be a fair amount of bike path riding.

But I didn’t expect that 100-percent of the riding would be on bike paths.

I also failed to anticipate that those bike trails would be clogged with families on rental bikes pulling kiddie trailers.

They were having fun on their bicycles, for sure.  The cycling advocate in me appreciated that.

It’s just not the way I’m used to doing it.

Hilton Head Bike Paths vs. the Road

The rules at Sea Pines, the planned community where we rented, say you CAN ride on the road, but it’s preferred that you ride on the paved trail system.

To its credit, the trail system is over the top.  It’s marvelous.  It goes anywhere you would want to go.  It’s in fantastic shape, and it meanders through beautiful forested areas where the live oaks form natural tunnels with Spanish moss dangling from the branches.

You can go to the Café or the famous Salty Dog.  You can ride to shopping or the beach.

It’s stunningly beautiful and very well done.

So why wouldn’t you ride on the trails?

Miles vs. Smiles

Vehicle traffic is slow and relatively light in Sea Pines.  So riding the road was an option.  After all, a bike is a vehicle, and cyclists are entitled to ride the roads. 

But the drivers are all wondering why you are in their way instead of being on the perfectly paved bike path with the rest of the cyclists.

I guess they are not wrong.

So I begrudgingly moved over to the bike path with the dog walkers, slowed the pace and looked at the scenery.

It wasn’t so bad.

Hilton Head Cycling to Alligators and Lighthouses

Instead of logging miles, cycling on Hilton Head became more of an opportunity to explore.  The gravel bikes, (Mine is a Fuji Jari and Mary rides a Trek Checkpoint) were perfect for this.  When the trail was free of congestion we rolled along at 10-12 mph.

When we rode past the small ponds, lakes, and canals I scanned for alligators.  And in Lake Joseph, we found some.

I am a big fan of the various wading birds, like blue herons, and started seeing them everywhere.

We rode to the lighthouse in Harbourtown, to the Salty Dog for ice cream, and even found some nice gravel riding in the Sea Pines Forest Preserve.

One morning we loaded up our son’s rental bikes with grandson Luke and rode to the playground.

Hilton Head Cycling is its own thing

I have to admit that once again I am reminded that miles and average speed are not what cycling is all about.  It’s not the reason I want to be a rider, though I do slip into my historic predilection of being a performance junkie and mileage logger.

Riding with grandsons, to lighthouses, ice cream and alligators has its proper place.

And I found it at Hilton Head.

I’ve noticed that a lot of the people I see riding, like me are a bit gray around the temples. So I’ve started a series of posts and videos called Biking 4 Boomers. Check it out here!

Want to see my vlog for Cycling Hilton Head? See the scenery here!