My partner and I decided last fall that taking a bicycle tour would be a wonderful, healthy way to celebrate spring and start out our 17th year together. Training was handled individually and I must say, she did a much better job of it than I. By the time I came home from work each evening, I'd see her pedal cleat covers in the driveway and know that she was out on a training ride. My training consisted mostly of a few short rides, but more honestly, had to do with a glass of wine, a lawn chair and the shade on the back deck. Usually, by the time I arrived home from work every evening, it was close to dinner. I took my bike to work and tried training rides there, but not knowing the area very well made that difficult. As the date for our departure approached, I felt strangely confident that I, despite my spotty riding and lackadaisical training, would have absolutely no difficulty riding the daily routes.
We met early in the morning before our first ride to receive instructions, a safety triangle and our cue sheets (map of our route). We ranged in age from 20 something to 73. Looking around the table, I was struck by how diverse we were and a little unsure if we would all make it the whole four days.
The first ride of 18.3 miles was the Unionville Bridges ride. The weather was a 10! We saw an Osprey nest with chicks in it perched atop the center support of a wooden bridge. The parent birds were giving flying lessons to two chicks and they were very fun to watch. The next day we were shuttled to the Blackwater Wildlife Refuge for the start of our ride of 37 miles. It was warm, but raining. About mile 20, my partner had a flat tire in the middle of the darkest, dankest part of the whole ride. Not being very adept at repairing her own flat, I stopped to make the repairs and was immediately swarmed by thousands of very hungry mosquitoes. Here we were; dancing up and down, changing a tire, being "whipped" on the bare legs with the deflated tube in hopes of arresting their landing for a meal and cursing the damn mosquitoes! We were quite a sight as other cyclist came by offering to assist us. Unless they had some repellent, there wasn't much they could do. I must say, that was the fastest tire change of my life! Once we were back on the road, we settled into a nice rhythm around 15-18 mph. The sound of the rain hissing under my tires was soothing to my soul and my bitten legs. The Bald Eagles were so numerous, I lost count at 20 and the other birds and animals in the Refuge were just as spectacular; Osprey, Blue Heron, Egrets, Sika deer, ducks, Nutria, and Delmarva Fox Squirrel.
We lunched at St. Mary's Catholic Church (parking lot) which originally dates from the 1600's. We were fortunate that two parishioner's had come by to set up for an evening meeting and were more than happy to give us a tour of the small church as well as answer questions about all the abandoned buildings we had seen along the way. Apparently, as farmers bought an adjoining property to farm, they would simply walk away from the old homestead and occupy the "new" farmhouse and buildings. This makes for lots of empty, spooky, sinking buildings in this part of the Chesapeake Watershed.
Day 3: St. Michael's Ferry Ride, 45 miles. No, we didn't just ride the ferry to St. Michael's, we rode TO the ferry in Oxford, crossed over and then to St. Michael's and the Maritime Museum. The weather was perfect and our group did great. Generally, we split into two groups for most rides; the fast women and the slower women. We all had fun though and no one was ever left behind. If you felt like you couldn't continue, you just tapped the top of your helmet as the SAG van went by and they'd give you and your bike a lift the remainder of the way. Luckily, I never had to tap and I'm sure it had nothing whatsoever to do with my fine training regime! The ferry crossing at Oxford was pretty fun. There wasn't a single car on board; just our group with our bikes. A perfect world! Once we rode into St. Michael's, we had lunch at a crab cake place (it's the Chesapeake after all) and then toured around town or visited the Maritime Museum. Surprisingly, the ride back into Easton was only about 10 more miles.
Day 4: Little Red Schoolhouse ride, 20.7 miles. Another perfect day with abundant sunshine and moderate temperatures. This ride was different from most of the others in that we actually had some hills this day and the ride itself was mostly through farmland awash in wild mustard in full bloom. When we got to the schoolhouse, now a museum, circa 1885, we were greeted by a big black rat snake by the portajohn out back! Lovely. I didn't have to go that bad anyway...
Then 2 busloads of school kids arrived for their tour signalling it was time for us to get back on the road.
Each evening, we enjoyed the company of our small group by meeting back at the bike trailer parked on the outskirts of town and enjoying a beer or glass of wine (just like training!). From there, we'd head back to our rooms at the historic Tidewater Inn to shower off the day and soothe sore muscles before joining together again as a group and going to dinner somewhere in town. My partner and I decided to stay an extra night so we could explore a little more of the area. We ended up driving through to Delaware the next day in 30 mph gusting winds and beating the rain that was coming in from the west. After lunch in Rehobeth Beach and a very windy walk on the beach, we decided on some tax-free shopping and then on to the Cape May-Lewes Ferry for the trip home. It was a pretty rough ride going across on the boat, but neither of us had a problem with the pitching up and down motion, rolling side to side or the huge waves breaking over the sides of the Ferry! It was just another part of our Adventure. I'd recommend a tour by bicycle to anyone. It allows you to slow down and see the world in a new way. We made some new friends and I will definitely be doing this again. Oh, and I will take the training a little more seriously next time; maybe less Pinot Noir and more saddle time.
