LEWES, DELAWARE
Throughout the summer I had hoped to get to Lewes to ride around the Delaware Bay. For various reasons, it did not materialize, and I had hoped that this weekend would work. But a very unfortunate incident at the house kept me grounded until this weekend. The key to that ride is the ferry at Delaware City to Fort Mott, N.J., and in September it runs only on weekends.
My next best opportunity for my Delaware rider was now. I was in Lewes for a softball tournament to watch my granddaughter. With her schedule, my riding time would be short, but I was determined to make the best of it.
I went deep (with my effort) yesterday in Maryland, and my recovery was poor, just 23%. I needed an easy ride with the ocean because the ocean is good for the soul.
I found a user’s map on RideWithGPS and loaded it to my Wahoo. I didn’t modify it to change the start location, so when I started the ride, I was directed to the ride start, which was Rehoboth Beach. I had only gone a mile and a half when I realized this. I made a course adjustment and headed back to the Cape May Ferry, where I was able to force my computer into seeing the loop.
Once I was confident of my route, my only angst came from knowing I was entering Cape Henlopen State Park. Was there an admittance fee? If so, was it for people or just for cars? Would I pay $10 just to ride through? The answer was fees for cars only ($5 for Delaware, $10 for non-Delaware). Bikes and pedestrians were free.
I rode the Domane with 32 mm tires. The route was part paved and part something else. There was sand and gravel and crushed limestone, the latter being on the Junction & Breakwater Trail. And also some boardwalks, both of the nature trail kind and of the saltwater taffy kind.
Shortly after entering the state park, one comes to a tower used as an observation tower during World War II. There is a separate, very windy, trail for bikes. I wasn’t sure if the road and the trail diverged, so I stuck with the trail. I came to a road entrance to the beach and had a nice view of the Atlantic Ocean.
The trail through the park is mostly in the woods, but with a nice view and an observation deck of Gordon’s Pond. At the south end, it connects to the north end of Rehoboth Beach. I deviated from the planned route to go to the boardwalk and see the ocean again. The ocean is good for the soul.
I may have been able to pick up the boardwalk where it began, but I was not certain of the rules. I’m still not.* On the Rehoboth Beach website, which I did not read before I rode, it states, “Bikes are allowed on the boardwalk during the hours of 5:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. from May 15th through September 15th.” Since this was September 13 and thus in the window and before 10:00 a.m., I could ride on the boardwalk. But I didn’t know this.
Instead, I looked to find a street that had boardwalk access and came to Olive Street. I surveyed the boardwalk looking for other people on bicycles. Bike rentals of beach cruisers are popular. And I saw some. I also saw a player wearing a Loudoun Liberty softball uniform, Annabelle’s former team. And it was her former teammate, Piper.
I only went three blocks to Rehoboth Avenue, the main entrance street to the boardwalk. Then I headed out of town. Back on course, I found the Junction & Breakwater Trail.
The trail follows the old Penn Central line and is either 8.3 miles (TrailLink) or 5.8 miles (Delaware Greenways) in length. I followed it back to Lewes and hurried back to the hotel, and then off to softball.
*Bikes are permitted May 15 – September 15 from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Does this mean this is the only time they are permitted, i.e., they are prohibited the rest of the year? Or does it mean that during this time, there is a time restriction, and the rest of the year, there is no time restriction? I suspect the latter and not the former, but it isn’t very clear. It might be hard to put it all on a sign at the beach, but on a website, Rehoboth Beach could do better.
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