Long post today playing catch up!
Day 6 – Lewes, DE – Snow Hill, MD (54 miles)
After getting the ferry from Cape May, I arrived in Lewes, DE around 90 minutes later. Passing through, it was a similar story to Cape May. I’m sure in season it’s buzzing, but in mid-November, on a weekday, it was really quiet.
To be honest, it wasn’t the most enjoyable start to the day. My legs were pretty achey and the places I was cycling through in Delaware (after Lewes) weren’t welcoming. There were a lot of “Get the hell out of here” looks. No way was I going to be attempting to stay overnight stealth-style as it didn’t feel out of the question to wake up to an angry farmer with a shotgun in my face. It became a race to make fast progress at this point.
And then I crossed the Delaware border into Maryland. Ah, thanks Maryland! It’s amazing how quickly the atmosphere of a place can change in such a short distance.
Pulled into Berlin, MD, around 6.00pm, and was hit by the quaint, homely feel of the town. Met a bunch of cool people on the main street (Hi Terry, Shelly & Billy – that’s a lot of y’s). It’s like a model town. Plus it was dinner time, which is always a joy after spending hours on the saddle. Got a burrito in a local Mexican eatery, and then set off to cycle on. But I probably got about 200 metres down the road, until spotting Rayne’s Reef, an amazing looking diner place, and went in for a coke. What I love about this trip so far is spontaneously meeting people. Bumped in to these cheeky lot in Rayne’s Roof, it was a lot of fun and turned an okay day into a great one.
After a good time in Berlin, I pedalled on through the night, arriving at the historical Snow Hill at around 10.00pm. There wasn’t anywhere obvious to stealth it that I could see. A few people before this trip began mentioned sleeping at churches & fire stations, so upon passing the Snow Hill Volunteer Fire Service, I decided to give it a try. But no-one was in. So I went into ‘discreet mode’ i.e. no tent, and settled for the night in between some very well sculptured trees in the Fire Station garden, waking up at first light to keep heading south. Luxury, eh? The morning after the night before:
Day 7 – Snow Hill, MD – Cape Charles, VA (80 miles)
First light. The first time I’ve been up and ready to go at the start of the day. Perfect opportunity to get a full day in. It was cold, so the layers came out to warm up. The day started off with really nice riding. Flat roads through amazing autumnal forest landscapes.
After a couple of hours I wheeled in to Pocomoke City, just above the border into Virginia, or on the outskirts at least. Lethargy on the bike hasn’t been an issue until this point. Pulled into an eatery and just zoned out for about an hour and half. Half sleep, half awake, a bit bizarre. It was good to refill water bottles and charge the bike light. The staff were entertained by my English accent, requesting many times ‘Sorry, could you say that again?’ just for amusement purposes.
Made the border of Virginia shortly after that, and ended up cycling in samey-looking farmland for 2 hours, until reaching Accomack as the light was at its best, where I fell off into a ditch, forgetting to unclip. Classy. Said ditch:
It was a strange day in terms of taking a lot of long-ish breaks, but really stretching the day out starting from early to late.
Pulled into Cape Charles around 11.00pm again (seems to be a recurring theme), after cycling through the dark for a few hours. Friday night and it was totally quiet at the harbour area, but windy so not the best place to sleep. So I looked on the GPS and saw that there was a massive park really close, so cycled over there, and found a really un-subtle place to stay by the side of the river. Decided to try to be as discreet as possible by bivying (no tent) on the grass, and hide the bike down nearer to the edge of the river, setting up alarms that would give off a piercing tone if anyone moved it. (Needn’t have been concerned though as three people in Cape Charles have mentioned that there is no crime here whatsoever).
Quick thoughts on night riding / attempting this project in winter:
Day 8 – Cape Charles, VA (0 miles)
The alarm clock on my phone went off at 6.15am, ready to move on and head for the Chesapeake tunnel bridge before being discovered. Yesterday must have taken it’s toll, as the first thing I did when the alarm clock buzzed was to turn it off, and continue to sleep until 10.
Continued to pack up the sleeping kit and went to put the panniers back on the bike. Had a little moment:
Ah no the bike alarm! Totally forgot about it, I’ve just moved the bike and now it’s going off at roughly a million decibels, it’s not helping add to the discreetness of the situation.
Silenced the alarm after some frantic moments, and went on to explore, going down to the beach (amazing to be blasted by the Atlantic breeze) and bumping into the mayor of Cape Charles, Dora, who is amazing and contagiously positive. A snippet below:
Chilling out now in Cape Charles. After a week on the saddle, today will be the first full day off, time to rest and catch up on sleep before setting out again tomorrow. I was at a lunch place earlier and bumped into a great guy called Ned who manages the very snazzy Hotel Cape Charles. It closes in a couple of weeks once the fishing season finishes. He told some great stories about Cape Charles at one point, around WW2, being the railroad hub of the Northern US and that it buzzed all year round with people, as it does now in the summer, but no longer does in winter. Incredible generosity once again, as he is providing a room for the night. Kind of mind-blowing really. Looking forward to washing clothes, getting clean and starting fresh tomorrow.
In terms of how body and bike are doing after a week – fine to be honest. No punctures or mechanical issues so far, bike is still running smoothly. Body is okay too. Saddle no longer an issue, it’s gone from a pain to more of a comfort – I didn’t believe the reports (who does?) but Brooks saddles really are comfy! The only thing is slightly sore legs after the bigger days, but it’s only a numb soreness and goes away quickly once setting off.
Oh yeah, one last thing, the guy from Hustle now has a new job apparently:
13 replies on “Day 6, 7 & 8: Lewes, DE – Snow Hill, MD – Cape Charles, VA”
Hi Dave..if youpass through yorktown VA stay at the grace episcopal church…its superb and the people so friendly. Carlton is the Pastor there, a reallynice guy.
My wife and I are enjoying reading your blog every day and got a little concerned when you missed a few days. I think your timing is ok due to you will soon be on the ACA southern tier for the winter months. Still depends on the jet stream as to how cold it will get. Past few winters have been very mild with little snow along the ST route. Have you tried google maps? It has a bicycle route option they may help you along your way.
Have you seen http://www.greenway.org/index.shtml ? It is the link to the North/South Greenway bike route.
Best wishes and keep safe.
Tony
Hi Dave. Jim from Chicago checking in. You are doing great. Really enjoying your adventures. Stay safe.
[…] such a variety of people already, only being a week-or-so in to the trip. Just yesterday I was with Dora from Cape Charles, who radiated positivity. In contrast to that, Jim is very passionate, and has got strong feelings […]
I hope the tumble into the ditch wasn’t too traumatic, cos I have to admit I had to laugh. Just the sort of thing I do, usually at intersections or when peoples are somewhere nearby.but I have never landed in a ditch!!
More embarrassing than painful!
dave, friends sailing down to florida. they will be reading your blog and watching for you. take their offer if they want to take you to the bahamas. it is warmer there. be safe
Hi Dave,
I am a friend of Dora’s. You had the best description of her. I think she is one incredible person. Anyway, she emailed me your blog. We are traveling south on our sailboat. We are a little bit ahead of you. I am sure you will catch up quickly. We only average 6knots. We hope to be in Georgetown Sc tonight and are hoping to make Charleston on Wednesday. We will be there till Tuesday morning. Would like to meet you. I have read your blog, and we have passed it on to some cyclists we know and a couple others. I am learning all new lingo.
Bonnie
Hi Bonnie, Thanks for getting in touch! A rough guesstimate has me in Charleston on Sunday. I’ll drop you an email in the next couple of days with a more accurate time!
Hello Dave, Michael here from Cape Charles, VA by way of Washington , DC. Hope your travels are safe and know that I am cheering you on. Also keeping up with your blog. The Best. Michael
It’s the 3rd of December and no word from you. Are you safe? Need anything?
Hi Dora,
Yep safe! Just been in Charleston, SC for a couple days. Missed Bonnie by a few days but may catch up in FL.
Gonna try and do a new blog tonight or tomorrow.
Hope all’s well!
Hi Dave,
My name is Jane and I’m with Dwellable.
I was looking for blogs about Lewes to share on our site and I came across your post…If you’re open to it, shoot me an email at jane(at)dwellable(dot)com.
Hope to hear from you soon!
Jane