May 25, 2015
Lewes to Pleasantville: And Then There Were Three
On the road again! Now with Jerry! We rose relatively early, loaded our bikes, and said our goodbyes to John and Jim.
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Breakfast was at the Ocean Point Grill (or Ocean Grill). While we rose early, our ferry didn't depart till 10:30 AM, so we had a somewhat leisurely breakfast and headed the 4-1/2 miles to the terminal around 9:30 AM. We took Savannah Road all the way to downtown Lewes, over the canal, and almost to the shore before taking a right and arriving at the gate.
This is a big complex and the largest ferry service we have used on this trip. The ferry itself will handle 100 cars and hundreds more people. For once, bicyclists get preferred service and board first. And the bikes go free! And they have bike racks! Good deal!
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After disembarking, we started the real part of today's trek. And, of course , we had to stop for the obligatory "Welcome to (your state's name here)" photo op.
The ride from the terminal is quite popular with Delaware beachgoers so there are wide shoulders and good signage. Cape May is a beautiful beach town with a strong Victorian style.
We then turned up the coast and followed the shoreline through some beautiful inlets, bays, and wetlands. And, of course, more beach towns. Wildwood was pretty nice and has an impressive roller coaster sitting right on the beach.
We then crossed the islands to Stone Harbor, where we were fortunate to get bad news early, the bad news being the closure of the Ocean Drive bridge to Sea Isle City. We actually learned of this in Avalon, two blocks north of an alternate route north using the mainland.
Jerry and I had stopped to grab eats at the Avalon Supermarket, but Happy was about a mile ahead. There were no signs that we noticed, and we were fortunate that a local resident took interest in us and our travels. So we called Happy back and headed west on Avalon Boulevard to US-9, which we all feared cycling. But it turned out fine.
Traffic was so backed up that we didn't have to deal with high-speed noise, and there are wide shoulders on both roads (six feet, it seems). And when traffic did clear, it went west toward Camden, leaving us with lower volumes north to Ocean View. There, we had hoped to turn east and recover our route but found this:
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After some discussion, we turned around and went back to US-9, following it to Marmora and finally back over to the islands, pedaling through Ocean City and crossing back at Somers Point. By the way, this is the only way north, as the US-9 bridge is closed (and has been for years, apparently).
From Somers Point we took a very pleasant bike trail to Northfield. While the three of us could take issue with some of the signage (such as instructing us to walk our bikes through the intersections!), we enjoyed it, particularly given that it was late in the day and the weather was perfect. We don't bike early in the evening often, and the light of the day was perfect.
Unfortunately, the municipal campground will not take guests after 5:00 PM, and it was already about 6:00 PM. And our Warmshowers prospect was unable to host (and even graciously called her parents to see if they could step in), so we pushed another three miles or so north and got a good deal on a hotel and ate a filling Mexican dinner!
Today's ride: 61 miles (98 km)
Total: 1,922 miles (3,093 km)
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