jonwvara 

The day after tomorrow, I expect to start a week-long tour of the Eastern Shore of Maryland, starting in Newark, Delaware, and passing more or less through Chestertown, Easton, Cambridge, Salisbury, and Ocean City. Maybe Princess Anne and Pocomoke City as well. The emphasis is on low-mileage days and lots of wandering and enjoying the sights without much in the way of a predetermined itinerary, although I do have a few specific ideas in mind.

If I were a more organized person I might have posted this sooner. But if anyone has suggestions for cool places to go, things to eat, etc, I'd be happy to hear of them.

pastorbobnlnh 

Jon, you must be wanting a complete break from any hill climbing. That area is pancake flat once you leave the Newark area and head further east.

Try to visit historic Lewes, DE. It dates back to the early 1600s and has Dutch heritage.

El Chaba

Chestertown, Easton ( and nearby Oxford and St. Michaels), Berlin ( near OC) are great small towns. You just missed being able to take the ferry from Oxford to about 5 miles from St. Michaels as it has closed for the season. Many areas of downtown Cambridge and Salisbury are not safe and not worthwhile. For Talbot County, you may find this link of some use https://tourtalbot.org/wp-content/up...ike-Trails.pdf
Let me know of any specific questions.

USAZorro

Assateague might be worth a visit. Not that you'll likely want to stay long. Ocean City will likely be 3/4 shut down. Salisbury - has been a while, but it was kinda "meh".

satbuilder 

Oyster fest is Saturday in St. Michaels. You a couple weeks early for the Waterfowl Festival in Easton.

Blackwater Wildlife Refuge is always a nice visit. Good time of year to eat crabs, if you like them.

Steve B.

I would skip Ocean City, its urban sprawl, nothing scenic to see.

albrt 

Lewes and Rehoboth are the best part of the DE/MD coast in my opinion, although they are so expensive now my family probably would not have been able to afford to go there. Lewes has a little museum, but I think it closes up for the season soon. The original Dogfish Head pub is in Rehoboth, but much expanded from the early days twenty years ago.

The north side of Indian River Inlet is known as Coin Beach because a ship wrecked there in the 1780s carrying barrels of English half-pennies. I found when I was a kid, and it was about this time of year because the beach is basically empty. Some of the stretches of beach are state land, so they are undeveloped for miles.

Ocean City is cool in its own way, worth at least riding through. Not as exciting if most of the boardwalk is closed.

SJX426 

Chestertown - he town is home to Washington College, a private liberal arts college founded in 1782. Washington College is the tenth oldest college in the USA. George Washington was a founding patron.

tiger1964 

Not a big thing but a photo op; a Futuro House (fiberglass flying saucer house) at the airport in Milton, Delaware. I recall as a kid there was a "dealership" for these somewhere in DE, perhaps in Georgetown?

DonkeyShow

Spent my summers in lewes growing up. Fun to check out and walk around for a bit but not much to do. Downtown main area is rather tiny. The docks are right next to it and they do charter trips if you like fishing. Rehoboth has some of my favorite restaurants of all time, particularly henlopen oyster Co. Salt Air is also really good. The boardwalk is fun but mostly shut down this time of year. If you go to henlopen state park you will find lots of cool beachy biking trails and can see old war batteries and a bunch of cool tower things to climb. Can also take the car ferry to jersey shore if you fancy.

Order steamer clams whenever possible. Blue crabs also but they're crazy expensive these days unless you can connect with a fisherman who steams them himself or come out west of DC to my secret spot.

Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge has wild horses running around on the beach supposedly.

NJgreyhead

Cambridge area has lots of Harriet Tubman history, including the country store (Buckman?) where she was dinged by a thrown scale weight as a child. Worth a visit.

Nearby Blackwater Refuge is cool too.

BFisher

The Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge is a wonderful place if you like wildlife. I saw so many critters there. Here's one:


Obligatory bike shot:

bark_eater 

The Broadkill store has good food. It was a bit of a detour just for lunch when heading for Lewes.

stardognine

Ha, I'd love to get one of those, for an adult playhouse. Better than just another garage. 😁

My ex was from B'more, so of course I've eaten a few crabs. The thing to do with her family, was buy a bushel of crabs (actually a LOT), and steam them yourself. Her granny had a gigantic pressure cooker-looking thing, just for crabs. And of course you have to know how to season them, with Old Bay (sounds more like obey, when they say it) seasoning powder, among other things.

Mmm, messy as heck, but delicious. 😍😁

delbiker1 

The town of Berlin, MD, the coolest little town in America, 7 miles west of OC, MD. Assawoman Wildlife Refuge, across the bay from Fenwick Island, has about a 5 mile loop, mostly gravel, connecting 3 different landings and some great views of wetlands, woods, and resort towns in the distance. Bethany Beach for Pomodoro's Pizza, corner of Atlantic and Garfield, great pizza by the slice, with 6-8 different topping pies to choose the slice from. Great views of beach, ocean and bays from the Indian River Inlet Bridge, especially at sun up and sundown.

Ocean City, MD will not be 3/4 shut down. It will be busy with almost all businesses open for at least the weekends. I live just west of Bethany Beach. If you are going to be in that area at lunch time, let me know, maybe we can hook up for a ride and lunch.

satbuilder 

One other place comes to mind, I haven't been there, but have heard the food is great. It's on my list.
https://www.suicide-bridge-restaurant.com/

delbiker1 

I have been there many times. The restaurant, IMO, is ok. It is out of the way for someone on a bike that just wants to lunch or dine there.

jonwvara 

Okay, I'm back. Six enjoyable days, mostly on quiet back roads. Highlight was a nice ride from Chestertown (where I got a much-needed haircut) to Cambridge with a very nice all-day tailwind. I never get much in the way of pictures when traveling alone, and I'm not good at managing the pictures I do take, but I will try to post a few more at some point.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikeforums.net-vbulletin/2000x1504/image000000_12__f08b50bde449c9d2baf4ab560bc6a025c0316749.jpg
Lat afternoon approach to Ocean City

My non-C&V touring bike, known to me as Old Horse Face for it's comically long head tube. It's leaning against the biggest gingko tree I've ever seen, next to the public library in Cambridge, Maryland.

pastorbobnlnh 

Jon, did you enjoy a week of zero hills and mountains to climb? Did you go down and back by train?

jonwvara 

Well, there was one significant hill on the first morning in Newark, Delaware, near the top of which was a historical marker in front of a nondescript ranch house that was the first home of George Thorogood, the "Delaware Destroyer." Who knew?


Drove to Albany, Amtrak to Penn Station in NY, another train to Newark, hotel near the train station. On the return from Ocean City, took a van shuttle BWI Amtrak station outside of Baltimore, then trains to NYP and another back to Albany. No issues--it was pretty convenient.


I did like the flat riding. I am now old enough that not even the most elastic definition of middle age can possibly be stretched enough to include me. I am an old guy. But I do still ride hills around here, so there's something more than that. In some hard-to-describe way, I enjoy flat country because of its spaciousness--there's more sky, or something. I was surprised at how nice and little-used the back roads were. The only times I had to get onto bigger, busier roads was to cross big waterways like the Nanticoke and the Choptank.

I had not realized that cypress trees could be found as far north as southern Maryland.

jonwvara 

Crossing the Chesapeake City Bridge in morning fog. You can believe that I walked my bike over the sidewalk at left rather than riding. Even that was a little unnerving.

pastorbobnlnh 

Jon, when I was a wee one, 55+/- years ago, my parents stopped at that Cypress swamp on our way to or from a day trip to Assataeque Island. I remember being fascinated by the trees growing in a pond and their knees.

I knew there would be a few hills near Newark, but nonexistent as you headed south and east. Glad you had a great trip.

stardognine

A man's got to know his limitations. 😁😉

jonwvara 

Yeah, it's true what they say about discretion and valor. I can't argue with Clint Eastwood, either--at least not about that.