The Explorers spent a quiet night at Lums Pond State Park in Delaware. Sleeping in a tent isn’t always comfortable, but it got dark fairly early, so the Explorers got a good amount of sleep (after a battle with a few daddy-long legs spiders that had gotten inside the tent).
In the morning, the Explorers packed up and headed back to the “official route”. Instead of backtracking to the C&D Canal Path, they took surface roads to get to the St. Georges Bridge which they needed to get across the canal. The Explorers had motored under this same bridge last year when then were bringing their trawler up the East Coast. Even after taking surface roads to get to the entry point on the bridge, the bridge itself was a solid upward climb, although it had a separate lane for bikes, which was appreciated. It was one of only two major hills encountered today, and the Explorers were lucky to tackle it early in the day, while they were still fresh. The road crossing the bridge was Route 13, which was a bit busy. The Explorers were happy to see the route turn off of Route 13 to quieter streets.
Although the weather was fabulous again, the portion of the ride after the bridge was rather unremarkable. The majority of it was through farmland and the Augustine Wildlife Area (we did not see any wildlife except turtles). The Explorers were surprised to see so much rural, undeveloped land so close to the Delaware River, although much of it was wetlands, which is likely protected from development. They did recognize a nuclear plant that they boated by last year while on the Delaware River.
On finally reaching the small town of Port Penn, the Explorers were looking for a place to rest and get a soft drink. On slowing down to ask a resident if there was a convenience store, the resident just laughed and said the only place to go was the local combination bar/liquor store. The Explorers decided to pass on the bar before noon and press on, thinking the next town couldn’t be too far away (they were wrong). During their next break, by the side of a rural road, Captain Mark decided to re-evaluate the route, which was recommending a turn into more cornfields. He realized that if they turned the opposite way, they were close to Route 13, which they had left hours earlier. The Explorers left the recommended route and headed toward Route 13 which was a divided highway that was still considered to be “bike-friendly”. It was a busy road, with 55 mph traffic, but there was a wide shoulder, stop-lights to help regulate traffic and help with turning, and places to stop and rest (most notably, a few Wawas).
The best part about the new route is that it was almost flat, allowing the Explorers to make much better time than they had in the first 2 days. Less than 5 miles from their hotel, the Explorers stopped for their afternoon meal at Mama Mias Pizzeria (operated by a Middle-Eastern guy watching soccer in Arabic) for a good meal, and then headed to their hotel, a Residence Inn in Dover, DE that Captain Mark scored with points. The hotel was a luxury, after camping the night before. The only snafu was that their laundry room was closed because new machines are being installed in the morning. As laundry today was NOT an option (three sets of smelly biking clothes each), the resourceful, Captain Mark snuck the laundry next door to the Fairfield Inn and was back in time to look at maps and plan for the next day.
I love how the local laughed at you. Hahaha