The Explorers needed to be a little disciplined this morning because they needed to leave by 9:30 AM to ensure they would be early for their appointment for the 2:00 PM shuttle that would take them across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel. They got up early enough to pack up and have a good breakfast before leaving. It was a little more than 30 miles to the entrance to the bridge, and the Explorers need to leave extra time to figure out the process.
While at breakfast, the Explorers checked all the weather forecasts and were thrilled to see that it was no longer supposed to rain all day….. in fact,the rain wouldn’t be starting until about 2:00 which is when they would be getting shuttled across the bridge. Stepping outside, the Explorers were disappointed to see that it was still misty,with spitting rain, despite what the weather apps were saying. There was no heavy rain all day, but the light misty rain came at intervals all day long. On the bright side, it was never enough rain to soak the Explorers, but enough to provide a chill and make the Explorers yearn for sunshine.
Shortly after leaving the hotel, the Explorers left the busy highway to merge back with the Adventure Cycle Association bicycle route. It was probably the most rural day so far. Their 10 and 20 mile breaks were just at random corners in the middle of farmlands. This route did not go through any town centers or pass by any stores or gas stations, keeping Sidekick Sue from having her morning caffeine.
Sidekick Sue got bored and curious as they passed through the farmlands after seeing several fields (that she had previously concluded were peas) that were dried up with the pods still attached and unharvested. Surprisingly, she still had a good cell signal on her phone, and a little research about crops on the Delmarva peninsula, revealed that the crop in question aren’t peas at all…. they are soybeans. Apparently soybeans aren’t harvested until they are dried out and all the leaves fall from the plants. In addition to the cornfields and soybeans, the Explorers saw their first cotton fields, and what appeared to be a commercial tree farm with rows and rows of assorted landscaping trees.
The Explorers 30-mile stop was at a Welcome Center which turned out to be closed on weekdays, so once again, they came up short. They were hoping to get advice on how the process worked to meet the shuttle across the bridge. The entrance to the bridge was only a short distance away, so the Explorers decided to go up to the toll booth to figure it out.
There was an administration building next to the toll booths, so the Explorers circled around the back of it and found an open door. They were waved to a waiting area while a driver was rounded up. It turns out the “shuttle” across the Chesapeake Bridge was basically someone finding a worker with a truck to drive us across, as it is impassable by bicycle. It was a comfortable, warm wait, with a bathroom, and a vending machine with $1 sodas (Sidekick Sue was in heaven). Since the Explorers had arrived early, they expected to wait awhile. After a short wait, one of the female workers waved them along and said “I’m ready to take you”, and they followed her out the back door. The challenge was to fit their tandem bike and all their saddlebags in the back of a short pickup truck that was already full of traffic cones and other equipment. Eventually, they got everything packed, squeezed into the front seat of the truck, and made the trip over. The view from the bridge were impressive, especially as the water was still very choppy from the remainder of the hurricane weather. The network of bridges and tunnels were definitely an engineering marvel. The tunnels allow the big ships to pass over the traffic. The span was 23 miles from toll booth to toll booth, and their friendly driver dropped them off at the administration building on the other side.
As they came off the bridge, the Explorers were back on busy Route 13. They found a Dunkin Donuts to get out of the rain for a bit, while they booked a hotel room for the night (it was still too wet to camp). As they started biking again, they wanted to get off of Route 13, so at the first opportunity, they turned down a side street to get back on their charted, less-busy, route. After several miles, they jumped on an official bike path. While the bike computer suggested leaving the bike path, Google Maps showed that it continued through First Landing State Park, so the Explorers decided to trust Google. The paving got a little rough and bumpy, but it was passable, and would get them near their hotel in only 4 miles. Unfortunately, a few miles in, the paved path disappeared and turned to dirt, which was pure mud from all the recent rain. So the Explorers had to double-back a bit to get back to the route recommended by the ACA. The criss-crossed to Atlantic Ave and followed a parallel bike path down to the full-service Marriott they had booked. Plans changed when they realized that this Marriott didn’t have a self-serve laundry (and laundry was a necessity tonight), so Captain Mark got on the phone with Marriott (it’s good to be Elite status) and got re-booked at the Residence Inn which was less than a mile down the road. Because it is off-season, they got a great oceanfront room. The staff was wonderful, helping them find indoor storage for the bike.
They grabbed some food at a pizzeria (seems to be a theme this trip) down the street and went back to their hotel to do laundry.
