Pogwatigue Perambulations: May 2010

It's been over a month since my last bike ride, a streak I aim to end during the upcoming three-day weekday. My last ride came during my Eastern Shore trip in late April. While I wanted to leave enough time at the end of day for a thirty-mile loop ride, as is often the case, engaging activities earlier in the day put me behind schedule. I figured I needed three hours to ride thirty miles, plus an allowance for a required ferry crossing, but I didn't finish at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum until 4:00 PM. I also had deteriorating weather conditions with which to contend. Having brought my bike along on the trip, I was determined to complete at least a short ride so I changed cloths and headed out across St. Michael's prepared to turn back when conditions warranted.

St. Michael's is a lovely Eastern Shore town that caters to the tourist crowd, with seafood restaurants, boutique shops and historic inns. I rode to the far end of the small town in five minutes and joined the main highway back toward the mainland. Two-and-a-half miles out of St. Michael's, I turned right toward the northern ferry dock to Oxford. The whole ride was joyfully flat with little wind, conditions ripe for a pleasant, fast ride. As I approached the ferry dock, I saw cars starting to debark. I quickened my pace and reached the landing at the perfect time to catch the boat south.

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The ferry took about ten minutes to cross the Tred Avon River and land in Oxford, another quintessential shore town, but less touristy. I rode around the town until about 5:30 at which point I decided it would be more prudent to return to St. Michael's the way I came. The weather had held and I had just enough daylight to justify completing the circuit, but with a several hour drive to my uncle's in Washington D.C. the longer route didn't seem justified. Plus, this strategy put me on the ferry for one more crossing.

From the ferry dock, it took me about forty minutes to ride back to St. Michael's. It did start to rain a little bit along the way, but nothing heavy. I reached my car at 6:30 PM, a little more than two hours after departing.

Cars debarking from the ferry.

Oxford, Maryland from the ferry.

Benoni Avenue, Oxford, Maryland

East Strand, Oxford, Maryland

Ferry returning to Oxford, Maryland

Statistics
Length: 19.0 miles (20.7. miles with Ferry Crossing)
Ride Time: 1 hour 24 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 17 minutes
Avg. Speed: 13.6 MPH
Max. Speed: 21.7 MPH
Avg. Cadence: 54 RPM
Cumulative Ascent: negligible
Max. Elevation: 26 ft.

The last weekend in April, I took a quick trip out of town. I've titled the trip "Eastern Shore," because my main targets for the trip were three counties in Maryland which lay on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay. Having entered those three counties, I have attained every county the state of Maryland for my Extra Miler Club tracking.

Despite this title, I really spent more time on the trip in south central Pennsylvania, including my first stop, the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. It was actually my second trip to the museum; my first was with my grandparents when I was ten. I behaved better this time. I spent most of Saturday morning looking at the museum's impressive collection of restored engines, rolling stock and other exhibits.

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About 11:30 PM, I started south towards the Eastern Shore. Along the way, I stopped just long enough to snap a picture of the house where Robert Fulton—builder of the famous early steamship, The Clermont—was born. Thanks to my GPS, I also drove just far enough to incur the toll on the Delaware Turnpike, supposedly to follow the fastest route, though toll plaza congestion defeated that end.

Arriving in St. Micheal's around 3:00 PM, I headed straight for the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. Having completed James Michner's novel, Chesapeake, last winter my visit was timely. The museum is a wonderful collection of buildings, with well-prepared exhibits, set in a campus on the edge of the Miles River. Among the buildings are a Chesapeake style lighthouse relocated from the middle of the bay, a working boatyard, and an oystering building.

I packed my bike along for the trip with the hope of riding a 30-mile loop starting in St. Michael's. However, I didn't appear to have enough time following my museum visits to complete a ride of that length (not the mention the growing the threat of rain). Resolved to log at least an abbreviated ride, I started out ready to turn around when conditions warranted. I ended up with a nice short ride that will be the subject of another post.

Back in my car, I drove to Washington D.C. to visit with my aunt and uncle who had agreed to put me up for the night. I arrived an hour later than plan, but they had dinner ready for me and we still were able to visit for a few hours before turning in for the night.

The next morning, I woke up in time for a wonderful breakfast prepared by my hosts. My uncle left mid-morning for a function with a non-profit he chairs, but I stayed a little while longer to visit with my aunt and read the Sunday papers.

From Washington, DC, I drove to the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg, PA and arrived in time for the 1:00 PM tour. Passing through security, I joined a throng of raucous high-schoolers participants of a mock government program in the magnificent rotunda, which is modeled on the lobby of the La Scala Opera House in Milan, Italy. After the mock polity cleared out, three tourists remained for the tour, which entered the two main legislative chambers as well as the Supreme Court chamber. In 2006, while visiting the Connecticut State Capitol, I met a Frenchman nearing the end his tour of all the U.S. State Capitols. I asked him which building was his favorite. He replied Pennsylvania. Now, I understand why. The extraordinarily ornate interior astonishes with massive bronze chandeliers, one-of-a-kind marble columns, and elaborate paintings.

Finishing at the capitol earlier than expected, I drove the backroads toward my next destination. In Lititz, the chocolate museum was closed on Sunday, but I did find a great city park with stone-channeled stream and teenagers attempting to trap a duck in a Loony-tunes inspired contraption (i.e some bread under box that they propped on one end with a stick that could be yanked away by a string.)

I reached Ephrata Cloister, my last stop on the trip, just in time for the last tour of the day. Dissatisfied with his previous church's leadership, Conrad Beissel set out to lead a hermits life in the frontier wilderness, but his charismatic personality attracted followers and he ended up, in 1732, establishing a prominent, but short-lived religious community. At its peak, Ephrata housed 80 celibate brothers and sisters. Today, the Saron (Sister's House), the only one of the three main buildings to survive, anchors the site. A wonderful picture of this historic structure decorates the cover on a book of historic Pennsylvania sites that I acquired soon after I moved to this state.