Biking at the DE beaches on "Bike Route 1"

[acc]

I rode a limited amount last summer through the Inlet of Ocean City to just beyond the state line in Delaware. Where I was riding there was a bus/bike lane that sometimes disappeared. Early in the morning, before nine, was great. But it is a tourist area, drivers are distracted, Atlantic Coast Highway is a business district. It was challenging. This summer I’ll head inland.

I had the brilliant idea to ride along the alleys. I forgot about a favorite tourist pastime, aim the glass beer bottle at the dumpster from the balcony. I picked up a flat within ten minutes.

All of that being said, I love riding at the beach.

ann

[SilverSpring]

My Bride and our friend biked from Rehoboth to Bethany Beach last Fourth of July (so partway of what you’re describing, maybe 20+ miles roundtrip) and it was pretty good. There was a dedicated bikelane the entire way (crowded with people in Dewey Beach), but there was some grit/glass and a few rumble strips here and there. My biggest disappointment was not being able to stop (I was struggling to keep up) as we got to the highpoint on bridge to look out over the water). We all had thicker tires (hybridy, to use the technical term) and I don’t know how it would have been on thinnies.

[creadinger]

I’ve ridden from Rehoboth down to Assateague a couple of times. I take Route 1 all the way down to about Bethany and then I head inland. I just don’t want to deal with all the weirdness that Ocean City has to offer and the quiet back roads of the eastern shore can be REALLY nice. The stretch between Bethany and Rehoboth is nice though. It’s kind of a big highway, but has a full lane shoulder for bikes and peds. I was worried about the Indian River Inlet bridge construction but they made accommodation for bikes so crossing the bridge should be no problem too.

[brendan]

I’ve done the rehoboth -> bethany -> rehoboth out and back several times on a hybrid and an xtracycle. Aside from the bridge crossing it is rather flat. The wind can be a terror, though. If you’re making excellent time heading one way, brace yourself for a rude awakening on the way back.

An alternate plan would be to do a loop ride that includes both a shore portion as well as inland portion, such as this one:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/112292785

Warning: there’s a huge Mountaire chicken processing plant you have to pass. About 50% of the time, the stench nearly knocks me off the bike for a quarter mile or so.

Brendan

[JimK]

I’ve been riding from Bethany to Rehoboth and back for the past twenty years or so during our annual family vacation. It’s a fantastic ride, although sometimes there is a lot of wind. The ride from Bethany to Ocean City is not as enjoyable–too many cross streets. Inland biking from Bethany and Rehoboth also is good. Lots of roads with wide shoulders and not too much traffic.

[gcookdc]

Thanks everyone! I’m happy to report I did the round trip ride this past weekend (before all the rain) from Rehoboth to Fenwick Island on Bike Route 1 in DE and it is just as the majority of posters have responded. It’s flat, a highway(ish) BUT with a huge bike lane shoulder (the size of a car lane), LOTS of wind coming off the water. The wind made a slow hard (but in a good way) ride going south and a very fast return trip. Literally half the time. The large very new bridge at Indian Point (is under construction) – riding south there is the full bike lane BUT currently returning north there is a modified small bike lane. When the construction is finished it will have a full bike lane coming north so it will be great. Next time I’m in DE I’ll plan a backroad trip for sure but this worked well for getting in those miles. Cheers! (Oh, one additional item, the section in Rehoboth on Route 1 has loads of car traffic and is a major major shopping area – my advice would be to leave as early as possible in the morning to avoid as much of this traffic as possible.

[Riley Casey]

There is also a rather short but very enjoyable trail from Rehoboth to Lewes as well that doesn’t run along the highway. Its a great ride for kids and its also a good starting point for rides north to Milton, to the ferry across to NJ or the WWII Army artillery battery ( if you have ever wondered what the old look out towers on the beach are all about ).

http://www.railstotrails.org/resources/documents/magazine/07Spr_DES_JunctionBreakwaterTrail.pdf

[creadinger]

@Riley Casey 18647 wrote:

There is also a rather short but very enjoyable trail from Rehoboth to Lewes as well that doesn’t run along the highway.

Yeah that trail is great. The wife and I took it on a little eastern shore tour we did. It saved us from having to endure a southeasterly headwind on Route 1, as well as just riding along that section of route 1. The unfortunate part was that the locals were running a breast cancer 5K on the trail and it was difficult to make much progress while dodging several hundred pink clad women out for a jog, especially at low speed with my heavy, loaded touring bike.

It’s gravel, but it has a nice surface and it’s mostly SHADED, which can be hard to come by on the eastern shore.

[jrenaut]

I’m going to try Rehoboth to Fenwick Island this weekend or next. I’ll report back on how it goes.

[americancyclo]

Looking to get some extra miles in next month on a family trip to the beach. Thinking about being dropped off with the bike around Wye Mills and riding to meet everyone at Rehoboth Beach. Anyone ridden any of this? I’ve never even driven out there, so not sure what the roads are like, but hoping for a decent shoulder most of the way. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

[rcannon100]

Suicide. Absolute suicide. The main drag at Rehoboth during tourist season is a form of insanity.

Cape Henlopen State Park is an excellent place to bike. Many of the roads are closed to cars. You may be able to bike all the way through – but I am not sure. There is lots of cool stuff to see (WWII look out towers for U boats). The roads up at Lewes are a little bit less insane too.

[americancyclo]

The roads on google maps street view seem pretty similar to the ones we rode in the Seagull Century. Is it really that crazy? So you’d recommend staying in the car the whole way there, then riding north from Rehoboth?

[mstone]

@americancyclo 26640 wrote:

The roads on google maps street view seem pretty similar to the ones we rode in the Seagull Century. Is it really that crazy? So you’d recommend staying in the car the whole way there, then riding north from Rehoboth?

There’s a heck of a difference between beach traffic in july and beach traffic in october.

[rcannon100]

So you’d recommend staying in the car the whole way there, then riding north from Rehoboth?

No, I am recommending going to OBX and riding your bike from Southern Shores (south of Virginia Beach) all the way down to Ocracoke – then taking a ferry down to Atlantic Beach!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1410[/ATTACH]
Ocracoke Lighthouse (no idea who the people are)

[DismalScientist]

Riding the back (i.e. not 404) roads across the DelMarVa shouldn’t be a problem. The traffic problem is more on Delaware 1 itself.

[Author]

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