Having never been to the city of Annapolis, home of the USA naval academy, I had no idea what to expect. All I knew was, that across the Chesapeake Bay, the Chesapeake Byway began, another scenic route void of major traffic, and I was looking forward and ready to explore the hinterlands of Maryland. You can only imagine my surprise when a gas-station attendant told me that the only bridge across the Bay, connecting Annapolis with East Maryland, did not allow foot or bicycle traffic. "You will have to go north via Baltimore," was his somewhat sarcastic remark. Abashed but undeterred, I decided that no matter what, I would find a way, and that going 150 miles out of my way just wasn't an option. With that thought in mind, I cycled into town and was pleasantly surprised by this historic and picturesque maritime town.
After having biked up and down and around the historic district, I made my way to the visitor center, to see if they had a solution to my problem. As I explained my situation to the two volunteers on duty, they responded with a, we-love-a-good-challenge attitude, and started looking for maps, yellow pages and other transportation information. It did not take long before they came to the same conclusion as the gas-station attendant. There simply was no way to get across the Chesapeake Bay on a bicycle. One of the volunteers, Ed Wood, who celebrated his 47th wedding anniversary that day, and was not supposed to be on duty, said: " I have an SUV and will take you across the bridge, if you can get all of that, pointing at the bike and trailer outside the window, in the back of the car." Having done that before, with less space than an empty SUV, I took the task at hand and shortly thereafter we turned the corner out of the parking garage, towards the William Preston Lane Memorial bridge, destination Stevensville, on highway eighteen.
Once on the other side, it was still a fairly long bike ride to the town of Centreville, where I checked in at a newly established bed and breakfast, on 104 Kidwell. I was only the second guest there, and the innkeeper hadn't officially opened the doors yet for the public. Although not fully prepared to have guests, Barbara left for the grocery store later that night, to buy all the food on her shopping list, in preparation for a wonderful and elaborate home-cooked breakfast the next morning.
After having biked up and down and around the historic district, I made my way to the visitor center, to see if they had a solution to my problem. As I explained my situation to the two volunteers on duty, they responded with a, we-love-a-good-challenge attitude, and started looking for maps, yellow pages and other transportation information. It did not take long before they came to the same conclusion as the gas-station attendant. There simply was no way to get across the Chesapeake Bay on a bicycle. One of the volunteers, Ed Wood, who celebrated his 47th wedding anniversary that day, and was not supposed to be on duty, said: " I have an SUV and will take you across the bridge, if you can get all of that, pointing at the bike and trailer outside the window, in the back of the car." Having done that before, with less space than an empty SUV, I took the task at hand and shortly thereafter we turned the corner out of the parking garage, towards the William Preston Lane Memorial bridge, destination Stevensville, on highway eighteen.
Once on the other side, it was still a fairly long bike ride to the town of Centreville, where I checked in at a newly established bed and breakfast, on 104 Kidwell. I was only the second guest there, and the innkeeper hadn't officially opened the doors yet for the public. Although not fully prepared to have guests, Barbara left for the grocery store later that night, to buy all the food on her shopping list, in preparation for a wonderful and elaborate home-cooked breakfast the next morning.
I think if you call the Bay Bridge administration ahead of time they will transport you across in a pickup truck.
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