Eastern Shore of Maryland/Chesapeake Bay - NEW!

5-Day / 4-Night Bike Tours

Inns

• The Old Brick Inn, St. Michaels, MD
• Historic Tidewater Inn, Easton, MD

Rates and Dates

• $1395 - Apr 18-22, Apr 25-29, May 2-6, May 9-13

Itinerary / Distances

• Sun: Arrival day
• Mon: 35 or 45 mi (56 or 72 km) Easier
• Tues: 28 or 40 mi (45 or 64 km) Easier
• Wed: 16 or 34 mi (26 or 55 km) Easier
• Thurs: 28 mi (45 km) Easier

Deposit

$300 per person. Final payment due 60 days prior to your tour (personal check, Visa or MasterCard).

Bike Rental

$80

Single Travelers

Supplement for guaranteed private room (when available): $286

Supplement for single travelers willing to share a room: $140*

*This fee will be fully refunded if we find someone to share your room. See "Single Travelers" at The Details for more information

What's Included

4 nights of lodging (double occupancy); 4 breakfasts and 3 dinners. You are one your own one night in Easton.

Cancellation Policy

If you cancel...
(a) at least 61 days prior to your tour we will return 100% of your tour payments;
(b) 60 days or less from the date of the tour you must pay the full tour price.

Should Bike Vermont have to cancel your tour we will refund all your tour payments immediately as full settlement.

We strongly recommend you purchase Trip Cancellation Insurance as soon as possible. A detailed comparison of trip cancellation insurance policies and prices is available online and links for these sites are available at the end of the reservation page. We recommend CSA Travel Protection based on their rating by Consumer Reports. We will also send you an application form with your Confirmation.

Terrain

Easier

• Average Daily Mileage: 27 mi (43 km)
• Average Daily Mileage with Options: 37 mi (59 km)

 

5-Day / 4-Night Bike Tours Eastern Shore of Maryland/Chesapeake Bay - NEW! Maryland

Jump start your 2010 biking season by celebrating springtime on the Tidewater Peninsula!

Gorgeous flat coastal biking terrain awaits you as we explore the shores of the Chesapeake Bay, bike on pleasant tree-lined roads and wind our way by the many rivers, bays and estuaries that define this region. In fact, Adventure Cyclist Magazine calls this one of the ten best places to tour in North America. As further enticement, you will spend four nights in some of the area's prettiest towns and best of inns, and each evening enjoy local specialties such as crab cakes, oysters, fish, Maryland barbecue and other exceptional cuisine offered by local eateries.

The Chesapeake is the largest inland estuary in the world and it divides this land into hundreds of small bays and inlets, while rivers thread the entire peninsula. When we are not on the bay, we ride past beautiful Tidewater farms, passing by 18th and 19th century grand manor houses and old plantations, all the while enjoying the gentle pace and quiet countryside. The roads are mostly flat to gently rolling, so this is a perfect area to revive your cycling legs and tune up your skills (and your bike...see below).**

We begin our midweek tour in the quaint waterfront village of Saint Michaels. Saint Michaels is situated on a picturesque peninsula between Tilghman Island and Easton and is well known for its interesting mix of history, shops, and small town charm. The town's historic streets are lined with Colonial-era houses and shops, evidence that Saint Michaels has been a trading center since the 1630s.

While in Saint Michaels, we are guests at the delightful Old Brick Inn. This exceedingly comfortable and welcoming property is perfectly situated for us to take a short walk to the waterfront or an evening stroll past the shops and handsome old homes. The inn offers massages, has a popular hot tub, and excels in providing wonderful gourmet breakfasts.

On Monday we treat you to what is considered one of the premier biking routes on the East Coast. We ride pretty back roads through Royal Oak and Bellevue to the banks of the Tred Avon River. Here Captain Tom Bixler welcomes us aboard the small Oxford-Bellevue Ferry. Founded in 1683, this privately owned ferry is believed to be the oldest in the country. As we cross to Oxford we get a great view of the river, often seeing the fishermen hard at work while passing the mega-mansions that dot its shoreline. The ferry takes us to Oxford, a charming, tree-lined village that has been well known for its boat building and maritime activities since the founding of our country. Our exploration of Oxford always ends with a visit to the Scottish Highland Creamery for a scoop of Victor Barlow's homemade ice cream. The afternoon finds us weaving along the Orford Road, bypassing Easton and returning to Saint Michaels. We will plan to save enough time for you to visit the fascinating Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum where we learn about the history of the bay, and its traditions in boatbuilding, commercial fishing, yachting and navigation. There are twenty-three buildings here on eighteen acres with interactive exhibits, the popular Hooper Straight Lighthouse, and several historic vessels docked at the waterfront boat yard.

Tuesday takes us north passing elegant manor houses before crossing the Miles River drawbridge. After passing the "Gothic" ruins of the St. John's Protestant Episcopal Church (built in 1839), we pass through Unionville and by the historic Unionville cemetery where many soldiers from the black Unionville Regiment are buried. We will picnic on the grounds of the "Little Red School House", a still intact original one room school built in the late 1800s and which now serves as a museum. An optional loop from here takes us to the village of Wye Mills where a perfectly preserved small mill still grinds and sells its stone ground flour, keeping up a 300-year tradition. Our scenic roads then loop us south where we spend the next two nights as guests at the historic Tidewater Inn in Easton.

Easton is often listed as one of the best small towns in America. It has lovely tree-lined streets, beautifully preserved Colonial and Victorian architecture, an arts and cultural center, casual and gourmet dining, sophisticated shopping, boutiques, fine antiques, and a renowned art gallery. The Tidewater Inn has roots that trace back to 1712 and it takes great pride in its rich legacy, combining the feel of a local B&B while offering many of the amenities of a small hotel, including handsome rooms, excellent dining, and a fun wine bar.

Wednesday we take a short shuttle to Cambridge so as to enjoy a spectacular ride that takes us through the Blackwater National Wildlife Preserve. This 25,000 acre refuge was originally established in 1933 as a haven for ducks and geese migrating along the Atlantic Flyway (upwards of 35,000 geese and 15,000 ducks visit each year) and is host to one of the largest breeding populations of bald eagles on the East Coast (we can essentially guarantee a sighting or ten). It is also a haven for several troubled species including the endangered Delmarva fox squirrel and the migrant peregrine falcon. Time magazine once called this refuge "nature on the throne of her glory", and you will quickly understand why.

On our final day we take a shorter lovely ride south of Easton. Our bike route first takes us past the Third Haven MeetingHouse. Built in 1632 out of hand hewn logs, this handsome structure is the oldest religious building in America. We then continue cycling past old millponds and through mature wetland forests filled with spring songbirds. We take side trips out to the shore of the Choptank River, and pass several churches with their ancient graveyards as we loop back to Easton for our brief shuttle to Saint Michaels. It is certainly a perfect ride to end our biking vacation!

**Since this spring tour may be one of your first times cycling this season, our professional tour guides are prepared to coach you in proper biking technique and skills so we can help you start the new year riding with greater ease and efficiency.

In addition, we are coordinating with Gary Hughes, and Bodacious Bicycles in Easton to provide you with the option of getting the best of the best in biking fitting. Gary will provide you with the option of having you perfectly fitted to your own bike, a process we highly recommend so as to make your 2010 cycling experiences comfortable and truly efficient. We can personally attest to the fact that Gary works magic with you and your bike! Let us know if you are interested, and we will send you more information.