# Rides from Newark, DE ?



## sitzpickel (Nov 10, 2003)

I moved to Newark, DE this week and I'm trying to find good weekday and weekend rides in the area. I'm coming from the Bay Area in California (please, don't ask why I moved) and need some good 30-40 mile rides for the weekday evenings and 60+ mile rides for the weekends. I'm used to climbing although I realize that long, sustained climbs are not available in the area.
I normally don't ride in groups (especially large groups), but I wouldn't mind finding a few people to ride with, just to learn the local routes & rules. I've been riding about 200mi a week back in CA and can maintain a decent pace.
I do know about the White Clay Bicycle Club, however, they don't seem to be posting routes. 
Oh, I almost forgot - I'm trying to ride from my house in Newark, so rides that start somewhere in PA are too far to get to.
Any hints?

Michael
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Ride, rinse, repeat.


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## Dream Plus (Feb 4, 2004)

*Depends.*

There is tons of good riding around Newark. There are also lots of group rides and the dynamics can be tricky. There are rides for everyone although not all rides are for everyone.

I think that White Clay Bicycle Club is a good place to start. They will know all of the roads and offer weekly rides listed by month on their website. Their big events are good to learn routes and expose you to good roads. I'm a big fan of the Savage Century and know the route by heart. It helps that the markings stay around for a while.

http://www.whiteclaybicycleclub.org/

Or you could use my stategy, just go out and get lost. I can't do it anymore because after 25 yrs of riding here, I almost always know where I am at least in relation to major landmarks like rivers, creeks major roads or highways.

Newark is blessed with a wide variety of riding. Hills and Roleers to the north and west, flat as a pancake below the canal. You can cross the canal on the Summit or Reedy Point bridges, even the Chesapeake City bridge if you are bold.


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## Becky (Jun 15, 2004)

My husband and I used to live in Newark (we're in Wilmington now) and there is lots of great riding available nearby. Visit http://www.deldot.gov/static/bike/index.html for some more information. Also, check out http://www.deldot.gov/static/pubs_forms/manuals/maps/orderform.htm to get yourself some free Delaware bike maps. We've found these to be incredibly helpful when trying to gauge the suitability of unfamiliar roads and plan new routes.
My experience with WCBC is that they do not post their cue sheets online for non-members, but we're familiar enough with the area to make up rides as we go along. (No, we don't ride with them.) You might consider riding west out of Newark on Main Street/273 into Maryland for some nice roads or back through White Clay Creek State Park and into PA for some hills. One of our favorite rides is to ride down to Chesapeake City, MD and Delaware City, DE- lots of good, fairly flat riding down that way. 
Feel free to get in touch if you have questions about specific roads, routes, etc. and welcome to the neighborhood!

Becky


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## Dream Plus (Feb 4, 2004)

*OK I thought of some things.*

Head out Rte 273 and follow the Icycle route. There are options for 100K 50K or 25 miles. The route is clearly marked with a "snowball" and arrows in white. The roads coverd form a core of roads that constitute good riding. Scenic, low traffic, etc. and they will introduce you to some of the variety available. While you are riding that route, you'll see road markings for somef the other rides in the area.

Sat mornings there's a fairly non agressive endurance ride from Barksdale Park. In the summers, the start time is 8:30. It starts at 9 the rest of the time. The ride leaders are pretty strict about the format. Right now it is wait at the tops of climbs and NO hammering!

If that's too tame, ask on that ride where to show up for faster rides. There are "hammer" rides that drop people regularly, so you need to know your way home before riding these.

Do you Mountainbike? Check out the trails in the area. Fair Hill, White Clay and Middle run are all accessable without driving from Newark.


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## sitzpickel (Nov 10, 2003)

*Thanks for all the tips*

I ended up following the yellow squiggles from Barksdale on Saturday, which I believe is the Savage Century route. Ended up doing the 75 mile loop only, which is quite scenic, but the hills did wear me out eventually. I barely made it home in time before the storm. I will try to meet up with a group this week. I did see some guys wearing FSVS jerseys coming back near Nottingham at a fast pace when I headed out.
What group was that?
Anyway, wave and say hello when you see me out there, I'm the guy on the Specialized Roubaix Pro with the bullhorns.

Sitzpickel
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Ride, rinse, repeat.


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## Dream Plus (Feb 4, 2004)

*The squigglies...*

are the Savage route. If the 100 mile ride is out of the question, you can start and finish at Nottingham Park and still hit all of the Savage hills.

There were two rides out that way on Saturday, the ride I mentioned from Barksdale, and a "hammer" ride that strated at the Cecil Co YMCA. You may have seen either one since they followed the same route only opposite each other.


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