BIKE Talbot

BY MARGARET ENLOE-NORTH

When it comes to exploring on my bike, I am a “poker.” I like to poke around and down roads that I have not ridden to see what’s there. In Talbot County, these scenic detours will take you into beautiful woodlands, past marshes, through little hamlets and ultimately to the water or just a scenic dead end. The 7-mile ride from Oxford to St. Michaels offers many side road possibilities for a poker like me but this time I’m mostly sticking to the main route, which is a treat all by itself; one that starts with a historic ferry ride. Once you’re across the Tred Avon River, this route meanders past pastoral farmlands, forests and through the small Eastern Shore villages of Bellevue and Royal Oak before landing you in historic St. Michaels.

I love the first mile of this ride aboard the Oxford-Bellevue Ferry. This tenminute crossing from the Oxford ferry dock is a peaceful way to experience the Eastern Shore as well as views of the expansive Choptank River. My favorite part of this experience is smelling the breeze, all the while knowing that I am riding on the nation’s oldest privately owned ferry service, having been in operation since 1683. The ferry runs seven days a week, 9 a.m. to sunset, starting at the end of April and going through October. Be sure to check the schedule online.

Disembarking on the other side of the Tred Avon River, I can’t resist taking a detour in the village of Bellevue, an historically Black community that used to be home to several seafood and vegetable canneries and packing houses. A quick ride off the main road has me looping through the residential village and just appreciating the community and its history.

A prominent Black family, the Turners, whose patriarch was a schooner captain named William A. Turner, owned and operated the W.A. Turner and Sons Packing Co. and the Bellevue Seafood Co. during the second half of the 20th century. Though the businesses had closed by 1998, the buildings still stand at the town dock on Tar Creek. In their time, they were the only two African American-owned seafood packing houses on the Eastern Shore. As late as the 1970s, as many as 70 employees picked crabs and shucked oysters and soft-shell clams there.

Back out on the main road, I’m off for the next village, Royal Oak. For the next three miles, rounding each bend on the winding Bellevue Road is a treat. Every few hundred yards, the view changes from woodlands and canopied side roads to expansive estates, farms and fields. Some are full of last fall’s shorn corn harvest while others are ablaze with bright yellow buttercups or softly verdant with winter wheat that hasn’t yet turned brown. My nose gets a treat, too, enjoying the scents on the breeze from those fields, nearby creeks, budding trees, freshly cut grass, and blooming flowers and vines.

Three miles later, as I roll into the village of Royal Oak, I stop in the parking lot at the Royal Oak Methodist Church (on the left) where there is a water and refreshment stop for bikers on hot summer days. No water today, so I ride just a few hundred feet farther into Royal Oak’s “downtown.” There, I pop in for a quick tea at “t at the General Store,” a great tea-inspired restaurant that is a hidden gem with limited hours. Not one to pass up an opportunity, I stopped for a quick peek into Oak Creek Sales, known by the locals as "Fast Eddie's." You can get lost in the maze of vintage items in this eclectic place and never know what you might find, although no treasures for me today, at least none I can tote home on my bike.

It only takes about 10 minutes for the ferry to cross the Tred Avon River, but the ride provides a splendid view of iconic Eastern Shore scenery.

Refreshed, I’m back on the bike for another mile on the Royal Oak Road, headed for St. Michaels.

A note of caution: If you ride this route, be sure you’re paying attention on the Bellevue and Royal Oak Roads. These are main thoroughfares for locals on weekdays and even busier on weekends when tourists are enjoying the area. Make sure you are visible to motorists and ride single file with the flow of traffic. There are no shoulders, only ditches. A more family-friendly day would be Bellevue to Oxford via the ferry, riding in town and to the Oxford Conservation Park and returning with a stop at the town park and Scottish Highland Creamery for ice cream.

For the last leg of my ride, the experience changes. Once I carefully turn left on Route 33, the final two miles is essentially a straightaway into St. Michaels with a mercifully wide shoulder on a heavily trafficked road. I breathe a little easier thanks to fewer cars and trucks zooming past. A short last push and I arrive at the sign for the Town of St. Michaels with its iconic Chesapeake Bay log canoe on it. Arrived!

A few tips for once you’re in St. Michaels. As you come into town, turn left into the parking lot opposite the pool and get on the paved, local rail trail. If you continue straight but would like to stay out of traffic, the side streets parallel the main street and go through the town’s residential neighborhoods. Finally, the ride on Route 33 beyond St. Michaels has a comfortably wide shoulder and less traffic. You can ride 14 miles past the villages of McDaniel and Sherwood to the waterman’s village on Tilghman Island.

You can download a bicycle trail map from TourTalbot.org. The map has six unique routes to explore. You’ll also find a list of bicycle rental companies and helpful safety tips.

Margaret Enloe-North is long-time county resident, leisure cyclist and a consultant for Talbot Thrive, a new non-profit dedicated to promoting outdoor mobility so that everyone who lives, works or visits can safely walk, run, ride or roll around Talbot County. Get involved at TalbotThrive.org.