Click here for the Cape Gazette article.

Click here for Bill Weller's recap, posted on "What's New" the other day. For those that don't know, Bill is our club's Advocacy Director, who works hard for the cycling community to Promote Safe and Enjoyable Cycling in Lower Delaware.

Officials look for ways to reduce stress along Route 1 corridor

Six road/intersection improvement projects are scheduled in or near the study area: 1. Intersection at Route 1 and Kings Highway and the Kings Highway corridor to Freeman Highway in Lewes; 2. Plantation Road Phase 2 between Lewes and Rehoboth; 3. Intersection at Old Landing and Warrington roads near Rehoboth; 4. Airport Road extension to Route 24 near Rehoboth; 5. Munchy Branch Road Phase 2 near Rehoboth; and 6. Crossing of Route 1 at at Miller and Munchy Branch roads. DELDOT GRAPHIC

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DelDOT bike workshop offers public chance for input, plan reviews... read on... 

Article by Aaron Mushrush, Cape Gazette

Email from Bill Weller, Advocacy Director June 22,2023 Hi All, On Tuesday, June 20th DelDOT held a public meeting to share their current plans for bike-related paths & trails in the Lewes & Rehoboth Beach area of SR-1/Coastal Hwy, under the goal to create alternate routes for bikes to avoid SR-1. At the meeting DelDOT asked for inputs from the public on their plans, especially those projects which have more than one option being considered.  In this email I'll share how to view the projects and how to provide your inputs. You, our cycling membership, have a lot of experience and I know there are opinions you'd love to share with DelDOT.  Below is the way to share those views with them!  Project Summaries for: SR-1 Low-Stress Bikeways Overview Munchy Branch Vicinity Projects Old Landing Road and Warrington Road Intersection Munchy Branch Road Pathway Phase 2 Crossing SR-1 at Munchy Branch Rd & Miller Road URL: https://publicinput.com/sr1bikewaystudy#1 Survey and a pre-formatted comment form:  https://publicinput.com/sr1bikewaystudy#2 Submitting comments via email: sr1bikewaystudy@PublicInput.com  Thanx for helping DelDOT make better biking decisions in this area! Best regards, Bill W

Did you know that our very own Mike Shultz makes bamboo bikes? HIs company, Euilly5 bikes of Lewes, Delaware is named after his grandson, Euill Long the 5th, hence Euilly5. Check out his website at www.euilly5.graphicstardesigns.com.

Mike documents the build process yearly with photos, lessons learned, design insights, etc. Mike will be happy to share his reports by email through is website. Here's his most current report.

Inside look of the 2023 Mike Bikes By Mike Schultz After this week the drive sides and non drive sides will be bonded together and all the internals will be hidden. The photos show all the parts of the front triangle. The rear triangle is at a similar stage of completion and will remain in a press for one month to maintain the S shape bending.  This particular bike (of six) is bamboo and walnut. It is one of four road bikes. Two will be gravel bikes with a heavier construction and different shape.  The road bikes will be lighter and more streamlined than last year's, comparable to a carbon fiber frame. The "lugwork" is also a new feature, added strength at the corners while allowing a lightweight taper through the centers. All metal components are aluminum which I fabricate in the shop.  Like most of you, I join cycling clubs for fitness and a healthy social activity but I'm also doing field testing and gathering feedback and tips from cycling enthusiasts like you. The goal is to build a better bike. Bikes that will last generations, that combine art and engineering, that will appreciate in value like a Stradivarius or a Martin guitar, that draw carbon from the atmosphere not add to it.  A bamboo industry is blooming in the USA and hopefully I won't have to rely on imports in the future. This is visionary. https://bamboorevolution.com/pages/usa-bamboo It ain't just another bike, Mike Euilly5 bikes of Lewes, Delaware, USA

This year's Sussex Cyclists/DelDot Bike Safety checkpoints will run from June through August at various locations around Lewes and Rehoboth Beach.  Each checkpoint will be posted separately on the Sussex Cyclists calendar for volunteers to register.  The full schedule from DelDot may be viewed here.

We're always looking for volunteers!  No special skills are required.  Activities may include distributing bicycle safety literature, making minor adjustments to bicycles, installing lights or reflective tape and giving out helmets. 

Local Artist, Renata Price will be showing her oil paintings at the Camp Rehoboth Gallery during the month of July. The show will be open during regular Camp Rehoboth hours starting on July 5 and will run through the end of the month. There will be an artist’s reception at the gallery on July 22 from 4 to 6 p.m.
 
This is Renata’s first one woman show. It is entitled, “The Beauty Around Us through Color, Shape and Shadow". She will be applying her traditional “Old Masters” style to a variety of subjects. 
 
Renata Price lives in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Her work has been exhibited throughout the area. She trained at the Art League of Alexandria Virginia and has made good use of the many training opportunities online. Art has been a lifelong passion of Renata’s as she was raised in a home adorned with the works of her artist mother and grandmother.
 
Her work is very detail oriented reflecting her background as an engineer. She is also fascinated by complex shadows and reflections which are often a central characteristic of her work. Her goal is for her paintings to be hyper-realistic reflecting scenes as she thinks they would be in a more perfect world.
 
She draws inspiration from a variety of sources and does not turn away from any interesting subject. 
 
You can see Renata’s new works for the show on her website at https://www.renataprice.com/page-3/. She can be reached at email: renataprice@me.com.

Email from Bill Weller, Advocacy Director June 16,2023 Hi All, There is a lot of bikeway & trails news to share. Here is my summary from the two DelDOT meetings I attended this week that related to our trails and my subsequent discussions. The two meetings were the Five Points Working Group Annual Report meeting and the joint Lewes Bike Plan and Georgetown Lewes Trail update. The highlights are: Georgetown Lewes Trail Georgetown LewesTrail completion (GLT) - DelDOT is designing the remaining segment from Fisher Rd to Airport Rd (Georgetown). They have applied to the US DOT for a RAISE grant to finish the trail. The US DOT announcement is scheduled for June 28. Yes, this month!  The trail extension design for major roadway crossings includes an island and flashing lights similar to that installed at the GLT intersection with Sweetbriar Rd. However, the new crossings will have push buttons to activate the flashers. The buttons will be used vs the automatic sensors used at Sweetbriar Rd to help insure the cyclist stops before crossing, and because there have been complaints about the lights at Sweetbriar coming un or staying on when no one is present.  The intersections targeted are the busy, major roads like Harbeson Rd, Gravel Hill Rd, etc.  DelDOT details on the GLT completion project can be found at, with the charts from this week's meetings to be posted in a few days: https://www.deldot.gov/projects/index.shtml?dc=details&projectNumber=T202230001#project-details1 The trailhead planned for Hudson Park adjacent to the GLT on the corner of US-9 and Coolspring Road should get an initial gravel parking lot this year. Then the implementation of the full planned trailhead could be decided after the Sussex County County Council completes the planning & zoning process for the property across US-9 from the park. The County Council decision could be a year away, then the developer's schedule would be a major factor. Details on the adjacent development: https://www.capegazette.com/article/project-planned-539-acre-parcel-west-lewes/219255 Hudson Park and current trailhead design details are at: https://www.sclandtrust.org/properties-protected-and-managed-by-the-sussex-county-land-trust/stephen-p-hudson-park/ https://www.sclandtrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/HUDSON-PARK-PH-2-rendering.pdf Lewes Bike Plan It is very, very early in the process. They have formally developed goals/objectives and are looking for community input. The map charts showed the status of trail & bike accommodation projects ranging from those under construction now to those being studied. One study that caught my attention was that there is a formal study underway to design, fund and develop a preliminary cost estimate for a bike/ped bridge over the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal in the area where the train trestle was removed (GLT at Gills Neck Road). No schedule or details were available. Additional information on the LBP, the charts from the meeting, and how to submit your own comments can be found at: https://publicinput.com/lewesbikeplan  Several Sussex Cyclists attended the LBP & GLT meeting, including George & Michelle (apologies to the other attendees as I didn't get a chance to get your names.)  Michelle's quick video of the meeting can be found on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/SussexCyclists/videos/219736944221347 Separate from these meetings I've learned that the start of construction for the expansion of the Junction & Breakwater Trail around the Wolfe Neck Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility has been delayed for at least another 18 months due to complications at the site.  A little bit of the history can be found in this article in the Cape Gazette: https://www.capegazette.com/article/dnrec-completes-design-new-trail-wolfe-neck-area-trail/200625 Last, the bike detour on SR-1 around the SR-16 intersection overpass construction won’t come down until the overpass construction is complete (~1.5 to 2 more years). This is part of Bicycle Route 1 and makes it a longer ride from the south to get to places like Prime Hook National Refuge, Slaughter Beach, etc.  I'll miss the DelDOT meeting next week on the SR-1 Low Stress Bikeway Study on Tuesday, June 20 as I'll be out of town.  I hope many of you can still attend and provide input from the perspective of cyclists!  The details are at: https://deldot.gov/About/publicevents/workshops/index.shtml?dc=workshop&id=17083 Remember the sunblock and/or sun sleeves.  Safe riding everyone! Bill W

Thank You to All Who Rode or Volunteered for Wheels For Meals on Saturday, June 3, 2023

Our second annual joint fundraising event ride co-sponsored with Meals On Wheels Lewes-Rehoboth was an another success with 115 registrants participating without incident in a safe and enjoyable ride that included five routes 10 mile "family friendly", 15 mile, 40 mile and the Sussex Metric and Sussex Century distances. 

Thank you to the 37 Sussex Cyclists Riders and 33 Club Volunteers (flyer distribution, route marking, truck loading and unloading and “day of” support) whose participation made it a success

Mike Savage

Captain, Team Sussex Cyclists

Bill Gorodetzer 

Chair, Wheels For Meals 2023

The newly formed SUSSEX CYCLISTS SOCIAL COMMITTEE met on May 16 and June 7.  The committee includes John Kurpjuweit, Allen Segal, Diane Daly, Heidi Lerch, and Denny Shook.

Planning began for the upcoming Club Picnic and Paddle on Aug 16, and a 20 Year Anniversary Dinner in October.  Several also fun events were also discussed.  They meet again at the end of June.

Thanks for your hard work.  We're all looking forward to more fun without helmets!

Group pic of the participants who rode from Sussex County and New Castle County to Dover. For additional pics taken at Legislative Mall that I received from John Fiori at DelDOT click on https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjADgHv.  

Thank you to the 14 riders who rode on May 10th and my hope that many others will join us next year for the 2024 Legislators ride on May 8th.  Kudos to co-ride leader Jim Wagner for coordinating riders starting from Milford  and sweeping on our ride to Dover.

We rode as one group - Milton and Milford riders- on the way up to Dover at an average moving speed of 15.2 mph  per my Garmin 1030 - spot on to our 15+/- mph target.

Our efforts and numbers (exceeding for the first time the North Group who rode from New Castle County to Dover) were recognized by the event organizers, in remarks from both Delaware State Senator David Sokola, President Pro Tempore (who was the Prime Sponsor of the Delaware Bicycle Friendly Act) and John Bare (a former competitive cyclist, Bicycle Friendly State Coordinator and Board Member of Bike Delaware). Both rode with the North Group.

For the return leg, we agreed to split into different ride groups, based on ride speed (20 to 14.6 mph was reported). Total distances were 73+/- miles round trip from Milton and 48+/- miles round trip from Milford. The distance was long for an early spring ride but it was another safe and enjoyable ride for all who participated!

Here’s the link to additional pics taken at Legislative Mall that I received from John Fiori at DelDOT:  https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjADgHv
 
Bill
bgorodetzer@yahoo.com

SAVE THE DATE - Wednesday, May 8, 2024 - Annual Legislators Ride