Community Corner

FOLLOW-UP: Columbia Woman Completes 29-Day Bicycle Ride Around Chesapeake Bay

Stacy Heiliger reflects on the journey, and what's next.

It took about four weeks and more than 1,000 miles of pedaling, but Stacy Heiliger made it, bicycling all the way around the Chesapeake Bay, setting off from Columbia on April 5 and making it back home on May 3.

. We caught up with her last week to learn more about her ride around the bay.

What made you decide to do this trip?

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“I had thought that a long-distance cycling trip would be a lot of fun, but I was kind of nervous to try it 'cause I had never done it before. This way I was always just a few hours away [from family members] in case I had a meltdown on the side of the road, got injured, had a mechanical problem or wasn’t having fun.

“I was already familiar with Maryland and a lot of the areas I was going to, but a lot of it was new areas. There were places that I knew were there by the maps, but I’d never been there before. That was a whole lot of fun, just discovering different parts of the Chesapeake Bay and different communities that were off the beaten path.

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“My schedule was very loose. I didn’t have a hard end date, and I didn’t have very hard dates as to when I had to be places. I had the flexibility of kind of determining on the road where I was going to go.”

Take me through the trip's highlights.

“I would say the kindness and welcoming of strangers is the biggest surprise and an amazing thing I experienced. I slept in so many guest bedrooms of people I’d just met. I’d be camping behind their houses. They’d say, ‘This is really cool. It’s supposed to rain—want to sleep in our guest bedroom?’ I was allowing myself to be open to those experiences while not being foolish in my decisions.

“Physically, the places that I thought rocked were the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Dorchester County. It’s so beautiful. It’s marshy, and there are birds everywhere. … That was really cool, and I totally want to go back, and it’s not that far from Columbia. It’s great for even a day trip.

“Another one was on the Nanticoke River in a town called Bivalve. The folks that own the deli there are super awesome. You can camp there. It’s got great fishing. It’s a nice, mellow environment.

“And then in Virginia, there’s a place called Westmoreland State Park, and that place is awesome. They have a beachy area right on the Potomac, beaches and rock jetties. It was really neat and beautiful and right on the water, a very mellow area, kind of off from the hustle and bustle of the city, and that’s where I was getting ready to head into after there.”

What about the lowlights?

“Oh, that big storm that came through. I was camping out on Assateague. … It rained a ton, and my phone got wet and ruined.

“Another lowlight was in between Williamsburg and where Busch Gardens is. I had a bag that connected to the bike, and a strap broke. At the time I thought it had a notebook in it with the addresses of the people I met. Luckily it just had gear. It had my cycling shoes and my gloves and a wool top and my leggings. Unfortunately it was stuff that I wanted.

“That was the only time I cried. I ended up cycling about 30 miles trying to trace my steps. I didn’t find it.”

When I come home from road trips, I can’t even think about long drives for a while. Right now, can you even think about cycling again?

“Oh, yes! I would love to do another trip. It’s kind of strange, me being in a car on a road trip right now. Everything is going by so fast.”

Any idea what your next trip could be?

“I’m not sure. … There’s so many good choices out there. Something that gets me into small towns. Someone suggested Pennsylvania. Another person suggested New England. I’m open to suggestions.”


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