Category — Tour de Delaware

Delaware’s natural beauty is especially noticeable on a bike. Last week I completed the 2nd Annual Tour de Delaware – a 118 mile bicycle ride from Selbyville to Wilmington.

Thursday morning I rode the first leg of the tour, along with my son Michael and about 10 friends, from Selbyville to Little Creek. Early in the trip we peddled though Frankford, Dagsboro and continued on through Millsboro — passing just a few miles from the Indian River power plant operated by NRG. This is the same plant at the center of a controversy generated when NRG filed an appeal against the Multi-Pollutant regulation adopted by the state earlier this year. It came as a surprise to many Delawareans a few weeks ago that the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control came to a settlement with NRG which allows the Indian River power plant to not come into full compliance with Delaware’s emissions standards until the end of 2011.

Watching Michael take in deep breaths as he led us on that portion of our ride reminded me how important it is that we search for clean, safe energy solutions such as wind power. The true cost of damaging the environment isn’t captured in a spreadsheet. It’s about our kids, it’s about our quality of life, and it’s about a public health crisis – not just 50 or 20 years down the road, but potentially much sooner.

John Austin and Patricia Gearity of Citizens for Clean Power have argued that there might be as much as $174.4 million in expenses to the state and to the public as a result of the additional pollution over and above the prescribed limits. Even if the costs associated with this agreement are far less, not enough explanation has been provided as to why NRG was excused from what many Delawareans consider “their share of the check.” After all, NRG has a market value of $9 billion and total assets worldwide of $19 billion, so it can’t be an inability to pay.

DNREC has argued that the recent agreement was a positive step for the state – primarily because there will be, in their view, less environmental harm with the agreement than if NRG continued its appeal and no settlement was reached. DNREC also argues that the agreement includes certain provisions even more strict than the original regulations demanded.

Nonetheless the NRG settlement raises several questions to which Delawareans deserve answers: First, let’s assume for a moment that NRG does, in fact, meet the timeline prescribed in the new settlement. What is the dollar value of the fines they avoided by not having to meet the original regulations?

Second, if NRG does not fully meet the timeline agreed upon in the settlement, what level of fines will be assessed?

Third, again assuming NRG does not meet the new timeline, will fees be retroactive to the original regulations? Similarly, will any additional punitive actions be taken?

The answers to these questions are especially important because this issue doesn’t end with NRG. Conectiv is also aggressively pursuing a similar appeal. According to papers filed with DNREC, Conectiv acknowledges it has the ability to meet the emission standards but chooses to appeal the regulations instead.

Delaware should be a leader nationally in limiting harmful emissions, and we must have penalties with real teeth for companies who don’t take them seriously. It is crucial that these standards be upheld.

We’ve completed the last leg of the 2nd Annual Tour de Delaware. The last leg took us over the “hill” (the Rt. 9 bridge in New Castle), which was arguably one of the harder parts of the trip. After that it was busy roads and heavy traffic into Wilmington, which Jack and the riders handled with ease in part because of our great volunteer SAG wagon driven by Helen and navigated by Tim.

The finish at the Riverfront in Wilmington

When we got to Wilmington, volunteers Bill and Judy had snacks awaiting the riders, and after Jack said a few words thanking all the riders, we all parted ways. It’s been a great two days, and I can’t wait to do this again. If parking garage ceilings were higher in Baltmore, my bike would be in working order instead of needing major repair. Maybe next year I’ll be able to ride!

Check back over the next few days. We took plenty of video footage on the tour, and expect to see it up on the blog some time soon. All of the photos from the tour will be available late tonight, via our Flickr page:
To our volunteers and supporters–thank you so much for all you have done. It would have been impossible to handle the logistics of a tour this size without all of you. Also, thanks to Kelly Benefit Strategies for an awesome SAG wagon the first day, and to Dogfish Head for Jack’s jersey.

Here are a few more photos from the tour to close off this post, and be sure to keep reading!

Thanks!

The riders working their way up the “hill”

Leaving Delaware City

Riding into New Castle

We departed Odessa and are now en route to Wilmington on the final leg of the 2nd Tour de Delaware. Over 20 people came out to the stop, where volunteers provided sandwiches, drinks, and lounge chairs for the bikers to relax. (Thanks Dave and Marj!)

It’s high tide along Rt. 9, meaning our bikers are going to be getting a bit wet!

Hope to see you in Wilmington, in the meantime here are some photos from Odessa:

-posted by Jed

The bikers are flying! We’ve entered Odessa just now, so we are a bit early. Don’t worry, we will stick around until when we were planning on departing, in order to stay on schedule.

It is a beautiful day, and coming into Odessa we passed some cool things, including what appears to be some form of either lighthouse or water tower. Extra points if you can tell me the story behind it:

After the end of our scheduled stop in Odessa, we will be heading on to Wilmington on the final leg of the 2nd Tour de Delaware!

Some more photos from the trip:

The bikers entering Leipsic

Senator Sokola and Councilwoman McClellan leading the pack.

-posted by Jed

We departed Little Creek after meeting up with Senator Sokola, who rode down to meet us at the start! Now it is off to Odessa, where we will stop at the Town Hall for lunch.

Two of our great interns, Helen and Tim, are in the SAG Wagon today, and will be taping parts of the tour.

We are riding through the heart of Kent County farmland, and the drought’s effect on the crops here is just as pronounced as it was in Sussex.

Stay tuned, and in the meantime, here are some more photos:

-posted by Jed

After an exhausting 60 plus mile ride yesterday, Jack and the riders are refreshed and looking forward to today’s ride from Little Creek through Odessa and into Wilmington. Yesterday we saw some of the most picturesque views of rural Delaware, and today we’ll be riding through increasingly urban areas, taking Route 9 for a good amount of the day into city of Wilmington and ending at the Riverfront.

Hopefully you can join us in either Odessa or Wilmington, but if not we’ll keep you updated here!

The crowd with Jack in Little Creek

After over 65 miles of biking, the tour arrived in Little Creek in the same close knit group that left Georgetown. All of the riders were having a blast, but were definitely ready for the day to end. A bunch of great volunteers met us in Little Creek, and joined with a crowd of spectators, cheered as the riders came in on the final stretch.

The professional Sag Wagon followed behind, blasting “Eye of the Tiger” for a little last-mile motivation. We’re off to Selbyville again to pick up our shuttle cars, and then home to catch up on some sleep.

Check back tomorrow for updates on our second part of the tour. It will begin in Little Creek where we left off today, and end at the Riverfront in Wilmington. If you want to meet us along the way, check this link to see where we will be: Bike Tour Information

Below are some photos from the rest of the day.

The riders stop for a water break in Milford

Riding by DAFB on Rt. 1 (one of the busier parts of the tour)

Michael and Jack lead the way into Little Creek at the end of the 1st day.

-posted by Jed

We’re just about to go through Milford! The tour will ride right through the main drag, past the old theater. The weather is still great, and everyone is feeling good!

Here are some more photos from the tour:

We’ll keep you posted as the day goes on!

-posted by Jed

Jack speaks to the crowd in Georgetown

Georgetown was a hit! Over 30 people turned out during their lunch breaks to support Jack on his 2nd Tour de Delaware! Our awesome volunteers provided soda, sandwiches, gatorade, and bagels. Jack gave a speech talking about the importance of a healthy, active lifestyle, and talked about how great it is to see the entire state on our back roads.

Michael Markell waves for the camera

Thanks to Treene, Pat, and all of our other volunteers for their help in Georgetown. We also added another rider who will be with us for the rest of the way!

The riders on a road out of Georgetown

We are currently on some back roads heading up towards Little Creek.

-posted by Jed

Our Riders for the First Day

After meeting volunteers at the Selbyville Middle School, Jack said a few words and we kicked off the tour! We’re now en route to Georgetown, where we will stop in the Georgetown Circle for our first break of the day. The weather is beautiful!

Jack is sporting a sweet Dogfish Head jersey that the brewery provided us for the tour. We also have an official follow car (or SAG WAGON in Bike-speak) from Kelly Benefit Strategies volunteering their services. They are in town because their team is riding in the Wilmington Grand Prix (where Jack will be the Grand Marshall)

Along the way to Georgetown, we’ve swung through Frankford, Dagsboro, and Millsboro. Dagsboro is a particularly beautiful small town, and you can still catch a movie on the cheap at the historic Clayton Theater downtown. After passing through Dagsboro, we got to smell some pickle brine in Millsboro while passing the Vlasik plant, and were under the constant watch of the looming smokestacks from the Indian River Power Station.

See you in Georgetown!

-posted by Jed