Day 592 – US – Maryland [Bel Air to Elkton]

17/11/21

42km

  From Bel Air (Maryland) to Elkton (Maryland)

North America

A bit of drama today, a run-in with the Police on Hatem Bridge!

The train bridge – view from Hatem bridge

The day had started rather well. The weather was pleasant, the road not too busy, the landscapes beautiful as usual. The course was rather flat and I was running faster than usual, it felt good. I was looking forward to crossing the Hatem Bridge, set over Susquehanna River, which empties in the Chesapeake Bay at Havre de Grace. A long bridge of 2.5km. I had read that bicycles, having long been prohibited on the bridge, where now allowed in, and as usual I thought if a bike can go there, me and BoB the stroller can run there.

Ordered to pack up my gear on the bridge…

Well… for the 1st time in the world-run, it did not quite go to plan! I was about 500m into the bridge crossing – and very happy: a lane was closed for road work and that meant I was running completely sheltered from traffic, within the roadwork lane. Alas… they had posted a Police car just where the works started. And the man in the Police car was less than happy to see me there. He ordered me to stop. Told me that bikes are only allowed in at the weekend (ooops, I did not read that). In other words, I was in violation of traffic rules and it could go bad… I felt sheepish.

Officer CJ Dimeo kindly drove me over the bridge…

I packed my stroller, as ordered. I was neither allowed to run back to the start of the bridge, nor to keep running to the end. Stuck! A patrol car was called in, and a very kind officer took over. He took a liking to me because he has some family in France. Lucky me! The best he could do was drive me over the bridge. With no other option available, I took his offer. And there I was, having “not run” a 2km segment of the US crossing… Dang. Google Maps indicated that the only available option for pedestrian was a 170km detour! Well, I did the best I could and this time, it was not enough… I am always cautious around bridges, but I really did not see this one coming…

Enjoy the videos (2 parts) of today’s run: https://www.relive.cc/view/v8qVpoJoD3O https://www.relive.cc/view/vDqgk454jVq

Check my daily run GPS data on or

Here is the map of today’s run: