SCENIC TOUR St. Michaels artist Kevin Snelling created the artwork for Salisbury University’s Sea Gull Century 2019.
Local Cyclists, And Those From Many Other States, Flock To Salisbury For Sea Gull Century
For more than three decades, the timeless beauty of the Eastern Shore has been the backdrop for Sea Gull Century, an annual day of cycling that brings thousands of participants to our area and boosts the local economy.
“On the Eastern Shore, if you’re local, you take for granted the scenery — the ocean, the beach, the nice farmland — but a lot of our [rider] comments are on the environment, the flat lands, and the beauty of small towns,” said Amy Waters with the Salisbury University Foundation, who has overseen the Sea Gull Century cycling event for 14 of its 31 years.
Starting on the campus of Salisbury University, Sea Gull Century takes riders south into Worcester County, with a rest stop along the riverfront town of Snow Hill. The route swoops north, into the hamlet of Newark, before circling around West Ocean City, toward Assateague Island National Seashore and its famous wild ponies. From there, the route heads back west into Wicomico County, with a stop in Powellville, before wrapping up back on campus in Salisbury.
The event sees not only a wide variety of ages in its participants, but in the states they come from, as well. “They get on airplanes to fly here, to ride Sea Gull Century,” Waters said.
The ride does a lot for the Eastern Shore economy, too. Riders will see shops or businesses along the route and will return to patronize those stores. The economic impact has been estimated at $4.5 million for the area, according to university analysts.
“It’s an event that brings all the age groups together for one like-minded thing,” said Jen Humphries, who will take over this year as the event’s coordinator.
Story by Brian Shane
SEA GULL CENTURY BY THE NUMBERS
October 5
4.5 – Total economic impact of the event in millions of dollars
31 – Number in years of the event
27 – Number of SU scholarships & faculty grants Sea Gull Century awards annually
150 – Student volunteers for the weekend
4 – The number in dollars out of every $10 raised that goes back into the community
0 – The number of rain dates. No matter the weather, participants will ride rain or shine.