Ride Reports October 2004

Club Century
September 25, 2004 by Bill Smith

We all started out in a fairly dense fog, which lifted and revealed a beautiful blue sky once we reached Carroll County.

Cyclists on the century included Mark Anderson, Glenn Angus, Neal Becker, Vicki Crum, Bob Dollar, Keith Krombel, Bill Pakenas, Peggy Parker and Bill Smith.

The metric century was completed by Martha Bush, Betsy and Michael LaPadula, Frank Scotto and Joan Wicks.

Crista Borras brought along about fifteen of her “DC-Century” folks to spice up the century ride. She led some of us to Rigo’s Restaurant in Abbottstown, which served up just the right food to keep us going. They also serve breakfast all day long!

Of note:

This was Mark Anderson’s first century since recovering from broken ribs and a collapsed lung after being struck by a pickup truck this past May.

This was the first-ever century for both Bill Pakenas and Peggy Parker.

A Wonderful Day on the Bay
September 19, 2004 by Glenn Angus

On Sunday, September 19th, Glenn Angus led several of our members on a memorable ride to a very beautiful place, far from Frederick County. We met in Edgewater, just south of Annapolis, and rode south, through Harwood, Upper Marlboro, Fairhaven, Rose Haven, and Deale, to Chesapeake Beach and North Beach, in Calvert County. We had a pristine sunny and clear day to accompany us on our ride. The terrain was varied and at times challenging, though mostly flat to rolling. The views of the Bay were the highlight of the ride, as we had multiple venues for viewing, from the Boardwalk and pier in North Beach, to the beach at Rose Haven, to the Fairhaven Cliffs, and the hills above Deale.



The ultra-low humidity provided the clearest views of the Bay in years, as Kent Island, and other islands, seemed far closer than their true distance. The spectacular Tocara Farm, near Fairhaven, an 18th century former plantation house, contains some outstanding examples of early American brickwork, not seen in but the most expensive residences of the time in which it was built. The woods roads in that area were narrow, shaded, and contained almost no traffic. It was a cyclist's paradise.

The riders who made the trip were: Glenn Angus, Peggy Parker, Bill Smith, Nancy Waddington, Bill Pakenas, John Fauerby, Lynne Rosenbusch, and Bill Preston. Those of you who did not make this ride really missed a good one! Maybe next year. This will be an annual ride.

Reston Century
August 29, 2004 by Brian King

A sunny though warm day greeted cyclists at the 2004 Reston Century. I hooked up with riders from Booz Allen Hamilton for a little corporate sponsorship schmoozing. Unfortunately they didn't have an official BAH cycling jersey in my size so I had to settle for my standard hi-viz yellow top. Reston Town Center is a nice gathering place with numerous shops and eateries, but it's not the best location to start a group bike ride. We rolled out around 7:30 AM and wound our way through the busier streets of Reston before getting out into the calmer neighborhoods.

After a stretch on the W&OD trail we hit the first rest stop at mile 12. Barely enough mileage to get warmed up, we still joined in the festive atmosphere and enjoyed the latest by-product of the U.S. space program - peanut butter by the slice! If you've seen individually wrapped slices of cheese, this is the same concept, but with peanut butter. Very convenient for creating an instant PBJ sandwich.

Back on the trail, we roll through Leesburg and then on to Hamilton for the second rest stop at mile 31. We found that the organizers were going to be consistent for the rest stop food so we pretty much just filled our bottles and headed on our way. Things were already heating up and we knew it was going to be a scorcher. We had an indication of the heat to come at the ride start when we heard about numerous people bailing out of the full century to do just the metric century 62 mile route.

We were now well out into rural Virginia and not surprisingly it's very much like riding in our well known home territory of Frederick County with plenty of rolling hills and scenic vistas. We passed through Lincoln and Round Hill as we started nearing the hills of the Blue Ridge and pulled into third rest stop in Hillsboro. This was the final joint rest stop before the shorter rides peeled off and headed back toward the ride start.

After passing through Lovettsville we had a choice to make. The organizers had provided an optional 8 mile 'Hilly Route' section which would add 4 miles to your total for the day. Due to the heat and condition of two in our group we opted for the 'Less Hilly Route' and headed down Loyalty Road Route 665 toward Waterford. For a time, some in our group thought we had made a wrong turn as we were greeted with a series of relatively short, but sharp climbs that were accentuated by the lack of shade and 110 degree heat index. This humble writer was never in much bother as it really wasn't much different than what we all see here in the 'neck. By the time we pulled in to the 4th rest stop at mile 80 however, there were lots of red faces, and people were much slower to get back on their bikes for the final leg back to the start.

We passed back through Leesburg and after paralleling Route 7 for a bit we hopped back on the W&OD trail for the last 15 miles. This was a blessing for those who were struggling at this point, but I found it to be too long a flat stretch to end the ride.

We arrived back in Reston Town Center after 103.5 miles and just over 8 hours in the saddle. A good bit longer than other centuries I've done due to the slower pace of two in our group who were unaccustomed to the heat and hills, but it was good ride with pleasant companions. We were greeted at the finish with fine fare from Pizza Hut and Subway and I can attest that after a century ride of PBJ and bananas, pizza never tasted so good!

This might not be a suitable first century ride as it is a bit hilly, but I can definitely recommend it as a nice day in the country and a competently organized event. The ride was well supported with detailed maps and cue sheets, and plenty of food and drink at the rest stops. We heard some people complain about the lack of road markings, but after riding out in the country with such a self-reliant group as the Frederick Pedalers I had no complaints. Let the complainers organize a multi-route century ride themselves and we'll see how well they mark the roads...