Ride Reports August 2007

Allegheny Passage
by Ann & Fred Abeles

Last October the final portion of the Allegheny Passage was completed into Cumberland, Maryland. This past weekend, my wife, Ann, granddaughter, Angela, and I had an opportunity to ride this section up to Woodcock Hollow Road, about 10 miles. The new bike route starts at the Western Maryland Scenic Train Station and follows the tracks through town and up towards Frostburg. The Sunday we rode it was clear and cool, and many other walkers and bike riders of all description were enjoying this new addition to Maryland's biking venues.



The route from Cumberland to Myersdale, PA is 32 miles with a climb from 625' to 2,390' feet above sea level at Deal (just north of the Big Savage Tunnel) before descending to 2106 feet at Meyersdale. The surface is primarily crushed limestone, though a 2 mile portion leaving Cumberland was paved. The grade is a gentle 2% and we were able to average 9 miles an hour without any undue effort. The ride down required only an occasional pedal so we could day dream as the forest and vistas passed by at about 12 miles an hour.

Almost A Straight Shot to Emmitsburg
June 23, 2007 by Chuck Wilson

The Almost Straight Shot to Emmitsburg was a very exciting event. The weather was just great, and all seemed to enjoy the low temperatures for mid June. We started the ride from Whittier Elementary School around 8:30 AM with a group of 16 riders. We had just barely enough cue sheets. The usual crew was joined by several riders making the first "Almost a Straight Shot to Emmitsburg". With a listed distance of 48 miles it was the longest ride of the year for some and the longest ride ever for others. We had a fairly large group, and we all stayed together during most of the ride. Our experienced riders assisted the others along the route and tried hard to maintain the C level pace.

At the Emmitsburg rest stop the group split into two. The hungry ones had sandwiches at Subway, while others opted for just a snack at the Exxon. Jeff Johnson decided the Dove dark chocolate milk looked good, but it was closer to a melted candy bar than milk. Plenty of calories though to keep him fueled for the ride home. After about twenty-five minutes at the rest stops, we started our journey toward Mount Saint Mary’s and back south. Once we reached Mount Saint Mary's, we decided to take a short tour through the campus, passing by the gym. We briefly went off road to get around some construction.

The usually alert Brian King missed a turn while chatting with Beth Brown thereby missing the Putman Road section of the route. We figured that since Brian was within a mile of his house he would not get lost, and they were were waiting for us at the finish line. As we milled around chatting afterwards, we saw the oddest sight: Jen Eberhardt on a regular bike. She was trying out Jim Ogle's bike which has a noseless seat. I guess it would be too big a jump to go from a recumbent to a bike with a regular seat. Mike Procario did not have a flat this week but discovered a bad cut on his front tire with the inner tube starting to bulge through. He was lucky to make it back and will be buying a new tire very soon.

Thanks go out to a great team of cyclists: Brian King, George Ruszat, Mike Procario, Jeff Johnson, Betsy LaPadula, Martha Bush, Harry DeMoll, Vicki Crum, Beth Brown, Catherine Badger, Jon Disbennett, Jen Eberhardt, Jim Ogle, Mark Anderson and Craig Pollack.

Three Unions and a Windsor
July 4, 2007 by Martha Bush and Mark Anderson

A mighty show of patriotic cyclists gathered at Libertytown Park for a 43 mile loop of Unionville, Uniontown, Union Bridge and New Windsor with ride leaders Martha Bush and Mark Anderson. The riders: Beth Brown, Brian (single speed) King, Jon Disbennett, George Ruszat, Mike Procario, Betsy LaPadula (sans Mike who is recovering from Lyme Disease) John Fauerby, Lynne Rosenbusch, Frank Scotto, Joan (showed-up) Wicks, Jeff Johnson, Harry DeMoll, Catherine (star student) Badger, Craig Pollack and team Smith on "the (soon to be replaced) beast".

The weather was perfect for the ride known for it's lack of shade that can result in brain bake and foot fry - overcast and cool, nature's fireworks held off until well after ride completion. Although there are no memorable climbs on the route, there are no memorable level spots either. Mike Procario entered the route in routeslip.com and we were all happy to see that yes, we did climb over 2600 ft. No wonder we were so tired! Whew.

Mark your calendars for next year - the ride leaders have decided to make it an annual event.

Easy Covered Bridges
July 15, 2007 by Vicki Smith

A last minute substitution had Bill and Vicki Smith as ride leaders for Three Easy Covered Bridges ride on July 15. Joining us on today's ride were Catherine Badger, Terry Brewer, Terry Eskucheon, Jenny Gable, Andrew (from Columbia Falls, MT), Beth (aka Betsy) Brown, and Team Testosterone (Ray Gable, Jeff Johnson and Billy Shreve). Bill did not have his daily does of WAWA iced tea and apparently slept through the first two covered bridges. At the rest stop in Emmitsburg, he exclaimed "Great ride, but we haven’t been through a covered bridge." Vicki thought this was Bill's usual wry sense of humor, but once back on the bike, realized that he wasn't joking. She reassured him that we did indeed ride through both Utica and Loy's Station bridges on the way up. On our way into Thurmont, after covered bridge number three (Roddy Road), Tom and Sharon Blair joined us on their tandem for the remainder of the ride back to Lewistown.

Vicki's Birthday Ride
July 22, 2007 by Vicki Smith

Twelve enthusiastic riders joined Vicki and Bill Smith for Vicki's Birthday ride on July 22 (that’s actually her birthday, too.) Our merry group included Tom and Sharon Blair, George Ruszat, Beth Brown, Brian King, Catherine Badger, Terry Eskuchen, Jeff Johnson, Mike Procario, Harry DeMoll, Chuck Wilson, and Andrew Dahlon. We had a picture-perfect day for the ride with low humidity and a forecasted high of low-mid 80's. Bill had already posted that we were deviating from the cue sheet to have a sit-down meal at Rosie’s in New Oxford, rather than grabbing some food at the 7-11. There was some joking as to what Vicki's true age was, since we were going to add an additional mile to the route.

The route was a bit hilly as we headed north from Taneytown for the leaders' tandem, so when we finally got a nice down hill, we were able to pull in front of the group. Fellow tandem riders, Tom and Sharon, as well as Mike were out in front with us when we got word that Jeff Johnson had a flat. We waited for the group by a cow-free pasture. Tom was especially happy that the cows were absent that day, for some strange reason. Bill waved the group on as we remounted "The Beast" and took off again. Soon, Jeff, following George’s lead, missed a turn, but luckily both quickly realized the error of their ways. We rolled along the beautiful Carroll County by-ways into Adams County. Just south of Littlestown, we had the second flat of our ride. Several of us were already at the Subway to use "the facilities", so we doubled back to see how the flat changing lesson was coming along. Unfortunately for Andrew, his tire was trashed. He was not going to ride another foot on that tire. Bill suggested going to Ace Hardware and getting the "handyman's special", aka, duct tape, and try repairing the tire, but Andrew was not interested. He phoned for a ride home. George had also left our merry group at this point too – he felt that the advertised mileage could not possibly be Vicki's real age, so he opted to shorten the ride on his own and return earlier than the group. We waved goodbye to Andrew and wished him well and continued on to Bonneauville for a quick liquid refill at Getty.

After some more rolling Pennsylvania countryside, we arrived in New Oxford. Bill cautioned the group on the traffic circle ahead, reminding us that those in the circle have the right of way, but don’t assume the motorists will yield to those on bicycles. Luckily, the group safely navigated the circle and arrived at our lunch stop. Jeff, Chuck, and Terry were in the mood for subs alfresco, while the rest wandered into Rosie's. Breakfast is served all day at Rosie's – Bill and Tom had the L.A. French Toast, which had a glaze on top of each slice of French toast. Harry was especially hungry and ordered the hungry man’s special, better known as cardiac 911. We felt sure he would regret that decision on Mt Misery Rd on the way back. With full bellies, we left New Oxford and headed south. Mt Misery was not as bad as it sounds and everyone made it up that hill just fine. As we headed south, we again broke into two groups, with the tandems taking advantage of the tailwind and any downhill stretches. On Rt 194 south of Littlestown, Bill, Vicki and Brian broke away from the rest of the group in a nice little sprint. We did find it was much more difficult to draft a single on a tandem than for the single to draft us, but we tried to stay with Brian as best we could. We regrouped just over the border and rode as a group back to Taneytown. Terry, Chuck and Bill/Vicki decided to do a few extra laps in the parking lot to bring our mileage up to a round 50 (not Vicki's age, yet.) The group treated Vicki to a rousing "Happy Birthday" seranade. The birthday girl had a great time and thanks everyone for joining her.