Leader: Steve Palincsar
The group at the Waysons Park & Ride
Some of the group on the North Beach Boardwalk
Members: Denise Cohen, Walt Roscello, Lester Jackson, Jr., Sarah Clement, Alan Kurzweil, Stephen Cohen, Ellen Goodwin, Pete Hinz, William Lowe, Sheila Harron, Harry Kidd, Patricia Sanders, Janell Saunders and Pat Walthers.
Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/39448576
Weather: Sunny, low 70s to low 80s -- a picture perfect day.
AMS: 12.2 at the back
Mechanicals/Mishaps: None I'm aware of
Report:
The route is a variation on the traditional Memorial Day Weekend Chesapeake Beach ride, starting at Waysons. It goes left from the Park & Ride to the MD-4 Service Road, Plummer Lane, Upper and Lower Pindell (by the way, there are some huge potholes in the eastbound lane in the shade, so very hard to see until you are right on top of them) but rather than crossing MD-4 on foot, as was the tradition, one I have really lost my taste for, we headed back north on Southern Maryland Blvd to Wrighton, crossing MD-4 on MD-258. Some of us took a bio break at Lothian (note, the portolet door is jammed and you can't get it fully closed) before making the turn on Greenock.
At that intersection, Lester decided the terrain was too difficult compared to what he'd been riding lately (like Kent Island) and quit the ride. I think by the end there were several in the group who were coming to the realization that the Western Shore Bay country was rather more difficult than they remembered, too.
Greenock and Brooks Woods took us to W Bay Front and a turn onto MD-2, followed quickly by a stretch on Old Solomons Island Rd, a brief bit on MD-2 and a crossing (easy if you were in a quiet space between the platoons of cars, or nearly impossible if you happened to be at the turn when a platoon was going by) to a delightful but seldom used section of Old Solomons Island Rd that took us to Fairhaven Rd down to the Bay.
The Chesapeake Bay at Fairhaven
After climbing up from the Bay at Fairhaven and descending on Friendship Rd, we stopped for lunch at the Chesapeake Market. Some stopped for a photo at the North Beach Pier
Enjoying the Bay at North Beach
before we headed to Chesapeake Beach and the Railway Trail.
There's a small trail with a short gravel section that takes you from the Railway Trail boardwalk up through Richfield Station Village to MD-260. I was pleased to see they've put traffic lights at that intersection. It can be a long wait, but it made what had been a difficult crossing quite easy.
Only a few of us took the out-and-back on Old Solomons to the rest stop at the Dash-In. Not everyone needs a rest stop 10 miles from the end, and by that time I think a fair number of riders had lost their enthusiasm for delightful rollers with thrilling descents and challenging climbs they could do in both directions.
Looking back on 50 and 65 mile rides on Memorial Day Weekend to North Beach and Chesapeake Beach, remembering how those rides felt then compared with how today's ride felt, my mental juke box cued up a song:
Those were the days, my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we choose
We'd fight and never lose
Those were the days, oh yes, those were the days
Even with an e-bike to ride, I'm hoping it won't have been an act of hubris to register for a Rural Legacy route that includes the Croom Rollers. (Which brings another song to mind "My Can Do Can't Keep Up With My Want To")
Harry took many more photos, seen here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/42642564@N02/sets/72177720299376336/
