Farm on Dr Johnson Rd
Leader: We didn't have leaders on this ride, no more than we had SAG support or staffed rest stops. What we did have was four routes -- 50, 62, 75 and 100 -- with stores, parks and portolets identified. Our expectation was that riders would form their own groups to ride with, and that in an area so abundantly furnished with support in the form of stores, parks and portolets no formal staffed rest stops would be required.
Except for a couple of small glitches (we never did find that Amish bakery just off Lockes Crossing Rd, and a couple of riders doing the metric didn't realize the gas station at Rt 5 and Hills Club doesn't have a rest room, but they found one on Old Village that did) things went to plan as far as I know.
Members: Members checked in at the 8:00 start included: Catherine Ade, Linda Bankerd, Cecilla Grillo, Rick Hagen, Renee McCullough, Joan Oppel, Lisa Petersen and Bill Silva. A group of four (Holly Carr, Harry Kidd, Walt Roscello and Janell Saunders) started at 9:00 and did the 50 mile route. Their report is here.
Guests: 12 non-members registered for the ride and 6 were checked in. There was at least one non-member who hadn't registered and couldn't be checked in.
Besides great publicity thanks to Jessica Hirschhorn, one reason for the large number of guest registrations was that Pax Velo's St Marys Century scheduled for the week before had been canceled due to rain, and they sent a notice to their registrants letting them know our Century was available.
Route: The event link in RWGPS is here: https://ridewithgps.com/events/231176-2023-charles-st-marys-self-supported-cen with 50, 63, 75 and 100 mile routes.
Weather: It was an overcast day, with 15 mph winds and temperatures ranging from a chilly-feeling 65 at 8:00 to a high of 76 degrees at 4:00 pm.
Mechanicals/Mishaps: Aside from a couple of chain drops, I'm not aware of any. One of our riders found a lost bicycle light on Dr Johnson Rd but I didn't hear of anyone losing one, and there was another ride in the area.
Report: We all started together a few minutes after 8:00 and we stayed together for the first couple of miles. All the routes turn right out of Oak Ridge Park, go down the hill on Oaks Rd and turn right onto Keech, and then right on MD-6... and that was my last view of the paceline.
Catherine, Joan and I rode together. We saw Linda and her riding companion at the Chaptico Store and also at the store in Avenue, and we caught a glimpse of a couple of the Century riders, heads down intent on their ride there, turning from Abell onto Oakley Rd. We had an excellent, uneventful ride.
