Photo op at the end of pavement on Woodburn Hill Road
Leader: Steve Palincsar
Members: Ron Altemus, Dan Donahue, Rick Hagen, Don Haller, Sabine Hentrich, Harry Kidd, Joan Oppel, Lisa Petersen, Walt Roscello, Bill Silva
Guests: none
Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/44893538 A new variation on the traditional "Hidden Amish" route, featuring an excursion down Woodburn Hill Road (with a rest stop at the Clover Hill Dairy) and a rest stop at Gilbert Run Park.
Weather: A lovely day, well worthy of the 8/10 the Capital Weather Gang gave it. Sunny, around 50 when we started rising to the mid-60s by early afternoon, and if my car is to be believed, 72 by 2 pm (it sure didn't feel like any 72, so I'm sticking with the official forecasts).
AMS: 13.0 at the front, around 12.5 at the back of the pack.
Mechanicals/Mishaps: none
Report: After leaving Northern Senior Center, carefully avoiding the horse droppings on the Three Notch Trail, we made our way west on Lockes Crossing Road up the hill to the intersection with Briscoe Anderson Lane and searched for the location of the elusive Country View Bakery -- which isn't where Google Maps says it is.
There are three gravel roads visible at that corner. I went down the road to the right, where we'd been told on the Century by motorists exiting there that it was "Back there, just down the road." What I found was a farmhouse and a couple of yapping free-range dogs that convinced me to turn right around.
Ron [correction, Walt] went past the misplaced eyedrop (see map above) to an Amish butcher shop who told him the bakery was all the way down Briscoe Anderson about where the X marks the spot (take that, Google!).
Harry and I tried riding down Briscoe Anderson a hundred feet or so, but all we saw was a couple of farm houses complete with laundry and a goat. When we learned it was "a five minute drive" down that road I decided enough, let's ride on. I'm removing that bakery from the Century route.
No bakery here, boss
Not here, either
We turned on Thompson Corner, and in 0.1 mi on Woodburn Hill. We rode down to the end of the pavement past farms, fields and herds of cows, took the obligatory "Kilroy Was Here" photo, then came back, this time stopping for a break at the Clover Hill Dairy. It's a very nice stop with a friendly shopkeeper, inexpensive snacks and an indoor rest room, a good place to stop even if you don't want any of the locally made cheeses.
Ron riding past the cows that gave the milk that made the cheese sold at the Clover Hill Dairy.
Returning to Thompson Corner, we turned on Dixie Lyon and rode North Ryceville, Ryceville, Trinity Church and down Old Sycamore to Budd's Creek. Old Sycamore is scenic, with pretty barns and a fast downhill with coarse pavement and some harsh cracks that can give your steering a sharp jolt.
We turned on Budds Creek and then on Steins Store which becomes Newport Church, and once again onto Bowling for three miles through scenic farmland. A turn onto Trinity Church, another on MD-6, and we were entering Gilbert Run Park for a rest stop at the lake. After the break we took MD-6 to Keech, turned on Oaks and took it to the Three Notch Trail back to Northern Senior Center.
It's a very pretty route with some roads that are a lot of fun to ride - a perfect introduction to this part of Southern Maryland for the five riders in the group who'd never been here before, and a nice change for those of us who have been here many times before, but always starting from Oak Ridge Park.
