Leader: Steve Palincsar
Members: Harry Kidd, Ron Altemus, Lou Dall'Orso, Walt Roscello, Randy Schoch
Guests: none
Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/31192765 as planned, but after we got to the Leonardtown Wharf I proposed a shortened version that all of us save for Walt took, that eliminated the southernmost loop, backtracking on Hollywood Rd to Bradford's Market, bringing the total down to 35.7. Walt did the southern loop but skipped the stretch on Sotterley and Vista Roads and got back a little before the main group.
Weather: Sunny, not a cloud in the sky. Around 67 (instead of the predicted 62) at the start, rising to 80 by early afternoon, well exceeding the predictions. And windy. Not quite as windy as yesterday, but not a slacker either, with winds from the south of around 22 mph with gusts up to 36 mph.
AMS: 13.0
Mechanicals/Mishaps: none
Report:
We fought the wind all the way down to Leonardtown. Once we left the Wharf we had the wind at our backs, so much so that we were cruising along Hollywood and Sotterley Roads over 25 mph without having to pedal more than the occasional stroke once in a while. That changed when we made the turn onto Vista, riding directly into the wind.
The crosswinds on Three Notch Rd weren't bad and we flew along there, then made the turn onto South Sandgates, downhill with the wind at our backs. This stretch is always a bit of a roller coaster, with twists and turns and a steady descent down to the Patuxent, but today it was made much more thrilling by the occasional unruly gust of cross-wind off the Patuxent that would push you from the shoulder into the center of the road.
We stopped at Sea Breeze, briefly sharing the parking lot with a large group of motorcyclists, but were disappointed to find the portolets padlocked. Sandgates Restaurant came to the rescue.
Even though we were riding into the wind, the climb back up North Sandgates didn't seem as windy as it had been earlier in the route, and once we made the turn onto 236 the remaining distance flew by.
It was a beautiful day, but a challenging ride, not nearly as hard as the last time we were on these roads on a windy day last year, and not nearly as hard as riding yesterday would have been, any lingering doubt about having postponed the Start the Season ride having been blown clean away.
Update: I forgot to mention, our search for miniature donkeys on Old Hollywood Rd was unsuccessful. I'm afraid they don't live at Wit & Folly Farm anymore. A disappointment: they were incredibly cute.
