Leaders: Rick Hagen & Lisa Petersen
Members: Linda Bankerd, Sue Gunter, Rick Hagen, Jessica Hirschhorn, Darrell Meyer, Joan Oppel, Lisa Petersen
Guests: none
Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46674045 From the little-known Route 260 Recreation area in northern Calvert County, we took Fishers Station, Little and Brooks Woods to Route 408 aka Mt Zion Marlboro Rd. Then Ed Prout, Sands, Bayard and Polling House roads to Route 2 and the difficult left turn onto Owensville Sudley Road. Stopped at the South County Rec Center. Continued south on the Sudley roads to Bayfront Road aka Route 258, which brought us to Deale, Swamp Circle Road and the South County Cafe. Then up up up the hills on Deale Road aka Route 256 to Route 2, south to Jewell Rd and Calvert County, which takes us to Route 260 and Shields Dr. and the parking lot.
Weather: Seemed warm. Sunny, temps in the low 80s, 58% humidity, and light winds out of the south.
AMS: guessing 12 mph
Mishaps: the picnic table umbrella at the South County Cafe decided unilaterally to break, bend, somersault, and push Jessica’s bike over, causing her alarms (accident! accident!) to go off. Sue’s bike was also dumped over, along with her helmet, causing the release button of the clasp to break. Fortunately, she was able to hook the clasp securely as usual, but she will need a new clasp to be able unhook it.
Report: We left promptly from the Route 260 Recreation area in northern Calvert County, passed the turtle pond on Route 4 and headed north on back roads into Anne Arundel County. Traffic wasn’t bad on Mt Zion Marlboro Rd aka Route 408 and we enjoyed Ed Prout Rd. Sue helped an eastern box turtle across Polling House Road, and we made a short stop at the South County Rec Center, except for Sue who was off the front. The route in ridewithgps did not have a cue to stop at the Rec Center or the South County Cafe, so she flew right by both. When the rest of the group arrived at the cafe, Sue was 2 miles beyond, and a phone call brought her back to us and food. Ride leaders will insert cues for stops to hopefully prevent this on future rides. Lunch was good, but see the mishaps. We went slowly up the hills from Deale on full stomachs, then south on Route 2 to Jewell Road, which brought us to Route 260 and the parking lot at around 1:45 pm. It’s amazing how different old familiar roads can look when you ride them the other direction. We enjoyed this ride!
Wildlife: 1 turtle in the pond, Eastern Box turtle, Cooper’s hawk
