B Leader: Diane Harris
CC Leaders: Rick Hagen & Lisa Petersen
Members: Linda Bankerd, Sherwood Byers Sr, Barbara Butcher, Rick Hagen, Diane Harris, Joan Oppel, Steve Perakis, Lisa Petersen, Theresa Rowell
(The CC riders stopping for a photo OP on the way back)
Guests: none
Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47751085
We started at Waysons Corner Park & Ride on Route 4 in southern Anne Arundel County and headed north on Sands Road (no dump trucks on Sundays!) and Patuxent River Road. We then followed the East Coast Greenway along Route 214/Central Ave., up Queen Anne Bridge and Mill Branch roads, along Excalibur, Mitchellville and Collington roads to a bike path that took us north over Route 50. From there it was quiet neighborhood streets to the Melford Town Center and the race tents, vendors and food trucks. The ride back was the same route in reverse.
Weather: Nice! Mostly sunny, temps 75-80, humidity 61-40%, and light winds mostly out of the northwest but variable.
AMS: 12.5 mph for the CC riders
Mishaps/Mechanicals: Steve’s rear brake cable came unhooked from the brake lever and we couldn’t get it to stay back in place with the tools we had, so he cautiously rode back with only his front brakes.
(Lisa and Steve trying to fix his brake problem)
Report: We were so lucky with the weather today! We went to the Melford Town Center in Bowie to watch the Getting It In (GII) club’s annual Backyard Boogie bike race, a circuit race for licensed riders of all ages. We started at the Waysons Corner Park & Ride on Route 4, headed north on Sands and Patuxent River roads (not a single dump truck!). Then we followed the East Coast Greenway for 7 miles up to Bowie. We had some debris from Tropical Storm Debby to deal with, including gravel from driveways that washed down and onto the roads. Diane and the B riders arrived first and hung out with GII people, while Lisa and Rick and the CC riders arrived at about 10:30. The CC riders spent an hour watching the races, while the B riders hung out longer. This race attracted 370 riders from the East Coast, even some from Florida! Riders seemed to stay together in a peloton, perhaps unable to break away and stay away. It’s a little nerve-wracking to see how fast they are going and how closely bunched up they are. We did not offer the prime — we’ll plan that better next year. To leave the race area, we rode the town center streets in the opposite direction from the racers and got to see them pass on the other side of the median several times. The rest of the ride on the way back was uneventful. The CC riders stopped at a veterinarian’s office on Central Avenue for a photo op.
