Leader: Joan Oppel
Members: Anonymous User, Chantal Briere, Lou D'All Orso, Harold Datz, Jessica Hirschhorn, Lisa Oken, Steve Palincsar, Patricia Sanders, Bob Thompson, Pat Walthers, Rita Zeidner
Benjy
Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/50629529 A test ride of part of the Rural Legacy route with a visit to Magruders Ferry and Merkle Wildlife Center.
Weather: Mid to high 70's for most of the ride, light wind. partly cloudy. .
Mechanicals and Mishaps: None (as far as the leader knows)
Report: The group split near the beginning, into four groups. Two were delayed by a rider forgetting a vital piece of equipment and another rider waiting for him. We did regroup for a little while at Magruders but then split up again. It was a challenging ride for some riders, their longest and hilliest ride of the year. I clocked 41.4 miles and 2300 feet of elevation.
Some really lovely roads on this route and we enjoyed riding from North Keys again (we used to ride every week from this park, and prior to that from the fire station but we seem to be out of the habit).
Animal encounters: two riders tested the Merkle Visitor Center door and findiing it open, went inside. We got to use the indoor bathroom, we got to talk to two rangers and find out that programs are held there even though the center is closed for routine use and - we got to visit Benjy the Terrapin. His aquarium sits on a large handmade wooden cabinet - the construction of which was made possible by Oxon Hill Club donations.
There were two turtle rescues - identified later as one Eastern box turtle and one painted turtle. One deer crossed close in front of a rider, though uneventfully, on Baden Westwood.
