Ride leader: Debby Bowman
Members: Steve Palincsar, Tim Copeland, Andrea Noseck, Linda Bankerd
Guests: Joy Schmalzle, Steven Cohen, Bob Essink
Route:
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/5703343 - 56 miles, 2055 feet of climbing
Weather: Low 60s, sunny at first, then overcast with clouds ranging from threateningly black to just plain gray. NW wind 10-20 mph with stronger gusts.
Mishaps & mechanicals: The directions to the ride start need to be clarified, and at least one cyclist wished they had warmer clothes when the clouds rolled in.
AMS: 12.2 mph at the back, 15.5 at the front
Fall colors: not very vibrant, still lots of green.
Farm animals sightings: Oreo cows (http://www.beltie.org), longhorn cattle, horses, chickens, ducks, turkeys, alpacas, pigs.
Scenic bridges: Legore Bridge over the Monocacy River, covered bridges at Loys Station, Roddy Creek and Utica Road, the historic Four Points Bridge over Toms Creek, plus others on Old Mill Rd, Blacks Mill Rd, probably more that I'm forgetting.
This was a great ride. The route was based on a covered bridges ride from another club, with some substitutions of narrow country lanes for busier, less interesting roads, plus the addition of part of the Firefighter 50's century route in order to include a stop in Emmitsburg. The general direction was a counter-clockwise oval, going north from Walkersville to Emmitsburg and then returning via Thurmont.
The weather was a bit strange. We had reasonably warm sunshine at the start, but could see ominous black clouds to our north and west. If there had been a chance of thunderstorms in the forecast, I would have been terrified. Fortunately there was no lightning or thunder, and in fact no rain either. We did have wind, though, the kind that slows you down while you're coasting down a hill, and that made us work a bit harder at times. The black clouds cooled things down quite a bit while we were in Emmitsburg, and though we saw the sun again as we returned to Walkersville, there were gray clouds and a chill in the air for the last half of the ride.
Shortly after we started out, we split into a B group (Tim, Andrea, Linda, Joy, Steven and Bob) and a CC group (me and Steve). We all came together again at the first rest stop, which was at the park near the Loys Station covered bridge, and we also enjoyed a longer break together at the Holy Grounds cafe in Emmitsburg. Soon after this stop we split again, with Tim, Joy, Steven and Bob deciding to continue on to the end while Steve, Andrea, Linda and I stopped to visit the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial.
The memorial is located at a FEMA training facility on the site of St Joseph's college, which was a Catholic women's college run by the Daughters of Charity (founded by Elizabeth Ann Seton) until it closed in 1973. We had a short ride from the entrance gate to the memorial park, where we viewed the 7-foot stone monument featuring a Maltese Cross and eternal flame, the Wall of Honor, and the 9/11 memorial sculpture. You can read more about it at their website:
http://www.firehero.org/fallen-firefighters/memorial-park/.
After leaving the memorial, the four of us rode together to nearby Mount St. Mary's College. Steve and I stopped at the student center for a comfort break, while Linda and Andrea rode on toward our third rest stop in Thurmont, where we regrouped again. This part of the ride featured some of the worst headwinds, but also included our second covered bridge and a nice view of Roddy Creek. The last segment of our ride brought us our third covered bridge on Utica Rd, as well as beautiful views of Big Hunting Creek on Layman and Wilhide Rds and two crossings of Fishing Creek on Lenhart Rd. After crossing the Monocacy River a second time on Devilbiss Bridge Rd (not a pretty bridge, but still a nice view) we returned to the school in Walkersville.
Many thanks to everyone who joined me for this ride. Also thanks to Alan Kurzweil for sharing the original covered bridges route with me. I look forward to doing this ride again.
