Each morning and at the end of every break, the ride marshals line up to try and get the riders to go out in an orderly fashion. We aspire to ride 2x2, but that lasts about 2 minutes before the inevitable accordion effect of hundreds of cyclists slowing and accelerating brings about random chaos. Fortunately we don't have too many wrecks from cyclists overlapping wheels or hitting each other.
After riding through downtown Wilmington, we leave big cities behind and head out to one of my favorite landscapes of the ride. We weave our way across the open farmlands of the eastern shore of the Chesapeake. Our first rest stop is at the David Lokey Center, a day facility for disabled adults. We always love meeting with the clients and they always come up with some new ways to recognize what we do.
As beautiful as the landscape is, it can get windy, causing big breaks in the group and a lot of riders ending up in the sag wagon because they get caught out in the wind and can't make it back to the shelter of the main group. It can be a big logistical nightmare when the trailers and sag wagons fill up, so we do what we can to keep the group together so we can meet the schedule for the road closures.
Despite the number that sagged, it was a good day of riding. Temps in the 60s and 70s and 94 miles ridden before we bussed over the Chesapeake and into Annapolis.
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