Because there aren't enough hotels in one place to accommodate the huge PUT contingent, we stayed about 10 miles from everyone else and were bussed to the start. Once we got there and found our bikes, everybody was ready to ride. It was a beautiful start to the day, with only damp pavement to remind us of the weather of the past two days.
It looked like we were in for a great day of riding, until we ran into the Wilmington Mother's Day Marathon. Part of our usual route through Wilmington was being used for the run, so we did a few diversions on the fly, stood around for a while and then finally found our way out of town.
After our usual rest stop at the David Lokey Center, we rode one of my favorite parts of the ride through the farmland of rural Maryland. The Galena Volunteer Fire Department hosted us again for lunch and opened up the bays for us to use to get out of the heat. Yes, it was hot, but it was a nice change of pace from fog & drizzle.
The farmland on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake is beautiful, but, without many trees, it can get windy. Headwinds and crosswinds can wreak havoc on such a big group of cyclists, breaking up and stretching out the group. We got lucky today.
Just before our last rest stop, we rode through Centerville, MD, where there is a Fallen Hero Memorial at the Police Department. The Memorial honors Officer Michael Nickerson and Deputy Jason Schwenz who were shot and killed on Feb. 13, 2001 when they responded on a noise complaint.
We ended day 3 like we started, on busses. We drove over the bridge over the Chesapeake into Annapolis and enjoyed a great evening out with friends, old and new.
Stats for the day:
Miles ridden: 100 (had to make it an even century after adding a couple miles due to the Marathon Mayhem)
Weather: Temps HOT
No comments:
Post a Comment