We started out this morning riding down to, and then along, the Susquehanna River. After riding in high heat, high humidity and rain, it was a special pleasure to ride on a quiet summer Sunday morning with highs in the 80’s and not too much humidity. Our route took us up and down, away from and back to the river, in what was advertised as a “very hard” day for climbing. The climbing proved quite manageable, and was over by the time we were thirty miles into the ride.
The “down” part of the up and down actually proved more challenging, as a good many of us found ourselves fishtailing around one particular curve on a wet road with debris in the middle. I used all my cycling skills (including a few I didn’t know I had) to stay upright, and was fortunate no-traffic was coming up the hill as I veered into the far lane. Two of our riders, Julie and Debbie, were not quite so fortunate, and took a spill at that point. Debbie escaped with some road rash, but Julie broke her collarbone pretty badly. We are all glum over her injury.
That descent was followed by a long climb out of the Susquehanna River Valley and into open farmland. This is a shot looking back over the river valley, and is typical of what we saw until we crossed into Maryland.
Shortly after crossing into Maryland, we rode through a beautiful wooded valley along Rocks State Park, and then climbed out into the horse country northwest of Baltimore. We stayed in this type of area until we arrived at Hunt Valley around 1:00. Nine of us walked a block to a local restaurant, where we were treated to some regional variations on old standards, including a very good “Eastern Shore” seafood wrap.
Today’s route is below: 67.7 miles; 2,415 ft of climbing.
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