At Damien's request, a bit more information about the two rides. July's ride is our annual get together and is more of a social event to bring bikes out for show and riding. A paraphrased description from last year:
For those who've been to our house before, the ride is almost the same route as previous years, but I've taken off a bit of a busy stretch for a spectacular downhill to show you a bit more of our beautiful riding country. It'll add some mileage and one larger climb, now up to about 33 miles. I would recommend your rider to have brakes you trust, and fixed only for the truly heroic. We'll still have the rollicking fast few miles along a ridge capped with a great two and a half mile roaring descent to the finish. Those new to our ride will find that we live in a fairly hilly, but beautiful area for riding, very low traffic and lots of farm land. A 42 x 24 racing low will have you spending some time out of the saddle. For those too used to the flatlands or looking for an easier ride, we live along side the Little Falls of the Gunpowder river and the 40 mile long North Central Rail Trail. The stone dust trail crosses the path of our road route in New Freedom, PA, the first town north on the trail about 8 miles north of home with railroad grades of no more than 2-3%, a great place to work out that classic cross bike. That crossing is about 21 miles into the road ride, a rest stop featuring a nice local bike shop and Bonkies home made ice cream & snowballs to energize you for the last 12 miles, and a party at ride's end for all.
The June event is an all day ride starting around 9 am and is relatively easy, but for the one good climb at the very finish to the park and ride. Combined with a lunch at the Annapolis dock and spending too much time at Velo Orange, it makes for a big day. There are numerous locations to park along the route to shorten the ride, including Patapsco State Park about three miles into the ride. But riding with friends all day is about as good as it gets. It's also a great training ride one week prior to Bike Virginia for those intending to ride that. I hope those interested will consider doing the whole ride.
Regards, and happy trails,
Dan Artley in Parkton, Maryland
"No Hour of Life Is Lost That Is Spent In The Saddle" - Winston Churchill
>>> damien roohr <droohr@comcast.net> 04/20/10 11:28 AM >>>
75 miles on a fixed gear? you guys are hard core! love it!
Can you describe the 7/10 ride? Distance, etc. (the longer the better - hey, we get to use gears!) Sounds interesting - is there a special occasion? fund-raiser? I know you said more info to come -- but a wee bit more at this point would be helpful, even what the ideal yet-to-be-confirmed ride might be. --
Damien Roohr Canton, CT Who hopes to have his Comp GS on the road by then!
We've set a date for a Vintage/Bobish ride in Parkton, Maryland, north of Baltimore for Saturday, July 10. It's got some hills, but the scenery makes it all worth it. The Tour will be on TV, there'll be food and drink. Put it on your calendars if you'd like to join us. More info when we get closer to the date.
I'd also like to do a long vintage/fixed gear ride between Baltimore and Annapolis on Friday, June 18, two weeks after Cirque and during the week to avoid traffic and to allow a visit to the Velo Orange showroom, open only until 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. We did it last year on short notice and several people expressed interest who couldn't make it.
The ride starts on the Southwest side of Baltimore, goes through Patapsco State Park, along back roads to the Baltimore/Washington Airport loop and B&A trails (both paved auto free paths) and into Annapolis for lunch at the town dock.
Including the trip to Velo Orange, the total route is almost 75 miles, but is almost all gentle grades. I figure folks should have their distance legs by then. A couple people rode a shortened version of the ride last year starting closer to Annapolis. It's a great ride and I hope more folks can join us this year. Please contact me off list if you think you can join us.
Happy trails,
Dan Artley in Parkton, Maryland