Same ol' same ol', hard ride on Saturday, easy ride on Sunday. Hope you
can join us for one or both. PLEASE NOTE THE LATE MEETING TIME (8:30)
FOR SUNDAY'S RIDE!! Also note that while both rides start in Frederick,
Saturday's ride starts at Monocacy Middle School and Sunday's ride
starts from the shopping center on Opossumtown Pike @ Thomas Johnson
Drive. Here's the menu:
SATURDAY, JULY 18, 2009
"THE STEPMOTHER OF ALL RIDES," starting from Monocacy Middle School in
Frederick, Maryland. MEETING TIME 7:30 a.m. This is a beautiful,
mountainous ride. The ride starts out fairly innocently, noodling north
to Emmitsburg and on to Fairfield, Pa. The first climb up Cold Springs
Road to the village of South Mountain is the longest and most
challenging of the day, passing through bountiful orchards into the
Michaux State Forest, with many steep pitches and a few false summits.
When you think it's over, it isn't! After a fast and swoopy descent to
Mont Alto, we'll have lunch at Paul's Market (some local peaches are in)
and then wander around rolling farmland in the Cumberland Valley for a
few miles before the next big climb up to Cascade via Old Rt. 16 and
Buena Vista. We'll have our final rest stop at GT's Handimart and then
head over to Park Central Rd (hoping that it will be open) for yet
another climb, followed by a "thrilling" descent to the Catoctin
Mountain Park Visitors Center. After the penultimate climb up Catoctin
Hollow and its beautiful descent along Hunting Creek, there is only one
more "little molehill" (whose name shall not be mentioned) near the end
of the ride. 99 miles, with two optional shortcuts. (Note these are
only 11-mile and 5-mile shortcuts, and the 11-mile shortcut does not go
to Paul's Market. The 5-mile shortcut is after the last rest stop and
omits a lot of climbing.) Estimated total elevation gain 7500-8000
feet (depending on whether Park Central is open; if it's closed we'll
have to go down MD77, which will omit the "easy" climb on Park Central).
Directions to the ride start:
MONOCACY MIDDLE SCHOOL, FREDERICK, MARYLAND, 8009 Opossumtown Pike,
Frederick MD 21702
From D.C. Beltway (I-495), take I-270 north 31 miles to Frederick.
Continue north on US15 3.7 miles. Take Exit 16, Motter Ave exit (sign
for Frederick Community College). Turn RIGHT at the traffic light onto
Opossumtown Pike. In about 1.5 mi. turn RIGHT into Monocacy Middle
School parking lot (just after Frederick Community College on the left).
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SUNDAY, JULY 19, 2009
"CLIPPETY-CLOP TO CROSS KEYS," starting from Roy Rogers on Thos. Johnson
Drive in Frederick. **LATE MEETING TIME 8:30 a.m!** A fairly easy ride
heading east into Carroll County and then north into Adams County PA.
Instead of our usual lunch stop in Cross Keys (where everyone always
eats too much and then whines afterward), we're going to continue on to
New Oxford for lunch at the Pizza Garden. 1/2 mile of hard-pack dirt
surface on Baumgardner Rd before our last rest stop in Detour. I know
we did this ride only 2 months ago, but we expect to be totally trashed
after Saturday's ride and this is about the easiest century I could come
up with without resorting to southern Maryland. In actuality, the route
has received very favorable reviews for its pleasant scenery, quiet
roads, and gentle terrain. 99 miles, with 61-mile and 88-mile short
options.
Directions to the ride start:
ROY ROGERS, 191 Thomas Johnson Drive, FREDERICK, MARYLAND
From D.C. Beltway (I-495), take I-270 north 31 miles to Frederick.
Continue north on US15 3.7 miles. Take Exit 16, Motter Ave exit (sign
for Frederick Community College). Turn RIGHT at the traffic light onto
Opossumtown Pike. In a quarter mile turn right onto Thomas Johnson
Drive, then left into the shopping center. Park at the very back of the
lot behind Weis Market.
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Crista
Work 202-662-4557
Cell (weekends only) 202-365-3738
**NO EMAIL ACCESS ON WEEKENDS**
