Dear Friends,
We'd like to invite you to join us on an extremely scenic ride we're planning to do out at Deep Creek Lake on Saturday, July 24. I know that sounds like it's a long time in the future, but if you're interested in joining us you should be making your lodging reservations now. Our plan is to drive out to Oakland, Maryland on Friday, July 23 and spend the next two nights at the Oak-Mar Motel.
Oak-Mar Motel
208 North 3rd Street
Oakland, MD 21550-1326
(301) 334-3965
On Saturday morning, we'll have a very early breakfast at the nearby Sheetz (hope they have an espresso bar) and then drive about 9-1/2 miles to the Deep Creek Lake State Park Discovery Center, where we'll start the 127-mile "Diabolical Double," reputed to have over 15,000 feet of elevation gain. (I don't believe it, but let's find out for ourselves.) Note that we are not doing this as part of any organized event, although it was held as such in early July of 2009. Gary Dean was "kind" enough to suggest the weekend and provide us with the cue sheet from last year's ride. For a nice description of the ride, see http://www.tri-dc.com/pdf/tri-dc_i9_epic_rides_diabolical_double.pdf. And just for fun, Google "Westernport Wall" and take a look at some of the videos.
I'm anticipating that it will be a "long" day in (and mostly out of) the saddle, and we'll stay over in Oakland on Saturday night, too. If we have anything left in our legs on Sunday morning, we'll do a short ride (40 miles or so) after having a leisurely breakfast. At the Oak-Mar's mom & pop restaurant they still peel potatoes for homefries! We'll have earned something better than Sheetz for sure.
You can look at a map of the ride at: http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/diabolical-double. I've reformatted the cue sheet and made a GPS file of the route, and will provide those to all who elect to take part in the adventure. Chuck and I are participating in a Tom Burns bicycling weekend out at Deep Creek Lake over the Memorial Day holiday, and I may make some modifications to the cue sheet after doing some exploring that weekend.
If this interests/intrigues you, please let me know and make your reservations soon.
Crista
