Terry Wild Goose Chase ride

[madscot13]

good luck and have fun everyone!

[amithereyet]

I can't wear my bicycle shoes since breaking my foot in Feb, so I'll be on the 20" red folding bicycle with flame print tires looking for divingbiker's TE sign.

I hope that the yakkers had fun today!

[7rider]

Well, all in all, a good day.
I opted to do the metric....which actually ended up being a bit over 66 miles when we added in the wildlife loop (we thought it was required to get the mileage, but it wasn't). I was maintaining a nice pace for the first 2/3rd of it (18-19 mph), mainly because the first half was with the wind. One long stretch of road at the beginning had a very determined boxer chasing a woman for over 2 miles! She actually rode just ahead of it, hoping to tire it out as her friend behind her was slower than her and she worried how her friend would be able to handle the dog.
A stretch at about mile 35-38 had a brutal headwind that slowed me down to a crawl. By mile 45, I hooked up with a great group of 5 women from Salisbury, plus another hanger-on from Rehoboth Beach. They had been moving as a train for much of it, and I figured with the ride back being mostly into the wind, a good pace line would do me good.
They were very nice, but soon one rider had trouble with cramping, and another was just running out of gas...and they were determined to finish as a group (ha! You'd rarely see the guys I ride with do that), so the pace slackened quite a bit and we frequently dallied to let those who had fallen off the back catch back on. By then, I said "I want the company and screw the average speed for the ride." and stayed with them.
I saw a few men on the ride and really wished I had my DH with me. He would have had a fine time and I don't think anyone really would have batted an eye. He would have ridden self supported, so as to not "poach" the organized ride. Bummer on that.
But..Overall impressions.
Although it was cloudy and occasionally misty, it never really rained on my route. Some sections of the road were wet (I need to wash my bike still), but most were not. So that was good.
The route was poorly marked. Turn arrows were right AT the turn, with no warning arrows before it. Made for a few missed turns and a lot of late turns, no doubt.
The rest stops were fair. The food was not the best (althought a Milky Way Dark is always welcome), and the beverages were gross. Water is good, but no salt, electrolytes, or anything (which is why that woman was cramping). What was offered was just undrinkable (Keen or Hammer or something I didn't recognize. It went down the drain when we got home). And..NO PORTA-POTTIES on the entire route!!! How can you organize a metric century and not have a porta-pottie in sight????? And, good grief, this was in a national wildlife sanctuary!!! I saw more than a few people pulled off on the side, um, polluting our national treasures!
So, as a first attempt for Terry, I'd give it a B-. You almost can't go wrong with a ride on the Eastern shore (except for the fickle weather)....but the support could have been better.

Anyway...that's my story and I'm stickin' to it!
Was nice to meet Withm and ClickIn. Sorry I didn't get to see the rest. I hope you all had good rides. Sorry, DB, that you busted a spoke...but major props to you for lending me your bolero. It's going in the mail today (clean even! ). Then, I'm going on line to order one for myself.

And lastly, a big congratulations to IFJane!!! Many happy years to you.

[Kalidurga]

I'll second the congrats to IFJane. I had stopped to change a flat tire for someone, and another couple pulled up to see if we needed help. I heard the woman telling one of the other ladies that they had been to a wedding down in VA the day before, so I asked if it was Jane's wedding. Turned out it was JeannieRides and her DH! Jeannie said the wedding was beautiful, so I'm glad the weather cooperated for you, Jane.

I wasn't as ambitious as either Regina or divingbiker, I only did the 25 mile ride. Considering the wind we ended up with, I was glad I chose not to do the 40. Like Regina, I started out with a good speed (faster than I normally ride ), but ended up crawling for the last 1/3. The scenery was really lovely and it would have been a gorgeous ride if we'd had sunshine. But I kept the route maps so I can go back out there and do the 40 mile route sometime when the weather's better

Oh, and the 'yakking on Saturday was terrific. Withm and her friend Annette were great paddling partners, the weather was beautiful (from one extreme to the other this weekend, sheesh), and we saw about a 1/2 dozen bald eagles, several osprey, and a couple of heron. Blackwater really does make a great spot for a multi-sport weekend.

[divingbiker]

Yes, congratulations, Jane! I'm glad you had a good day for your wedding.

That was a fun weekend...one I'd like to do again sometime. Kayaking one day, cycling (flat!) the next.

I think Regina was a bit generous in her grading of the organization of the Terry ride, but it was fun and maybe next year some of the details will be worked out a bit better. (I think the Blackwater Visitor Center was supposed to be the portapotty stop. And there was one portapotty on the route, as withm used it! I just went in the woods one time.)

Thanks for a fun weekend, ladies (and Tom)!

[amithereyet]

Yesterday I followed the yellow arrows and completed 25 miles on my fat-wheeled folding bike. It was fun seeing the refuge, including the coiled snake on the road, but I'm sorry I didn't get to see any te folks.

I agree that the route could have been marked better. The wildlife loop was fun, but at the end of it, there was no indicator of where I needed to be to get back on track. I know: looking at the map is not cheating.

After spending late winter and early spring recovering from a broken foot, this 25 mile ride was the longest for me in 2008. It feels good to be back on track and maybe, the next ride will find me almost keeping pace with some te'ers.

[F8th637]

Glad to hear that it was a decent ride despite some of its shortcomings. Thanks for the ride reports, ladies.

Congratulations to Jane! Can't wait to hear all about it!

[Zen]

The route was poorly marked. Turn arrows were right AT the turn, with no warning arrows before it. Made for a few missed turns and a lot of late turns, no doubt.

SheGotBike! was like that too.
I let them know, we'll see if they listened.

I think I was still unemployed at the time of registration for this ride. Sorry I missed it, it sounds great.

You guys have to do the Tour de Madison.
Or CAM. Or CWC.
I'll be there signing autographs

[Kalidurga]

Considering that this was only my second organized ride and I did a shorter route, I didn't have the same issues as Regina and Janice. Despite that, though, I think the only other ride I'm going to do this year is Tour du Port in B'more (which is apparently scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 18th, if anyone else is interested ). These rides are fun, but not necessarily something I'd want to do frequently. Just too many people in one place for me.

Guess I'll have to get your autograph some other way, Mo.

[Zen]

Tam

I forgot one other opportunity- SheGotBike!
Once you get out on the road with me there will be no one else around (maybe the SAG wagon )


.

[Kalidurga]

Tam

Why the frowns? It's nothing to be sad about. I've just found I get a little overwhelmed by all the folks before, during, and after organized rides. So I'll only do a couple a year, maybe the Wild Goose and Tour du Port.

You should join me for a Shepherdstown/Antietam ride some day this summer, Mo. There's ice cream (or tea!) in Shepherdstown, and chocolate chip cookies (just like my mom used to make) in Sharpsburg