Originally Posted by
emily_in_nc
Sound like some great rides, ladies! NY, is that the Seagull Century? If so, DH and I did it (the full century) many years ago on a tandem. Unfortunately, we had a cold rain for most of the ride, just miserable. We were freezing! Don't remember any good food like what you describe, but it's been awhile. I do remember hot chocolate and coffee at the last rest stop because it was so cold. DH's lips were turning blue, and for the first and possibly only time ever, I had to coach him through the last 20 miles or so as he was really having difficulty in the cold (not enough body fat!)
Anywho, we are in our evacuation spot in Mississippi and have been enjoying some excellent rides on the Longleaf Trace. I took today off, but before that had ridden three days straight: 32, 20, and 35 miles. The Trace itself is flat to gently climbing and descending, since it's a rail trail, but the connector trail from our campground to get onto the Trace is very hilly, with marked grades up to 15%. That's only 2 miles at the beginning and end of each ride but does get your attention!
We've had the Trace almost to ourselves, even on the weekend; a real surprise. We're here until at least Thursday morning before we attempt to head back to Florida, so I hope to get a couple more rides in. It might rain tomorrow (remnants of Irma), so we'll see.
I've done the Seagull twice and will never do it again. Rainy and windy both times, the second time it was a nor'easter with heavy rain and strong wind. The awfulness began on the drive down to Salisbury the night before with a 10-mile backup to the Bay Bridge causing me to miss the dinner I had prepaid for. At the start of the ride we still had heavy rain, my shoes filled up with water and my feet went squish-squish with each pedal stroke. Then the rain ended and the wind got worse. This is flat farmland with wide open spaces, a terrible place to ride when it's windy. They do have good weather some years, but I've decided I really don't like the eastern shore very much, because although I'm slow on hills I still prefer varied terrain to flat, flat, flat. And it's far enough away to require a hotel stay, which adds to the cost. So no more Seagulls for me. Also an important lesson learned: no matter how much you prepaid for a bike ride, just say no to riding in a nor'easter.
The ride I did on Saturday was the Civil War Century. Highly recommended. Frederick County MD is a great place for cycling. The route I did went through the Gettysburg battlefield; the longer routes go up into the Catoctin Mountains and also go through Antietam and one other battlefield, South Mountain I think. None of the routes really tour the battlefields, they just go through them for a brief visit. But I will say that the Gettysburg battlefield park is a great place to tour by bicycle. Just make sure you get a good map and are prepared to make a few wrong turns, since they don't have typical street signs at intersections. I think Antietam can be toured by bike, too, though I have only ever been there once a long time ago.
In fairness to the Seagull I should add that the CWC has seen its share of extreme weather -- last year extremely hot, the year before rain all day, a couple of years before that was somewhat hot with bad thunderstorms in the afternoon. One year they had to postpone it a day due to a tropical storm. I've done it in all kinds of weather, though the year it rained all day I bailed after the first rest stop and then spent the day at the picnic eating yummy food and waiting for friends to finish. To me the big differences are -- I prefer the scenery and terrain of northern MD to the eastern shore, and the CWC has shorter route options in case of bad weather. Plus I have learned the roads up there well enough to make my own short cuts if needed.
- Gray 2010 carbon WSD road bike, Rivet Independence saddle
- Red hardtail 26" aluminum mountain bike, Bontrager Evoke WSD saddle
- Royal blue 2018 aluminum gravel bike, Rivet Pearl saddle
Gone but not forgotten:
- Silver 2003 aluminum road bike
- Two awesome worn out Juliana saddles