After a fairly laid back Davidsonville ride on Saturday I decided to head up to Western MD yesterday to do some hill repeats, and give the legs some serious work. Nat had decalred the roads rideable on Saturday, and I figured with the temps pushing 50 I'd at least have good roads in the valleys. As I rolled into Myersville around noon the bank temperature read 44 degrees. Not bad for a part of town that always seems to be 10 degrees colder than everywhere else. As I went to my usual starting place I noticed 3 cars (one with a bike rack) in my usual spot. Undeterred I pulled in between them knowing that they were already out on the route. I set off, and almost immediately encountered ice on Rt 17. This turned out to be a rather isolated phenomenon, and I knew it would only improve as the day went on. Still I knew I'd have to keep alert for the rest of the ride.
The snow melt was quite marked in places, and I ran into several impromptu streams in the middle of the road in my trip up 17. After a quick descent into Smithsburg which to my surprise was devoid of ice and slush I briefly ran into a group of 3 serious looking riders (1 in an AVC kit) who had just finished descending 491 into Smithsburg. After a quick wave I started my first red line climb up to Cascade. A few minutes in I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye. My first thought was deer, but it turned out to be a couple of hikers crossing 491. While I honestly didn't see a trail in all of the snow they seemed to know where they were going. Halfway up the climb I decided to risk Ritchie Rd, and add another mile or so of climbing. That road turned out to be surprisingly clear as well until after the descent. At that point I decided I'd risk the conditions on High Rock. My plan was to go up easy the first time to scout out for ice especially on the descent. The last thing I wanted was another "Ali visits the ice in Philly" story.
As I got to the base of the climb I couldn't help but notice an empty tour bus parked across from the closed park. I'd never seen it there before, and it just didn't make sense to see it there. I've seen school busses at the top of High Rock, but never an empty bus at the bottom when the park was closed.
I started my first ascent in the small ring (yeah I was surprised I had one too) at an easy pace. It is amazing how scenic and relaxing that climb can be at 240 watts. Just after the first speed bump I ran into a hiker carrying ski poles (no skis just poles). He gave me a quick wave, and I just gave him a weird look. It did occur to me that if there was a ski-able area down the North side of the rock it would be a great way to get some free skiing in. As I continued to climb the rock at a leisurely pace I made note of the best line for the descent, and ran into a couple more hikers figuring the nice weather brought them out. After reaching the top I went back down, and started the real training (low cadence/high gear sufferfest.)
As I ascended the second time I saw more hikers scattered about the climb. I think I spent more time dodging hikers than ice, and local yahoos in pickups and motorcycles. The third time up the climb it became apparent that hikers were descending the rock en masse. But where were they coming from? The fourth time up the climb I stopped at the top for a nature break, and got the answer to my question. I spotted another hiker coming off the Northeast side of the rock. I didn't even know there was a trail back there. Last time we headed up that way we were met by a couple of guys with assault rifles. (that incident erased all doubts I had about Harshman's descending ability!) Apparently though the trail doesn't cross that area.
As I got to the bottom of the hill I noticed some of the hikers congregating around the bus. "Aha the mother ship!" Why I didn't see that before I don't know. The weird thing was that these hikers were from all walks of life; all ages, all physical statures (OK no one was obese), but you get the idea. It just seemed like a really ecletic group. They had to be aliens!
After my next repeat I noticed more congregating around the bus, and decided to get out of there before the mother ship lifted off, and caused possible mayhem on the narrow roads. I made the quick descent into Thurmont down 550, quickly refueled, and hit the Rt 77 climb where apparently the sun never shines. After the rollercoaster on Stottlemeyer I finished out with a nice fast descent back to the starting point. Four hours later the bank read 55 degrees on my way out. Not as warm as down South, but a very enjoyable ride given this winter so far.
For those who are new to the club there is a reason we always start our hill rides at a low point. It is much easier to ride back to your car if you blow up. (Harshman's short cuts aside).
Like all good aliens this particular species left a calling card. As aliens tend to be "high tech" creatures I decided to utilize modern technology to find them. Low and behold they actually had a web site. Go figure!
In any event if you are interested you can check out www.wanderbirds.org Apparently they charge 20 bucks a head, and rent a charter bus to drive to their hikes. So I had to ask myself; "Why can't ABRT do this?" Twenty bucks a head for a trip to Thurmont leaving from the Davidsonville park and ride. I bet those charter busses can fit several bikes underneath, along with coolers etc. We park the bus somewhere, offer multiple ride options, and everyone eventually meets back there for a relaxing ride home.
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