Blue Skies Materialized

I was so exhausted yesterday, after the long day, that I didn’t notice there was a billiard table in the front parlor of the Garden and Sea Inn and nearly walked into it on the way to getting coffee. Still too windblown and pedal-drunk to play at 6 am.

It was a late start for me. I was waiting for word that others had started to roll for the day, and I thought I’d meet them at a triangulated point on the route. But no one texted and at 8:19 I saw on the tracking app we run that everyone was riding. I felt “Home Alone” — so I rushed and loaded my gear and started rolling for the day. It rained steadily for 90 minutes and I didn’t note when I crossed into Maryland from Virginia.

But my first Maryland stop, at the Stockton Volunteer Fire Co., was to remove rain gear as blue skies materialized to the northwest.

Rolled through some beautiful farmland throughout the day — very flat riding here near Girdletree, MD.

But even though it was flatland, the wind insured the pedaling was hard. It often felt as if I was on a stationary bike cranked up to the maximum setting bicycling in place. Headwinds have become a daily constant. Farm near in Girdletree, MD.

Another odd thing to riding alone all day—unbelievably, I didn’t run into anyone until the last 10 minutes of my ride — was the dearth of services. This was the first opportunity to get something to drink or eat at 29.3 miles into the ride. Newark, MD. Rain was threatening again, but stayed away.

Thankfully, some very lightly “trafficked” roads today, as through this area near Newark, MD.

Travelled by many wheat, corn, and potato fields through the Chesapeake Bay area, and today by a number of horse stables. Near Libertytown, MD.

At the 40-mile mark the first open place for lunch: Roadie Joe’s Bar & Grill. Berlin, MD.

They use laminated baseball cards for coasters … I got Twins / Royals stalwart Greg Gagne — a good augury.

Correction: There’s only one food group… saturated fat.. having a burnt ends grilled cheese at Roadie Joe’s in Berlin, MD. 

Don’t have pictures of anybody else today because I rolled alone, but here was my route to Ocean City, MD.

And at some point, unknown to me, I passed the 2,000 mile mark for the year on this ride.

We all did eventually get together tonight. We ended up spread out again. I’m 9.5 miles away from Lois & Jeff in North Ocean City Beach, and 2.6 miles from Richard, Scott & Bobby who are staying beachside.

 We all headed up to have dinner by Lois & Jeff’s hotel and made good consensus-based plans for the ferry crossing to Cape May. So today we’ll actually be in 3 states: start in Maryland, cross into Delaware catch the ferry across Delaware Bay from Lewes, Delaware to Cape May, New Jersey.

So in honor of a 3 state day…

… an homage to saturated fat …

Day 8:
Start: New Church, VA
Finish: Ocean City, MD
Miles: 48.1

Marylanders know their ice cream!

What I’m Reading:

Please Rate Your Experience Please / stand in this Assembly / Line of Loss / Please: We’ve all wanted to be loved / by an impossible thing / it’s why the monarch butterflies keep following us around & This Is How It Is Habibti / Things Happen Until You Die / & All You Can Do Is Not Break

— Noor Hindi / “The Document”