Annapolis, Interrupted

Our most recent ride taught us a few things about knowing your limits, improvisation and the consequences of making a wrong turn (especially when on a bicycle). We had high hopes for our longest ride yet, and planned a roughly 60-mile out-and-back from the D.C. suburbs to Annapolis on a beautiful spring day, hoping to visit Annapolis' annual Spring Fling.

Our route was a compilation and slight modification of Bike Washington's "Greenbelt to Bay" route and a similar route from our book, "25 Bicycle Tours in Maryland." We began by revisiting the WB&A Trail (see previous post), and then wove our way through greater Bowie. The most scenic views were found on the rolling hills of Governor Bridge Road as we passed quiet farmland on a low-traffic country road.

Our serene ride came to an abrupt halt, however, as we zipped past "High Water" caution signs to find that the Patuxent River had overflowed. Severe weather from the previous night resulted in Governor Bridge road being covered in about two feet of rapid, muddy water. A soggy car being hauled out by a tow truck ahead of us dashed any hopes of "just going for it."

After taking advantage of the snack break, we were offered a ride across the river in a Good Samaritan's truck. We didn't even hesitate to throw our bikes in the bed and hop on.

As fun as our little trip was, we didn't really take the time to think about how we would get back across the river for our return home. "We'll just take another road back." Right. It's not always so easy when you're traveling by bicycle...

Looking Back at Governor Bridge

When we reached Annapolis, we dropped by Capital Bicycle in hopes of getting some advice for a bike-savvy route home. While there were no maps to be found, and the staff had no tips for a different route back across the Patuxent, they were kind enough to let us investigate Google Maps for a better option.

Our new route home took us over steeper hills with smaller (and often no) shoulders. It was longer, with more twists and turns, and the sun was getting closer to setting. We knew we were in a pinch. To top if off, one of our riders had developed an injury and needed to adopt a slower pace. We divvied up cell phones, copied down the new route and decided that two riders would hurry home and return with a car.

Later, now down to two cyclists, we found ourselves at a high-traffic intersection with a very small shoulder. As we stopped to reconsider, two cyclists came behind us and we were able to conference about the road ahead. Both were familiar with the local roads and the dangers of the route we were now hoping to take. We explained our situation and the cyclists offered to modify their route in order to escort us back to a safer road home. "Safety in numbers" was their motto, and we agreed.

Back on safer roads, closing in on home, we were feeling the burn of nearing the end of our longest ride ever. Then we heard the phone ring. When we parted ways with our third rider, we'd forgotten one important piece... the keys!!!

We coached our third cyclist home along the safer route via text messages, and we hit a local convenience store for whatever snacks we could find. We waited. We contemplated calling a cab for our third rider and racked our brains for numbers of local friends with vehicles. Just as dusk drew near, our last rider pulled up, equally exhausted. We were so thankful to have all returned home safely. There were a few lessons for each of us in this day's ride.

We're gonna rock down to...

We've discovered someone's great decision to utilize the path cleared for the "electric avenue" of powerlines... The WB&A Trail!

This paved trail takes you from backyards to alongside low traffic roads, paralleling a railway that connects D.C. to Baltimore. We're looking forward to revisiting this trail in the near future for a longer multi-city ride.

En route to the WB&A, we visited the Patuxent Wildlife Research Refuge. We were pleasantly surprised to discover an oasis of quiet wooded areas with several trails (for foot traffic only) and a great interactive visitor center. We'll definitely be going back.

While this trip was relatively short with little elevation change, we're gearing up for some long rides, including a route around Sugarloaf Mountain. We'll let you know how we fare on the rolling hills!

Halfway Checkpoint

We did it! We successfully completed the Cherry Blossom 10-miler! We found that we weren't entirely successful at multi-tasking our training. Splitting our training between cycling and running meant that we weren't training as well as we'd hoped for either. Nonetheless, we finished the race and had a pretty good time. The blossoms were in full bloom, and the sun came out to warm things up; It was gorgeous!

An amazing family member even made us T-shirts so we could spread the word about the ride as we ran:

With the race out of the way, we are looking at approximately 10 more weeks of training before we dip our back tires in the Pacific Ocean and head east for 3,400 miles. It's time to get serious. We're trying to spend some time on the bikes every day now, even if it's only a short ride. With warmer weather and more hours of daylight, biking to work has become a solid option.

It's also time for us to get more serious about the real goal of our cross country adventure: fundraising. We're pitching a new idea to friends and family:


Each rider’s goal is to raise $3,400 ($1 for every mile). Larger donors will cover our operating costs and in-kind gifts, so that every penny that the riders raise will go directly to supporting volunteers. We will be cycling from Oregon to New Jersey for 50 days this summer (which are broken up with rest days and opportunities for community service with Lasallian communities). If we can raise $68 for each of those days that we are cycling across the country, we will meet our goal. That also means that if we can find 50 people to sponsor us for $68, we will have met our goal.


So here's our humble plea...
We believe that education is key to breaking the cycle of poverty in the U.S. The Lasallian Volunteer Program trains, supports and places teachers in communities of great need. Please help us help them, and consider donating to LVsRide. Can you spare $68 to sponsor one day, or $34 for half of a day? Do you know someone who can?


If you know of others - family, friends, businesses, potential sponsors - please spread the word. In the meantime, stay tuned for more posts about longer rides and pertinent information as our training kicks it up a notch!