FLCC> Legge and Ford Hill ride last sunday

[John Dennis]

Hi All, 
 
The Legge Ford ride debuted  last Last Sunday under sweltering low 90
temps once we got as far as Caroline Center.  In retrospect it really
didn't make much sense to be out in that much sun and hot air.  The ride
would have been been delightful if we had left at 6am. In any case, we
were able to ride past the portion of Old 76 that was blocked to auto
traffic.  It was an almost traffic-less Sunday morning.  As per usual,
there were no human beings visible at the McCormick Center.  For our
part, riders included: Andrejs Ozolins, Kerri, Mary, and one other woman
(these four formed the rear guard),  Ruth Sherman, Terri Kingsbury, Alex
Specker, Mark Sorrells, Wayne Gottleib, Steve Bowman, Gary Hodges, David
Sahn, and doubtless others my sun-addled brain cannot recall. 
 
Legge Hill Road is a memorable piece of road.  I was fidgeting a fig
newton out of a sandwich bag after we left the T junction half-way along
this road when suddenly the road pitched downward and I quickly realized
this was not the place for multi-tasking. Pavement was patchy and the
hill was steep.  It was as if we had just entered a part of the county
where birth levels had dropped to zero, out-migration was the trend, and
a budget and maintenance moratorium had been in place for the past 25
years. For those who prefer solid pavement, going another quarter to
half mile south on Honey Pot and then turning left/east will also bring
you to Back West Creek and with less climbing. 
 
We deviated from the route in order to go into Berkshire for water.  We
questioned a local motorist who informed us that no nearby stores were
open, but he said he would be glad to open up the local fire station to
provide us with water. Not only that, he happened to have a case of
Gatorade in his trunk and sold us Gatorade for a dollar a bottle.  And
when Alex got a flat leaving the parking lot, he asked if he could be of
assistance.  I would say Berkshire gets a 10 out of 10 for hospitality!
 
Alex waited to flat his other wheel at the very top of Blackmun Hill in
a nice shady area, despite the conventional wisdom that it is best to
flat about half-way up this hill. Perhaps Alex had seen the Marine Corps
flag hoisted in a field about half way up and noted the mutiple volleys
of weapons fire further from the road. Maybe we should keep a web site
for mapping dogs and heavy weapons fire. Alex had worn tires purchased
last year down to the fabric under the rubber. 
 
The ride was about 49 miles with the added distance into Berkshire and
then east on Jewett Road and up Blackmum and cumulative climb, according
to the web site about 4350 feet. 
 
I'm hoping for heavy cloud cover tomorrow and plan to join the 8:3am
contingent from East HIll Plaza. 
 
Cheers,   John 
 
227-5172
 
 
 
 

 
 
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