That left Saturday morning without much to do. Since there's no better way to see the Eastern Shore than on a bicycle, I decided to invite the wedding guests to join me for a group bike ride. To my surprise, more than 20 folks decided to ride. I'd promised everyone a working bike and a helmet, so I set out to beg, borrow, but not steal, as many bikes as I could. Some folks were able to bring their own bikes, but I ended up with 18 bikes in the garage, all with their tires pumped, chains lubed, and brakes adjusted. (Note to self -- pumping up the tires on 18 bikes is hard work). 
The group gathered around 10 am, and I went about matching folks with bikes that fit (as best as possible). We pushed off at around 10:40, for a 20 mile ride to Oxford and back. A few folks went for longer rides, and some folks chose a shorter trip. But everyone got to see the Oreo cows and Peachblossom and Trippe Creeks, and several of us took in the view of Oxford harbor from the town cemetery. Plus, of course, Oxford is beautiful town, particularly in the Spring, and the ferry was running. And I certainly enjoyed catching up with Ira and Judy, and Michael and Jean, on the road. Overall, folks seemed to have a splendid time.
In addition to the ride on Saturday, Jason Cross and I were able to take a spin on a beautiful Friday morning. We trial run of the ride to Oxford -- me on my IF, and Jason on my 20 year old Novara hybrid with flat pedals. Jason was pumped and kept a 18-19 mph pace most of the way to Oxford (OK, there was a bit of a tail wind).
We stopped at the dock and watched the ferry pull in. We also spoke to a local out of work construction worker, who told us about swimming off the ferry dock as a child. With the recession he's been making ends meet with unemployment, occasional side jobs, and collecting recyclables. Tough times. 
Jason and I stopped at Peachblossom Creek on the way home. We also took a break for the Oreo cows, which were surrounded by a beautiful field of small yellow wild flowers -- don't know what they are, and don't remember them from last year, but they're everywhere this Spring. Stunning.
OK, why the reference to horseshoes in the title? Well, the weekend before the wedding I went for a ride with Kathy, my Eastern Shore riding partner. She also does real estate and always has an interesting deal in the works. This time, she had an investor who was looking to develop a professional quality horseshoe pitching facility. (Really). Kathy said that horseshoes is more popular than NASCAR and that hosting a major tournament could bring millions of dollars to the host community. (Here's a link to the National Horseshoe Pitching Association website: http://www.horseshoepitching.com/#)
The investor was ready to pay cash, but for a while wouldn't tell Kathy who his "money man" was. Turned out that this fellow's son is an NBA player (I forgot his name) who grew up in Dorchester County and wants to give something back to the community. Kathy found him a good spot in Cambridge, but for some reason the local authorities wouldn't give them a zoning variance -- in a commercial area, in a town. Well, the town of Hurlock was much more welcoming, and made sure the zoning would work. When the local paper found out about, there was such an outcry from the people of Cambridge that the zoning people tried to lure the project back, but too late -- the deal with Hurlock is going through. So maybe I'll have to add horseshoes to this blog.
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