Intervals and Landmarks

Saturday morning of Memorial Day weekend was perfect for a hard training ride -- overcast with a bit of coolness to the air.  With Bike Virginia in a month, and RAGBRAI in two, I needed to work.  So I decided to add interval training and some miles to my normal route.  I didn't have my heartrate monitor -- the disappearing chest strap has disappeared again, so I decided to do 3 sets of 5, 30 seconds on and 60 seconds at pace.  I was cruising at around 18 mph, so I decided my pace speed would be 17, with all out for 30 seconds.

I did the first set on the Oxford Road after a warm up.  My top speeds during this set were 21 plus.  Remarkable how pushing 3 additional mph for 30 seconds can be totally exhausting.  Did the second set on the Island Creek loop, same interval and pace.  Took the third set at around mile 38 -- east of Route 50, where the fields are larger, the wind stronger, and the terrain actually rolls a bit. Plus, the sun had come out -- a beautiful, but warm day.  Gave myself 2 minutes between intervals, and was totally spent by the end.

Overall the ride was great -- took a few extra loops from the standard 40 to come in at around 45 miles.  The ride starts with the ride through Oxford, the Island Creek loop, into Trappe.  Some familiar landmarks:  the Oxford-Bellevue Ferry, the white horse near Trappe Landing, and the three silos outside of Trappe. 

When I crossed 50 at Trappe, the landmarks were less familiar and helped remind me of the route.  There was the Pleasant Cemetery, Realizm Taxidermy (yup, with a "z."  Wonder where Post-Modern Taxidermy has set up shop), the Antique Shop in Bruceville ("Stain Glass"), and the abandoned house on Manadier Road, near Landing Neck Road.   Here's the route; photos to follow, perhaps.
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3771135 

Sunday was a day with friends, and no ride.  But Monday I did the standard Oxford/Island Creek loop 35 miler, again with three sets of five intervals.  I felt strong on Monday, better than I did on Saturday, and did all three sets at 30 seconds on, 60 seconds pace.  Exhausting but seems to be producing results.  I did the group Travillah ride today (Western Shore), with full hills, and held my own with the fastest person in the group.

Wedding Weekend Bike Rides, PLUS Horseshoes (?)

Matt and Elizabeth got married on Saturday late afternoon, at the Maritime Museum in St. Michaels.  Big crab feast on Friday night, and a brunch at our place on Sunday morning.

My Quest

October is a great month for sea food on the Eastern Shore -- the oysters have arrived, and the crabs haven't left yet. So last night, Susan, Pete, and I headed to Schooners, a dockside restaurant and bar in Oxford, for some fried oysters and crabcakes. We were sitting outside, on the harbor, near the outdoor bar. At around 8:15, we saw a fireworks display to the south. Since it wasn't the 4th of July, no one was quite sure what was going on -- until the waitress told us that one of the guys' fathers was a caretaker for a huge place down on Island Creek. The fireworks display -- all 25 or 30 minutes worth, easily as good as Easton's display on July 4th -- were for a wedding (!!!)
So that settled it -- Sunday's ride would start with the Island Creek loop, to see if I could find evidence of the grand event. I took the normal route, out the Oxford Road to Almshouse, then White Marsh to Sanderstown. I got a bit of a late start; by 9:15, the fog was burning off, leaving the fields with a heavy dew. Everything was glistening in the morning light.
When I got to Island Creek Road, I had a strange sense that I was almost there. . . .I pedaled along for a while, wondering how far was "almost," anyway? After a while, I found it:That's right, a Lovefest at Martins Point -- I'm not making this up. Either a really big wedding, or a late celebration of Woodstock's 40th anniversary.
My quest now complete, I continued the ride, singing the B-52s' "Love Shack" to myself. It was a beautiful Fall day -- with the first of the migrating Canadian snow geese in the sky. I rode the Island Creek loop, with a detour out to Chloras Point and Peace Cliff Road -- where I could see a sailboat race out on the Bay. Then through Trappe, across Route 50.
Instead of the normal route up Koogler, I went further east, through Bruceville, past one of my favorite cemeteries. The farms on this side of 50 are larger than to the west. Most of the cornfields had been cleared, and I noticed a much larger number of hawks gliding over the cut fields. With the tall cornstalks gone, the field mice are easier for the raptors to see -- plus, the rodents are stocking up for the winter. The hawks were flying very low, so it was easy to see the white feathers on the underside of their wings.
I crossed Miles Creek, which runs to the Choptank, not the Miles river. I then headed further north, up Dover Neck Road to Black Dog Alley (again, I'm not making this up -- I've got to find out where that name came from). I cut back to Easton sooner than planned, both because it was really windy and because my lower back tightened up. Finished at about 47 miles, my last tune up for the Sea Gull.

Fall 40 Miler

Did the same 40-miler with Gail that I did with Kathy a few weeks ago -- Oxford, Island Creek Loop, Trappe, and the "cemeteries" east of 50. (Note to self -- map this route, since it's become your regular 40 mile ride --UPDATE: done). We took a detour for the Oxford Cemetery and for Trappe Landing.
Interesting changes in three week. Any corn that's left standing is brown and dry. A lot of it has been cut down, and some of the fields have been turned over. So I've seen the full "corn cycle," from planting, to tending, to harvesting, and clearing. The beans are turning a golden color, ready for harvest. The leaves are just starting to change, and there was coolness in the air the entire ride. And, of course, a tough wind.
The most amazing sight was on the Island Creek Road, where there are woods to the right and fields on the left. A very large bird flew low out of the woods, straight over head -- a bald eagle !! On the first pass, we could see its body -- snow white chest and tail. It looped back around twice, so we could see its white head and curled beak. It then went back into the woods. I saw a bald eagle on the Miles River a couple of years ago, but this is my first one on a bike ride. Eagles keep their nests in the same spot over the years, so I'll have to keep my eyes open for this one when I'm riding Island Creek Road.
Update: Here's the map of this route. http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3230319

Starting to Feel a Bit Like Fall

Did an early morning 40 miler with Kathy today -- out to Oxford, then the Island Creek Road loop, back through Trappe across Route 50, and part of the Wildflowers/Cemeteries route home. Although the morning was bright and sunny, there was the coolness of Fall in the air. The corn fields have turned brown, some of the dogwoods are just starting to change colors, and the bean fields -- October harvest -- are a rich, dark green. Summer is winding to an end.

Tour of Oxford

This is a great ride for new visitors to the Eastern Shore. It's a relatively short trip; I'll sometimes use my Basso for this one.
Basically, you follow the Oxford Road to Oxford, with a number of possible side trips along the way. You'll ride over Peachblossom and Trippe Creeks, both very beautiful, particularly in the morning or evening sun, and then ride several miles through farm country. I like to show folks the view across the harbor from the Oxford Cemetery -- a short detour to the right, before town.
The Oxford Road ends at the dock of the Oxford-Bellevue ferry, reputed to be the oldest continually running ferry in the country. If you've got a few bucks in your pocket, you can take the ferry across to Bellevue, a short boat ride to a working dock across the way. From there you can head to St. Michaels. But that's another ride. On this one, you wander through the town of Oxford, which has maintained the feel of an old Eastern Shore town. When St. Michaels decided to focus on tourists, Oxford made a different choice, avoiding most development. There's the Robert Morris Inn, right on the water, and the Oxford Inn, near the harbor. But that's about it by way of restaurants/bars. There's a general store and a few shops, but mostly it's nice old houses (and a pretty old population), with a great town park right on the water.
The map below takes you to Bachelor's Point, which has nice views of the Choptank and Tred Avon Rivers (and some very big houses), and out World Farm Road, which also has some beautiful views. Then it's back towards Easton and the Oreo cows.
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3157981

Trappe/Chloras Point Loop

This is a nice 30 mile ride that will give you a pretty good sense of cycling on the Eastern Shore. The link is below.

On the Oxford Road, you'll cross Peachblossom Creek -- beautiful views to the east, toward the Tred Avon River (which isn't really a river -- it's a tidal inlet off the Bay). Once you get on the Easton-Trappe Road, you're in Eastern Shore farm country. During the Winter and early Spring, there were fields of hay, which has been harvested and replaced with soybeans. Of course, there are fields (and fields) of corn. It was wonderful watching the corn crop through its life cycle -- from sprouts in the Spring, to "high as your thigh on the 4th of July" (actually, the corn was much taller), to July/August harvest. There's still corn on the stalk -- should be available for the rest of the month.

Trappe is a nice Eastern Shore town. The actor Robert Mitchum had a farm near Trappe, and the town has a restaurant called Mitchum's Steak House. You can turn right onto Maple Ave in the middle of Trappe (which is how I mapped the route), or you can ride down Main Street for a short distance and see some of the nice old houses -- one of which dates from the early 1700s.

As you head out of Trappe, Maple Ave becomes Island Creek Road. Between miles 9 and 10, you'll see Trappe Landing Road on the left. You should ride down to Trappe Landing, which is a working watermen's docking area, so you may see some oyster and crab boats. It's a beautiful spot on LaTrappe Creek, an inlet of the Choptank River.

After mile 11, Island Creek Road splits. I usually bear right onto South Island Creek Road. During the this part of the ride, there are dense woods on both sides of the road, with some large farms/estates (many with "names") to your left. These places are on the Choptank River -- you can see the river at certain spots. These houses must have beautiful views.

Just after mile 14, South Island Creek Road ends at Chloras Point Road. You can make a right, which will take you back to the northern leg of Island Creek Road. But you should go left on Chloras Point Road and then make a right onto Peace Cliff Road and take it to its end -- extraordinary views across Island Creek.

You then turn back and take Chloras Point to Island Creek to Sanderstown Road. A couple of lefts and you're back on the Oxford Road, south of where you first turned off. You'll cross Trippe Creek and, again,
Peachblossom Creek. As you're getting close to home, slow down as you pass Cooke's Hope on the right. Cooke's Hope was part of a land grant by the Lord Baron of Baltimore to Major Miles Cooke in 1659. It's now a "planned community," but for what it is, it's not too bad -- lots of open fields. Make sure you check out the "Oreo" cattle -- more formally known as Belted Galloways.

Enjoy the ride.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3060809