the errandonnee: a wild card and 61.2 miles for coffee

It’s getting down to the wire with the 2013 Errandonnée, so I put in two long rides this weekend that contained, oddly enough, errands!

Saturday I got together with my friends, Chris, Jonathan, and Ed, to ride our bikes from Riley’s Lock out to Sugarloaf Mountain, with a rest stop in Dickerson at their small convenience store – a nice, 52.1 mile round trip.

I’d like to count this as a Personal Care & Health ride, if only because it took me to the snow – and anybody who knows me knows that a winter without any snow makes me bitter and grumpy, so this could count as a mental health destination. But I’ll field it as a Wild Card entry, just to keep things even with Mary G. 😉

Ready to roll from Riley’s Lock. I left on my rear fender due to the damp roads (I figured it made me a nicer riding companion, not spraying my friends with road gunk):

Jonathan and Ed prepping to roll after a cocoa break at the store:

Sugarloaf has tinges of snow on its flanks!

Snow on the leaves of the shrubbery as I climb Sugarloaf:

Snow at the high traverse between East and West Lots:

Sunday was too cold and blustery for a good bike day, so yesterday’s Presidents Day holiday was the other long riding day. It was also a great day to get my Coffee control taken care of.

Jonathan and I met at Allen Pond Park in Bowie, MD, to roll an easygoing, 61.2 mile route to North Beach, along Chesapeake Bay. Our coffee destination was Sweet Sue’s, where the coffee is excellent and baked goods are sublime. I even wore my new socks (thanks, sprite!) to celebrate this sunny day ride:

We enjoyed a mellow ride through the beautiful country in Anne Arundel and Calvert Counties. Here’s Jonathan taking a pull:

I decided to smile for the camera, too:

My bike wanted an “in motion” picture, too, as I glided downhill:

As we approach North Beach, I dig out the iPhone and don’t notice that the lens has misted up in my pocket. Thus, this “Streisand filter” shot of Jonathan:

We pull up to Sweet Sue’s and… IT’S CLOSED! We didn’t realize they were closed on Mondays. So we rolled up to Rose Haven, to Honey’s Harvest.

This place used to be a crummy, dirty, poorly-stocked convenience store, but it recently found new owners who renovated the place, revamped the menu, and made it quite lovely. I had a coffee, along with a cinnamon scone and a honey-laden Greek yogurt:

After 25 minutes of R&R at Honey’s Harvest, we got back on the bikes for the return to Bowie. Along the way, I took advantage of the extremely clear air to snap a picture of one of my favorite views, over Fairhaven toward the eastern shore:

We rode through more woods:

I also snapped a shot of this “clean one-owner” house near Deale:

What a lovely way to get a cup of joe! 😉

I need to crunch to get my 12 tasks (though I have all 7 controls) finished by end-of-day tomorrow, but I think I’ll make it.

Total errandonee mileage to date: 134.3
Total controls: 7 (Work Commute [x2], Breakfast/Lunch [x2], Dinner, Grocery Store [x2], Bike Shop, Wild Card, Coffee)