Saturday Hills, Heat and Pancakes

Gotta hand it to Flyin Tuna, she came up with a great route to Bladensburg that had it all, especially a stop at Butler's Restaurant and that attracted a good group of 15 that included, Dennis, Poobah, Mitch O (making a rare appearance), David, Reynoldsburg Dan, Mark V, Jeff S, Mark & Karen Rossi, Nathan, Amanda, Frans & John.

We headed out of the Newark Y into an early morning of warmth and sun and after navigating Newark's downtown, sprang onto the rolling roads headed toward Hanover.  From there we headed north, got onto Reform and that nasty climb,hung a right at #79, then a left on Cullison, screamed down a hill on Frampton and shot through a covered bridge, a good climb on Mt Zion and after 30 miles, rolled into Bladensburg.

This is what brought Mitch out, a plate of pancakes with strawberries and whip cream.  Oh, sausage on the side.  We all hoped he'd be able to keep it all down during for the next 43 miles.

This is what was left after 60 seconds.

Rather than head back to Newark, we continued north, rolling into Millwood and then west where we temporarily became lost.  We had maps but they were not much good without a magnifying glass.  We finally got back on the route, hung a left at Kilduff, signaling our return south, rode through some super rollers on Grove Church and then I shocked the peloton with a sign sprint win at Martinsburg.  Here, as we coasted into the gas station, we finally realized how hot it had become and so camped in the shade.  Nathan both camping and sleeping.  

We returned via Peatmoss, Horns HIll, etc... and after 73 miles, rolled back into the Y parking lot with 4400' of climbing.  I have not been on some of those roads in a long time and the route is deserving of a roving ride at some point in the future,  Speaking of which, next Saturday is the Granville Climbing Challenge.  More to come on the expansive list of prizes (first place, last place and middle of the pack place), cash, marked roads (really!) and lots of climbing.
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