There are a few pics this week.

Thurmont Ride

The week started off with two of the nicest days anybody could want. Monday was sunny and warm, with low winds and highs in the low 60s. This was a perfect day to drive up to Jerusalem Mill and do my 50 mile ride around Baltimore County. It was fun to visit the old stomping grounds. It’s a tough ride because of the length and the number of hills. It’s also a lot of fun because I vividly remember when some of these hills seemed to be very difficult, such as the hill going up to the Loch Raven Dam. Now they’re just hills. Kingsville is not an area that changes much. I had lunch at Jamie’s. The sandwich is exactly as it was when we lived there. Unfortunately, so are the tables out on the patio. They are getting pretty grungy.

My kids might remember this lake at the base of Catoctin Mountain (but not these fishermen)

Tuesday was about 5 degrees warmer, which meant that the highs in Thurmont were near 60. So I drove up there and did a ride I heard about online. The ride is a triangle. It starts in Thurmont and goes up Catoctin Mountain, past the turn-off for Cunningham Falls, past the turn-off for the Houck Camping area, up to the top of the ridge — which is also the Washington County boarder, and is also 7 miles of continuous up-hill riding. It would have been nice to stop at Cunningham Falls, but I didn’t start until 11 (to let the temperature warm up), so I didn’t have time for the detour. It’s beautiful country and a great ride. After the first 7 miles, I enjoyed a bracing downhill run into the valley.

We did some hiking / rock scrambling along this stream

From there, the ride turns North to go up the valley to Cascade, MD. (And it includes 3 more miles of climbing.) This little town is a stone’s throw from the PA border, and is also the home of Ft. Ritchie. The base was closed in 1998. Today, it is hopefully listed as “Office Space Available”. It’s pretty clear there have been no takers so far. This was the most isolated part of the ride. I rode for miles with no houses and no cars on the road. The only sign I was in a civilized area was the pavement under my wheels.

Was Ft. Ritchie, now “Office Space Available”

The last leg is a downhill run back to Thurmont. It’s fast and fun. The country is just as pretty as the rest of the ride. But I have to admit I was enjoying the downhill run quite a bit. There’s no doubt this is country. I didn’t pass a single Starbucks. I felt fine when I got home and even made it through Tuesday night Yoga in good shape.

Wednesday was a day of rest for me. I returned my “Personal Amplifers”, those things that aren’t quite hearing aids. They worked as advertised, but they didn’t let me turn the volume down when watching TV, and they didn’t help me hear people in noisy rooms. On the other hand, the video recorder has been a great success. Danita got a new crown Wednesday. Our dentist has all the latest dental toys, which is how Danita got her crown in one 2-hour visit. The dentist used an imaging laser to build a model of the tooth. The image was sent to a milling machine to make a ceramic crown. After a quick fit check, the crown was baked, then cemented to her tooth. The entire procedure, including a little cleanup work with the drill, was done without pain killers. Her mouth was sore for a couple of days, but it was much quicker and less disruptive than the traditional procedure. While Danita was recovering from her crown, I went to another retirement planning seminar. I know, I said no more of these. But this one had an interesting variation on the theme. This *is* the last one. Probably.

Wednesday was also a transitional day weather-wise. By Wednesday evening colder temperatures had come in with some rain showers. We even had a few snow flakes in the mix. Highs for the rest of the week were in the mid-40s. The sudden drop in temperature made the bike rides quite bracing.

Friday we had a neighborhood party. We had pizza, meatballs, salad, and sandwiches. And cookies for desert. The ladies in charge decided to mix up some sangria, which was quite popular. Danita’s off to visit her dad. After that, we’re looking forward to a quiet weekend. Maybe we’ll go see that new movie “Interstellar”.

I hope this finds everybody doing well.