On the Eastern Shore
June 29, 2011
On Sunday, June 28th, at 7:30 in the morning, a bunch of Seekers rode their bikes out of the Betterton Volunteer Fire Station on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. We were riding in the Bay to Bay ride organized by the Lions Club of Chestertown–a ride we’ve participated in for several years now. The ride raises money to provide leader dogs for blind persons, among other things, but most of us go for the challenge and fun of riding our bikes, and eating in Italian restaurants with each other.
Five cars full of riders and bicycles had gathered the day before in Middletown, Delaware at the hotel where we would spend the night. After getting our gear stowed in the rooms we walked to the restaurant to have our traditional night-before-the-ride Italian meal. Fourteen people eventually sat down to dinner and a bit of birthday cake for dessert. After dinner and the short walk back to the hotel we spent a few hours resting for our ride. Then a bit after five o’clock we were repacking the cars for the drive to our starting line. After checking in we rode out on different routes. We had riders on the 27, 50, or 78 mile routes.
The weather was cool, dry, the sky bright and clear; and not too windy–in short, a perfect day for a long bicycle ride. As we rode we naturally formed into groups of two or four. The roads on the Eastern Shore pass through many small towns (often with only one traffic light) and soon give way to miles of farm fields. It was quite beautiful, many times, as we rolled along.
Eight hours after we began everyone had arrived back at the fire department. A whole bunch of us then went to the Italian restaurant in Chestertown to recap the day’s ride, and have a meal before driving back to town.
The Seekers bike riders are starting to make plans for attending the Seagull Century in October so we’ll be going on training rides through the next few months. If you’d like to join us sometime let us know. The Seekers riders are: David Novello, Kevin Barwick, Sheri Bergen, Deborah Sokolove, Jesse Palidofsky, Jane Engle, Will Ramsey, Glen Yakushiji, Teresa Kaiser, Marcia Sprague. Three friends who rode with us were: Randall Adams, Stu, and Laurie. Ken Burton drove a support car and took pictures.
Glen Yakushiji
