A Windy Spring Ride out of Brunswick, Maryland

We rode out of Brunswick, Maryland yesterday. We are starting to train for this year's bike tour and the ride we did yesterday helped us get back into some climbing. We are going to need a lot of it over the course of the next few months.

It rained all the way to Brunswick. I kept checking the radar and the forecast and both promised that the area would dry out in the morning from west to east. Since Brunswick is west of here, we had our fingers crossed. Sitting in the car in the parking lot watching it sprinkle didn't help. Finally, we decided it may as well be now or never. The sprinkles stopped and about 30 minutes into our ride, we actually saw a bit of sun. As the day went on, it got sunnier and windier.

The route took us from Brunswick to Burkittsville, then over South Mountain and down little rural roads along the west side of South Mountain. Eventually, we wound up connecting with the C&O Towpath at the Maryland Heights trailhead. We rode the towpath back to the car and then up to Beans in the Belfry at lunch. While we were waiting to order, a reporter from the local Brunswick paper asked us if he could feature us as this week's "Cyclists of the Week." This will be our second feature (which we let him know). A little over two years ago, we rode to Beans in the Belfry while on our way from Pittsburgh to DC and we were featured then!

 Farm fields north of Brunswick

 Michael and our friend riding past flowering trees

More farm fields. Everything is starting to turn green.

We stopped for a quick break and happened to see this pheasant. It isn't a great picture, but I can't say that I've ever seen one before in Maryland. (And it turns out, they are actually pretty rare in the state).

 An even rarer sighting: The lesser known Cotton-Tailed South Mountain Bigfoot.

Dicentra cucullaria (Dutchmans Breeches) on the C&O Towpath

 Mertensia virginica (Virginia Bluebells)

 My ride for this year's unsupported tour. I'm starting to ride with weight to get ready for carrying all of my stuff.

 The Potomac from the footbridge at Harpers Ferry.

Dicentra canadensis (Squirrel Corn)

Turtles on a log in the old canal. This is one of my favorite things about the Towpath in the spring.