Laytonsville WWO

At the tail end of March, Laurie and I got out for our first WWO ride in a year. It was nice to see all the same ladies. And to go for a ride somewhere new that I didn't have to plan or organize! We met at Laytons Village Shopping Center, 6842 Olney Laytonsville Rd, Laytonsville, MD, 20882. 

I should have taken a picture of everyone at the start, but for some reason, I always forget to do that!

The ride was beautiful - with rolling hills (2,085 ft. of elevation) and 42 miles. Susan led, but she was joking by the first stop that she was "leading from the middle." Lisa (blonde, short hair), Laurie, Cathy (from the Squirrel chasers), and I kept sliding ahead. Debbie was riding as sweeper, which surprised me, because she's the fastest in the group. 

We stopped at High's to get a snack because there was a bathroom and found a grassy hill to rest and eat. 

Not long after, we stopped at this expansive view to get a pic of the group. 

L to R: Susan, Laurie, Cathy, Me, Lisa, ?, ?, Barbara, Julie (I think). Debbie taking the pic.

It was ironic to take a picture in front of a cow pasture because every other field was full of horses. Just before this stop, a red tailed hawk swooped down in front of me on the road. Pretty cool, but I have to stop birding while biking. It doesn't seem good for knowing where you're going!

After the stop, Debbie decided to move from sweeper to leader. She asked us, "How fast do you wanna go?" And she was serious. We shifted from about 12 mph to 16 mph. After a bit, we stopped to let the others catch up. That's Debbie in the yellow, then Cathy, Julie, Laurie, and Lisa.

Debbie and I took off at the end. It was so fun to draft off of her and fly.

Here's Laurie and I at the end.

Distance: 42 miles

Speed: 12.8 but that's misleading because of rolling and waiting and the slow speed for the first 15 miles. Debbie and I were cursing at the end.