Riders Comments on the Oak Ridge Century

great route ... great organization ... loved the stops ... do it again next year!

    Good ride! The food got a little short at the first couple of stops on the 100 miler. Especially the gatoraid. But it was a nice selection of food (tomato sandwiches, honey and bagels, the ice cream at the last stop! ;-).
    I wish I'd done the 125 miler, but energy was lacking... ;-)
    I'd love to see this ride more widely advertised, but not to the point that it is ruined by too large a number of participants. By far this was the nicest of the 3 centuries I did in Sept! Good work.

I only rode the 25 mile route this year. My companions were not up for the half century. I have done the half centuries in past years. I have alway found the ride well planned, the country side beautiful. This year, it was the best weather ever and as I had never biked into Amish territory and found that to be very interesing. The tomato sandwiches are always a big hit. I look forward to next year's events.

    I did the English century on my hybrid, at a nice leisurely (brag brag) eleven point something mph; I'm no speed burner even on a tour/road bike. This ride was the most scenic of the several OHBT rides I've done. It was very well marked and I had no problem following it, or getting back on when I made a few small scenic side trips. The PACE folks must have thought well of it too; their Amish century the following Saturday "borrowed" some 15 or so miles of this ride.   I didn't encounter any rogue dogs or horses, but I got bit up by small bugs a lot. Not unexpected for rural MD.
    As to the rest stops etc...others have commented that there seemed to be too few stops. I thought there were enough. I'm not above making my own stops if I feel the need. A sleeve of fig newtons ($1.39 at the nearest 7-11, better than supermarket price) is a good food reserve. I carried 3 water bottles and made liberal use of all 3 since the weather turned quite warm. Even in late summer/early autumn, ya gotta pound down thewater whether you feel like it or not.
    I had been unaware we needed to check in at each rest stop, until about the third one. Maybe that fact could be made clearer next time around. Other than that extremely minor thing -- GREAT JOB!!!!!!
    One suggestion on the T-shirt design: why not have a rudimentary map of the general area of MD incorporated into the design, like CAM Tour or earlier Bike VA tees? For instance (in this case) just an outline of PG/Charles/St Mary's counties.
    See ya in 19-and-99, if that Great Cyclist in the Sky wills it.

I was pleased with your ride. Everything your club did was fine with me. I really enjoyed the tomato sandwiches. Sag support was very good.

    I really enjoyed riding this Century, particularly, as it was my first one this year since my accident in which I suffered 7 neck fractures from a car accident in May of '98. I was concerned as to my level of conditioning, and due to the fact that I ride an old, heavy mountain bike, rather than a high-tech. lighter road bike.
    The route was quite beautiful, and was of a variety of challenges, not the least being the wind, which began to be an issue after the first rest stop, esp after the 2nd one. I particularly liked the scenery between the Port Tobacco Road area and the Zekiah swamp, getting into the 2nd rest stop.
    I was particularly fond of the tomato sandwiches. However, I missed the granola bars from the previous year. The ice cream was once again a very welcome snack.
    I am concerned, however, that the 2nd rest stop was at about mile 45, and there was only one more rest stop, at about mile 72. This meant that over half of the ride transpired with only one more rest stop. Last year we enjoyed a 4th rest stop, which would have been nice to have, as towards the end of a long ride, one's endurance is taxed more than earlier on. I would have suggested an intermittent rest stop at about mile 85 or so. Or, in the best of all worlds, there could have been a rest stop at mile 65, and another at about mile 85. But, one has to take them where they are, and the site at Bretton Bay was indeed lovely, and a great site, so I certainly cannot complain about that at all.
    All in all, it was a really good ride. It was great to see so many old friends again, especially as it was my first organized ride of '98.
    I am looking forward to next year's ride....

I'm a member of the Baltimore Bike Club and had the opportunity to participate in your wonderful ride. I thought everything was perfect. What beautiful country we saw that day! I've lived in Maryland my whole life and and only since getting into cycling have I begun to appreciate the State's beauty and diversity.
Support, cue sheets, and rest stops were all done well. Thanks so much and hope to do it again next year.

Thanks for putting on the century. My wife and really had a great time and certainly enjoyed the super countryside. It was a pleasure to participate. Thanks again.

    I rode the century and I had a great time. I did almost get run over by a horse. Three Amish girls (I do mean girls 11 - 14 maybe) were racing at a full gallop down the road on horseback. I'm sure that their parents would have killed them if they had seen it. The shood horses where having a terrible time on the pavement and one almost came skidding at me. It regained it's footing at the last minute.
   Seriously though (well that was serious before, but funny) Two things I would change, no three - if there is anyway you could paint some big red bar or something when one has missed the turn that would help. You see I did the 105 mile century. I caught most of the arrows but I missed the one at Busytown Road (or whatever it is). I love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on wheat bread when I am riding 100 miles. They are great with milk too. Bread is cheaper than bagels and a lot easier to swallow on the run. I rode four miles before I finished the bagel.
    Last but not least, and maybe most important. In the last 15 miles there is a narrow very busy road with no shoulders. I felt very vulnerable. If there is anyway that another route could be found, I would feel better.
    I had a great time and you guys were great. I'll be back next year, even if its still bagels. Oh yea, I got chased by two dogs. I hit 26 mph going up hill with the heavy sound of canine footfalls just at my rear wheel. I don't know how I outlasted him (her?) but I did. I saw another taking off after me just minutes later and got a good headstart on him (her?) so it was never a threat.

Well-organized. Impressive effort to keep track of riders in case someone did not return to start point. Nice people
at nice, well-stocked rest stops. Enjoyed swimming at the 3rd rest stop. My female companions were not comfortable
using the relief bucket at the 3rd rest stop, a portapot would have been better. We liked the route and we hope you
plan to do something similar next year. Thanks for putting this event together.

By Colleen Faini as published in The PACE Line, the newsletter of the Patuxent Area Cycling Enthusiasts
    The Oak Ridge Odyssey was a well run, well organized ride. The 100 mile route, marked by white sailboats, started at Oak Ridge Park in Charles County. It then wound through Newport, LaPlata, Port Tobacco, Breton Bay, and Leonardtown before returning to the Park.
    Glenn and Soni rode the metric. Jim and I rode the double metric, which turned out to be 129 miles. The day started out cool and cloudy, but turned hot and steamy. This was Jim's 5th double metric (his 2nd in 8 days!). He said it was his hilliest double metric and his longest ride ever. It was my 1st double metric.
    60 miles out, my bike refused to come out of 1st gear and Jim's refused to go into 1st gear. We threatened them both with being disassembled and cleaned.   My bike shaped up, but Princess stubbornly refused to go into granny again.
    The rest stop at 72 miles on Breton Bay was the prettiest I've ever seen. We sat on lawn chairs under a tent, gazing at boats bobbing in the bay, while eating homemade ice cream. Jim had to drag me out of there!
    Watching Jim climb those last 9 miles of rolling hills on Morganza-Turner Road without a granny gear (after 115 miles) was inspirational. There is no way I could have done that!
    We were the last riders in. The rest stop stayed open until we were safely in. Soni applauded us as we rode in, happy that we had made it and that she could now go home. Jim and I were insufferably pleased with our average speed (14.2 mph) and the fact that we were the only people who did the double metric.
    Soni brought me the best slice of watermelon I've ever had as I was putting away my bike. Jim handed me 1/2 gallon of Gatorade as I drove out of the park. (These two think of everything). We met at Bert's with Glenn and CJ for burgers, fries and ice cream. It was a memorable day.

Oak Ridge Odyssey '98