Day 4: Hagerstown to Winchester MD- Fathers and Sons

Today was a spectacular day on many fronts. On the weather front, you couldn't have dialed in a more beautiful day- cool start, sunny with highs in the upper 70's, and not a smidge of humidity. It was so ideal that our jerseys from today didn't even need to be hand washed tonight. Unheard of!

On the cycling front, it was a 58 mile day with only 3,200 feet of climbing- a good chunk of that on a 5 mile climb up and over the Cacoctins early in the day. And the riding was primo!  Lovely roads and green verdant scenery which I will try to capture in photos below. I forget how beautiful Maryland is. And most importantly, it was father and son day- three sets of fathers and sons.

Today Adam and I road once again with Jack Hayon and his sons Ben and Sol, and with old friends from West Windsor, 15 year AH veteran Russ Buckley and his son Russ Buckley, aka Buss Ruckley, who is riding his 7th AH ride. Adam and Russ The Younger were making each other crack up - including swapping movie ideas and using cliches in inappropriate circumstances - and were singing along to the Boom Bottle playlist for a large chunk of the ride. It was amazing to be all riding together- the dads cherished every moment. I honestly didn't want the day to end. It was a special day that I will remember for a long time.

Leaving Hagerstown, we saw this very appropriate mailbox. It was a sign of a red letter day for cycling.

The Maryland countryside was spectacular with gorgeous farmlands. As we rolled through the farmland, the landscape became dominated by the Cacoctin mountains, the mountains where Camp David is nestled within and the source of our 5 mile climb, and an awesome 5 mile descent!

Adam and I both had tire issues- Adam had a blowout just after a water SAG stop and I discovered a flat while at a SAG. Luckily, Pete Garnisch, the owner of Knapps Cyclery and our mechanic on the ride, was there to the rescue. Pete is a good friend and an awesome mechanic.

We passed these adorable kids in Old New Windsor (literally the name of the town). They were cheering us on. I stopped to talk to them and to snap their picture. They were super cute and very excited to see us cycling through their town.

All in all a very memorable day. Tomorrow promises more of the same spectacular weather as we head into Pennsylvania and Amish country.