Back to the farm

Farmland, horses, apples, and wineries. What else could you want?

Saturday the Baltimore Bicycling Club (BCC) hosted an unsupported version of the MontgomeryCounty Farm Tour (and picnic) that Potomac Pedalers puts on in September. I had missed the ride in September so I made it a point to make it this time. And a great time it was.

The weather was uncharacteristically warm and sunny, so the riding was especially pleasant out in MontgomeryCounty’s Agricultural Reserve. Leaves are just starting to turn and you can smell the smoke of fireplaces and brush piles as you roll along the rural roads past horse and dairy farms, around the base of Sugarloaf Mountain, right past the winery at its base, filled this weekend with the hoi polloi sipping wine in the autumn air. A really special opportunity, given that it’s only about forty minutes from the DC line.

I did the 55 mile route, though 75 and 35 mile variants were also available. BCC seems to have a lot of tandem riders, and they were out in force on Saturday. I'm not entirely sure why any able bodied person would want to ride such a contraption, but to each their own, I guess. I suppose it helps husbands and wives avoid the inevitable grumbling. I can't help but think that the site of my ass cleavage would overcome any perceived advantage The Managing Partner might derive from going the same speed all day, but again, who am I to say?

There were opportunities for rest stops at Homestead Farm in Poolesville and Kingsbury’s Orchard in Dickerson, Md., both of which had shelves brimming with freshly picked fruit straight out of the trees. Apples always taste best at mile fifty.

Now the hurricane is blowing in and it’s time to hide down in the root cellar for a couple of days before coming up to survey the devastation. Keep your heads down and stay safe.