Washington County Getaway 2023 Wrap-up

The Washington County Getaway event held Friday, October 13 through Sunday, October 15 has come and gone, but memories may remain for the 29 Baltimore Bicycling Club members who had registered to attend the event.

The weekend officially began with the pre-ride gathering at the Washington County Regional Park located on Mt Aetna Rd, Hagerstown at around 9:30am Friday where 22 anxious Baltimore Bicycling Riders were busily sorting through folders containing sign-in sheets and cue sheets for the nine carefully procured rides. The rides represented distances of 20, 30, 35, 44, and 63 miles with elevations ranging from 1300 - 2900 ft. The bustling activity at the parking lot soon dissipated as the riders had coalesced around the rides of their choice and prepared to begin to make the most of Friday’s slightly chilly, but glorious sunny day.

On Saturday, the Pavilion that was reserved for the BBC event was unfortunately not utilized due to a steady rain that blanketed the Hagerstown area. Instead, attendees chose to take advantage of the many other Hagerstown related activities; movies, bookstores, folk festival, art museum, etc.

The forecast for Sunday luckily improved a bit. While the weekend forecast caused some attendees to leave the event early, a smaller group of eight riders persevered the blustery day and enjoyed another day of rides.

I cannot forget to mention the wonderful gatherings at dinner on Friday at Cafe Del Sol and Saturday evening’s dinner at Schula’s Grill and Crab House that included a private room reserved for the BBC; a good time, and good food, was reportedly had by all. By all accounts the Comfort Suites on Dual Highway provided very nice accommodations.

An assortment of snacks and drinks was also made available before and after rides. I must admit that without the expert assistance of Ellen Hochman and Steve Zeldin the communications for the event and the creation of updated cue sheets would not have been nearly as well done. I must also thank the efforts of previous WCG event organizers Rich Burns and Ed Jarcy for their substantial contributions in terms of considering what routes to focus on, given the many options available, and also making me aware of the best restaurants and other Hagerstown attractions.

Now you are probably wondering why the picture of the plate with fried eggs and melted cheese nestled so carefully between 2 freshly prepared hotcakes with melted butter sliding ever so slowly off the top, accompanied by a fresh cup of hot coffee. That, my friends, was only one of the attractions on the various rides; in this case experiencing the joy of eating breakfast, or lunch, at the iconic Dixie Diner in Smithsburg. Ride On !