I left Washington DC on June 23, 2017 with one of my work consigliere’s Aras Holden to head to Deep Creek Lake, Md, otherwise known as McHenry, Maryland with the goal of riding the infamous Garret County Gran Fondo. We met up with two more of our Broad Street Realty  pals, Ben Heldman and Alex Staneski in McHenry. We shared an interesting “cabin motel” house not too far from the Gran Fondo start line.

Alex, Ben and Aras are very hard working young guys all of which are young enough to be my kids. Not gonna lie, I was worried they were out to kick the boss’s ass the next morning!

I thought I was being a little paranoid on the “kick my ass” thought. We headed out that night before the ride and went to a great brew pub called Mountain State Brewing Company. Although this place is off the beaten path, it was a very busy happening place.  We all talked about skipping a beer the night before the ride but Mountain State has a great selection and after all how much damage could one or two beers do? (Note to self: More than you think!!)

In the picture above, that is me on the left followed by Alex, Aras and Ben. The night before the ride it began to rain, then pour, then storm! And it stormed all the way to the start line!

The Garret County Gran Fondo offered multiple distance options. We had talked ahead of time and Ben and Alex planned to the “Masochistic Metric” or 60 miles, Aras planned on the “Savage Century” or 100 miles and me the glutton for punishment planned on the “Diabolical Double” or the full 124.6 mile ride featuring 16,800 feet of climb!

We were all a bit anxious in advance of the ride. Alex was concerned over an old knee issue, Ben over the longest attempted distance he was about to undertake, Aras over going the full 100 and me…well just keeping up with the young guns! We woke up on game day to a howling rain storm. The driving wind and rain was adding to everyone’s anxiety but like magic the rains ended just as it was our turn to get going on the ride!

Although the organizers stagger starts based on longest ride first, we all decided to start with the  “Savage” Riders and try to ride together until the 60 miler “Masochists” diverge from the 100-125 milers on the course. I had no idea what to expect from the young guys other than I hoped they would not leave me in the dust!

The Diabolical is not a race but it does feature 7 KOM timed climbs throughout. Having KOM climbs in an already extremely hard ride is a bit crazy but what the heck, as long as you gotta climb might as well give it a little college try.

As we got going, I was immediately impressed with all of my consigliere’s energy. Nothing like twenty something year old legs! Alex and Ben in particular had way more energy than i expected, they obviously had prepared better than i expected for the ride. Good cheer abounded from the boys as well as all the other riders we met along the way. The scenery is truly beautiful in Garret County. I was mesmerized by the hews and depths of the green forests.

Garret County Gran Fondo organizer Kyle Yost does a great job! I have done this ride several times before and I am always impressed with the quantity and quality of the food and drinks at the rest stops. Also, I don’t know how he does it but the folks manning the rest stops are the nicest and most cheerful volunteers at almost any event I have ever attended. Cheers to the volunteers!

 

 

 

The guys kept up until we all split somewhere around 45 miles. Ben and Alex pictured above really impressed me as they seemed in great spirits and didn’t seem to have any trouble handling this brutal and beautiful ride through Garret County. Aras and I said goodbye to the boys and continued on our way uneventfully until we too parted at around mile 68. Aras also seemed in great spirits and I was equally impressed with his preparation and focus for the ride.

Shortly after Aras and I went our separate ways, I bumped into a couple of buddies from DC at the potato stop. Yes, the potato stop. Baked potato’s were offered to all riders somewhere around the 75 mile mark. I skipped it but there i watched my pal Tom Kish sprinkle his salt capsule contents on the potato and throw it down. He swore it was awesome! I ended up riding the remaining 50 miles, a long 50 miles with Tom and another  weekend riding buddy Peter Hancock. Peter is  a super strong rider and he did me a favor waiting up for me. Thanks Peter!

125 miles and 16,000 feet of climbing later, I am feeling good about my next adventure, The Double Triple Bypass across the Colorado Rockies!

Aras, Alex,Ben and I met my pals Tom and Peter out for a celebratory post game burger and beer overlooking the now serene Deep Creek Lake. Thanks boys for a great weekend of riding, bond building and all around good time.