Maryland---"Actually, I believe the term "shyster" is reserved for attorneys of the Jewish persuasion. I believe the proper term for me is "eggplant".

I overslept. Every now and then my phone will "freeze", and when it does, the alarm does not go off. Thank heaven I am with two early risers. Though we hated to leave our "little cabin in the woods", we found our way back to Highway 404 which was heavy with commuter traffic...likely going into Baltimore.





I forgot to mention that yesterday, we crossed the Bay Bridge over Chesapeake Bay. What an impressive structure.








Karen decided she'd rather spend some extra time at Tuckahoe, so she did an out and back...Laura and I headed south on Highway 50 towards Easton. We rode over a large bridge into Cambridge, and then turned east, where our tailwind became a crosswind. The riding did not get "sweet" until we got off Highway 50...there was ample shoulder space, but a lot of traffic. It is always a "dance" when I decide on the route...I want roads to be large enough that they are maintained...i.e. not cracked to kingdom come...but small enough that we are not listening to engines all the live long day and breathing lungs full of carbon monoxide.



Highway 313 was perfect...except...we now had a headwind. You see...I.want.it.all. :) :) :). Laura and I drafted off each other a bit and it really wasn't that bad. We had been texting Karen with our whereabouts and she magically appeared at Sharptown where we had logged a little over 70 miles. We decided to let her park the truck and actually READ that book she brought along on the trip while we rode 15 miles north, turned around, and sailed the other 15 miles back to the truck.

My stats for the day: 100.2 miles, an average of 14.7, and elevation gain of 622'.

We only had 40 miles to our overnight stay, so I spent a little extra time at McDonald's, hopping on their wifi. It is sure a lot easier to ride a century and drive 40 miles than it is to ride one and have to drive over 300 (Bakersfield to North Las Vegas).



I only had an address for our Warm Showers hosts, so when we saw the number on the mailbox, we pulled into the driveway. There was a gentleman out working in his tomatoes and I walked up and told him I was looking for Bruce Yoder's parents. He grinned and said, "Well, you are talking to half of them". Ronnie and Ina are warm people with big hearts. Good genes too, as their son Bruce is presently in Africa working as a pilot flying humanitarian missions. We had some wonderful conversation while Laura made some of the biggest chicken salad sandwiches I have ever seen. Protein, baby...protein.

maybe you can't...because you won't...