I am beginning to feel the excitement of autumn returning. There are events for me to ride – in Portland Maine this September and in Salisbury Maryland in October. Today I found myself riding a club event that I wasn’t expecting.

The Taneytown (MD) Twister is a club ride that took the place of the Potomac Pedalers usual Backroads Century. It was planned by some of my friends in the club. Events are usually planned in the spring, but this year was uncertain and many of my favorite local events were cancelled. That included our club century. However, some of the Potomac Pedalers best minds thought that they could put a new event together, and they did. They organized the starting place, rest stops and courses on a tight budget. My preparation for my centuries is going well, and there are times when you just have to get on the bike and ride. I rode 63 miles today at the Twister, and it was a lot of fun. It wasn’t a very large event, but it gathered over 150 riders. The ride had a starting place and a single rest stop with 25 miles between them. From the rest stop, loops were available to cover various distances. Depending on where you started, you could ride 25, 38, 50, 63, 75 or 100 miles.

It was a rolling ride, and a lot of fun. I wanted to put in some miles, and I had a lot of fun seeing old friends and riding the hills. A metric century was the perfect training ride for me, and despite the humidity, it turned out to be a good time. At the end, my habit of handing out post ride beer earned me a brew from a friend who had accepted some from me in the past. Good Karma never goes to waste. I’m not sure if there will be another Twister next year. I know the club would like to hold their annual Backroads Century as usual, but maybe an event like the Twister has a place on the club calendar too. Having more cycling events to ride will be a good thing.