Tag Archives: Patuxent Rural Legacy Ride

The Patuxent Rural Legacy Ride (PAX)

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Rediscovering the enjoyable experience I know as Pax – a ride for the soul!

Myself, Eric, Carol and John at the Magruder’s Landing rest stop at Pax.

This year the Patuxent Rural Legacy ride was scheduled for the second weekend in June, so it didn’t conflict with the Tour De Talbot, which was held a week earlier. This meant I could ride both. I have ridden the Patuxent Rural Legacy Ride (Which I refer to as Pax) many times. It’s very popular among my friends. After the Covid cancellations in 2020, it wasn’t held again immediately, and I started riding the Tour De Talbot instead. When it started again, I was riding TDT and I didn’t come back to it until this year. I forgot what I was missing!

Where TDT is a flat ride, Pax has climbs. It challenges you. The rest stops are by the Patuxent river. You go downhill to get to them, then climb back out. Those aren’t the only climbs – there are several climbs that challenge you on all the courses. It’s a very rolling ride.

Pax is run by the Oxon Hill Bicycle Club, which does a wonderful job of organizing this event. I arrived early and bumped into some friends who were volunteering at check in. I also ran into some gentlemen who were impressed with my steel bike. It gets a lot of attention. People who ride vintage steel bikes are very proud of them, and the conversations are always lively. I’m interested in classic steel bikes, and talking about them with like minded individuals is a treat.

I rode with old friends Eric, John and Carol. We were just in it for a good day, and Carol was recovering from a surgical procedure last winter with this event being one of her early rides. We settled on a 35 mile ride, taking it easy and staying together. This was to be a ride for the soul. The day was warm but not oppressive. We started out about 8:30 in the morning – quite late by our standards. The ride starts with a climb – a couple of miles of easy uphill that everyone is happy to re-visit as they glide downhill to the finish at Jug Bay. By the top of the hill at Croom Road we were warmed up. Pax is a scenic ride with old wooden barns, fields and river views at the rest stops. I recognized lots of landmarks as we cruised along. I love that feeling of being among friends in familiar places. I know that in years past my friends and I would ride the longest distance (a metric century, 62 miles) as a matter of course. I didn’t think about lesser distances. Now it’s a matter of what I feel like riding – I ride for fitness these days. It’s strange to think that I get what I need with a hilly 35 mile ride. I have to admit that it took a long time to transition from an identity as a century riding enthusiast to a more relaxed rider. I can only say that as I age it’s been a good transition.

We pulled into Magruder’s Landing feeling good. The routine at rest stops never changes, no matter how far or how fast you ride. We were having a good time and enjoyed talking to other riders as we got our snacks (strawberries!) and filled out water bottles. Of course, roads that descend must climb back up, and we climbed out of Magruder’s landing and headed away from the river, taking the tough climb on Baden Naylor Road and heading for the Merkle Wildlife Center and the second rest stop.

Myself, Polly and Eric at the Merkle Wildlife Center rest stop.
Eric, Myself and Carol playing to the camera at Merkle!
Two excellent Wilier bicycles – a modern model on the left and my steel Superleggera on the right.

We had another good stop at Merkle, meeting up with old friend Polly Choate who was volunteering at the rest stop. I parked my classic Wilier bicycle next to a modern Wilier. It was an interesting contrast. After Merkle we had another hard climb at St. Thomas Church Road, and we took a break for water at the top. When we got back to the final descent, Eric took over for a quick ride to the finish. I joined him. It was a quick finish to a great event.

Afterward we sat down with some beer and I brought another treat – a flask of 12 year old Caol Ila Scotch Whisky. Eric and I enjoyed them, and we had a social circle in the shade at lunch provided by OHBC. It was a ride to satisfy my soul and company to make it special. It may be worth choosing Pax over TDT if there is a conflict next year!

Libations for post-ride, beer in the cooler and good scotch whisky in the flask.

Looking back on Spring

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Today is the first day of summer. I started training outdoors in early March. My first century of the year was in early May.  Since then, riding has become less stressful. Because I’ve already ridden the Six Pillars Century in early May, I feel confident about my riding. The Century was a pressure test that I passed.

Copper bike

Every year I get ready for an early century, then the rest of the spring brings me events like the SMECO 75 and the Patuxent Rural Legacy Ride (I refer to it as Pax.).  SMECO is a strange distance, 75 miles is usually around the point in a century when I start to tire. I normally get a second wind before the end of a century, but that “in between” distance it feels like you finish just as it gets tough. Pax is a metric, and that is a perfect distance. Long enough to challenge, but it unlike a century, which asks you to push through a little pain and fatigue to finish, a metric can be comfortable the entire ride. Pax is a scenic and enjoyable ride with something for everyone. Most of my weekend rides have been between 50-60 miles. If I keep riding, I’ll be comfortable on all the Century Rides I’ve signed up for in the fall.

This spring has had a lot of wonderful moments.  Here are some of them that stand out:

A steep climb on the SMECO75 ride, literally just before the first rest stop.  It was a cool morning, and the sun was just lifting the mist. At the top of that climb, a memorable feature of that event, the light was shining down on the hilltop, while we rode the tree-lined climb in the shade. At the summit, a rest!

A recovery ride that included a ride across the Potomac River on White’s Ferry, with a meal stop in Leesburg, Virginia. Cruising downhill to the ferry, and feeling free on a cool spring day. I felt the speed and joy of cycling. A comfortable ride with friends and a day to remember.

Ferry

Crossing the Potomac with Rita, Ron and Stephanie. 

Riding alone between the second and third rest stops at the Patuxent Rural Legacy Ride. Seeing a red jersey far ahead in the distance, and catching that rider – and passing! Sitting with a circle of friends sharing laughs and a beer post-ride.

Post Ride

Relaxing after the Patuxent Rural Legacy Ride.  It’s one of my favorite events, and my cycling friends agree. 

Riding in the Montgomery County Agricultural Reserve, and watching two foxes cross the road just ahead of me. One stopped and watched me as I passed.  Some things you’ll see on a bicycle that you just won’t see from a car.

My summer will be busy too.  I have to keep pedaling to be ready for fall, the season when I ride most of my centuries. It’s been a good year so far, and it’s only going to get better!