ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND
The first hot day of the year, the temperature hit 93 degrees. I timed my day to start a 60 mile ride at noon before heading up to Rockville for the Ride of Silence. Big mistake.
I headed out on the W&OD from Dunn Loring out to Clark’s Gap. Being so hot I didn’t have enough water. After 60 miles I was pretty well drained but looked forward to a brief meal before the Ride of Silence. A 70 minute trip on the Beltway to go 13 miles changed all that.
When I got to Rockville I went to 7-Eleven and got a quart of chocolate milk and a Snickers bar. Then rode to the town center. I arrived the same time Bob and Eveline Roberts arrived.
Bob and Eveline are the parents of the late Jamie Roberts, killed on a cancer ride on June 13, 2014, in Kentucky. The ride organizer, David Merkin, asked Bob to say a few words. Before rolling out there was a report from WHHG TV who also interviewed Bob and Eveline.
At 7:00 p.m. we rolled out, with a police escort, through downtown Rockville. Someone saw our bikes, probably 30-40, and yelled out and ask if this was an organized event. A rider yelled back – “Yes, this is the Ride of Silence!”
Although it was supposed to average 10 mph, we averaged 12-13 mph. At one point going up an incline my heart rate hit 165 bpm. Wow!
We rode 10 miles, in less than an hour. We never put a foot down thanks to the Rockville police.
