Mike Maney

The forecast for this morning called for a 100 percent probability of rain, 15 mile per hour winds and a high temperature of a balmy 38 degrees Fahrenheit.

Luckily, only the wind and temperature proved the meteorologists correct for my third — and Mark’s first — Central Bucks Bicycle Club Annual Covered Bridges Ride (it was the club’s 29th).

This was also the first year I chose to ride the hilly, challenging 50 mile course. In past years, I’ve done the hilly 33 mile course. More importantly, this was the first ride Mark had done over 22 miles…and he rode it strongly.

[Click here to see the route.]

This has become an annual ride for me, and I suspect it will now be for Mark as well (maybe Paul and Troy can come out next year and join the tradition). It is unbelievably well supported, with friendly volunteers manning the rest stops an handing out piles of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, boiled potatoes, bananas, oranges and cookies (someone made a stellar chocolate chip pumpkin cookie at the first rest stop).

Plus, there are covered bridges. Five of them on the 50 mile course. They are historic, wooden and the reason 3,000-plus people normally come out for the ride (the weather kept the numbers low this year, unfortunately).

Thinking we’ll do the 63 mile metric century next year 😉