Dear Henry

I did that 100 mile bike ride again this weekend.

Last year I signed up to do it and even slept overnight at St. Michaels which isn't too far from the ride, but it was raining so hard that I couldn't see how I could do it.

So this year there was no way I wasn't going to miss it again. Steven came down from New York and we did it together. Did you know that Steven's uncle invented GI Joe and Lite Brite. Could there be anything cooler?



The rain wasn't the bad part. It was super windy. I felt like I was getting pushed backward for more than half the ride. I am glad I did it.

It was great being with Steven. He asks a lot of questions about how Mom and I are doing specifically about you. He gets it. I think much of that comes from the fact that he was there with us in Minneapolis the whole time. It was fun when we lived in his apartment. I remember giving you baths in his big old bathtub.

I also like when he tells me things he remembers about you. It was a great way to spend 100 miles on a bike -- even getting pushed backwards.



Riders on the storm
Sea Gull Century cyclists brave the rain as the first fall nor'easter hits the Shore

Sunday, October 8, 2006

By Ben Penserga
Staff Writer

SALISBURY -- On an overcast and wet Saturday, Vance Carthy waited in his van in the parking lot of Salisbury University's Maggs Gym.

"I'm not sure I could bike 100 miles," said the Salisbury resident, who was on hand to support his girlfriend participating in SU's 18th annual Sea Gull Century bike for charity event. "Especially with the weather like this? Not me."

Thousands of other Lower Shore residents shared Carthy's sentiments and reconsidered attending several of the area's scheduled outdoor events as fall's first Nor'easter brought wind and heavy rain.

Bad weather has affected the Sea Gull Century for the last two years, and on Saturday, coordinator Amy Waters estimates only about half of the ride's 6,000 registered people choose to come out and ride either the 100-mile or 100-kilometer circuits around Wicomico, Worcester and Somer-set counties.

"All we needed is some sunshine," she said.

Waters said many people who braved the elements chose to do the shorter 100 kilometer route -- the equivalent of about 64 miles -- rather than expose themselves to more bad weather.

"From what we've been hearing, around Assateague Island, it wasn't the rain, but the wind," she said.

Bikers near Assateague Island were not the only people to feel the brunt of the storms, as beach officials from all over the Delmarva Peninsula dealt with higher tides and surf and a few inches of rain dumped in the area, with a coastal flood warning in affect for Fenwick lsland and the Maryland beaches, something officials were already bracing themselves for Friday.

Officials from the National Weather Service said rain should be expected this morning before clearing by the afternoon.

Robert Harlan, a Salisbury resident who intended to go to Ocean City with his wife, Becky, on Saturday, changed his mind after seeing the weather report.

"It's just not good to be outside today," he said. "Some of our friends were down there and around Assateague and they said the wind was just killer."

Still, outdoor events did go on and cyclists did ride Saturday.

Brandon Wilmoth, national manger for Team in Training, a sports training program designed to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, sent about 250 riders from 10 states Saturday. The team raised about $800,000 for cancer research.

And as all the participants biked their the final stretch toward Maggs Gym, they were greeted by cheering family and friends.

Among the crowd was Carthy.

"This is what I came out for," he said.

Finishing, some riders looked for their loved ones, while others sought comfort another way.

"Where's the beer?" one rider joked to his partner before making the final turn.

bpenserga@dmg.gannett.com