Bonus Miles for Coffeeneuring

The stoker bailed.  Yea she did!  But she did bring the kids out to meet me on my final 2014 coffeeneuring ride.  

My two beautiful kids!

The official drink and I think an egg/bacon bagel.

Instead of taking the straight and narrow, and as is customary on my coffee outings, I explore some new neighborhoods.   This time I was attempting to string together a few neighborhood shortcuts and the portion of a trail built along US-29 when the ICC went in many years ago.   It is supposed to go under the ICC between Fairland Rd and Briggs Chaney Rd.   And not to keep the reader in suspense, it did!

Just before heading under the ICC ramps and main tollway. 

Northern end heading up to Briggs Chaney Rd. (Exit ramp on left, car dealerships on right)

As you can see, some wrong turns.

Instead of racing back home via Old Columbia Pike, I explored the first trail off Cherry Hill Rd.  Everytime I drive past this trail on the NB entrance ramp to US-29, I've always wondered if it was just a dead-end/unfinished trail.   As it turns out, it does connect to the adjacent neighborhood.  But the trail seems useless since I could have just turned right and hit Gracefield Rd and worked my way into the neighborhood just fine on the bike path along Cherry Hill.

Well, as you can see by the map, I made at least two wrong turns and a couple stops to look at a GPS.  I can't believe I got so turned around, but the gray sky certainly did not help with guidance.   I'll need to find an excuse to ride these roads on the east side of US-29 again to better familiarize myself with the landmarks, but unless I'm looking to just extend a ride, most of this area is just residential, so I won't be popping my head over there anytime soon.  

The Facts

Location: Panera Bread @ 12285 Tech Road, Silver Spring, MD, 20904

Date: 2014-11-16 (Sunday)
Drink: Cappuccino
Notes: When it is cloudy, directional orientation is hard.
Bike Friendliness: 3/5, bike rack is out front/out of site.  I parked in the outdoor seating area since nobody was sitting there on this cool day.
Mileage: 10 miles
Must visit? N/A, but it is certainly fun for kids and the fireplace a nice feature.