Ride for the Reserve 2022 Wrap Up

9/30/2022

Dark skies before the rain (David Ris Photography)

Wow what a ride! It was amazing to once again gather with our riders, vendors, volunteers and friends after two years hosting a virtual ride. There were so many great moments but when the wind kicked up before the rain it was so incredible to see volunteers and riders young and old all pitch in to get tables and chairs into the barn. Our riders really are the best and we thank you all.

There are so, so many people to thank.

Our ride Chair Vivien with her co-ride lead for the 25 miler - Dan

Thanks to Sugarloaf Citizens Association for hosting us at gorgeous Linden Farm. Thanks to Heritage Montgomery for their consistent support the ride each year. Thank you to our dedicated Ride Chair Vivien Bonazzi who handled so much including mapping all new routes. Thanks to our ride leads Kamran, Jim, Dan and Barbara who took on guiding our shorter rides and Kenny and Cathy who made themselves available for SAG wagon duty. Thanks to Jim from Bike Doctor of Frederick who has provided consistent technical support for the ride. Generous Anne Davies opens her home at Stonefields each year for our longer rides and we thank her.

Piggies from Calleva Farm

Our thanks to Alex Goldman for gathering the vendors that we also thank for taking the time on a Sunday to gather for our pop-up market (full list below).

Tanya (r) from Passion to Seed Gardening - MCA Board member and Land Link farmer.

And of course thanks to our many volunteers who help our small staff pull off this event each year.

Our thanks to Shannon and her band and also our pal Van for the music.

David Ris Photography

We feasted thanks to Panera, and the hometown tastemakers at Locals - who also hosted all riders as a rest stop - we thank them! Were was all that cider, apples and asian pears from - you know it was Kingsbury's Orchard where they are full to brimming with all your fall favorites right now. Thanks also to Wegmans of Germantown.

Completing the 6 mile on Rustic Martinsburg Road. (David Ris Photography)

Great captures of the day thanks to David Ris who seems to be in multiple places at once with his camera - always with a smile. See all the photos from the event and his other projects here.

Thanks to our Market Vendors

Brown Cow Creamery
Calleva
Earthen Hands Pottery
Farm at Home
Honey Effects Apiary
GotYourSix Farm
Kingsbury Orchard
Locals Farm Market
Passion to Seed Gardening
Tree Talk Natives

Sugarland Ethnohistory Project
Rustic Roads Advisory Committee
Stickbug and West Virginia Vintage
Culinary History of MoCo
Mr. Softee Ice Cream
Smiles 4 Miles Face Painting
Tony's BBQ
Community Farm Share
Owl Moon Raptor Center

Other Things You May Be Interested In:

What are 'Rustic Roads' anyway?
The water coolers said something about the Sole Source Aquifer - huh?
Where can I learn more about the vendors that were at the market?
What else is MCA up to? Re-Leaf the Reserve, Land Link and more.
A Consequential vote for protection of the Sugarloaf region is being taken at the FredCo Council this week

Since 2001 Montgomery Countryside Alliance has been the nonprofit with boots on the ground in protection of the farms, fields, open space and water of Montgomery County's Ag Reserve for the benefit of all regional residents. Our local focus relies on local support. We'd be honored by your tax deductible contribution.

Action Alert: Sugarloaf Management Plan Hearing

9/23/2022

Take Action: While Stronghold (who own Sugarloaf) threaten to close the Mountain, FredCo Councilmembers are offering a compromise way forward. Please take 2 minutes to contact the Frederick County Council to support this way forward for Sugarloaf regional protections.

Take Action

Update 10/19 The Treasured Sugarloaf Landscape Management Plan is nearing a vote in Frederick County- here is a brief catch up on where things stand now.

There are two parts to the vote - the Plan and the Overlay are two different things. The Plan applies protections to the Sugarloaf region, the overlay is the actual zoning nuts and bolts that allow the plan's vision to be carried out - it establishes how permitting would work and disallows certain land uses (residential or ag are allowed things like gun ranges or rubble landfills, etc are not. )

October 18th was to be the vote on the overlay zone but that vote was delayed. Stronghold, the organization that owns Sugarloaf Mountain are threatening to close the mountain to the public should the overlay zone pass. Councilmembers seem to be bowing to this pressure and that is a shame.

Councilmembers supportive of the plan (which will deliver solid protections to the Sugarloaf region now that "carveouts" for developers intent on turning farmland into data centers have been removed) are now calling for a compromise that will keep the protective Resource Conservation (RC) zoning on most of the Mountain - keeping it's land use the same but passing the broader plan to protect the Sugarloaf region. The Frederick News Post has the latest. For full updates visit sugarloaf-alliance.org Stay Tuned!

The following is an important action alert from our friends at Sugarloaf Alliance.

Sugarloaf-Alliance.org

It’s Up To Each of Us!
Stop Data Center and Dense Development
Near Sugarloaf Mountain and Monocacy National Battlefield

PUBLIC HEARING on 9/27 at 5:30pm
Winchester Hall, 12 E Church St, Frederick
Come early!! Gather out front at 5PM.

On Tuesday, September 27, the Frederick County Council will hold their formal hearing on the Sugarloaf Plan and the amendments that have been introduced. This is the night when public comments are the primary focus of the meeting. An overflowing room of Sugarloaf preservation supporters, clad in green shirts*, will tell a story like nothing else can. Remember the gun range plan? Residents prevailed, and it was the overflowing Council space that made the difference. We need to do that again.

Why?
The Sugarloaf Treasured Landscape Management Plan is a once-in-a-generation plan to protect almost 20,000 rural acres in Frederick County - including Sugarloaf Mountain and the area around Monocacy National Battlefield - from dense residential, commercial, and potentially industrial development. Such development now threatens to cross from the east side of I-270 line to the rural west side.

The current Sugarloaf Plan boundary (I-270) is opposed by an influential developer who owns over 600 acres in the Sugarloaf Plan area along the west side of I-270 near the Monocacy National Battlefield and Thurston Road. In the map below, the yellow dashed lines are developer property.

Data Centers?
Sugarloaf Alliance has information from our public information requests that strongly suggests data centers have been under consideration for the developer's acreage

Data centers or any other dense development being considered there would cause irreversible damage to the Plan region. Constant noise, 24/7 lighting, enormous electrical and water demands, and monolithic buildings would cause serious reduction in property values, farming activities, natural resources, and rural life. Residents would move and - without the Plan - development would creep closer to Sugarloaf.

Council Member Dacey has proposed a Plan amendment that would re-draw the Plan boundary and remove 2,600 acres on the west side of I-270 from the Plan’s protection (the red line in the map above). That acreage includes the developer-owned property and rural properties near Monocacy National Battlefield. We believe it would be irresponsible and short-sighted to sacrifice these 2,600 rural acres to allow dense development here and pave the way for sprawl.

Proponents of development cite windfall revenues for the county, but Sugarloaf Alliance research shows that data centers offer few jobs. Unlike Virginia (“Data Center Alley” is in Ashburn), Maryland does not tax business personal property, including computers. The beneficiaries of intense development in the Sugarloaf Treasured Landscape would be in profits for non-resident developers and corporations.

What about Sugarloaf Mountain?
The board of the nonprofit organization (Stronghold, Inc.) that operates the 3,400-acre mountain also seeks exemptions from the Sugarloaf Plan. Members of the board have gone so far as to threaten to close the mountain to the public if they don’t get what they want.

Sugarloaf’s roads, trails, and picnic areas operate under a trust set up in the 1940s by Gordon Strong. The park has been a Registered Natural Landmark since 1969, and the trust preserves the mountain as a private park for the “benefit of the public.”

SHOW UP ON TUESDAY!

There’s no going back: If commercial interests prevail, if the Council does not hold the boundary line at I-270 and/or does not fully support the preservation overlay, the west-side sprawl will begin. The Sugarloaf Plan becomes a development plan, not a preservation plan. PLEASE ATTEND THE HEARING on 9/27!

* SUGARLOAF ALLIANCE HAS T-SHIRTS!
The Sugarloaf Alliance now has beautiful t-shirts, green of course! And perfect for supporting the Sugarloaf Plan on 9/27! You can get yours for a minimum donation of $20. We will have them in front of Winchester Hall on 9/27. If you like to get yours sooner, we’ll meet folks on SATURDAY, 9/24 between 10-11am, in the parking lot behind the Urbana Library (not the shopping center side).

The Sugarloaf Alliance represents over 500 stakeholders in the Sugarloaf region. The Alliance’s mission is to protect
the unique natural and historical aspects of the Sugarloaf Mountain area and its environment through education and
initiatives in support of watersheds, streams, meadows, forests, and historic sites. Working with volunteers, civic
groups, and local, state, and federal agencies, the organization’s primary goal is to preserve the unique character and
serenity of the area for future generations. Sugarloaf Alliance is a 501(c)(3) organization. Sugarloaf-Alliance.org
Steve Black, President
Sue Trainor, Vice President
Nick Carrera, Treasurer
Johanna Springston, Secretary

Ride for the Reserve Route Reveal

9/9/2022

Want to get a look at the routes on the Ride for the Reserve? We went through them, plus safety and all the info on rest stops with MCA staff and ride chair Vivien Bonazzi.
Want the presentation - find the PDF here

There is great information throughout the video and all registered riders (and those considering registering) are encouraged to watch the whole thing, particularly the safety sections and ride times leading up to the routes themselves - but here are the time stamps for where you will find each route in the video:
6 mile Family Route- 26:00
18 mile - 30:00
26 Mile - 31:00
- the prior routes will have leads and sweeps and be "no-drop" rides, the following will be on your own for more experienced riders (SAG support is available should you run into problems)-
34 Mile - 33:00
46 Mile - 35:30
62 Mile /Metric Century - 37:00

Registered riders will get an email with how to access to the Ride with GPS link, GPX files for bike computers and cue sheets. Riders can make their mind up that very morning on which ride suits them best.
Many hands make the ride work - you can volunteer to help out with the ride (we have SSL hours!).

Registration for the ride will include the picnic until September 21st. Registrations after that will be a higher price and riders are welcome to purchase lunch from one of the food vendors at the pop-up farmers market at rides end.

News

Ride for the Reserve 2022 Wrap Up

Thanks to our Market Vendors

Action Alert: Sugarloaf Management Plan Hearing

Ride for the Reserve Route Reveal

Categories

Archives