[MSCW list] 2024 Scenic Drive #1 - A Spring Surf Tune-up

[Timothy Metzinger]

Now that the weather is warming up, and we can believe in Spring, we'll have our first short scenic drive so we can get our the rust off our skills, and our cars, if they've been motionless during the winter.  The main drive on a Saturday will be fairly short, only lasting an hour or so ending at a nice restaurant for lunch.  But I'm adding some options before and after the main drive - you'll see them below.

The main drive will start at the Village Center shopping center in Olney, MD.  We'll gather in the parking lot in front of the Giant Pharmacy and Truist Bank, near the intersection of MD97 and MD108.  We'll exit the lot and turn right onto MD97 heading north and west, taking the Brookeville Bypass and then back onto MD97, until we cross the Patuxent River and make a left on Jennings Chapel Road. We'll take a roundabout route to Damascus, and then more gack roads before joining MD355 into Urbana, to end up at the Surf House Restaurant.  There are several rotaries on this drive, including the last one on MD80 in Urbana where we use the rotary to make a U-turn.

A short video showing some of the scouting is at https:/bit.ly/mscw2024-sc-1-scouting.

The pre-main-drive option would be for folks who wish to attend Katie's Cars and Coffee in Great Falls in VA - we'd leave Katie's together around 9:00 AM and head up to Olney as a group.  Getting to Katie's is on you, but I'll recommend getting there early - it runs from 6AM-9AM and can get full quickly.  I intend to be there between 7 and 7:30.  The 25 mile route to Olney will take the Beltway to I-270 to Woodmont, then we'll head up MD28 to join MD97 to Olney.

The post-main-drive option would be for folks who have some time in the afternoon and need to get back to northern VA - This 45 mile route will take us over to Point of Rocks MD where we'll cross the Potomac on US15, and then get on Lovettsville Road to Lovettsville, where we'll cross the Berlin Tpke and get on Mountain Road to take us to VA9 where we'll head East towards Leesburg.  This ride will end where VA9 merges with VA7, so folks can head into Leesburg or take other routes home such as US15 or the Dulles Toll Road.

The signup genius (link is below) will have the option for the main drive as well as the pre and post drive options.  We will limit this drive to 18 cars, and I'll need at least three other drivers to be willing to take responsibility for a sub-group of four or five cars, so that if we do get separated the four subgroups all have someone to follow to the restaurant. I can make GPS available to the subgroup leaders.

Logistics:
Assembly - The main drive will assemble in the Olney Village Center around 10:15 AM, near the Giant Pharmacy and Truist Bank.  If you get there first, please try and save parking spaces for other cars, without being a jerk to shoppers.
Departure - We will depart around 10:45 AM.  We may take a serpentine route through the parking lot so we can all get in a line.
Time/Distance - The main drive is about 36 miles, and should take about an hour, due to stop signs enroute.  Most of the roads are marked at 35-40 MPH, and we will keep speeds reasonable - this drive will be fun, but we're not trying to explore the edges of the car's envelope.
Food - Lunch will be at the Surf House (surfhousemaryland.com).  This restaurant has burgers, seafood, and a decent selection of draft beer.  Those of us who scouted it enjoyed the food, though we did not get to try the key lime pie.  There is room to eat outside at picnic tables as well, though they may not have table service outdoors in March.
Car limits - 18 cars total.
Weather - This drive is planned for Saturday, March 9.  If the weather looks bad we may push it to the 16th or 23rd.  We'll be looking for temps in the mid-50s or higher.
Technology-  I will bring nine extra Midland GMRS radios.  If you want to bring your own GMRS radio, we will be using Channel 30 on Midland Radios, or 462.7000 MHz frequency and CTCSS 17 for the privacy code.  In Glympse, we'll use the !mscw_cruise tag to keep track of each other.

RSVP via signup genius at https://bit.ly/mscw2024-sc-1.  Don't use Facebook to indicate you're going.
Visit www.midatlanticscenicdrives.com<http://www.midatlanticscenicdrives.com> for maps and GPS files, as well as the club guide for group drives.

Drive safely and HAVE FUN,
Timothy (Tim) Metzinger
Scenic Drive Coordinator - Mazda Sport Cars of Washington, DC
tim.metzinger at outlook.com
703.963.3015