CAM cyclists vote Upper Marlboro best

Thanks to a deluge of rain, Upper Marlboro was named Most Hospitable Town of Cycle Across Maryland 1990, the week-long bicycle tour in which some 950 riders traversed the state from north to south last month.

The CAM Tour organization announced this week that riders who returned a post-ride questionnaire gave "the most enthusiastic endorsement" to Upper Marlboro in the annual hospitality competition. Governor Schaefer will present a special flag recognizing the honor in a future State House ceremony.

Uppper Marlboro's Frederick Douglass High School was the Aug. 5-11 tour's fifth host site, on the afternoon and evening of the rainiest day of the ride, a steady downpour on the route from Columbia which lasted into the night.

As soggy riders reached their destination, cheerleaders, school and community officials greeted them with hot towels and coffee, opened the school to accommodate campers indoors and even provided a choice of six video movies screened in vacant classrooms.