Cam Tour

Bicycle enthusiasts contemplating riding the third annual Cycle Across Maryland tour July 28 through Aug. 3 have two upcoming training rallies at which to begin tuning their bikes and bodies for the 350-mile pedaling vacation.First National Bank of Maryland CAM-Tour Rallies are scheduled Saturday, May 4, at Salisbury State college on the Eastern Shore, and on Saturday, May 18, at Atholton High School in Howard County.Both offer bike rides of several lengths (12, 20 and 30 miles), workshops on a variety of preparation topics, accessory displays and even a physical evaluation area where riders can check their level of fitness.

Annapolis psychologist Tom Bach, 58, intends to cycle 3,000 miles from Seattle to Washington, D.C., next summer.So for him, the 11th Cycle Across Maryland bike tour, which runs Saturday through July 30, is a warm-up.Bach, who has cycled for 40 years, began training for the American Lung Association's 3,000-mile Big Ride two years ago, and each bike tour he pedals his modified lightweight Panasonic through is preparation for that cross-country ride."I keep short goals and start with small rides," he said.

"It's a hot day, but it's the last day," said "Counselor" Tom Carson before he loaded the baggage onto the trucks one final time. The First National Bank Cycle Across Maryland ended Saturday in Easton, and emotions soared as high as the temperature.A huge celebration at the Sts. Peter and Paul School in Easton greeted exhausted riders as they arrived from Centreville. The euphoria wasn't over the day's ride, which was flat and easy -- especially for those who took shortcuts. Rather, each cyclist had achieved a personal triumph in surviving the third annual CAM-Tour.

You expect an engineer in the Navy's shipbuilding program to be a bit regimented."I'm pretty structured and disciplined in what I do," admits William Dunn of Columbia.Dunn, 62, carries that discipline into his fitness regimen, which is why, as he prepares for the 11th annual Cycle Across Maryland (CAM) tour this July, he really doesn't have that much preparing to do.During CAM, which lasts a week, the 1,000 or so participants ride about 300 miles across the state. They camp at designated sites, such as high schools, and trucks follow them carrying camping gear, supplies and clean clothes.

MORE THAN 1,000 bicyclists will be gathering in Solomons on Sunday for the third annual Cycle Across Maryland Tour, a human-propelled vacation covering about 350 miles in a big rolling horseshoe around the Chesapeake Bay.Riders depart Solomons Monday morning, and the six-day tour has overnight stops in Annapolis, Essex/Rosedale, North East, Worton and Centreville. The Talbot County seat of Easton is the finish point on Saturday, Aug. 3."Cycle Across Maryland is a rolling festival, and part of the allure and charm is interacting with people along the way. Many riders will never have been in the areas they're riding through, so we urge people to come out and meet these folks and introduce them to their communities," says CAM Tour director Pat Bernstein.

You expect an engineer in the Navy's shipbuilding program to be a bit regimented."I'm pretty structured and disciplined in what I do," admits William Dunn of Columbia.Dunn, 62, carries that discipline into his fitness regimen, which is why, as he prepares for the 11th annual Cycle Across Maryland (CAM) tour this July, he really doesn't have that much preparing to do.During CAM, which lasts a week, the 1,000 or so participants ride about 300 miles across the state. They camp at designated sites, such as high schools, and trucks follow them carrying camping gear, supplies and clean clothes.

The Cycle Across Maryland bicycle tour, gearing up for its fourth annual two-wheeled vacation (July 26-Aug. 1), is sowing seeds for future riders by distributing 1,200 helmets in 22 elementary schools around the state.The helmet safety campaign, announced at a press conference yesterday in connection with National Bike Month, has been funded by proceeds from CAM Tour."We're directing this year's efforts at the elementary school level to encourage riding safety and wearing of helmets, to reduce bicycle accidents and raise safer riders," says Charles W. Cole Jr., president of principle sponsor First National Bank.

The Cycle Across Maryland bicycle tour, gearing up for its fourth annual two-wheeled vacation (July 26-Aug. 1), is sowing seeds for future riders by distributing 1,200 helmets in 22 elementary schools around the state.The helmet safety campaign, announced at a press conference yesterday in connection with National Bike Month, has been funded by proceeds from CAM Tour."We're directing this year's efforts at the elementary school level to encourage riding safety and wearing of helmets, to reduce bicycle accidents and raise safer riders," says Charles W. Cole Jr., president of principle sponsor First National Bank.

Proceeds from registration fees paid by the 1,100 participants in this summer's third annual Cycle Across Maryland bicycle tour are helping distribute 1,000 free helmets to middle school students across the state.Gov. William Donald Schaefer was scheduled to make the announcement this afternoon in Annapolis, while also declaring next week (Sept. 22-28) "Cycling Week in Maryland," with bicycle-related activities scheduled in almost all the state's counties.Students from Quarterfield Elementary School were to be in Annapolis today as the first recipients of free helmets.

It is 4: 50 a.m., and already there is stirring in the tent city. The hungry are rising, noisily striking camp and moving fast to beat the long lines that will soon curl through a dim cafeteria. Others are wobbling to their feet from bedding scattered on a gymnasium floor.Soon, 1,200 people will be up and ready to travel. And in the heat of a 96-degree day, they will cover nearly 60 miles under their own power. Then they will again pitch tents upon a sun-blasted field and line up for food.

It is 4: 50 a.m., and already there is stirring in the tent city. The hungry are rising, noisily striking camp and moving fast to beat the long lines that will soon curl through a dim cafeteria. Others are wobbling to their feet from bedding scattered on a gymnasium floor.Soon, 1,200 people will be up and ready to travel. And in the heat of a 96-degree day, they will cover nearly 60 miles under their own power. Then they will again pitch tents upon a sun-blasted field and line up for food.

Natalie Woodall and Martin Woodall Jr. had a daughter-father misunderstanding over "something silly" last year and didn't talk for a few weeks.When she turned 26 last July, he called to say happy birthday and they patched things up. She told him she had just taken up bicycling and was planning to ride the next week in the toughest-ever Cycle Across Maryland (CAM), a 350-mile tour of mountainous Western Maryland."You'll never make it, you're in over your head," the father said. He was challenging her, wanting her to make it, the daughter recalled.

BICYCLE enthusiasts of all ages gathered at Liberty High School Saturday for the annual Cycle Across Maryland (CAM) Bike Rally. The rally is held to encourage interest and participation in this year's eighth annual CAM Tour scheduled for July."

Larry Black and his two daughters stood out from the crowd in last week's Cycle Across Maryland Tour.The trio was pedaling the same bike -- a $7,000 triplet.Mr. Black, owner of Mount Airy Bicycle and Fitness, and his daughters Sarah, 10, and Laurel, 6, attracted crowds and photographers as they cruised the CAM Tour route on their three-seat bike."We got a lot of encouragement and cheers from the people along the way," Mr. Black said. "The kids liked the novelty and the visibility, the fun and the speed.

Sweaty and triumphant, about 1,200 bicyclists who had spent six days crossing some of Maryland's toughest terrain in some of the summer's worst heat finished the seventh annual Cycle Across Maryland yesterday.Cyclists began cruising onto the Johns Hopkins University's Homewood campus about 9 a.m. from their overnight stop at Centennial High School in Ellicott City. The last biker arrived about 1:30 p.m.They came gratefully to an arched, balloon-bedecked sprinkler at the side of the Newton H. White Jr. Athletic Center on campus, as the temperature in Baltimore reached 93 degrees.

BIG POOL -- Pedaling became a whole lot easier for riders on the annual Cycle Across Maryland Tour yesterday as the midpoint approached, and rugged Western Maryland mountains evolved into the rolling hills of Washington County."

Larry Black and his two daughters stood out from the crowd in last week's Cycle Across Maryland Tour.The trio was pedaling the same bike -- a $7,000 triplet.Mr. Black, owner of Mount Airy Bicycle and Fitness, and his daughters Sarah, 10, and Laurel, 6, attracted crowds and photographers as they cruised the CAM Tour route on their three-seat bike."We got a lot of encouragement and cheers from the people along the way," Mr. Black said. "The kids liked the novelty and the visibility, the fun and the speed.

Up to 1,800 bicycle riders are scheduled to pedal across the Bay Bridge this summer as part of the sixth annual "First National Bank/Cycle Across Maryland TOUR," scheduled July 24-31."