Leader: Barbara Haney
Members: Ron Haney, Tom Short, Tom Roberts, Darryl Lowery, Linda Bankerd, Ken Meredith, Pete Czapiewski, Anthony Carter
Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/15674289, a route designed this summer to recon the beginning and ending segments of the Club Century, heading down to Indian Head, over past Myrtle Grove, around to Pisgah Store, a jog over to Smallwood State Park, then back via Chicamuxen, another jog over to Indian Head via IHRT, then back via Strauss/Hawthorne/Rt 210. A very complicated route!
AMS: 17.6 for leader, but in general all over the map
Mechanicals/Mishaps: Several flats, probably due to roads that remained wet for most of the ride. Ride leader had 2 flats, one on Ripley, fixed quickly thanks to Ron, and another heartbreaker in the final miles north on 210, which, since I stupidly was only carrying one 650c tube, caused me to have to wait for the "sag" aka Ron (again); one flat each for Tom Short and Ken Meredith; some course confusion by Linda due to a "Trail Closed" sign on the IHRT (at Blair, I think), which, aided by GPS confusion, caused her to add a bit of distance during the second traversing of Strauss Ave. BTW, it turned out that the trail was not actually closed, but there was just a small, easily passable segment on which some work had recently been done. Some riders got off the trail at that point, others chose to continue.
Report: At least the weather cooperated: sunny, not windy, temps in the upper 40s-low 50s that were balmy in comparison to what we've been having; most of us were either shedding layers early on or just grumbling that we had overdressed. Yes, there were many incidents, but it was a very nice day for riding, it was very pleasant to stop at Smallwood Park and enjoy great views across Mattawoman Creek, and we were all grateful for a reprieve in the string of iffy conditions that had us either confined to indoor trainers or layering on Polar Bear gear. Thanks for all who came out to enjoy this ride!
