Leader: Lou Dall'Orso

Members:  none

Guests:  none

Route:  ridewithgps.com/routes/12378617

Weather:  High 50s maybe kissing 60, and overcast with partly to mostly cloudy skies for most of the ride, not much wind.

AMS:  right around 16 mph, maybe a little less

Mechanicals/Mishaps:  none

Report:   Didn't have anyone sign up for today's ride. Got going right at 12:00 pm, back at the car at 2:30 pm, only made one quick stop at the Pisgah store. Saw a deer just past the entrance to Thomas Stone Historic Site on Rose Hill Road, and played dodge the caterpillars on some of the wooded roads. Another fun and uneventful ride. 

Leader:   Ron Altemus

Members:   Patricia Sanders, Steve Palincsar, Ray Luckenbach



Route:  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/49615056  30,4 miles, 735' elevation change. 

From Accokeek firehouse, we used the regular Tour de Accokeek routing to the intersection of Mathews and Marshall Hall road.  At that point, we went straight to continue on Mathews to use Basingstoke, Belden, Timber Vista, and Timber Ridge for a tour of the newer Timber Ridge subdivision then onto Marshall Hall road heading towards the river.  An out and back on Fenwick, including a spin through Fenwick Shores, returned us to Marshall Hall Rd to head down to the landing.  After a rest stop (pictured above), we retraced for a second out and back on River, then Marshall Hall Rd to the climb up Barrys Hill (main elevation gain for the day).  A left at the top for the third out and back on Old Marshall Hall Rd taking us down to Chapin Farm before retracing to Accokeek Rd, after which Livingston Rd returned us to the start.

Weather: Starting temp of 50 rising to 60 by ride's end under mostly high overcast conditions so that there were extended periods of sunshine, just no blue skies.   Winds of 3-4 mph out of the northern quadrant

AMS:  proclaimed a "leisurely ride" at the start, we rode accordingly, finishing only in the mid 10s

Mechanicals/Mishaps:   none

Report:   A nice Sunday ride with minimal traffic throughout with some sections being car free.  The only time we had to concern ourselves about vehicles was crossing Marshall Hall Rd in Bryans Road to stay on Mathews.

This was Ray's first time riding in the greater Accokeek/Bryans Road metropolitian statistical area so we spent a bit of time explaining to him the peculiarities of Livingston Road, the original routing to Marshall Hall(which once had an amusement park on the site), and the history of Moyonne Reserve.   The out and back on Fenwick included a nice fall display at the corner of Fenwich and McCrea:

Only wildlife sighting of interest was a bald eagle sitting high up in a tree on Fenwick close to the Marshall Hall Rd intersection.  An eagle had been spotted there in the past, so much like Friday's IHRT ride eagle sightings, it would appear these raptors are once again getting ready for colder weather which means mating, egg laying, and hopefully hatching of chicks.

Construction news:  hadn't done this extended route since early February so there was some new building to see.  A big development of town homes has gone up on Mathews just down the road from the shopping center.  New individual single family homes were under construction on Fenwick.  On River, clearing of a lot towards it terminus probably means another single house being constructed while building has commenced on a second house on the old Denison orchard site, as pictured below:

Leader:  Lou Dall'Orso

Members:  Liam H.

Guests:  none

Route:  ridewithgps.com/routes/12378617

Weather:  Temperatures in the high 50s to a degree or two over 60 throughout the ride, sky started with a mix of sun and clouds, and increasing to overcast towards the latter part of the ride, no wind to speak of.

AMS:  Between 13 and 14 maybe?... 

Mechanicals/Mishaps:  none

Report:   Was happy to have Liam join me on the ride, made for a more enjoyable time. We rode together or within sight for it's entirety, making stops at both the Pisgah store, and the Livingston IHRT Portalet, as well as an earlier quick pit stop at the Park on Rose Hill road for a wardrobe adjustment. Saw a deer crossing the road at the top of Livingston hill (of all places) as well as two Trunk-or-Treats, one at the Pisgah Fire House, and one at a church on Livingston on the way to route 210. Doing it again tomorrow, same Bat time, helmets mandatory, cycling shoes optional...   :) 

Leader: Joan Oppel

Members: Steve Palincsar

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/49789942 Visit to Cumberstone and Galesville via Sands, Harwood, Mill Swamp, Muddy Creek to Cumberstone, then into Galesville and return on all the Sudleys, Rt 2 and W Bay Front, with a detour on Brooks Woods and Little back to Bay Front to reach Wrighton and Plummer.

Weather: Spectacular - sunny blue skies with fluffy white clouds, temperatures about 48 at the start, warming up to about 55. Perfect riding weather.

Report:  A nice route with some stretches on the shoulder of  busy roads to reach quiet ones. And some detours off the busy roads, such as the quiet and hidden Lansdale and the lovely Brooks Woods and Little Roads. Plus the always beautiful out and back on Cumberstone. Today was simply a great day for a bike ride.

Our rest stop at the tiny park in Galesville next to a marina provided all the pictures.

The mysterious tripod platforms at the marina, colorful but what are they?

The answer is revealed -

This marina has been a caretaker for the neighborhood feral cats for years. The cats are provided with insulated wooden boxes, lined with soft bedding, heavy plastic door coverings - and a special wooden covered feeding structure where they can safely eat. For a long time there were only 2 cat houses, today I counted 7! A sign nearby advises that cruelty to an animal is a felony punishable with up to 3 years in prison.

Rest stop at Magruders Landing

Ride leader: Steve Palincsar

Members: Patricia Walthers, Joan Oppel, Karen Morgan, Connie Quickstad

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/53071533 36 mi, 2000' elevation gain

Weather: Sunny, 53 at the start rising to 63 (actually, 70 by the end, according to my car) and windy.  Officially, prediction was  10-13 mph from the west, with 16 recorded on the road, and according to the weather report on the radio on the way home, we had gusts up to 26 mph.  It's a good thing that except for a couple of very short distances, our route went across the wind.

AMS: 11.4 mph

Mishaps & Mechanicals:

Connie discovered a flat tire: in the back, a piece of glass, as soon as she tried to leave the parking lot.   But no worries: with Joan Oppel on hand, the occasion turned into a class on fixing flat tires in the field.  Once again, all were impressed with Joan's electric tire pump, and very glad she was on hand to save the day.  I have one too, but mine's still in the box and I haven't even looked at the instructions yet.  Maybe it's about time...

Leaders - Lisa Petersen and Rick Hagen

Members - Ron Altemus, Pat Colvin

Guests - None

Weather - A beautiful sunny autumn day. Started at 60, warmed up to 67 by the time we finished. Winds were out of the west about 10 mph.

Route - https://ridewithgps.com/routes/48898572

Route - This ride took us through southern Anne Arundel County to a park in Shady Side with nice views of the Chesapeake Bay and Bay Bridge. We began at the Route 260 Recreation Area and went north and east on Fishers Station and Little roads. Route 258 took us to Churchton where we stopped at the Royal Farms for food/drinks to take to the park. It was then a flat ride with a tail wind to the north end of Shady Side where we took the 1/2-mile crushed gravel road into Jack Creek Park. To get back to the cars, we took Sudley and Nutwell roads, then Route 2 south to Jewell Road. We crossed Route 260 to ride on quiet Chaney Rd, then took Routes 4 and 260 a short distance back to the cars.

AMS - 12 mph

Mechanicals/Mishaps - None

Report - It was a beautiful fall day for a ride. We enjoyed the 6 miles of quiet country roads at the beginning, then took busier roads to Churchton where we stopped at the Royal Farms for food to take to the park. We then rode the 4 miles to Jack Creek Park and the 1/2 mile on fine gravel to a cute little beach with a clear view of the Bay, the Bay Bridge, and five anchored container ships waiting to get into Baltimore. After our lunch we re-traced our path out of the park and back to Churchton, then went west and south on Sudley, Nutwell, and Route 2 to Jewell. At the Jewell and Rt. 260 intersection we went straight across, then right onto Chaney Road. We then rode a short stretch on the shoulder of Rt. 4 and Rt. 260 back to the cars.

Wildlife: turtles on logs, woolly bears, squirrels.

Rest stop at Scott's Store

Ride leader: Steve Palincsar
Members: Ron Altemus, Patricia Sanders, Tom Short, Joan Oppel, Linda Bankerd
Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/51715526  34.5 mi, 1268' elevation gain on a route mostly on quiet, wooded roads.
Weather: Mid-50s at the start rising to 70 by early afternoon on a sunny, breezy, crisp fall day.
Mishaps & mechanicals: none
AMS: 12.1

A lovely fall day for a bike ride.  We started by heading west on the IHRT and Strauss, then cut over to the IHRT at Blair and came back to Hawthorne, then took Chicamuxen, Bicknell and Pisgah Marbury over to Mason Springs and a rest stop at Pisgah Park.  After the break we headed south on Mason Springs and Ironsides to Durham Church, then went down Durham Church Rd to MD-6 and took that to a second stop at Scott's Store.  Leaving Scott's, Fire Tower took us to Annapolis Woods and Ripley; we turned right on Hawthorne and took it to Bumpy Oak and the Indian Head Rail Trail.

It was a very pretty route, on a day with the sort of clear, bright sunshine that makes leaf color sparkle.  A few trees are starting to turn, but serious fall leaf color is still some time away.

Leader: Diane Harris (with the assistance of Joan, Sherwood, Steve, Sonya, and Ron)

Members: Joan O, Ron A, Sherwood B, Sam P, Tom S, Theresa R, Denny M, Leon W, Ray L, Pat C, Robin G, Connie Q, Bernard S, Linda B, Lou D, Sonya N, and Steve P

Guests: None

Weather: Temperatures in the low 70s, clear, sunny, WINDY!!

Mechanicals/Mishaps: None

AMS: Ride leader 14mph

Report: Eighteen club members took advantage of the later start time to ride the backroads of Southern Maryland, giving them the morning to attend services, or sleep in, or do a weeken chore or two, or  to just do a conversational paced afternoon ride (after yesterday's more spirited ride), or just because. The weather was perfect but a bit windy. This route starts with a nice descent whis is followed (too soon!) by the first of 2 serious climbs, Mill Hill Rd. This is followed by mostly flat roads with occasional gentle rises, before accessing miles on the flat Indian Head Rail Trail. It's especially pretty this time of year with the changing colors of leaves. This ride was comprised of B and CC riders and separation of the group was expected but because there were several ride leaders within the group, no one was left to fend for themselves. Following the rest stop, we all continued to the second serious climb, Bumpy Oak Rd. I stopped to get a photo of the bench placed along the trail in memory of our past President, Randy Schoch. The remainder of the route has us intermittently and briefly on Indian Head Hwy before turning off to head to the parking lot. My reward? The after ride fellowship with club members, enjoying drinks and snacks from the nearby coffee shop. 

Leader:  Lou Dall'Orso

Members:  none

Guests:  none

Route:  ridewithgps.com/routes/12378617

Weather:  Mid to upper 60s at the start a tad over 70 at the end, mostly sunny and breezy. Great riding weather.

AMS:  16 mph

Mechanicals/Mishaps:  none

Report:   Another great weather day for a ride. I'm really starting to like this route, very light car traffic on some familiar and fun roads, only some company could have made it better, maybe next time...

Leaders: Joan Oppel and Steve Palincsar

Members: Karen McMillan, Randy Sim, Pat Walthers

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/53052008 We started in the middle of Poolesville at E E Halmos park so that we could be near the rally a the end of our ride. Our route took us through some of the very rural countryside in Montgomery County - West Offutt Rd, Edwards Ferry, Wasche, West Hunter, Big Woods, Mt Ephraim. We passed the entrance to Sugarloaf Mountain park, then on to Peach Tree before returnning to Poolesville on Cat Tail Rd.

Hanging out with Potomac Pedalers riders at the Dickerson Store

Weather: Beautiful fall weather! About 55 to start, risiing to the mid 60's arounf the halfway point and the mid 70's arriving back in Poolesville.

Report: Beautiful ride, some tree color along the way, lots of farms annice rest stop at the Dickerson store, where the portapotty has been upgraded in the past few months but was a revelation to Steve, who was so impressed he took a photo. (Those who experienced the one that was there fo 30 years will understand.) Lots of farms, orchards, some new housing going in, but much remains the same for the past 100 years, since Montgomery County established a Rural Preserve, known as the Ag Reserve.

We arrived in Poolesville at about 1:20, and joined the No Kings rally, where people were lined up on the sidewalk on the main street near the town community park. People were enthusiastic, chatty, friendly, waving signs and flags with drivers honking and waving.