Leader: Joan Oppel

Members: Ron Altemus, Donaro Gardner, Susan Golonka, Oswald Martin

Weather: Sunny! Light wind! Temperature between 40 and 44 during the ride. 

Mechanicals/Mishaps: None.

Report: Another very nice day for a ride, sun, light wind, mid 40s - we were comfortable and it seemed we all knew how to dress for this kind of day.  As always, the porch at Goose Bay made for a great rest stop and as always, we stayed longer than we would have somewhere less appealing. 

Wildlife, well, "Birdlife" sightings - eagles, a red tail hawk close overhead with full tail extended, pilieated woodpecker

My arms are not long enough to get all of me plus riders plus the key element, the Goose Bay porch with sign!

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/49087127 A simple route to Goose Bay - via Pisgah  Pisgah Marbury, the Stuckeys and Poorhouse, connecting with Annapolis Woods, Fire Tower and on to Goose Bay. Return Rt 6, Burch, Poorhouse, Ripley. Go right on Hawthorne to connect with Bumpy Oak and  the Indian Head Trail

Thanks to my co-riders for a really good day on the bike!

Leaders: Joan Oppel and Ron Altemus

Members: Darrell Meyer, Rita Zeidner

Overlooking the Potomac from the Mt Vernon visible to the eye but way up river

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/40798783 The mostly standard Mason Neck route, as Ron and I like to do it. Some riders chose to add some downs and ups on a couple of hills (ups/downs not on the official route).

Weather: Temperatures 41-44, pleasant enough for winter. Mostly sunny mixed with some clouds, winds in the 12 to 17 mph range, with the higher winds early in the ride. However, the wind was at our backs on the way to Mason Neck and the end of the peninsula, and in addition this route has a lot of sheltered areas and we only felt the wind occasionally. 

Over looking Belmont Bay

Mechanicals/Mishaps: None

Report:  This was a really nice day to be riding, especially with a route that provided for the wind at our backs when it was strongest plus a lot of sheltered roads. We took our break at the Mason Neck visitor center, overlooking the bay. And it was very windy there so we bird and wave watched for a while and then moved to the other side. At the Visitor's Center, we met up and chatted with the Potomac Pedalers club riders, also a small group. They were doing the same roads but with a different twist.

Wildlife - on the first part Springfield Road a very healthy-looking beautiful fox crossed the road ahead of us, sprinting full out. And then we saw eagles more than once, possibly the same eagles tracking our progress. 

George Mason's historic home

All pictures thanks to Darrell.

RL Ron Altemus; Members Oswald Martin, Robin Garnett, Donaro Gardner



Route:   Indian Head Rail Trail

Weather:  mostly sunny, temp range 46-50, NW 9-10 mph air w/higher gusts

AMS:  swept at 11.9; others in low 12s

Mechanicals/Mishaps:  none

Report:  another day w/o a lot of trail users, maybe one other cyclist and some walkers.  No significant (nor insignificant) wildlife sightings.  Just a pleasant social ride with lots of conversation.

Leader:   Ron Altemus

Members:   Denny miller, Sam Perry, Esther Stewart, Joan Oppel, Oswald Martin, Donaro Gardner.  Not pictured:  Robin Garnett and Jackie Schoch who eschewed Marshall Hall landing for a quicker return via Barrys Hill.



Route:   Regular Tour de Accokeek routing to Bryan's Road and then an exploration of the Timber Ridge subdivisions back to Marshall Hall Road.  Following a hair raising descent of Marshall Hall Road, out and back on Fenwick prior to a rest stop at Marshall Hall Landing.  Return next featured another out/back of River Rd before resuming the standard TdeA with the ascent of Barry Hill Road.  Final leg was a short excursion left on Old Marshall Hall Road before retracing and returning to the start.  RWGPS: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/49615056  30.4 miles 735' elevation change.

Weather:  Sunny; temps 56-57 degrees, feeling warmer in the sun with a tailwind, colder near the river with a headwind; said winds out of the NW 12-15 mph gusting to the mid 20s, most noticeable between Fenwick and Marshall Hall landing.

AMS:   swept in the mid 10s

Mechanicals/Mishaps:   none

Report:   a good turnout for a nice morning ride.  Vehicular traffic was light and we rode as a group, with some separation at times, for the entire route.  The Bryans Road subdivisions continue to proliferate with building sites laid out on Matthews while Timber Ridge grows bigger.  Fortunately, the areas closer to the river are still largely undeveloped and wildlife sightings are common.  Along the marshy areas of both River and Barry's Hill, we observed large raptors in flight, the former probably a hawk, the latter an immature bald eagle.

Winter rides also provide viewing opportunities of the countryside unhindered by tree leaves.  A nice view of Pomonkey Creek from Fenwick is one such example:

Leader:  Ron Altemus

Members:  no takers...

Route:   JRA Mason Neck https://ridewithgps.com/routes/40798783  27.6 miles, 738' elevation change .

Weather:   Gray cloudy skies, temp range of 36-37, 7 mph SW air which wasn't really noticed.  All things considered, it wasn't bad riding today.

AMS:   mid 11s

Mechanicals/Mishaps:   none

Report:   evidently too cold for others,  Only saw one other cyclist on the road but a few riders were using the mountain bike trails off Belmont Blvd.  Wildlife sighting of note - 10+ deer crossing Gunston Road a bit past the park entrance.  Fortunately, for both deer and bicyclists alike, very little vehicular traffic today.

Leader:   Ron Altemus

Members:   Oswald Martin, Robin Garnett, Alan Kurzweil, Esther Stewart, Donaro Gardner, Gene VIlliva, Denny Miller



Route:   Indian Head Rail Trail from Livingston Road east to White Plains trailhead and return

Weather:   mostly sunny, temps in mid 40s, westerly breezes climbing from 3 > 8 mph over the course of the ride

AMS:   swept in the mid 11s

Mechanicals/Mishaps:   none

Report:  after three weeks of cancellations and with the prospect of rain on the last Friday of January, we had a good turnout of eager riders for a Thursday edition of the IHRT ride.  The trail was in pretty good shape regarding snow/ice coverage as we encountered only a few iffy stretches.  Most notable were a couple of sections before Middletown where bare asphalt was reduced to narrow lanes prompting some riders to dismount and walk.  On the return, sufficient solar energy had continued the melting process and passage was easier with no one needing to dismount.

Not a lot of other trail users though we did see two other cyclists after Bumpy Oak when we were outbound.  Wildlife sightings of note:  two bald eagles were on the nest just to the east of the parking lot; upon our return, a single eagle was perched above the nest as seen below, with possibly the head of the other in the nest to the left.  It is egg laying and incubation season so perhaps we will see fledglings at some point in February.

Leader:  Joan Oppel

Members:  Ron Altemus, Donaro Gardner, Jessica Hirschhorn, Patricia Sanders

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/49557816

The roads were clear so snow, ice and salt, including the shoulders. The route did use pretty well traveled roads - Hawthorne and Mt Pisgah, Ripley, Poorhous, Masons S;prings, Smallwood Church, Smallwood State Park,  Sweetman, Bicknell, Chicamuxen. 

Weather: Pretty nice - sunny! -after temperatures hovering in teens and low 20s for (seemed like) weeks - about 44 to start, hovered between there and 50 for most of the ride.

Mechanicals/Mishaps: None

Report: It has been rainy or snowy since right after New Year's Day. Two snows a week apart were followed by very cold temperatures - lows below teens, highs 20s - and ICE. Today's ride was the first one scheduled since January 1 to actually happen.

And we had a great time. It was terrific to find the roads so clear. The worst surface was in the Livingston parking lot - a nice sheet of packed snow and ice. (The trail was still snow covered in many places that we could see.)

Impromptu rest stop at Pisgah Park, impromptu stop at Mini Farm World on Smallwood Church to say hello to some baby goats and the Highland cattle (and dogs and donkeys and chickens). Acutal rest stop at Smallwood State Park, where we foung the boat ramp and dock area iced in.

Here are some pictures from the January 11 club dinner for 2024 volunteers - ride leaders, Rural Legacy workers, Board members and guests who gathered at Grace Lutheran church for a fun, social ,catered dinner with homemade extras and desserts. 

Leader:   Ron Altemus

Members:   Donaro Gardner, Denny Miller



Route:   Indian Head Rail Trail

Weather:   Overcast with an occasional yellow dot as the sun tried to break through, 6-7 mph SSW air, temps 38-43.  Not too bad...

AMS:   mid 12s

Mechanicals/Mishaps:   none

Report:   another cold day so only the polar bears out riding.  Others using the trail included several other cyclists, a number of walkers, and the Blade Lady back from vacation and on her inline skates. 

Leader: Joan Oppel

Members:  Anon U, Linda Bankerd, Sherwood Byers, Pat Colvin, Robin Garnett, Steve Palinscar, Janell Saunders, Peter Stelman, Esther Steward. Ron rode to meet us at the start but then did his own ride.  Guest: Dan Lehman

Weather: Sunny - and WINDY in mega capital letters, 18-20 mph sustained with higher gusts. But - it was not very cold.

Jefferson

Lincoln

Report: We gathered at Daingerfield Island, and those of us who had ridden to the ride start had suffered in the wind to get there. We then rode into DC facing winds of 18-20 mph with higher gusts. We all made it successfully into the city, and there the wind was not an issue. 

We had leisurely stops with lots of picture taking (and reversing positions to satisfy the photographers). We rode down the middle of Pennsylvania Ave in the bike lanes. The display at the Botanic Garden was very impressive, Pollinators and their Plants, everything constructed from natural material. The Peets Coffee rest stop was welcome for the bathroom and some baked treats (though  it was reported the coffee was not hot).

 Orchid bee & Vanilla orchid

All in all, a great start to 2025 riding, made better for the great company of biking friends. And, we rode every day in 2025