Leaders:   Ron Altemus and Joan Oppel

Members:  RL Ron, RL Joan, Pat Colvin, Martin Howell, Robin Butler-LeFrancois, Suzanne Brown, Gene Villiva, Janell Saunders.  Not pictured:  Darrell Meyer, photographer



Route:   Serpentine meandering through several Fort Hunt neighborhoods viewing seasonal lights/decorations.  12 miles, 235' elevation change.

Weather:  Dark, temps 35-39, little to no air movement.

AMS:   upper 8s

Mechanicals/Mishaps:  nothing worth mentioning

Report:  a nice turnout to view what seemed to some repeat riders as more and better displays of interest.  Mostly we simply rode various streets viewing the lights slowing as we went past.  We did make several stops to more thoroughly enjoy the displays.  Some people have "strange" ideas as to suitable Christmas decorations as we encountered numerous dragons, dinosaurs, minions, and other non-traditional representations of Christmas, including a Star Wars AT-AC.  Darrell snapped this picture featuring the world's largest reclining snowman in the background with other signs of the season.

The biggest display was saved until the end of the ride - the house on Collingwood Road as featured in the Washington Post (https://wapo.st/3ZTBwMR).  We watched the lights show for 10-15 minutes out of the total run time of over 20 before heading back.  Some of us were getting a bit cold.  It's well worth a trip to view:

Merry Christmas to all and best wishes for a most prosperous Happy New Year 2025!

Leader:  Ron Altemus

Members:  one cancellation call and a couple of no shows.  Weather forecasts were iffy, though.

Route:   Indian Head Rail Trail - Livingston Road parking lot to White Plains trailhead r/t

Weather:  Overcast of various shades of grey, moisture in the air that never even qualified as mist, 3-4 mph breezes out of the northern quadrant, temps stuck in the mid 30s

AMS:   low 12s

Mechanicals/Mishaps:  none

Report:   lots of birds and 10 or more deer at various points along the trail.  Minimal trail users - saw only 3 outbound to White Plains.  Return saw a few more prior to Bensville and then there were multitudes (~10) when finishing at Livingston Road.  No other cyclists, though.

At this time of year, it is often remarked that 35 degrees at night seems a lot colder than 35 during the day.  A corollary to that adage is that 35 degrees during the day when riding solo seems a lot colder than 35 with a group. ..

Leader:   Ron Altemus

Members:   Gene Villiva, Esther Stewart, Sherwood Byers, Sr., Robin Garnett, Leslie Tierstein in front of the U.S. Capitol Christmas tree



Route:   from Belle Haven Park, north on the Mt Vernon Trail, cross the 14th St bridge, around the east side of the Tidal Basin, then Raoul Wallenberg Place/15th St NW to Jefferson Drive, 3rd St NW, and the Botanical Gardens.  Return via 3rd St NW to Madison Drive, 15th St/Raoul Wallenberg to 14th Street bridge, and Mt Vernon Trail back to Jones Point Park or Belle Haven Park.

Weather:   temps in the mid 40s, 7-9 mph air out of the NW, enough clouds in the sky to hide the sun throughout the ride though when it was free of obstruction it felt much warmer.

AMS:    RL swept in the low 10s

Mechanicals/Mishaps:  none

Report: our ride up the Mt Vernon Trail started under cool conditions as the sun was mostly hidden and air movement out of the NW gave us a bit of a headwind.  Leslie met us at the Jefferson Memorial and with Sherwood leading, your friendly neighborhood ride leader sweeping, we traveled across the Mall to the Botanical Gardens.  Since it was a work day, the grounds weren't too crowded and it was easy to watch the trains move through the displays of various pollinators, all constructed from plant matter.  Esther, Sherwood, and Robin took various pictures of the display, as shown below:

Inside the building, Washington's famous edifices were represented by models, again constructed from plants.  Robin captured this photo of the U.S. Capitol:

After leaving the Botanical Gardens, we made a short trip over to the real U.S. Capitol's grounds to see it's Christmas tree.  A group photo was taken there, then Sherwood went artistic trying to get the "perfect shot," putting himself in harm's way of being run over by a group of toddlers or loose baby carriage.  Physical gyrations and the result:

As we headed back approaching the pedestrian/bike lane across the 14th St Bridge, Sue Gunter passed us going into DC.  Sherwood turned to catch up with her and talk to her (and the RL saw her later in Alexandria on the trail near Montgomery St).  Sue has been able to resume cycling; she was out yesterday on 10 mile ride and had upped her distance a bit for her ride today.  She looked good, she said she felt good, and it was great to see her out riding again.

Members: Anonymous User, Linda Bankerd, Luis Dall'Orso, Donaro Gardner, Rich Hagen, Ray Luckenbach, Lisa Petersen, Patricia Sanders, Tom Short, Bill Silva, Pat Silva and Pat Walthers. Surprise Guest! - Steve Palincsar drove out to the South County Cafe to meet us.

Note special guest rear left!

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/49270350  

Weather: Great! A little cloudy at first, about 51 at the start, 60 at the end although my car was reading 65 in the parking  lot. Things warmed up, the sun came out (along with a breeze) and as we sat in the sun outside the South County Cafe my Garmin registered 73 in the full sun.

Report:  The group quickly split, faster folks off the front, slower in the back. We all had a lovely ride, mostly quiet roads, except for the segment where we rode up Deale Churchton Road to get to Franklin Manor neighborhood. The appeal there is the terrific view of the Chesapeake Bay that's hidden in that neighborhood's waterfront. You can see the sky looks cloudy but there's a vast expanse of water. It was actually bright and sunny as you can see in the second picture.

Leader:  Ron Altemus

Members:   RL Ron, Robin Garnett, Denny Miller, Donaro Gardner.  Not pictured:  Sherwood Byers, Sr. , already on his way back to the start



Route:   Indian Head Rail Trail - Livingston Rd parking lot to White Plains trailhead and return

Weather:   Cold (temps 36-38), mostly overcast with an occasional sunbeam, 2-3 mph air out of the ENE

AMS:   ride leader (RL) swept at 11.4.  Others much faster.

Mechanicals/Mishaps:   none

Report:  Don and your faithful correspondent welcomed several new additions to the 2024-25 polar bear club.  There were some cold fingers and/or cold toes but fortunately, the lack of wind allowed our cores to warm up after a bit of exertion. 

We were the only cyclists on the trail and saw five walkers at various points.  Deer were plentiful again this week.  A small herd of 4-5 were grazing on the land next to the rifle range; a couple of individuals were seen elsewhere.  In all cases, the deer did not flee from our presence.

Don had ridden the trail on Thursday and between MM 8 and MM9 encountered a large fallen tree from the high winds earlier in the day.  He had to dismount and carry his bike over the tree.  When we reached that section of the trail this morning, it was clear of trunk and debris, as shown below.  A bit farther along towards White Plains, we saw Juliana and thanked her for being out early to clear the trail for our weekly ride.

Winter 2024-25 has already had lower ride temps than last season.  Looks like there will be plenty of opportunities for any polar bear wannabees to join the core group on a cold Friday ride.  Dress warmly!

Linda and Robin’s 46mile Birthday Ride   December 12. 2024

Attending: Robin Garnett, Linda Bankerd, Sherwood Byers, Ron Altemus, Jessica Hirschhorn, Joan Opel, Esther Stewart

The weather promised to be great, in the 60’s, a few days prior.  As it so often happens, the prediction was considerably off.  At best it may have reached the low 50’s with a lot of fog, clouds and even mist. We rode ourselves out to the Bike Lane along the W&OD where we enjoyed a welcome respite; thanks Sherwood for treating us all.  We arrived back at Jones Point a little before 4:00.  There were no major mishaps.  Linda’s cable gave her a problem which was readily fixed by Sherwood.

Leader:   Joan Oppel and Ron Altemus

Members:   Patrica Sanders, Deb Reynolds, Robin Garnett, RL Joan, Lori Michaelson, Donaro Gardner, Pat Walthers, Pat Colvin, Linda Bankerd, Gene Villiva



Route:   From the Indian Head Village Green, Strauss, Lower Wharf, MD-210, and Chapmans Landing delivered us to Mt Aventine.  Retracing to Lower Wharf, we used Hawthorne and Chicamuxen to Smallwood State Park and the Mattawoman Creek Art Center.  A retrace back to Hawthorne and then the IHRT returned us to our start.

Weather:  Very nice early December day - plenty of sunshine, temp range of mid 50s to low 60s (25+ degrees warmer than the preceding Friday/Saturday rides), and unexpected  pesky gusty 12-14 mph air movement out of the SW

AMS:   uppers 10s/low 11s (?)

Mechanicals/Mishaps:  none

Report:   the weather made for a most enjoyable ride.  Mt Aventine was busy with a nice buffet of treats, musicians playing holiday songs, and wares available for sale.  The view of the river across to Virginia from was quite nice thanks to the good air quality.  Mattawoman Creek Art Center appreciated our visit - we were the only ones there at that time.  Along with art from members of the center, jury-judged middle school drawings/paintings were on display.  Several riders made holiday purchases at our two stops.

Leader: Joan Oppel

Members: Ron Altemus, Mary Scala

Route:  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/407987   

Weather:  Sunny, light wind, temperature was pretty steady at about 37 degrees. Mechanicals/Mishaps:  none

Report: Because of travel and then various appointments and gale force winds (Thursday), I hadn't ridden my bike for two weeks. I decided this morning that temperatures in the mid-30s are fine for riding so posted this last minute excursion.

Mary and Ron came to join me and we set out on the "traditional" route from Gunston Elementary School. It was chilly at the start but we actually warmed up pretty quickly. The view from tbehind the visitors' center at Mason Neck park was particularly interesting - with literally hundreds of water fowl spread out across the water near the shore. Ice extended from the shoreline out about 20 feet and then birds everywhere, left and right.

Mary had a time constraint and returned to the school after exiting the park. Ron and I continued on at a leisurely pace, exploring the neighborhoods, Gunston Hall and parts of Pohick Bay park.

This is one of those days when I say emphatically - I'm glad I got out to ride!

Leader:   Ron Altemus

Members:   RL Ron, Oswald Martin, Donaro Gardner



Route:   Indian Head Rail Trail - Livingston Rd parking lot to White Plains trail head and return

Weather:   mostly sunny, temps 37 at Livingston Rd/34 at White Plains, SW 12-14 mph winds w/gusts in the mid 20s

AMS:  12ish

Mechanicals/Mishaps:  none

Report:   the first ride of winter 2024-25 that qualified as "polar bear" brought out just a few riders.  We are still trying to remember what clothing works best at various temperatures but for the most part, we warmed up and the ride wasn't unbearable.  The three of us were the only cyclists on the entire trail, though as we passed the parking lot at Middletown on our return, a couple were readying their bicycles for a ride.  Only a few walkers/joggers and one runner in shorts.

We were aware of Randy's status as we began the ride and thought that we honored his memory by remembering him as we rode.   Back in late October, Randy recounted in his ride report that he had stopped and had a conversation with two deer along the trail  We saw a lot of deer today and it made me wonder if they were looking to talk with Randy.  We will all miss him greatly.

Leader:   Ron Altemus

Members:  Diane Harris, Linda Bankerd, Darrell Meyer, Pat Colvin, Denny Miller



Route:  Indian Head Rail Trail - Livingston Rd parking lot east to White Plains trailhead for a rest stop prior to returning west back to the ride start.

Weather:  not too cold - 45 at ride start under mostly cloudy skies, climbing to 49/50 with some blue showing but minimal sunshine.  Winds of 6-8 mph, gusting up to 17 mph, seemingly constantly changing direction.

AMS:   mid 11s or higher

Mechanicals/Mishaps:  none

Report:  Nice ride with lots of conversation.  One deer bounding across the trail just after Pomfret outbound.  Wasn't really until we were on the way back that we started seeing other trail users, as at that point, it was a bit warmer.