Leader:   Ron Altemus

Members:   Pat Walthers, Randy Schoch, Rick Hagen, Steve Palincsar, Joan Oppel, Lisa Petersen, Jane & Jim Hundall, Gene Villiva.  Not pictured:  Anonymous User



Route:   Regular Tour de Accokeek routing to Bryan's Road and then exploration of the South Hampton and Timber Ridge subdivisions prior to the hair raising descent of Marshall Hall Road.  An out and back on Fenwick including the subdivision that never was built on Amber prior to a rest stop at Marshall Hall Landing.  Return featured an second out and back on River Rd (with another subdivision never built on Chester),  before resuming the standard TdeA with the ascent of Barry's Hill.  After summiting, a short excursion left on Old Marshall Hall Road skirting Moyaone Reserve before retracing and returning to the start.

 https://ridewithgps.com/routes/44628163 33 miles 771' elevation change. 

Weather:  a very nice early September day transplanted to early October.  Sunshine, blue skies, temps rising from the mid 70s to mid 80s, some air movement out of the northern quadrant.

AMS:  swept in the mid 11s

Mechanicals/Mishaps:   Pat took a slow motion tumble into the grass - fortunately, only her pride was seriously hurt.

Report:   A nice turnout to visit some additional neighborhoods in the Bryans Road area along the Tour de Accokeek route.  Lisa and Rick were newcomers to the TdeA area while several other long time club members had never ventured down Fenwick and River.  The subdivisions being built on the "top side" are in stark contrast to the two on the river plain that never progressed beyond paved roads.

Large segments of the ride were mostly vehicle free allowing for casual conversational cycling which is always enjoyable.  Wildlife sightings were minimal except for a number of black vultures overhead on Mathews.

Leader: Steve Palincsar

Members: Catherine Ade, Rick Hagen, Joan Oppel, Lisa Petersen, Tom Short and Patricia Walthers.

Guests: Joining us at the first rest stop and riding with us until we reached their driveway were members Sue Henn and Eric Nielsen.

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/44607553  32.8 miles, 1434' elevation gain

Weather: Sunny without a cloud in the sky.  Mid-70s at the start rising to 82, with a 7 mph breeze from the NE that grew to 13 mph by the time we finished.

AMS: 13.3

Mechanicals/Mishaps: As one would expect on a first ride on a brand new bike, Pat had a few issues getting her shifting and power assist levels working, but other than that the ride was incident free.

Report: This was meant as a recovery ride for those on yesterday's Charles & St Marys Century and a return to riding for Pat, on her new Orbea Gain that she's been awaiting for 17 months.  Rick and Lisa did the 50, while Joan Catherine and I did the 75 (Tom had signed up but canceled). 

It was a beautiful day and we saw several groups of riders on Sands and on Sudley and Owensville Sudley -- not surprising, since these are fabulous cycling roads.  We were delighted to have Sue and Eric join us at the rest stop at South County Rec Center.  They rode with us to the South County Cafe where we stopped for lunch, then stayed with us until we reached their driveway. 

Although we were mostly on familiar roads we've ridden many times this year, this route (based on one of Debby Bowman's Waysons in Winter routes) took us in the opposite direction to our usual and as a result everything looked quite different.

It was great riding with Pat again, even if just for a brief interval before she goes on the sidelines again, recovering from upcoming knee surgery. 

Leader:  Not Designated.

Members:   Holly Carr, Walt Roscello, Jannell Saunders, Harry Kidd

Route:  OR50 Charles & St Marys Half Century

Weather:  Cloudy and with some sun near the ride end.

Mechanicals/Mishaps:  None

Farm on Dr Johnson Rd

Leader: We didn't have leaders on this ride, no more than we had SAG support or staffed rest stops.  What we did have was four routes -- 50, 62, 75 and 100 -- with stores, parks and portolets identified.  Our expectation was that riders would form their own groups to ride with, and that in an area so abundantly furnished with support in the form of stores, parks and portolets no formal staffed rest stops would be required. 

Except for a couple of small glitches (we never did find that Amish bakery just off Lockes Crossing Rd, and a couple of riders doing the metric didn't realize the gas station at Rt 5 and Hills Club doesn't have a rest room, but they found one on Old Village that did) things went to plan as far as I know.

Members: Members checked in at the 8:00 start included: Catherine Ade, Linda Bankerd, Cecilla Grillo, Rick Hagen, Renee McCullough, Joan Oppel, Lisa Petersen and Bill Silva.  A group of four (Holly Carr, Harry Kidd, Walt Roscello and Janell Saunders) started at 9:00 and did the 50 mile route.  Their report is here.

Guests: 12 non-members registered for the ride and 6 were checked in.  There was at least one non-member who hadn't registered and couldn't be checked in. 

Besides great publicity thanks to Jessica Hirschhorn, one reason for the large number of guest registrations was that Pax Velo's St Marys Century scheduled for the week before had been canceled due to rain, and they sent a notice to their registrants letting them know our Century was available. 

Route: The event link in RWGPS is here: https://ridewithgps.com/events/231176-2023-charles-st-marys-self-supported-cen   with 50, 63, 75 and 100 mile routes.

Weather: It was an overcast day, with 15 mph winds and temperatures ranging from a chilly-feeling 65 at 8:00 to a high of 76 degrees at 4:00 pm.

Mechanicals/Mishaps: Aside from a couple of chain drops, I'm not aware of any.  One of our riders found a lost bicycle light on Dr Johnson Rd but I didn't hear of anyone losing one, and there was another ride in the area.

Report: We all started together a few minutes after 8:00 and we stayed together for the first couple of miles.  All the routes turn right out of Oak Ridge Park, go down the hill on Oaks Rd and turn right onto Keech, and then right on MD-6... and that was my last view of the paceline. 

Catherine, Joan and I rode together.  We saw Linda and her riding companion at the Chaptico Store and also at the store in Avenue, and we caught a glimpse of a couple of the Century riders, heads down intent on their ride there, turning from Abell onto Oakley Rd.  We had an excellent, uneventful ride.

Leaders - Jackie & Randy Schoch

Members - RL Randy, Gene Villiva, Belinda Acre, Ron Altemus, Robin Garnett,  and Mark Garrison.  Photog:  RL Jackie

Route - IHRT

Weather - A crisp fall morning (60's)

AMS - Varied per/rider.

Mechanicals/Mishaps - None

Report - A nice group of our regular riders. Maybe because of the chill in the air, we didn't see much wildlife (just one crane). There were other trail users including bikes, joggers, skaters, dogs, etc. but not very many. A good day for a ride. See yuens next week.

Leader: Joan Oppel

Members/Guests: Ron Altemus, Steve Palincsar. Guest: Angela Hayes

Route:  From Livingston Road Indian Head Parking Lot to Goose Bay and then winding around to return via Annapolis Woods, Hilltop, Rt 6 Smallwood, Chicamuxen, Sweetman, back to Chcamuxen https://ridewithgps.com/routes/44564234

Weather: Coudy at start at about 59 degrees, hovering around 59-62 througout the ride, some sun and mixed clouds.

Mechanicals/Mishaps: None

Report: Enjoyable route, roads were pretty quiet except for the section of Poorhouse between Stuckey Lane and Ripley, which seems to bring out impatient drivers. After the Ripley/Annapolis Woods intersection, drivers are calmer. Our guest, Angela decided to try out an Oxon Hill ride and said she had a good time. As usual, the rest stop at Goose Bay was welcoming and comfortable. Two items of note: interesting cloud formations accompanied us (adds extra visuals to a ride) and some logging going on along the Goose Bay entry road.

Leader:  Ron Altemus

Members:   Randy Schoch, Lester jackson, Jr., Fran Jezisek, Susan Altemus, Robin Garnett, Leesha Saunders, Belinda Acre, Gene Villiva.  Not pictured:  Donaro Gardner & Dan Donahue

Route:  the Friday usual - Indian Head Rail Trail, Livingston Rd parking lot east to White Plains for a rest stop and then return westward

Weather:  bright overcast, temp range 65-69, NE winds about 10 mph

AMS:   varies by rider for this casual/leisurely ride

Mechanicals/Mishaps:  none

Report:  another nice turnout, possibly because riders wanted to do some pedaling prior to a forecast wet weekend.  Surprisingly, not a lot of other bicyclers on the trail, though a number of walkers/joggers, including the mom group.  And very little in the way of wildlife sightings.  Maybe they were hunkering down prior to the incoming rain.

Ride Leader: Janell Saunders

Members: Tim Murphy

Just Tim and I today, so we did the modified route, skipping the old neighborhoods and adding the new development in Bryans Road, which is still being grown.  So, may have some additional streets to explore in the future.  

At the rest stop at the Marshall Hall boat ramp, we watched a couple of bald eagles perched in a high tree near the old Marshall Hall itself, hearing a bit of their chatter. Noted quite a number of turkey vultures enjoying the thermals as well.

Heading back and working up Barrys Hill, we decided to skip the ice cream today due to the shorter daylight.  I may have to start posting this ride at 5pm as time goes on until the time change in November. 

Just Anonymous User and me today on a route that took Pisgah Marbury and Mason Springs, MD-6 to Durham Church, Ironsides, Hancock Run and Adams Willett to a rest stop at the Nanjemoy Community Center.  Weather was lovely, a pretty early fall day with temperatures ranging from 67 to 77 with clear blue skies and an 8-9 mph breeze.  Basically it was just about everything you could possibly want on a bike ride except for riders.

Leader:   Ron Altemus

Members:   RL Ron, Mary Scala, Althea Johnston, Pat Walters


(selfie photog - Mary Scala)

Route:   From Gunston Elementary, an out and back on Belmont Blvd for a scenic view of Belmont Bay, then the Mason Neck trail to a rest stop at the State Park visitors center.  Departing the park, east on Gunston Road to tour Hallowing Point followed by Gunston Estates.  A brief jog into Gunston Hall and a return via the trail to our start.  As detailed below, we didn't do the Pohick Bay Park and golf course short spurs.

Weather:   Oustanding - it really can't get any better.  Nothing but sunshine and bright blue skies with crisp humidity free air.  Temps starting in the mid 60s rising maybe to the mid 70s w/winds in the 5-8 mph out of the NW.  Pictured below - Belmont Bay looking quite nice as viewed from the Mason Neck State Park visitors center:

AMS:   a very leisurely/casual 11 mph

Mechanicals/Mishaps:  none

Report:  the first ride for Pat Walthers in quite a while and it was great having her on the bike with us again.  She's eagerly anticipating the delivery sometime this week of her new Orbea eBike and she'll once  received, again become a mainstay for many of our CC club rides.  Great to have you with us, Pat!

Steve Forman rode with us from the start down to the entrance to Mason Neck and then, desiring a speedier pace, decided to try and find the PPTC riders.  The rest of us arrived at the park in two pairings but from then on, we rode as a group to tour the Hallowing Point and Gunston Estates neighborhoods.  The hill back up from the Mason Neck park was a bit taxing for Pat and once crested, she opted to return directly to the start.  Others had gone into Gunston Hall but once collected, we all decided to skip the final two spurs and try and catch Pat on the trail.  That we were unable to do only meeting her back at the cars.  Apparently, a quick recovery after the hill.

Today's ride was a late posting as your faithful correspondent/ride leader wanted a nice ride and thought maybe other club members might wish the same.  Many thanks to those that came out to make a most enjoyable ride.