Leader: Tim Murphy

Members: Ron and Troy.

Weather: 65 and mostly sunny, and a little bit of wind - less than 10mph.

AMS: 16+

Report: Everyone started out together for the first few miles until we got to Livingston Road. Ron was testing out his new front chainrings. And off he went. Troy and I tried to keep up with him but to no avail. Ron was nice enough to wait for us or slow down as we go to the intersections or if there was a big gap between us. It was like a game of cat and mouse or tortoise and the hare. Just when we caught up to Ron - off he went. But this made for a great workout for Ron and me.   This was one of my better rides - Thanks Ron and Troy. We rested at the water for 5+ minutes but not long enough to become sedentary. On the way back we all rode together till we got to Barry's Hill. Ron rode strong and steady up the hill. I rode steady up the hill, but not my best times, give me a few more trips and more seat time and I hope to conquer Barry's Hill and set a PR. Troy and Ron rode strong and steady for most of the way back and I tried to keep them in my sights. This was great practice for my Triathlons.

Everyone enjoyed the ride. Come out and join us. I will lead the next two Wednesdays. Then will be out of town for 1-3 weeks depending on my travels.

We hope to see you next Wednesday.

Tim Murphy

April 18 turned out to be a great day for a ride.  Thanks to Ron for the route.  Eighteen riders joined me on the excursion up Barrys Hill, Mill Hill, Bumpy Oak and Livingston.  

Attendees: Bob Howell, Mike Bivens, Llnda Bankerd, Tom Short, Dave Schnirel, Dianne Harris, Alan Kurzwell, Ron and Barb Haney, Michael Dong, Mike Saizan, Chantal Briere, Bob Thompson, Sam Perry, Chris Fairhall and even Jan Tucker joined us.

Chantal and Bob were riding ahead of me on Marshall Corner Road when she had a flat.  Bob sent me on and assisted in the flat repair.  I waited at the ride end and the two pulled in promptly within 20 minutes.

Thanks to all for coming out.

Leader:  Mia Haynes

Members:  Rod Barnes, Dan and Diana Donahue, and Daryl Stinnett

Today was a great day to ride, the wind was cooperating and the trail busy.  It was nice seeing Dan and Diana on a ride.  Dan led the charge as Diana, me and Rod followed along.  As we rode to Bumpy Oaks Dan pointed out a Blue Heron flying in our mist – it was nice to see.

Daryl, joined us as we rested on the platform by Bumpy Oaks.  We headed out at 5:30 and he was a little behind us, but it didn’t take him long to catch up.

On the return trip, Dan and Diana did their thing and told us we can go ahead.  So Daryl, Rod and I decided we would wait for them at the bench.  On our travel back we saw a beaver and two ducks.  Rod and I decided to turn left onto Middletown Road and take the 3 mile loop back to the trail – Middletown Road to Billingsley Road then right onto 301 South to the trail- while on Billingsley we saw 2 more ducks. 

When we got to the bench, Daryl was there and informed us that Dan and Diana had already made it back and were loading up their car.  He also told us that he tried to catch up with us on Middletown Road, but had encountered a dog, so he turned back.    

Excellent ride today guys and as always, thanks for coming out.

Leader:  Ron Altemus

Members:  Harry Kidd, Steve Palincsar, Gloria Gladden

Route:   https://ridewithgps.com/routes/20253311  Up Barry's Hill to Accokeek, then climb Mill Hill from Berry Rd, over Lexington/Middletown and the IHRT to 301 for a rest stop at the White Plains Dash In. Fortified, onward via Marshall Corner/Bumpy Oak, a short spurt on the IHRT and up Livingston to cap the ride.  935' elevation gain.

Weather:   Yesterdays rain and cold front resulted in clear, sunny skies with a marked decrease in airborne pollen.  Temp range of mid 60s to low 70s with enough wind out of the NE to be noticed.

AMS:  swept in the low 13s

Report:  A small CC contingent compared to the page and a half of A/B riders but all of us enjoyed our cycling excursion.  This was Gloria's first Southern Exposure ride and we hope to see her back in the weeks to come enjoying all that southern Charles County has to offer.  The four of us rode together the entire route.  The high point of the ride, literally, was identifying the highest point in Charles County a short distance off of Mill Hill Road as recorded by Peakbagger (http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=23025)

Ride leader: Steve Palincsar

Members: Harry Kidd, Barbara Hoover, Joan Oppel, Loretta Troen, Jenn Weiss, Lou Dallorso, Janell Saunders

Guests: Ted M, Steve A

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/16134617   38 miles, 1709' elevation gain

Weather: Around 70 when I left Gwynn Park to ride to the ride start; 90 (according to my car) when we finished.  Sunny, hot, breezy that as the day wore on became downright windy, UV that definitely called for sun screen, and pollen galore.   In short: a typical beautiful summer day.  Now where'd that come from?   My mental juke box decided today was an appropriate day for this song.

Mishaps & mechanicals: nothing worse than a dropped chain. 

AMS: 12.5

Harry and either Ted or Steve joined me at Gwynn Park HS for the "ride to the ride start ride" which added another 13 miles to the 38 for the main route.  There's now a portolet at the running track over on the east side of the school, greatly adding to the value of Gwynn Park as a ride start. 

We joined a nice group of riders at North Keys Community Park, including Joan Oppel  testing her mettle after a layoff due to injury.  Jenn Weiss of the Arlington Babes on Bikes was happy to point out that after a few rides with me as a guest, she'd joined Oxon Hill and was suggesting some of her Babes & Babe Magnets regulars do the same.  Everyone agreed, OHBike is the best value around in local bike clubs, by far.  We had a delightful ride down to Patuxent River Park.  After a break at the pavilion, we rode down to the start of the CADT and spent a few minutes touring in the Indian village, then took the long way to Merkle for a second rest stop.  After the Merkle stop Joan and Barbara took a direct route back to the park, while the rest of us went down to the one-room Nottingham Schoolhouse and then followed in the tracks of the Redcoats up Tanyard and back to the park.

Another gorgeous Spring day that happened to be Easter Sunday.  Ten riders joined me, eight members (Doug Lesar, Carol Torgan, Darryl Watson, Nancy Avitabile, Richard Edelman, Ken Meredith,  Brad Francisco,  Andrea Noseck) and two guests (Ron Leak and Deborah Grande).  The group fractured into the faster, the lost, and the B pacers.  As for the lost, a few of the riders missed an immediate left turn from Rutland onto Bell Branch.  They realized the error at the bottom of Rutland, back tracked to get back on the route, but ended up climbing Rutland twice!  They got a good climbing workout.  Brad had a flat which he was able to repair unassisted, and still got to the rest stop before the rest of the group.  Everyone variably met up at the store 1 mile before the rest stop where some opted to skip going to the water to continue on the ride, and others going to the water.  Of note, the store at the end of Galesville Rd was open!!  It is a wine and spirits shop that also sells snacks and soft drinks.  The owner of the building/store is aware that cyclists frequent that area and hopefully will have products that we want.  The return trip was uneventful except that one cyclist was really suffering from the pollen in the air.  So we took our time going back, with a short cut taken by the allergy sufferer to get him back sooner.  Overall, a good ride on a beautiful Spring day. 

Name of Ride:  Oak Ridge/Water Views.  A/B ride.

Leader:  Barbara Haney and Bob Howell

Members:  Sherwood Byers, Ron Haney, George Valenzuela, Brad Francisco, Randy Hadden, Tom Short, Alan Kurzweil, Brian Dixon, Samson Samson, J Taylor, Stewart Morgan, Karen Morgan and Sue Estes.

Guests:  Chris Teves.

Route:  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/15536444.

Weather:  Cloudy and 58 at ride start.  Sunny and 75 at ride end.

AMS:  16.2 average for the B group.  Barbara will report the average for A and AA group.

Distance:  51.1 miles.

Mechanicals/Mishaps:  None.

Report:  Today was a day for "We Hads".  We had cloudy and cool.  We had sunny and nice.  We had AA riders.  We had A riders.  We had B riders.  We had CC riders.  We had close to 25 riders.  We had 2 water view stops.  We had a Chaptico Market rest stop.  We had Amish Land views.  We had in my opinion a good route.  So in conclusion we had a great day!  The End.  

Leader: Barbara Haney, co-leading with Bob Howell 

Route: see Bob's report for details; beautiful St. Mary's County roads and as-advertised Water Views, Chaptico Mkt ice cream 

Weather: superb

AMS: 17.9 for leader 

Report: A spinoff of Bob's very thorough report: INDEED we did have all those things, and we had a pretty numerous group of spirited riders who completed the route in A / AA territory. Inspired by Brad's pace-setting, he, Samson and Sue ended the ride with a 19+AMS. Ron rode part with them and ended with 18.3.  Randy, Chris, Barbara, George and Brian all finished in the 17-18 range, and Stuart paced us strongly in the first section. A good day for all, considering some are just getting their riding legs back. Thanks to Bob for this nice route, and thanks to all who came out!

Ride leader: Steve Palincsar

Members: Deb Reynolds, Chris Roell, Karen McMillan, Pat Walthers, Robin Frei, Jill Minnervia, Jenn Weiss, Jim Carlson (all of whom signed as members but some of whom might actually have been guests)

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/15536444

Weather: High 50s/low 60s at the start, rising to 79-81 by the time the CC group arrived.  Cloudy for the first hour or so, but then the skies cleared and the sun came out; for most of the day it was far sunnier than the forecast, and much warmer as well.

Mishaps & mechanicals: nothing worse than a chain drop in the first 4 miles.

AMS: 13.2-13.8, perhaps slightly higher in the front of the ride.

The A's averaged 18 mph because they "were just getting their legs back?"  We should only have legs like that!  A fabulous day for a bike ride, and a great group.

Leader:  Mia Haynes

Co-Leader:  Reggie Stokes

Members:  Rod Barnes, Reggie Stokes, Monique Kinteh, and Walt Roscello

Today one of my riders, Monique Kinteh, was hit by a car at the entrance to Lackey high school on Chicamuxen Road.  Walt was riding slightly ahead of her when the crash occurred.  Reggie, Rod, and I were at the light waiting on them to catch up when a driver asked us if we were waiting on anyone and informed us that someone was hit.

As we were heading back, you could hear the ambulances and police approaching.  Walt was with Moe, holding her hand and letting her know he was there.  The driver was there, visibly shaken.  So I agree with Walt when he wrote, “despite the occurrence of the crash itself, the driver deserves credit for stopping immediately and accepting responsibility for the crash.”

As Walt also wrote in his club e-mail, “it appears her injuries are a (possibly severely) broken wrist and a bruised or broken ankle.  Luckily she did not indicate pain elsewhere and stayed conscious and lucid in the aftermath.” She was taken to Prince George’s Hospital Trauma Center, where they splint her wrist so she will be able to go home until having surgery.  I thank God she is okay and there were not more severe injuries.

As we were resting at Ollie’s Moe mentioned today was her anniversary day – 1 year – of riding with the club.  We rode well today, we completed 24 miles in 1 hour 38 minutes averaging – according to mapmyride – a 14.3 moving speed.  Despite the accident, you rode excellent today Moe, I am very proud of you.

I thank Walt for being the pillar she needed; Reggie and Walt for ensuring the proper information was gathered (i.e. pictures); Rod and Reggie for going back and getting my car while I stayed on the scene with Walt.  We all pitched in and did our best, and I thank each and every one of you for being there.