Ride leader: Steve Palincsar

Members: Alan Kurzweil, Holly Carr, Sam Perry, Bob Howell, Lou Dallorso, Jim & Jane Hudnall

Weather: Sunny, windy (17-20 mph, and amazingly, nearly always a headwind no matter which way we turned), low 60s to over 72.

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/18350296  Surratts backwards past Cosca Park to a rest stop at Miller Farms, then Steed, Allentown etc. to Gallahan.  Down Gallhan (topping 40 mph!) a jog on Piscataway and up the rough pavement of Floral Park to South Springfield, the first time in several years we've been there.  Closed for several years when the bridge washed out, it was re-opened last fall but the one ride that was scheduled to use it was cancelled to accommodate a rider returning from an injury.  Would it be as bad as we remembered?

Before we set out we learned that Cedarville was scheduled to close today, and would stay closed for a year while the bridge over the Mattawoman Creek was replaced.  It was anyone's guess whether it would be open for us today; discussing it before plunging down into the gorge on South Springfield, we decided to take the chance.  After careening down and laboriously grinding our way back up a slope that RWGPS says is 13% but that some GPS units on the scene were reporting as 40% (!) we took Accokeek to McKendree to a rest stop at the WaWa, then crossed US-301 and took our chance.

The road was open, but on the bridge was a guy who looked exactly like what you think of when you hear the phrase "Civil Engineer" with a map spread out on the hood of his truck.  As we passed he told us "Today is the last time you'll be riding this bridge."   The remaining miles back to North Keys Park passed uneventfully.

Mishaps & mechanicals: none

AMS: 12.3 at the back.

Just Ron Altemus and Steve Palincsar and I comprised the CC group today. (The B/A's had a much larger contingent.)  It was 18 degrees warmer than yesterday at ride start (about 47) and climbed from there into the low 50s - extremely pleasant riding conditions. So much so that our small group took 2 impromptu detours - "all" of Marbury Run Road off of Chicamuxen: the unfamiliar section at Gray's Grocery, then across Bicknell to the familiar section. At Blair Rd & the IH Trail, we went left around Jennifer, up Mattingly then rejoined the route.

After our Marbury Run jaunt, we came across Ken Meredith fixing a flat and waited to make sure his canisters worked - they did but as he got back on his bike, his gears did not work. We all stopped again to help him re-install his derailleur cable to its proper place. 

Then, less than a mile from the shopping center, your ride leader's front tire went flat. I started walking while Ron and Steve rode back and Ron came and met me almost back to the corner of Livingston and 210 (a duathlon today).  

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Leader: Barbara Haney

Members: Ron Haney, Tom Short, Tom Roberts, Darryl Lowery, Linda Bankerd, Ken Meredith, Pete Czapiewski, Anthony Carter

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/15674289, a route designed this summer to recon the beginning and ending segments of the Club Century, heading down to Indian Head, over past Myrtle Grove, around to Pisgah Store, a jog over to Smallwood State Park, then back via Chicamuxen, another jog over to Indian Head via IHRT, then back via Strauss/Hawthorne/Rt 210. A very complicated route!

AMS: 17.6 for leader, but in general all over the map 

Mechanicals/Mishaps: Several flats, probably due to roads that remained wet for most of the ride. Ride leader had 2 flats, one on Ripley, fixed quickly thanks to Ron, and another heartbreaker in the final miles north on 210, which, since I stupidly was only carrying one 650c tube, caused me to have to wait for the "sag" aka Ron (again); one flat each for Tom Short and Ken Meredith; some course confusion by Linda due to a "Trail Closed" sign on the IHRT (at Blair, I think), which, aided by GPS confusion, caused her to add a bit of distance during the second traversing of Strauss Ave. BTW, it turned out that the trail was not actually closed, but there was just a small, easily passable segment on which some work had recently been done. Some riders got off the trail at that point, others chose to continue.

Report: At least the weather cooperated: sunny, not windy, temps in the upper 40s-low 50s that were balmy in comparison to what we've been having; most of us were either shedding layers early on or just grumbling that we had overdressed. Yes, there were many incidents, but it was a very nice day for riding, it was very pleasant to stop at Smallwood Park and enjoy great views across Mattawoman Creek, and we were all grateful for a reprieve in the string of iffy conditions that had us either confined to indoor trainers or layering on Polar Bear gear. Thanks for all who came out to enjoy this ride!

Leader:  Ron Altemus

Members:  Steve Palincsar, Joan Oppel, Darrell Meyer

Route:  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/18434570  Outbound via Livingston/Mason Springs to MD-6; return via Chicamuxen/Hawthorne/MD-210.  32.9 miles; 1135' elevation gain.

Weather:   Temp range of 29-33 degrees; 9 mph breezes out of the south; overcast

AMS:  12ish

Report:  The winter corps irregulars were joined by Darrell this morning who has expressed his pleasure in finding folks that are willing to ride when the temperature is less than 40 degrees.  The route was a shortened revision of what was initially announced prompted by unfounded fears of the cold and possible icy road conditions.  Other than the road that took us into Pisgah Park for a rest stop, we saw very little ice or snow on the roads.  The wide shoulders of Chicamuxen and MD-210 were completely clear and made for good riding, the minus being the traffic noise on those more heavily travelled routes.  As always, pleasant riding in SW Charles County.

Another typical winter day for the regular Friday IHRT ride, albeit a solo expedition.  Either no snow in the greater Indian Head/White Plains metropolitan statistic area or Charles County Parks & Rec staff did a herculean job in clearing the trail and surrounding properties.  Even with temps hovering just at the freezing mark, overcast skies and intermittent weak sunshine, and NW winds about 12 mph, it was still a good day for cycling.  Only did up to White Plains and back for 20ish miles, encountering one other cyclist, two joggers, and three walkers (easily put to song).

At ride start, temperature was about 29-30 and over the course of the ride, climbed to a warm 33 but fell backwards in the snow on Fenno and St Thomas Church.  Yes, it snowed on us, but this is a very pretty route and today there was hardly any traffic and so - all that made up for chill and flakes in our faces.

Joining me for this really nice 33 mile winter ride (with indoor rest stop at the Nottingham store): Ron Altemus, Alan Kurzweil, Darrell Meyer (Guest), Steve Palincsar and Pat Walthers.

Photos Look here

Ride leader: Steve Palincsar

Members: Joan Oppel, Ron Altemus, Pat Walthers, Jessica Hirschhorn and joining us en route, Lou Dallorso

Weather: Overcast on the way down, and entering Accokeek a light drizzle began.  As the riders arrived the rain grew stronger.  Radar maps that had been clear but for snow west of the Blue Ridge two hours earlier now showed green everywhere, not at all what had been forecast.  It was still around 50 and the forecast did call for clearing skies and rising temps -- an no rain -- so we went anyway.  After five miles or so the rain stopped, and by the time we got to the first rest stop the skies cleared, the sun came out and it started getting warmer.  By the time we finished, it was in the high 50s and sunny.  They say it was breezy, but honestly I never noticed, it was just too nice a day.

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/11506734  36 miles, only 1000' of elevation gain.  Down Farmington (still as potholed as ever) and across 210, up through The Preserve on Medinah Ridge to Danville, Gardner to Acton to Hamilton, and there we found Lou Dallorso about ready to turn into his driveway after the cancellation (or so we all believed) of Holly's Manokeek ride.  Through Waldorf and around the three Circles, a bit of the IHRT, Bensville to Manning and back to Accokeek.   After my flat we decided to skip the final couple of miles, as we all were feeling some time pressure due to the delays fixing flats.

Mishaps and mechanicals: Ron had a flat just before the first rest stop at the WaWa and I had a flat near the end on the back streets of Accokeek.  Glass in both cases.

AMS: I never even checked.

Joan took some photos.

This ride report is for our buddy Bob Howell, who left us "standing in the rain".  As far as we could tell, the early morning fog was clearing (until Bob showed up).  Diane quickly covered her head with a hood, asking me if the ride was still on.  "Why wouldn't it?" I inquired.  We were assured that today's weather would bring us sunny skies and 54 degrees.  But incredibly, there was Bob standing next to Diane under a huge wet dripping cloud.  Rain was falling on them, making puddles on the pavement.  Their feet were wet. On one hand I wanted to be prudent; and, on the other, I wanted to ride.  But as I got out of the car and handed Bob the sign-in sheet, the rain drops fell on my favorite jacket and smeared the ink on the sign in sheet.  With that, Larry Peed saw a dark omen, and sped off in a flash, not even saying "good by."  Bob left for home directing me to immediately remove his name from the sign-in sheet.

I looked up at the sky and saw that it was about to clear up, but it seemed like it would be a good idea for Diane to have a chance to dry her feet and sip on coffee in the comfort of Starbucks.  We ordered our coffees and watched the heavens dry up, the blue skies appear, and felt the warmth of the sun.  Bob's puddles were receding.  We were listening to the Blues as we contemplated the ride we were about to take.  But then, in came Bob.  The sky clouds above and puddles dripping on the Starbucks tables outside.

 Bob looked down and saw his name was still crossed off the sign in sheet.  He looked at me with silent trepidation and said, "leave it like that." Bob assured us he was going home.  We said our Good Byes for a second time.

No sooner did he leave, however, when sun came out.  The skies were blue.  The weather was warm and only slightly breezy.  We rose from our Starbuck seats and mounted our bikes.  The tour took off without a hitch.  I was accompanied by Lou, Tom1 and Tom2, Linda, Diane, and Lancelot on a Serotta.    When we stopped at the light, we saw a trail of huge wet tire tracks obviously imprinted on the pavement by a Big Black Truck driven by a retired electrician.  We also saw stream of smoke and sparks trailing down the road.  Such was the last vestige of Bob as he sped away.  For us there was nothing but the sun on our backs and a blue sky overhead.  We rode on, and on, and on thought much of Bob and what the ride would have meant to him.  So, until we meet again, let us have a toast to Bob.

Ride leader: Jean Wright

Members: Blake Altman, Brad Francisco, Chris Fairmau, Ken Meredith, Mike Wilson

Weather: A pleasant surprise for January - Sunny, 50s. (I have a few pics from last year's Jan 1 ride -- we were bundled up) 

Route: 33 miles, 1079' of elevation gain

Mechanicals/mishaps: none - off to a good start for 2017

AMS: 16.5 for the leader

What a great day for a ride with a great group of riders.  It has been a while since I rode with this bunch.  As usual, they pushed me and were super courteous to wait up when I needed some recovery time. Throughout the ride, we maintained one or two smooth pace lines and stayed within sight of each other.  Very enjoyable way to start a new year!  Thanks for coming out and riding this ride.

This tour turned out to be much more than a Haines Point excursion.    But, I must start from the beginning.  We had many folks who signed up, but left the parking lot at different times and must have gone in different directions because I never saw them again.  When we got to the other side of 14th Street bridge (never mind that I had said Memorial Bridge in the ride post), we rode over 14th street bridge (where I had a flat with a tube that stuck to the tire, no spare tube and a cartridge that went off without my permission—Thanks to the Gallant Pedaling Tuba Musician who saved the day!).   Oh yes, when we reached the DC side of the 14^th street bridge, our group consisted of:  The Pedaling Musicians (Ron and Barb), Storm Troopers (Linda and Diane), an Eccentric Electrician (Bob), Riders of the Storm (Ron Altemus, Loretta and Cathy) and of course Sir Lancelot on a Serotta (Alan Kurzweil).  For some strange reason, we saw groups of bicyclists riding all over, back and forth from the capital, over the bridge and around at stop lights, to find out that the Mayor had crashed our annual party with a 5 K run.  The Park was closed, and Police were giving out tickets.  Ugh.

Storm Trooper Diane opted to ride to the Capital, and all of us followed, except the Eccentric Electrician (who later spotted by the Lincoln Memorial by Joan Oppel).  On the way there, we then decided to do none other than my favorite thing, which is to ride up to the Zoo.  We took 16^th street way up beyond the Zoo to a Rock Creek Park entrance (21 miles) where we found a rest stop with a bathroom and running water.  We shared snacks, and then rode through the park on Morrow Drive to Beech Drive and then headed South to Tilden Street (the tallest Mountain in DC).  We climbed the Mountain and headed down Connecticut Avenue to the Zoo (see pics).  From there we rode down Connecticut to Rock Creek Trail, the smooth part with few cracks and bumps back down to Haines Point for our loop.  As we headed back, we encountered another flat where Lancelot on the Serotta saved the day.   Lancelot then rode home to Camelot and the rest of us rode back through Old Town.

We were starving by that point, having ridden more than ever anticipated.  So, we had coffee at a Starbucks up on St Asaph street which was not nearly as busy as the one on Union Street.  We reached Jones point around 3 PM.  Where the last remaining Storm Troopers and the Ride Leader rode home over the Bridge.  We logged 50 miles and it was great!  THANK YOU FOR COMING!

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