“For the love of the people and the ride” - Michael Blaine

Class: AA/3
Category: Express
Description: Graceful aggression for the year's initial; the resolute instinctively preserving close formation for the course, determination synchronized and unwavering against a cruel adversary --rain or even snow of no equal.
Speed Limit Imposed: None
Colors: CJE kits always welcome
Start Time & Location: 5:30 pm, Casey Jones Restaurant, La Plata, MD

The Course

Location: Charles
Distance: 25.8mi (TT segment is 25.1mi and used for CJE records and PRs)
Gain: 701ft
Rest Stops: None
Max Grade: 5.1%

The Ride

Honors • R.Golding • D.Hearn • M.Biffel • D.Kemp • D.Hoefert • A.Harris • M.Blaine • C.Chiamulera

KOM • Robert Golding (Oct 12, 2016 –59:48, 25.2 mph)
QOM • Claire Chiamulera (Aug 22, 2012 – 1:07:56, 22.2 mph)
Founders • Benny Budd and Joni King
Host • Paul Bales/Casey Jones Restaurant

Riders: Four – Michael Blaine, Paul Bales, Blake Altman, Scott Walker
Weather: Sunny, 48 degrees cooling to 42 with strong winds from the NW at 18 gusting to 25
AMS: 18.6 mph
Mishaps & Mechanicals: We stopped for a moment at the bottom of St Mary’s just long enough for Paul to quickly adjust his rear brakes.
Report: Thank you gentlemen for a beautiful ride.  The savage winds and temps on our return up the unsheltered 301 corridor made for a tough, but oddly fitting opener especially considering the camaraderie and teamwork always demonstrated on these rides under these conditions.  I'm confident a wonderful season is to follow.

Ride leader: Steve Palincsar

Members: Joan Oppel, Linda Bankerd, Mike Bivens, Tom Roberts, Ron Haney and Darryl Lowery.  Tom Short was also there at 10:00, but he rode a different route by himself.

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/10783637  41 miles, 1060' of elevation.  The route goes up 'the back way' to Accokeek, then down Farmington and across 210 to Livingston and into The Preserve.  Entering on Medinah Ridge and exiting on Danville, the route then continues to Accokeek Rd and as originally cued, stops at the Accokeek East Community Park.  However, the portolets (like the swallows) haven't returned Accokeek for Spring yet, so we skipped it and had a rest stop at the WaWa on Western Parkway instead. 

That detour was not without incident: my bad, I erroneously told the riders to go left to Gardner to skip the park, forgetting that in fact Gardner was to the right, just not as far down the road as Accokeek Park.  That gave the B group (which by now was missing Darryl, who turned back because he felt cold) some bonus miles and allowed Joan and me to catch up, so it was not without benefit.

After the rest stop and my flat tire we visited the Circles of Fur and Feathers (no fish course today, due to mileage restrictions) then took the Indian Head Rail Trail across Bumpy Oak (where Mike turned right because he was under time pressure) to Hawthorne and took Chapmans Landing back to Bryans Road.

Weather: Spring weather finally arrived, but not until we were done with the ride.  At the start it was  heavily overcast gray, damp and chilly - high 40s but felt more like the low 40s.  Ever so gradually it warmed up, and by the time we crossed Bumpy Oak it had brightened up.  As we arrived at Bryans Road the skies cleared, the sun came out and it warmed up to almost 60 degrees.

Mishaps & mechanicals: As I was getting ready to leave the rest stop at the WaWa I discovered my back tire had softened during the break.  While checking the back tire for the source, I picked out enough glass and flint shards for five flats. 

AMS: 12.8 in the CC group, obviously higher for the B group.

Today we played "Ten Little Indians [And Then There Were None]".  We lost Tom Short before we left the parking lot, and then before the first rest stop Darryl turned back because he felt cold.  We stayed more or less together until we passed by the second rest stop at the 7-Eleven, but shortly after making the turn on Middletown Tom and Ron went off on their own.  Here came Tom headed back towards White Plains, and then Mike turned off at Bumpy Oak; Joan, Linda and I finished together.  It was a winter day in the morning and a spring day when we finished.

Photo

Ride leader: Steve Palincsar

Members: Barb & Ron Haney, Desiree Holkon, Lou Dallorso, Mike Bivens, Bob Howell, Larry Peed, Karen McMillan

Guests: None

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19665361 40 miles, 991' of elevation gain

Weather: a beautiful first day of spring.  Blue skies (until well after 2 pm, anyway, at which point it became overcast) bright warm sun, breezy to at times downright windy - into Seagull Training by the end of the ride - with temperatures in the 40s at ride start, rising to the high 50s by afternoon.

Mishaps & mechanicals: none

AMS: 13.1 in the CC group, a bit higher for the five Bs.

An unexpectedly large turn-out this beautiful morning.  Barb Haney was back from Europe, Karen McMillan had just returned from a Caribbean cruise, and it's been what, a year or more since Desiree has ridden us.  After heading right from the park we followed Oaks Rd to the Three Notch Trail and rode it all the way to its end at Laurel Grove Park, safely navigating the dreaded Mantraps of Polska with the help of a little Marco - Polo to focus the attention.  After a break in the park we took Laurel Grove and Kavanaugh to Loveville, its flat, wide shoulders strewn here and there with Mennonite Horse Leavings to Busy Corner.    The usually tricky crossing of MD-5 was easy and traffic-free this morning.  From there we took Colton Point (more wide shoulders) to Dr Johnson past the tractor at Friendly Hall Farm to Chaptico Rd (lovely and smooth since the re-paving, no more thump-thump-thump every few

yards down to a second rest stop at the Chaptico Store.  We stayed a while at the store enjoying the lovely day, then headed north on Mechanicsville Rd (more lovely flat shoulders) back to the Three Notch Trail.  We turned west on MD-6 into the wind, our Seagull Training Session interrupted briefly by a small diversion on Roundhill Rd providing a welcome relief from the wind, then followed Keech and Oaks back to the park.  In all, a splendid welcome to spring!

Leader:  Pete Czapiewski

Members:  Blake Altman, Cynthia Anderson, Jessica Livingston, John Wilson, Scott Walker, Steve Koegle

Guests: John Schiavo

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19641092 . 47.5 miles, 2190 feet elevation gain. Out and back from Fort Hunt Park to Hallowing Point and Mason Neck Park.

Weather:  Sunny, 45-50 degrees F. Breezy with NNW winds at 14 mph.

AMS:  17.0 mph

Mechanicals/Mishaps: Stuck Speedplay pedal cleat.

Report:

    After a cold and grim morning with drizzle and snow flurries, the sun came out and quickly warmed the air and dried the pavement in time for this ride. John S., John W., Steve, and Cynthia all rode to and from the ride start. Our group of eight enjoyed an early season aerobic effort, with no one dropped. We rode together well in pace lines, with very minor regrouping on the biggest hills. We followed the March 5th AA ride route, but added a five mile flat loop to the end of Gunston Road. This extension took us past some nice, upscale homes featuring tennis courts and private boat docks along the Potomac before the rest stop in Mason Neck Park.

    On the return trip, John S. turned off on Colchester Road to take the long way back, for 75 miles total. At the top of Colchester, Jessica realized that both her cleats were jammed and that she couldn’t release her feet. The pedals and cleats were apparently contaminated with mud. Fortunately, Jessica didn’t crash, and was able to stop next to a post, where she had to pull her feet out of her shoes. The other riders stopped and helped release the shoes then clean out the cleats and pedals with a stream of bottle water.

    Thanks to everyone for coming out and working so well together. 

https://www.facebook.com/pg/ohbike/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1680400461975943

A cloudy day turned bright sunny and temperatures hovered in the 50's. It was a terrific biking day, and the riders who joined in thanked me for the late Friday, nearly last-minute decision to post this ride.  We took a 17 mile route through Chesapeake Beach to the Herrington Harbor market - where nearly everyone had the usual snacks - PBJ sandwich, Clif Bar, nuts, trail mix. One rider however ordered a hot dog and french fries for a true mid-ride boost.

Thanks to Linda Bankerd, Chantal Briere, Pano Gianniotis, Steve Palincsar and Bob Thompson for being great riding companions today.

Class: AA/3
Category: Sport
Description: DST AA-Opener with the Polar Bears
Speed Limit Imposed: None
Colors: None
Start: 11:30 at the Manokeek Village Center

The Course

County: PG (start) and Charles
Distance: 42.0 miles
Gain: 1112 ft
Max Grade: 5.9%
Rest Stops: Ollie’s

The Ride

Riders:  Thirteen – Blake Altman, Steve Koegle, John Hartsfield, Robert Golding, Matthew Lewandowski, John Wilson, Jill Patterson, Michael Blaine, Pete Czapiewski, Cynthia Anderson, Anthony Carter, Tom Roberts, Scott Walker
Weather: Sunny, 32 degrees "warming" to 38 w/winds from the WNW at 9
Moving Time: 2:02:41
AMS: Seven in the first group at 20.6 mph
Mishaps/Mechanicals: None
Report: Brisk today with temps in the 30’s and strong winds at times.  But everyone enjoyed the sunny outing, despite the cool temps and wind, and especially with Stella’s arrival looming.  The riders split into two groups over the first half of the course and then joined back up at Ollie’s for a quick snack and a few laughs.  For the return, three groups saw everyone back smiling –with a sweep from Blake, Matthew, and me over the remainder of the course resulting in a very pleasant 18.4 average.  Thanks to all for coming out and making this a fantastic ride!

Ride leader: Steve Palincsar

Members: Linda Bankerd, Sherwood Byers, Pano Gianniotis

Weather: mostly cloudy at the start, windy and 33 degrees.  By mile 10 the clouds were gone and it had warmed up to the low 40s, where it stayed all day.  The wind stayed as well.

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/17589955  40 miles, 1400' of climbing.  We started in La Plata, heading south on Glen Albin and Springhill Newtown, then Rt 6 to Cooksey.  The route went up Cooksey, down Newport Church, then back on Bowling and Trinity Church to a rest stop at Gilbert Run Park.  Returning from the park we went down Kentucky, then took Bowling back to Stein's Store and Allen's Fresh and then climbed Penn's Hill (140' elevation gain and 9% max grade, the most notable hill in the area) descended Cooksey, then took 6 back to La Plata (into the wind all the way).

Mishaps & mechanicals: 5 miles into the ride, having completed the descent on 6 we heard a POW that sounded like a .22 cal pistol.  Sherwood's back tire had developed a cm long vertical cut.  The tube poked out and blew.  He booted the tire but neither he nor Linda had a lot of confidence in the repair because last year on the Indian Head 100 Linda had had the identical blowout and in her case the boot didn't last a quarter mile before failing again, so they both turned around and rode back to the ride start, abandoning the ride.  Pano and I continued on.

AMS: 12.8

It was windy today and chilly at the start.  Even if we hadn't been living under the threat of a snowstorm there would have been no doubt winter was back.  But with the right clothes and the right attitude, a day like this can be a great day for riding, and today was just that.  Pano was out with his new Rivendell custom.  The frame had been featured in Rivendell's blog a couple of weeks ago and had generated much discussion on a couple of mailing lists I'm on, and it was a treat to see it in real life.  It seemed like a perfect bike for Pano today.  The ride was made even more special knowing it would likely be the last good day for riding for a while.  I hope the contingent heading off later this week to Bike Florida will actually be able to travel!  At least my snow shovels are still on the front porch ready for action, where they've been all this "spring" and "summer"...

Ten riders plus the leader showed up in the sunny but slightly windy parking lot. Most of us started off with a bit too much outer clothing given the 70 degree temperature predictions.  Ken and Lou rode to the start.  We spread out, regrouped at Merkle, but the slower group was delayed into the finish line by a dropped chain and a possible flat tire (the tire was losing air but since we were only 2 1/2 miles from the end, we added air and made it back). The route provided good wind protection with only a couple of short stints where the wind was full in our faces.

Thanks to Linda Bankerd, Lou D'Alloroso, Bob Howell, Jane Hudnall, Alan Kurzweil, Ken Meredith, Larry Peed, Steve Palincsar, Sam Perry, and Loretta Troen for joining me today. 

Photo here.

Leader:  Ron Altemus

Members:  Larry Peed, Steve Palincsar, Holly Carr, Tom Short, Darryl Lowery, Bob Howell, Mike Bivens, Joan Oppel, Same Perry, Alan Kurzweil, Chris Fairhall, Lou Dall'Orso

Route:  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19278736  Recapping:  Pomfret to the IHRT, Middletown/Turkey Hill, and Mitchell to the monastery for our first rest stop. Continuing on via Mitchell to Hawthorne east, Quailwood, MD-6 west, Rose Hill then Hawthorne, Ripley, and Poorhouse for a second rest stop at the Pisgah Store. Mason Spring, Pisgah Marbury, Chicamuxen, the IHRT, and a climb up Bumpy Oak concluded this particular outing.

Weather:  Pleasant day, above average for a typical March 7:  59 at ride start hitting 69 enroute.  The sun showed up at the start and stayed with us for most of the ride.  Winds out of the S/SSW, sustained at over 20 mph for long stretches, was the only detriment.

AMS:  swept at 12.7; 14.5 noted for the faster riders.

Report:  A great turnout of riders showed up for a mostly uneventful ride.  At ride start, the route was touted as a warm-up for the OHBTC Bike Florida contingent with the climbs of Rose Hill and Bumpy Oak preparation for the elevation challenges of Florida.  Though jesting about the climbs, the fierce headwinds on the flat stretches (parts of Mitchell, MD-6 W, and Hawthorne) became the true harbinger of possible FL conditions.  Nothing like pedaling constantly into a headwind with absolutely no declines to provide a break.

Today, we quickly separated into a fast group (B riders) and the usual CC contingent.  Lou was a bit late in arriving as he rode from home but caught up with us on Livingston before Pomfret.  Both groups socialized at the two rest stops and the final push up Bumpy Oak was painless for the majority of riders.

The club's new Madame President, Holly, along with immediate past President Sam, and nth past President Mike, all rode today.  It is always nice to see an incumbent and their predecessors able to get along so well.

There were 3 of us that took advantage of warmer temperatures in the afternoon, it was around 40 at ride start.  That's much better than the high 20's of the morning.  Janell Saunders, Ken Meredith, and I headed off after talking with some of the club members  that  had done the earlier Manokeek ride, led by John Gorman.  I was happy to lead from the rear as this was the inaugural ride for my newest acquisition, a (used) cross bike.  We modified the route a bit by taking a side street after the rest stop to avoid Washington St (LaPlata) which does not have a shoulder and can be busy with car traffic.  The ride was uneventful.  Janell left us about 2 miles from the finish to head home (she had ridden to the ride srart).  All in all, a good ride.  Ride leader ended with 35.7 miles at 14 mph.