Back to Starbucks for a Sunday ride; I was joined by Diane Harris, Larry Peed, Barb and Ron Haney, Alan Kurzweil, and Janell Saunders.  We toured our way down 28, up Middletown, across Marshall and Down Rose Hill across 301 to the Dash In.  That was 18 miles into the ride, and the group decided to cut off the Spring Hill Newton Road loop in the interest of saving day light.  Instead, we toured quickly down Washington Street, up Marshall Hall, up Bumpy Oak and back to the start, which gave us 34 miles.  For now, we will cut this ride back to the standard 32 mile loop until we get more afternoon day light after the New Year.

We held our Sunday morning Mountain Bike Ride at Cedarville state park starting at 9:30 am. We were able to get started at 9:30am and picked up the trail following the course counter clockwise. Despite the cold weather and the leave covered trails everyone had a great time.

Barry Howard

Ride Leader

Barbara and Ron Haney were the only other riders that came to join me on this ride.  We discussed whether to ride now or wait til Holly's 1:00 pm ride from the Manokeek Shopping Center.  Since the temperature was under the 40 degree cutoff for club rides, we decided to wait and do Holly's later ride.  So, ride cancelled. 

With predictions of chilly weather and winds of 10-25mph, the intrepid group of 10 headed up the trail toward White Plains. But somehow, the winds were not so bad, even on the return trip......amazing! Temps were chilly tho', around 45degrees at both the start and finish. This was a "joint" ride with PPTC, with Cindy Marisch as leader, joined by Steve Forman, also an OHBike member. For OHBike, the members included Leader Polly Choate, Calvin Conyers, Reggie Stokes, Rodney Palmer, Belinda Acre, Jim Hudnall, and guests David Crawford and Derek Hall. On the trail, we merged in and out of Sherwood's longer ride. After regrouping at White Plains, most folks just returned to Indian Head. Jim, Polly and Cindy rode to Russi's for a cup of coffee to check it out. Thanks to all who came out!

Thank you so much to Bob Howell, Larry Peed, Tom Roberts, Rob Golding, and Pete Czapiewski for joining me to ride today!  Our diverse crew ended up being more of an A/AA group, rather than the A/B pace group I'd anticipated.  I appreciate Rob, Tom and Pete for having patience and a kind sense of humor as I missed one turn and then another in the Brandywine/Baden/Horsehead/Aquasco Burmuda Triangle.  Thankfully we got back on route without too much additional mileage, and easily rejoined Bob and Larry at Moreland Market.

After Moreland Larry decided that a recent break from riding had left him a little less conditioned than his usual and he opted to reduce the mileage a bit and take Cedarville back to the park.  Bob decided to stay with Larry, and they finished with a solid 30-miles and 16.7 AMS.

Rob, Tom and I had pedaled from home to the ride start, so Tom parted ways with us at Accokeek giving him 56.5 miles for the day; Rob kept going down Brandywine as Pete and I headed back to the park.  Pete finished with 39.3 miles...just a tad more than the advertised 37, with an 18.3 AMS.  I made it back home with 51 miles and a 17 AMS, thankful for a nice weather day and an fantastic group of people to ride with!

We held our annual Mountain Bike Turkey Day ride at Rosaryville state park in conjunction with the Bike Doctor. We were able to rake the group into two groups, with the first group out of the gate "A" riders, after the dust settled the second group started. Both groups met up on the trail to make sure no one was left behind. The First group picked up the inner loop in a figure 8 pattern, and the second group did the half loop on the inner loop. At the end of the inner loop everyone regrouped and finished up the ride.

Everyone had a great time

Barry Howard

Ride Coordinator

Weather:   Plenty of sunshine, temp range of 43-47, 13 mph WNW winds. 

AMS:  13.4 sweeping, undoubtedly faster for some riders.

Report:  We were happy to welcome a couple of Burke Babes to our ride this morning.  The CC group broke apart a bit for the first leg but Jim Hudnall rode with the touring contingent (basically for the whole route).  Mitchell Rd had an overeager driver or two, fortunately nothing serious occurred.  The tailwind that propelled us as far as Valley disappeared when we headed west on Rte 6.  Poorhouse was a bit of a slog at times but after our Pisgah store rest stop, the wind didn't seem as bad.  We rode back with a number of the Bs from there as they too had split into a faster group and others.  Item to note:  we not only visited Mt Carmel but also tracked across mighty Mt Pisgah and rode by Mt Aventine on Chapman's Landing.  So a three mount day!  All in all, another great day and ride.

Leader: Barbara Haney

Members: Ron Haney, Larry Peed, Jill Patterson, Jim Hudnall, Karen Morgan, Pete Czapiewski, Tom Roberts

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/17777853 (for a detailed route description, see Ron Altemus' CC ridereport), a clockwise loop from Bryans Road that took us as far south as Port Tobacco after a stop at the Mt. Carmel Monastery, then back via Pisgah / Marbury and up Chapmans back to start

Weather: low 40s to start, never even reached 50, steady, chilly winds; windchill started in the 30s and ended in mid-40s. The sun was out but wasn't helping much.

AMS: 15.8 for leader but faster at front, around 18 or so

Mechanicals/Mishaps: One flat tire in the early miles on the Rail Trail, one mirror malfunction

Report:  No, it wasn't Polar Bear weather yet, but despite the sun, it felt undeniably chilly this morning and never really got much warmer. Finally everyone had to admit that winter gear was unavoidable: tights, shoe covers, and multiple layers were essential. We welcomed Jill as a new club member, then set off with Larry leading at a healthy A/AA pace. Jim stopped to adjust his mirror on Bumpy Oak, later joining the CCs. Pete had a flat on the IHRT, with Jill, Karen and Barb deciding to pedal on and let the guys take care of the mechanical. We regrouped at Mt. Carmel, a pleasant stop on their sheltered porch with the opportunity to warm up indoors and admire the handmade knits for sale. At Pisgah store, Pete, Tom, Jill and Larry stopped only briefly; the rest of us stayed a bit longer enjoying the sun with the CCs, then joined them for the final miles. It still felt cold back at the cars. Thanks to all who came out despite the chilly breezes--riding into the wind builds character, right?

We were able to hold our Sunday morning ride at Cerdarville just after the cold front had came thru and covered the trails with leaves. The leaf covered trail was hard to follow and hard to see the roots in the trail, but we managed to have a great time.

Barry Howard

Ride Leader