Leader: Jean Wright

Members: Diane Harris, Ken Meredith, Tom Short

Route: http://www.ohbike.org/cuesheets/laurel_springs45gilbert_run.pdf

Weather:  Sunny, gorgeous Fall day. Started out at 55 degrees with gentle breeze and ended at 64 degrees with gusts up to 17 mph.  

AMS: 15.3

Mechanicals/Mishaps:  None

Report: We started and ended our ride with gratitude.  Grateful for the beautiful weather, the fact that we came out and rode together, and Ken's superior wind-blocking ability (a true super power).  We layered on the clothes as we started out in the chilly morning air and adjusted our layering during our rest stop.  The ride to Gilbert Run Park offered us the last show of autumn color, as we rode through showers of gentle falling leaves that crunched under our tires.  At Gilbert Run Park, we found a sunny picnic table where we enjoyed the pond and trees and chatted about cycling and other happenings.  The conversation and company was so good, we probably stayed a bit longer than usual.  Finally, we began the second half of the route, but during that short rest time something had changed, the wind.  It was now gusting.  We took turns leading the pace line, but Ken graciously led most of the way back to Laurel Springs Park.  Despite the wind gusts, it was a very enjoyable ride.  

Ride Leader:  Blake Altman

Date: November 6, 2016

Ride Name:  White Marsh-Sotterley

Ride Distance: 55 Miles

Average Speed of the Ride:  18.8

Ride Class:  AA/3 Sport

Mechanical Issues: None

Mishaps: None

Weather:  Upper 50’s to 60’s, sunny, windy

Guest Riders:  None

Member Riders:  Steve Koegle, Darin King, Mike Wilson, Pete Czapiewski, Brad Francisco, Scott Walker

Ride Report:

We had another good turn-out for today's ride; that makes two weekends in a row!  While we were getting ready to start we noted that the wind was pretty significant; we have definitely ridden in worse wind but we knew it would be a factor on the ride.

When got to Budd’s Creek Road the traffic was all backed-up.  Our supposition was that this was for the race track and we proceeded down the shoulder past the traffic.  There were some tense moments with cars also trying to use the shoulder and probably some hostility toward us for passing.  I felt a bit guilty about it until we passed the race track; it was quite a while until anyone passed us so I knew everyone was in fact going the track.  After that, another cyclist made a U-turn as we approached; we said hello as we passed and I thought maybe he would hop on our pace line but that was the last we saw him.

We were all pretty much together all the way down to the rest stop with only minor splitting and rapid regrouping.  Darin was already planning to short-cut from the rest stop to the return and Mike decided to join him.  Strava says that they had a 44 mile ride which is still a pretty good distance.

The rest of us continued on the route.  It seemed like we had had the wind behind us more than against us heading for the rest stop which would make for harder trip back.  This was true but it was still a good ride and a nice day.

Members: Tom Short, Melissa Watson, Bob Howell, Mike Bivens, Linda Bankerd, Roscoe Williamson, Andrea Noseck, Karen Morgan, Stu Morgan, Chris Fairhall, Janell Saunders, Sherwood Byers
Guests: Shane Nop
Ride leader: Debby Bowman
Route: 47 miles, 1945 feet of climbing, https://ridewithgps.com/routes/5054117
Average speed: Just under 14 mph at the back
Weather: Warm sunshine, cloudless blue skies, temps in the 60s.
Mishaps and mechanicals: Ride leader had a flat tire at the first turn.
Farm yard animal roll call: some all-black cows, a friendly horse who said hello as Janell and I rode past, several friendly dogs, a rooster crowing in the early afternoon
Half-brown, half-white goat on Fishers Station Rd: must have been hiding today. But his goat friends were out in the yard with the large fluffy white dogs.

It was a great bike ride on a beautiful day. We had a large turnout, 14 riders in all. The start was less than auspicious, as my rear tire went flat, suddenly, completely and noisily, less than half a mile from the start. Shane and Andrea heard the noise and stopped with me; Andrea tried to get the attention of the riders in front but they didn't hear her and continued on ahead. A friendly driver pulled up alongside Janell, rolled down his window and told her that someone in her group had stopped with a problem. So Janell, Linda, Bob and Sherwood turned back and joined the pit crew. Together they replaced the tube, found the hole in the tire, examined it to determine if we were seeing a small piece of glass or part of the tire, glued a boot over the hole just in case, and reassembled everything and pumped up the tire so it was good as new. We didn't find any glass or other debris in the tire, so we don't know what caused the hole but it must have been sharp.

After that the ride was uneventful. Tom stopped briefly at the first stop and then took advantage of a short cut, as he had just returned from the other side of the world and was low on sleep. We look forward to riding with him again and hearing about his travels soon. The rest of us spread out on the road but reunited at the rest stops and again at the end for some post-ride conversation.

The route was one that we've done a couple of times before. It was mostly clockwise, going up to Harwood at first, then down Owensville/Sudley and Swamp Circle to our first stop in Deale. Then we continued south on Rockhold Creek, Deale Rd and Franklin Gibson to Leitch Rd (the easy way), Town Point and Fairhaven (the hard way) to Friendship Rd. Then we cut over on Boyds Turn and took 5th St down to the bay. After enjoying a stop at Chesapeake Market's outdoor tables, we rode up Friendship Rd and headed back via Wilson/McKendree/Jewel and a spin through the Pindells.

After the ride I drove down to Wrighton Rd to check out the road work that began there recently. There are no shoulders on Bay Front Rd near Route 4 and the pavement is milled down in spots. Also the service road on the west side of Route 4 south of Wrighton appears closed. We saw detour signs on both sides on the highway including one with a bicycle on it. However the work only affects that immediate area.

Many thanks to everyone who joined me for this ride!

Ride Leader:  Calvin Conyers

Members:  Polly Choate, Larry Peed, Dan Donahue, Belinda Acre, Rodney Palmer, Walter Measley

Guest:  Terry Butler

Incidents:  None

Report:  The weather was as promised; clear skies, sunny, little wind, and warming as the ride progressed.  With sufficient layers at the start,  this was truly a great day for riding.  In addition to our group, there were many other groups out on the trail today which I estimate at well over 60 riders  in all.  Walter and I had the pleasure of riding a good portion of our return trip with members of one group that were experiencing the trail for the first time.  Hopefully they will accept our invitation to join us on our trail ride on Nov 26 after Thanksgiving that will be lead by Polly. (Put it on your schedule.)

It was great to have members and guest come out today.  We had so much fun that A few of us decided to have lunch at Mexico Restaurant (site of our upcoming volunteers dinner) to celebrate.  Hope you can join us on our next ride.

WHERE WAS EVERYONE? Jim Hudnall joined me for the IHRT ride today. 

We met Judy Muddy and Bev White, doing their usual ride Friday ride.  It was much cooler than yesterday, but we survived.  After the ride Jim and I headed to George's for lunch but it was closed for renovations. We decided to join Judy and Bev, who were heading to Mama Stella's, where we enjoyed a nice lunch and conversation.  

Ride leader: Steve Palincsar

Members: Rita Z, Bob Howell, Holly Carr, Alan Kurzweil, Larry Peed, Ron & Barb Haney, Jim Hudnall, Tom Roberts, Diane Harris, Barry Winkleman, Linda Bankerd

Weather: A very chilly-feeling 76 at the start, rising to a record-setting 83 by early afternoon.  Bright, sunny skies at the start, with a weather forecast of some chance of rain (either 15 or 50%, depending on the source) by 2 pm.  As it happened, by 1:30 the sky had gone from clear with a few high clouds to overcast with some dark gray/blue clouds, and there was a desultory drizzle on Rt 5 near the Beltway on the drive home but no actual rain.

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/17446815  Just under 40 miles with 2048' of elevation gain.  I offered a short cut reducing the length of the ride by almost 10 miles, skipping the leg from Bald Eagle School to McGruders Landing and back in the event of a deteriorating weather forecast, and as it happened when the group I was riding with (Jim, Holly and Diane) encountered the fast group on Bald Eagle School Rd we decided to turn around and head back to Nelson Perrie, shortening the route by about 6 miles - not on account of the weather, but instead we did it "For the brownies."

Mishaps & mechanicals: I had a flat on the Merkle entrance road.  This turned out to be a blessing in disguise: while fixing the flat I discovered the rear tire was far more worn than I expected and was due for replacement.  Far better to discover this in the daytime at Merkle than in the dark on the road in the course of a 200K brevet on the Eastern Shore, which I will be riding on Saturday, on that bike.  Everyone left while I was fixing the flat, but as I was finishing up Jim, Holly and Diane came back and rode with me.

AMS: 12.someting

It was Jim's birthday, and Holly baked brownies.  We had a taste as we left the park, but the main event was saved for our return, hence Holly's eagerness to arrive at the park close to the fast group, rather than arriving a half-hour after they all left, as would have been the case had we not cut the route short. 

Jim posted photos on Facebook.

Here's looking at you, Jim!  Happy birthday.

Ride leader: Steve Palincsar

Members: Daryl Lowery, Jan Tucker, Holly Carr, Larry Peed, Alan Kurzweil, Pat Walthers, Jim Hudnall, Barb & Ron Haney, Tom Roberts and at least one other who joined the group en route

Guests: Grace Williams (who used to live in the area but moved to Colorado and was back visiting)

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/17440347  38 miles, 1431' of elevation gain, rest stops at Pisgah and Welcome; made at least a mile longer by visiting Pisgah Park instead of the Pisgah Store for the first break, ISO rest rooms.

Weather: overcast, cloudy, breezy; 50s rising to 60 or 61.  Cold if you weren't dressed for it, but once under way and with the right clothes, remarkably fine for cycling.

Mishaps & mechanicals: Tom Roberts had a flat: hardly surprising, as he'd spotted the cut in his tire in the parking lot before we left.  Alan offered a spare tire and Holly offered glue to hold the cut together, but he refused both offers.  Repairs were uneventful and quickly effected.

AMS: 13.4 at the back, undoubtedly much, much higher in the AB group.

Photos

Ride Name: Halloween Eve Ride in Southern Maryland.

Leader:  Bob Howell.

Members:  Pano Gianniotis. 

Guests:  None.

Route:  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/17399443.

Weather:  Fantastic for this time of year.  I am sure that many were out and about today and know what the weather was like.

AMS: 16.1 for me and 16.4 for Pano. But we stayed together the entire ride.  I led for the 1st half of ride and Pano led for the 2nd half of ride.  Go figure.

Distance:  51.2 miles.

Report:  Just before 9:00 AM I was the only one at Oak Ridge Park.  A few minutes later as I was about to make a decision whether to do the ride solo or forget about the ride Pano pulled into the parking area.  What a sight for sore eyes.  People who have participated in rides from Oak Ridge Park know what a treat they are about to enjoy.  Words can not describe the scenery we observed today.  As far as the highways and byways we travelled see the GPS route number for details.  And to add to the scenery there were rest stops at Chaptico Market and Wicomico Shores.  Chaptico Market speaks for itself and the view at Wicomico Shores is just so soothing.  Great weather, great ride, and great company.  Thanks again Pano for attending the ride!  Take care.  Later.

Leader:  Calvin Conyers

Members:  Dan Donahue, Linda Bankerd, Paul Bankerd, Wal Roscello, and Rodney Palmer

Report:  With the morning football game ending in a tie, it was great to shed the frustration by getting on our bikes.  And, the weather was just perfect.  Linda's computer registered 83.  Bright Sunshine, and calm wind.  Lot's to enjoy.  The faster riders added more miles by consistently circling back to escort Paul and me at the back.  Linda added about 6 more miles this way, while both Walt and Dan had many more  from riding to the start.  It was nice visiting the Smallwood marina again.   Thanks all for coming out.

We held our Sunday Morning Mountain Bike Ride at Rosaryville starting at 9:30am. We were treated to near perfect weather, and our group grew to 10 riders. We started out on the trail clockwise, part way thru we broke into two groups with the faster riders leading. At the inner loop were able to regroup and follow the inner loop in a figure 8 pattern. After the inner loop the group re-grouped and finished up the ride. After the ride some of the riders headed over to check out cycle-cross race.

Barry Howard

Ride Leader