We held our Sunday morning mountain bike ride at cedarville, we decided to move the ride to 2pm. The weather started our good, and as the cold front moved in the temps dropped and the rain started. In true mountain bike form we completed the ride. Everyone had a blast, riders included Randy, and Barry.

Barry Howard

Ride Leader

Class: AA/3
Category: Training
Description: Team-ride; smooth endurance miles
Speed Limit Imposed: 21 on the flats
Colors: None specified
Start: Rescheduled from 11:30 to 7:30 to beat the rain and falling temps
Location: Pisgah Firehouse

The Course

Distance: 35.7 miles
Gain: 1209 ft
Rest Stops: None scheduled
Max Grade: 5.0%

The Ride

Riders:  Blake Altman, Jill Patterson, Steve Koegle, Pete Czapiewski, Michael Blain, David Kemp, Scott Walker
Weather: Overcast w/wet roads, 58 degrees warming to 62, winds from the SW at 14 calming to less than 3
Moving Time: 1:48:18
AMS: 19.6
Mishaps/Mechanicals: We all stop on Riverside for what Blake believes is a flat rear tire.  But, when he checks he discovers it’s fine.  So, we restart only to have Blake announce a second stop “it’s actually my front tire that’s flat.”  So, we stop again and, of course, give Blake a hard time (for not knowing which tire is flat) while he pulls a new tube from his bag.  But, the new tube is split at the valve and unusable (for which he’s savagely abused again). The second tube he pulls from his bag, however, is good and quickly installed...   ...and we're off once more.  As we make the left onto Chicamuxen, Blake needs to stop again for a twig caught in his spokes…   … poor guy, this one's remedied in a few seconds --but thanks for the rest stops and all the laughs and smiles, Blake!
Report: Beautiful ride.  While there's still a lot of road-spray to go around, rescheduling for an earlier depart otherwise works well in terms of avoiding additional rain and falling temps (although in hindsight, the rain doesn't make it into the area until hours after its forecast and long after the time the ride was originally posted).  After we return, Blake immediately asks if anyone wants to do some more miles.  No takers, but he sets out on his own for a bit more.  David and Michael, who rode from home, set out for their return.  Someone asks Jill if the ride was what she expected; “I guess I was expecting more attacks…” (btw, welcome to you again, Jill, nice to have you with us).   With her response I’m not sure she could have paid the team a finer compliment.  Pete puts it best; “as Century-Team rides go, this was a smooth one.”  Yes it was; everyone light on cranks and sync’d.  Very enjoyable!  See the Clip

The weather prediction for Thursday is high of 25 degrees, with wind speeds of 22-25 mph or higher. So a small group of riders responded to my email requesting a show of interest in a "Wednesday instead" ride.  Sunny, temperatures in mid-40s, occasional moderate wind - one great day for riding.  We did a Cross Road, Molly Berry, Baden Naylor, Croom, Nottingham, Fenno & St Tom, return on Duley Station to Van Brady etc.  

The only real adventure was coming to the Brooks Church & Baden Naylor intersection, we discovered a large number of trucks and workmen repaving Baden Naylor.  In fact, one lane was freshly - very freshly - repaved.  We surprised the work crew, I think because they were monitoring Baden Naylor but not Brooks Church.  We rode the new lane's somewhat sticky surface and got through that short section.  Everyone wiped down tires at the Nottingham store.  

Thanks to Linda Bankerd, Alan Kurzweil, Pat Sanders and Pat Walthers for coming out to join me today.

Leader: Barbara Haney

Members: Ron Haney, Darryl Lowery, Bob Howell, Tom Roberts, Joni King, Jill Patterson, Pete Czapiewski, Cindy Anderson, Lou Dallorso

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/9123875 Goose Bay Redux, a clockwise route stopping at Goose Bay Marina and returning via Ironsides and Pisgah

Weather: Mostly grey skies, low to mid 40s, not too windy

AMS: 16.4 for leader, faster up front

Report: Ten of us joined Ron A and his CC contingent to head out of Bryans Road, destination Beautiful Goose Bay. With Polar Bear weather imminent later this week, we wanted to get outdoors before some of us would be confined to the trainer. The rather cold conditions were not a problem, since we were all dressed adequately and had some nice climbs to stay warm. Part of the group got a gap after a few miles and kept up a good pace until the stop at the Marina, thanks to some riders' very strong pulls (for which Ride Leader thanks you!); we were soon joined there by the others. The faster group opted to not cool down too much and took off shortly, minus two Haneys, who took a bit more break to enjoy the warmth inside the Marina Store and have hot coffee (in honor of Jim Hudnall, who couldn't join us today). The rest of us then finished the route at a nice B-ish pace. A good morning's ride; thanks to all who came out, and to Ron A for posting this nice route. I hope we don't have to wait too long to get outside (non-Polar Bear) again!

Leader:  Ron Altemus

Members:  Holly Carr, Joan Oppel

Route:   Advertised as https://ridewithgps.com/routes/9123875  Bumpy Oak/Rose Hill outbound; Mason Spring/Livingston for the return.  At Welcome, Joan/Ron opted for roads less traveled and revised our routing, taking W. Hilltop/Annapolis Woods/Poorhouse/Stuckey to rejoin the route on Mason Spring.  That stretch was much quieter!

Weather:   Overcast with just an occasional peek of sun; E/ESE breeze of 3-5 mph; temp range of 41-46.

AMS:   somewheres in the mid 12s (which just means that we got to enjoy the ride longer than the A/B minions).

Report:  After two washouts, the third time was a charm for another pleasant ride in SW Charles County.  Holly signed in with us but actually rode inbetween the two groups along with Bob Howell (who has 3000 miles in sight for the year).  Joan is still learning the intricacies of her new Garmin 1000 which leads to an occasion chuckle as to its directions, such as the "Get Off Road" admonition she was getting on Mason Spring.

It was not too windy and it was about 34 degrees at the ride start.  The sun came out a bit.  Ron, Tom, Bruce, Jean and Chris joined Sherwood and me for the ride.  We were mostly comfortable, a few cold parts here and there.  There no mechanicals. For me it was a personal low!

Leader: Barbara Haney

Members: Larry Peed, Lou Dallorso, Holly Carr, Janell Saunders, Tom Short, Sam Perry, Tom Roberts

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/16826867 Croom Rollers to the Five Points, a 36 mile route going south almost to Hughesville and back, stopping at Moreland Market

Weather: low to mid 40s, mostly overcast, not windy

AMS: 15.7 for leader

Report: Eight of us rode out of North Keys this AM despite damp roads and grey skies. We soon forgot about the weather, though, except for using extra caution on wet downhills and curves, since within a couple of miles we were on the Croom Rollers, and other rollers, which kept us occupied almost until our stop at Moreland Market, at which point Janell turned back to take a shorter route home. After that most of the hills were behind us, except for a couple (one very steep) on Celestial, where Sam stopped to walk off leg cramps; Holly was riding with him, alerted the ride leader, but fortunately all was resolved and they were shortly back riding. They finished the ride without incident, as did the rest of us, and we reached the parking lot within a few minutes of each other. Thanks to all for riding today!

Usually it turns out to be too cold or too something to do a birthday ride.  But this year the weather was cooperative.  It was a little cool and breezy, but made for very comfortable riding.  I was joined by Alan, Sherwood, Charles, Tom and Lou.  The new route (72k) was mostly excellent, especially due to Sherwood's tweaking the cue sheet by adding info. about tracks, dangerous intersections etc.    Special thanks to Larry Peed who clued me in about the dirt road I had originally included. We rode at a comfortable pace, stopping to regroup now and then.  Tom had a flat, but quickly caught up with the group.  Donuts too.

Members: Me, Myself and I
Guests: The voices in my head (singing the song that was playing on my car stereo when I arrived at Wayson's Corner)
Ride leader: Debby Bowman
Route: 30.5 miles as cued, 28.1 as ridden, about 1300 feet of climbing, https://ridewithgps.com/routes/17938168
Average speed: 13.7 mph at the back, 13.7 mph at the front.
Weather: Not bad for winter. Temps rising from 48 to 54 during the ride, no wind, gray clouds but the sun did manage to come out and cast a few shadows during the last 10 miles.
Mishaps and mechanicals: None
Farm animal roll call: Horses, sheep, a couple of cows.
New saddle test verdict: Not sure yet.

Every time I plan to lead a ride, I expect no one else to show up. I usually have a backup plan in mind, such as a shortcut or extra food and drinks so I won't have to go into a store and leave my bike unattended at the break. Today was the first time I actually had to put my backup plan into effect.

The day started with a trip to the LBS to have a new saddle put on the bike -- a Bontrager Yatra to replace the Affinity which is showing signs of wear. So today was the first test ride in the 30-day comfort guarantee period. With the new saddle ready to go I headed to Wayson's Corner. At 1:00 sharp I stuck a couple of cue sheets under the windshield wiper of my car's rear window and rolled out. I had two possible short cuts in mind and decided to take the first one right at the start. The route was a counter-clockwise loop starting with a trip down Pindell and Lower Pindell Rd to Fisher's Station and Bay Front, but I opted to turn left from Plummer to Wrighton Rd instead of going straight onto Pindell. This sent me through the part of Bay Front Rd where road work is currently going on, so I knew I might have to turn around and backtrack if conditions were bad. They turned out to be passable, with a brief closure of the shoulder which would have been okay were it not for the two impatient drivers behind me who were extremely eager to get on Route 4 going north. But hey, if it makes you feel better to lean on your horn, go ahead, I can take it.

After that the ride was downright uneventful. I took Bay Front east to Rt 2, where I turned left, stopped at St James Church to read a historical marker, then took a right onto Old Ridge Path Lane and Nutwell Rd. Then I went north on Nutwell-Sudley/Sudley/Owensville-Sudley to Harwood Rd and a stop at the convenient store. After a quick snack I decided to add another layer, so I put on the wind vest that I had tucked into my bike bag just in case.

The last part of the ride offered another chance for a small shortcut, but I decided to stay on the planned route. So from Harwood Rd I turned right onto Wayson Rd, then went left on Queen Anne Bridge and left again on Patuxent River Rd, then right on Sands, past the two county parks and three trailer parks, and back to Wayson's Corner.

After the ride I was thinking that the new saddle failed the test; in some ways it was more comfortable than the Affinity but in others it was worse. But then I noticed that it was slightly skewed to the left, which might explain the discomfort. So I will straighten it and try it again. (This always seems to happens to new saddles on my bike -- you'd think I'd have learned to pay more attention before trying them out!)

All in all it was a good ride. I'll keep the cue sheets and post it again sometime.

Post

Class: AA/3
Category: Sport
Description: A cup of coffee and a fun spin
Speed Limit Imposed: None
Start: 1130
Location: Manokeek Village Center

Course

Distance: 42.0 miles
Gain: 1112ft
Rest Stops: Ollie’s
Max Grade: 5.9%

Ride

Ride Leader: Scott Walker
Riders:  Blake Altman, Steve Koegle, Pete Czapiewski, Michael Blaine, Robert Golding
Weather: Overcast, 42 degrees w/winds from the WNW at 4mph
Moving Time: 1:58:45
AMS: 21.1 mph
Mechanicals/Mishaps: None
Report:  Chatting with Sherwood in Starbucks before Barbara's A/B departs, I was anticipating a kicked-back ride for the AAs.  Well, not so much.  Blake led a ride yesterday but the rest of us were pretty fresh and I guess that was the catalyst for a lively outing and off-pace AMS.  Blake and Michael rode to the start and both circled back towards home after the stop at Ollie's.  The remaining four romped back to Manokeek actually ticking-up the average another tenth in the process.  Thanks gents, it was fun!  See the clip