Ride leaders:  Bruce and Jean Wright

Members: Tom Short, Ken Meredith, George Chiamulera, and Claire Chiamulera

Weather: Clear skies, bright sunshine, low 50s...unbelievable February day.  Near perfect, if you overlook the wind.

Stats: 14.5 AMS, 1,207 elevation gain

Mishaps and Mechanical: Tom had a flat front tire at the rest stop.

Report:  Beautiful day for a ride. Bruce, George, and Claire took to the street after some time off.  We stayed together at a smooth B pace, that was perfect for those who had not ridden much lately.  We pushed against the wind as we worked our way south.  In the Ryceville area, we were greeted by friendly waves from the local Amish as they made their way on foot or by buggy.  On Ryceville Road, we met up with Steve's group for an Amish rest stop and a valuable lesson on what to do if your right shift cable breaks.  Thanks, Steve!  As we started off from the rest stop, Tom noticed that his front tire was flat.  Once it was changed, we were back on our way and returned to the start without any further problems.  Everyone enjoyed the day. Thanks for coming out!   

Ride Name: Westlake HS- Smallwood Church-Pisgah CC+ - low B 42miles

Leader: John Gorman

Members: Ron Haney and Lou Dal’lorso
Weather:  10:30am start.  Partly sunny upper 30s- ending upper 40s, at times a NW head wind. Many times, bright sun.  Great day for a Feb.  (especially compared to Feb 2016)

Stats:   Ride Leader had a 13.8 AMS/Elv- 1010ft (one elv spike on Rt6 going to Mason Springs) otherwise fairly flat route./ 3:03hrs riding time/3:19 elapsed time. Riding solo, no need to take long rest breaks.   

Mechanicals/Mishaps:  Perfect NONE!    (Ron advised @ the Pisgah Store break, that he and Lou missed the L onto Smallwood Church Rd, thereby shorting their route, and went straight up Mason Springs to the store. I advised they missed what I consider one of the best roads around- Smallwood Church).

Report:  It was 10:27, with no others at the start, I was just getting ready to start, when Ron and then Lou arrived. I knew that they were a much faster AMS than I, and advised them to pair up and I was heading out. I advised (which I knew they’d be passing me even with a 5-10 min head start), we could meet for a quick break @ Ollies’ Store mile 12.5.  Which we did, (I tend to not need long breaks), so I headed out again, with us agreeing that perhaps we’d meet up at the Pisgah Store mile 28.  When I arrived at the Pisgah Store they were there, advising they missed a turn, which in this case was a short-cut directly to the store. So since they were obviously there for some time, I again advised for them to continue, and we said our well wishes, and I told them not to wait for me at the starting point. Otherwise it was pleasant ride, on the quiet low traffic roads in this area, more so for a Sunday.

One advantage of starting at Westlake HS, is you miss the congestion of MD-210 and the tight roads/heavily traffic heading back up to the typical Bryan’s Rd or Manokeek Village starting locations.

Ride leader: Steve Palincsar

Members: Janell Saunders, Pat Walthers and joining us en route, Pano Gianniotis

Weather: another fantastic early spring day!  The forecast was for an overcast morning and a partly cloudy afternoon, but instead the clouds disappeared as we left Oak Ridge Park, and we were treated to bright sunshine accompanied by a brisk breeze and temperatures that started in the low 40s bit by early afternoon had risen to the low 50s. 

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/18840080  another new variation on the "Hidden Amish" theme.  Beginning initially as a reversed version of last Saturday's ride, the route morphed a bit to include an out-and-back on Woodburn Hill, then went the reverse of the usual direction on Dixie Lyon, N Ryceville and Ryceville and at the T with Trinity Church went left to Budd's Creek so we could ride up Old Sycamore.  It's a very scenic route, only made better by the beautiful light we had today.  We modified the route a little by skipping Locke's Crossing and staying on the Three Notch Trail to Thompson Corner Road, giving Janell a little time to get used to riding a 3-speed before hitting some elevation gain, which added almost a mile to the route.

Mishaps & Mechanicals: We'd come south on MD-6 and turned right on Flora Corner.  Not far from the roadside memorial, Janell's rear shifter cable broke.  The typical STI cable failure - I wrote about it in "Spoke 'n' Word" a year or two ago - quickly resolved with the standard field fix of manually shifting onto a large sprocket in back and holding the derailleur in place with cable tension, secured under a water bottle cage.  As we were putting the tools away, Pano rolled up.  He'd been delayed by heavy traffic on the way to the ride start, but correctly figured he could catch us en route.

AMS: 12.2

What a wonderful day for riding!  Pat, Janell and I were happy to have Pano join us, and we were all equally happy to have the A group join us as we took a break at the Amish schoolhouse.  

A large group gathered at North Keys Park and we headed out to do a simple 35 mile route. Evidently at some point in the past the ride leader sought to "train" on hills and made up this route. 35 miles - 1660 feet of climbing per RWGPS, 1800 per leader's Garmin, 2000 per the HC Garmin. At the end, an unnamed rider commented that she loved the route as she cursed the ride leader all the way.

We visited the Jug Bay pavilion (heated bathroom), though the gate blocked the last bit of driveway. Most riders chose the cyclocross option of riding the dirt and grass to get around the gate. The ride grouped into faster and slower sections, though we all met at the pavilion.

Mostly cloudy but with about 10 miles to go, a shout was heard from a rider, bringing the leader to a halt, until the rider explained it was a joyful shout: "SUN!"

The riders enjoying a great time on the road today in mid-40's temperatures - Ron Altemus, Mike Bivens, Lou D'Alloroso, Holly Carr, Bob Howell, Jim Hudnall, Jane Hudnall, Alan Kurzweil, Darrell Meyer, Steve Palincsar, Larry Peed, Sam Perry, Pat Sanders. 

Thanks for coming out! Joan

Photos at www.facebook.com/ohbike

Leader:  Ron Altemus

Members:  Mike Bivens, Steve Palincsar, Bob Howell, Jim Hudnall, Holly Carr, Larry Peed, Karen Morgan, Joan Oppel, Darrel Meyer

Route:  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/18674509 Outbound: Bumpy Oak/Rose Hill/Chapel Point. Return: Fairgrounds/St Marys, MD-6/Quailwood/Hawthorne/Livingston.

Weather:  Temps ranged from 40ish at ride start to mid-50s upon our finish; lots of sunshine; winds out of the SW only gusting when we were riding right into them.

AMS:  swept at 12.25; at the front, reports of 14.5 were mentioned.

Report:  as the only ride in town, we had a surprising large showing of riders.  The faster riders went fast, those of us who like to Conversational Cruise rode accordingly, and we reconvened at the rest stops.  Advertised as a chance to see the Port Tobacco River in the winter, the view along Chapel Point Rd and from the grounds of St Ignatius Church did not disappoint.  Riding at a more leisurely pace occasionally has its drawbacks, witness the ice machine at St Ignatius being depleted by the hard riding faster members (not really).  Item of note:  outbound to the La Plata rest stop, Joan was constantly fiddling with her Garmin 1000, trying to get it to find the route.  After the rest stop, both Jim and Joan continued playing with her recalcitrant cyclometer, never quite getting it to behave.  So Luddites rejoice, paper cue sheets are still needed.  In conclusion, another nice March ride.

Ride leader: Steve Palincsar

Members: Pat Walthers

Weather: More overcast than yesterday, temps in the 40s and breezy.  The lack of sun except for two or three miles near the end made for a chillier day than yesterday.  Zippers might have come down a bit, but the jackets stayed on today.

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/10948628  41 miles, 1475' of elevation gain, shortened by a mile and a half or so at the end when we skipped the Durham Church/Rt 6 diversion.

Mishaps & mechanicals: There's a saying, "Just because you're having a bad day this morning doesn't mean you aren't going to have a bad day this afternoon."  Today, for me, this translated to "just because you picked up a piece of glass in your front tire and had a flat doesn't mean you didn't also pick up a piece of glass in your back tire at the same time, it's just that it was a little smaller and it took a little longer to work its will."

The first flat occurred on Hancock Run at the very spot where the sand bar was at the Indian Head 100 -- good news/bad news is the sand bar is gone, not a trace of sand or gravel on the road at all, but in its place is a 3" deep pothole the size of a basketball, big enough to bend a rim as well as double-pierce a tube -- and the second a few miles later on Adams Willet.

AMS: 12.3

We left the park with the A/Bs but they were soon out of sight.  Majesta rode with them for a while, but we joined her on Sandy Point Rd at Riverside, where she was removing a stone that had gotten caught in her brake.  When we came to Mallows Bay Park, we found the A/Bs again, and they confirmed that the portolet has gone south for the winter.

We left five or ten minutes after them, but we saw them again at the intersection of Smith Point and Maryland Point Rds - I suspect they either missed the Smith Point turn or decided to make the ride a bit longer and went down to Maryland Point instead.  When I got the first flat, Majesta decided to take the most direct way back because she was under time pressure, so she went back up the hill to Rt 6 and took it to Ironsides.  After my second flat Pat and I decided to skip Durham Church and stayed on Ironsides, cutting off a mile and a half.

No photographs were taken today.

Leaders: Lisha Peacock and Jean Wright 

Members: Majesta Hartley, Alan Kurzweil, Ken Meredith, Blake Altman

Route: see Steve's report for ride with gps link

Weather: overcast, high 40's... definitely a bit on the chilly side, especially after stopping for a bit

AMS: 14.5

Mechanicals/Mishaps: one missed turn... we were happy about when all was said and done!

Report: Today was a good winter riding day, and a fantastic bald eagle sighting afternoon!  6 of us joined Steve and Pat to pedal out of the park and begin our grand adventure.  Majesta was unsure whether she would stay up front or hang back with the sweep... a rock in her break slowed her a bit and she decided to stay with the CC's upon leaving the 1st rest stop of Mallow's Bay.  Jean filled us in on her current battle against some rowdy flying squirrel families trying to overtake her attic while we were waiting at Mallows Bay... this spawned several silly conversations, and lead to Ken and I reminiscing over Norwegian rat encounters (lol!), and we went right by the Smith Point Rd turn!  Jean quickly surmised that we could just keep pedaling down the beautiful, newly re-paved Riverside road until we reconnected with Maryland Point Rd.  This added a couple of miles, but the smooth pavement was so fabulous that no one was sorry about the missed turn.  Our remaining group of 5 enjoyed the rest of the ride together with no further mis-cues.  

We had some flyovers by bald eagles on Bowie Rd, and saw three more perched in trees along Riverside Rd.  It was too chilly to stop for photos, but we definitely slowed a bit to enjoy the sighting of such majestic birds and appreciate that their population is finally rebounding!  I saw one more on my way home along Poorhouse Rd!

Thanks for another fantastic route Steve, and another thanks to Jean for asking me to co-lead!

Ride leader: Steve Palincsar

Members: Bob Howell, Holly Car, John Gorman, Jane & Jim Hudnall, Joan Oppel, Ellen Goodwin, Pat Walthers

Weather: Breezy to windy, but not nearly as much as the past couple of days.  High 30s at the start and overcast, a clear reminder that it's like January, man, but by the time we'd gone 10 miles it warmed up into the 40s, the sky cleared and the sun came out.  By the time we finished it was around 50, and in the sun and when you were warmed up and moving it was very pleasant and comfortable.  

Route: 37 miles, 1240' of elevation gain  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/18444775    Another variation on the "Hidden Amish" theme, this time going down Kentucky and Bowling, up Old Sycamore, then Trinity Church to Ryceville, North Ryceville and Dixie Lyon over to Thompson Corner Rd.  Locke's Crossing, a little bit on the Three Notch Trail, then across Rt 5 on Flora Corner, and Rt 6, All Faith Church, Golden Beach and Oaks back to the park.  We took rest stops at the Amish school on Ryceville and the Burchmart at Hills Club and Rt 5.

Mishaps & mechanicals: Joan had a flat.

AMS: 12.6 at the back.

We intended to have a B ride and a CC ride, but when we left Bob (the B leader) and Holly (the only rider signed up as a B) decided to merge both groups into one ride.  In practice, this worked out quite well, necessitating only a few regroup stops that also served as clothing adjustment opportunities.  Although it didn't seem at the start as though it would do, it turned into a very pleasant day for riding.

Photos on Facebook

Ride Leader:  Blake Altman

Date: January 28, 2017

Ride Name:  Casey Jones to Cobb Island

Ride Distance: 52 Miles

Average Speed of the Ride:  18.5 (at the back)

Ride Class:  AA/3 Sport

Mechanical Issues: Stick stuck in derailleur

Mishaps: None

Weather:  At start 35 degrees, cloudy, breezy At end 45 degrees, mostly sunny, windy

Guest Riders:  None

Member Riders:  Steve Koegle, Jill Patterson, David Kemp

Ride Report:

This is one of those uneventful rides that make a boring ride report but make for a great ride.

It was pretty chilly at the ride start but I don’t think anyone was particularly cold once we warmed up.  Speaking for myself, I felt pretty hot and sweaty at various points but also felt I needed the clothing I had when we were exposed to the wind.

David joined us in-route on Chapel Point Road.  We were all rode together down to the rest stop on Cobb Island and then for the return until Route 301.  Once we were part way up 301 David let me know he was riding his interval and Jill went with him.  That was last we saw of those two until the end.  Steve and I had an uneventful ride together from then on.

Steve got a stick stuck in his derailleur which could have caused problems if it had jammed in the chain or the spokes but it didn’t and it fell out on its own once he stopped and then backed up the bike slightly.

This was another good ride and I send my thanks to everyone who joined me.

Ride leader: Steve Palincsar

Members: Mike Bivens, Joan Oppel, Jane & Jim Hudnall, Patricia Sanders, Ron Altemus

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/18604062  38 miles, 1700' of elevation gain, cut short by 4.5 miles by all but Mike & Joan after the second rest stop.  This was the first time I can recall we've ever stopped at the McDonalds at Fairhaven and US-301 as a rest stop.  The trip down Fairhaven and Midland Turn afterwards provided an interesting view of a part of Marlton we've seldom seen.

Weather: 50s and windy to very windy, with a startling bright sun and lots of clouds.  When the sun was showing through it was like a heat lamp was turned on us, switching off whenever clouds obscured the sun, making for what felt like 5-10 degree fluctuations of the temperature, playing out on a background of penetrating wind.

Mishaps & mechanicals: none

AMS: 11.5 and we worked hard for it, too.

Another early March day, and a route that made much of what felt like severely winter weather-beaten roads.  Cross Road Trail goes without saying - we stopped riding it last Fall because potholes on the downhills had made it unsafe but this time it was in the uphill direction - but William Beanes had deteriorated to the point it had become a match for Cross Road Trail.  "Crumbling infrastructure" describes it perfectly.  Still, it was great to be out riding and the day certainly brought a healthy glow to our cheeks that lasted for hours afterwards.

Joan and Jim took photographs.  Jim's are here.