Date: May 18th, 2025, 8:30am 

Members: Diane Harris, Theresa R. and Bernard S.

Guests: None

Weather: A beautiful warm, sunny, but breezy day

Mechanicals/Mishaps: 1 flat tire

Report: Today's Strawberry Festival ride, Class B, 58 miles. The weather was perfect, sunny, warm, but breezy. There were 3 riders (me, Theresa, and Bernard) on the 58 mile route. The ride was uneventful until a rear flat (caused by a thin wire) had us stopped for a tube change. Then, before the first rest stop, we reached segments of the Three Notch Trail that were impacted by a recent rain storm that left fallen trees requiring us to pick up bikes and climb over big tree trunks. Did I mention the disrespectful wind? The wind was disrespectful!! However, stopping at Christ Church for the Strawberry Festival made it all worthwhile!!

Leader: Joan Oppel

Members:  Linda Blackman, Lou Dall'Orso, Harold Datz, Lisa Oken, Randy Sim, Pat Walthers, Rita Zeidner

Nonmembers: Josh Garrison

Weather: Temperatures in low 70's at the start, climbing in to the mid 80's, wind at 13 to 18 mph. Very sunny.

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46748246 From North Keys out Marin, Molly Berry, Nelson Perrie, Bald Eagle, Baden Westwood, Croom. Then Covington etc to Woodville, Dr Bowen and into Eagle Harbor.  Retrace back to Malcolm and then parts of 381, Cedarville, Ashbox, 381, Gibbon Church

Mishaps/Mechanicals: One rider took a tumble getting on his new bike, and he was at the end of the departing stream. He was unhurt and another rider still there accompanied him to where we were all waiting.

 Report: It was the hottest day we've ridden this year - at least it felt that way. It was great to have Josh with us. He's working on improving his cycling  and we enjoyed his company and he is likely to join.

Our group spread out but regrouped at several places so that we arrived at the Cedar Haven rest stop all together. When we passed the Eagle Harbor Community Center (rest stop site for the Rural Legacy), a woman was walking with her toddler grandson. And she said to him "Look, it's our biking friends." Eagle Harbor appreciates us! 

The picnic table was deep in shade - much appreciated. On the way back, we also stopped at the store (again under new owners) at Dr Bowen and 381 (open 7 - 3 on Saturday, closed Sunday) to get water. 

Most roads were quiet, though Saturday morning does seem to bring out more traffic than the same time on a weekday morning. Two different cars that waited patiently and then passed us (different roads) said out the window "You all be safe now". Unexpected - and appreciated.

Leader:   Ron Altemus

Members:   Bob Rourke, Gene Villiva, Paul Adams, Robin Garnett, Esther Stewart, Oswald Martin, Donaro Gardner, Leesha Saunders



Route:   Indian Head Rail Trail.  East from Livingston Rd parking lot to White Plains trailhead.  After a rest stop, return to the start.

Weather:   mostly sunny; temp range low 70s to low 80s; 8-10 SW air; noticeable humidity

AMS:   swept in the low 12s

Mechanicals/Mishaps:   none

Report:   two new members, Bob & Paul, joined us for our weekly ride.  As usual, everyone rode in groups of 2-3 with plenty of conversation. 

Wildlife sightings included eagles on the nest near the parking lot and numerous other small birds either flitting around or being heard, not seen.  It was a reptile kind of day:  two different box turtles observed along the trail; a large snapping turtle under a truck in the parking lot at ride start; a painted turtle, maybe laying eggs alongside the pond at Bumpy Oak; and a black snake close to Middletown along with an Eastern Rat snake after Pomfret.

Full size pictures to better appreciate some of the reptiles

the snapper (picture by Leesha)

the momma (?) painted

the eastern rat snake (a big un)

Leader: Steve Palincsar

Members: Catherine Ade, Sarah Clement, Harry Kidd, Joan Oppel

Guests: none

Report:  The route was https://ridewithgps.com/routes/50645476 with a few changes.  We'd hoped for a portolet stop at the peach orchard at mile 14, but those portolets are seasonal and they weren't in place yet, so we detoured off the route in Poolesville, visiting the Tractor Supply that used to be the new old supermarket, Selby's, I think it used to be called, in the shopping center on Wooton Ave. 

Joan couldn't stay for lunch at Local's so she suggested doing the Westerly-Edwards Ferry-West Offutt loop before lunch rather than after.  When she left us, Harry went with her, and Catherine, Sarah and I went to Locals for lunch. 

And what a wonderful lunch it was!  Local's was a last-minute substitution for the K2 Cafe, which is no longer open on Sundays, but it deserves to be the main attraction.  We stayed and enjoyed ourselves long after having finished eating, and only reluctantly tore ourselves away. 

It very much felt as though we'd had a nice scenic, hilly Ag Reserve ride, followed by a delightful lunch, after which we took another ride that happened to bring us back to our cars at Rileys Lock.  In all, a fabulous way to spend a beautiful May day.

Weather: Sunny, temps in the low 70s at the start rising to the low 80s by mid-afternoon. 

AMS: 12.0

Mechanicals/Mishaps: none

Rest stop at the Farm Store on Brooks Woods Rd

Leader: Steve Palincsar

Members: Lou Dall'Orso, Karen McMillan, Ray Luckenbach, Joan Oppel, Ellen Goodwin, Len Wilkinson, Lisa Petersen, Rick Hagen, Pat Walthers and Catherine Ade

Guests: none

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/50643409 as modified by skipping the out-and-back on Old Solomons Island Rd to the Dash-In

Weather: Sunny, windy and cool.  Temps at the start were barely 60, rising to the low 70s by the end of the ride, and the wind appeared to be a headwind no matter which way we turned.  Joan's weather app said winds were somewhere around 12-13 mph, but I don't think that accounted for the gusts, of which there were plenty.

AMS: 12.6

Mechanicals/Mishaps: No mechanicals I'm aware of.  One of the riders arrived without a helmet, but a quick trip to the Tractor Supply across the road from the Park & Ride remedied that.  One of the riders got a pedal bite, repaired in a quick regrouping stop at the terminus of the Railway Trail.

Report: We skipped the usual bio-break at Lothian Service, stopping at the Farm Store on Brooks Woods instead, where we were welcomed by the owner, herself a cyclist, and awed by the portable rest rooms, complete with running water and flush toilets.  We haven't seen their like since the renovations at the Pisgah Firehouse were completed back some years ago.  Rick and Lisa joined us at the Farm Store, having ridden from home.  They stayed with us until we reached Boyds Turn.

We had a leisurely lunch stop at the Chesapeake Market, joined by an Annapolis Bike Club group, then went on for a photo op at the North Beach Pier.

Photo Op at North Beach Pier

Continuing on, we rode the Chesapeake Beach Railroad Trail, this time skipping the left turn to the remains of the trestle.

Riding the Chesapeake Beach Railroad Trail

After Rick and Lisa left us, we continued on Boyd's Turn to Old Solomons Island Rd, where after a quick vote we agreed to skip the out-and-back past the Christmas Tree farm to the Dash In, and proceeded straight back instead, for a total of 40.7 miles and 1950' of elevation gain.

Aside from the wind, it was a beautiful day and a great group to ride with.  We all had a wonderful time.

Leader: Joan Oppel

Members: Anonymous User, Chantal Briere, Lou D'All Orso, Harold Datz, Jessica Hirschhorn, Lisa Oken,  Steve Palincsar, Patricia Sanders, Bob Thompson, Pat Walthers, Rita Zeidner

Benjy

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/50629529   A test ride of part of the Rural Legacy route with a visit to Magruders Ferry and Merkle Wildlife Center. 

Weather: Mid to high 70's for most of the ride, light wind. partly cloudy. .

Mechanicals and Mishaps: None (as far as the leader knows)

Report: The group split near the beginning, into four groups. Two were delayed by a rider forgetting a vital piece of equipment and another rider waiting for him. We did regroup for a little while at Magruders but then split up again. It was a challenging ride for some riders, their longest and hilliest ride of the year. I clocked 41.4 miles and 2300 feet of elevation.

Some really lovely roads on this route and we enjoyed riding from North Keys again (we used to ride every week from this park, and prior to that from the fire station but we seem to be out of the habit). 

Animal encounters: two riders tested the Merkle Visitor Center door and findiing it open, went inside. We got to use the indoor bathroom, we got to talk to two rangers and find out that programs are held there even though the center is closed for routine use and - we got to visit Benjy the Terrapin. His aquarium sits on a large handmade wooden cabinet - the construction of which was made possible by Oxon Hill Club donations. 

There were two turtle rescues - identified later as one Eastern box turtle and one painted turtle. One deer crossed close in front of a rider, though uneventfully, on Baden Westwood.

Leader:   Ron Altemus

Member:  Gene Villiva

Route:   https://ridewithgps.com/routes/40798783  27.6 miles, 738' elevation change 

Weather:   mostly cloudy at start becoming mostly sunny, temp range of 72-80, 10-12 mph SW air, low humidity

AMS:   11ish

Mechanicals/Mishaps:  none

Report:   leisurely ride with very little vehicular road traffic.  Lots of other cyclists, majority of which were on the roads and not the trail.  Belmont Bay was full of bass fishing boats - maybe a tournament(?).

The Willing

Leader: Steve Palincsar

Members: Denny Miller, Lois Lightfoot, Lou Dall'Orso, Lisa Oken, Dave VanAmayden, Linda Bankerd, Sherwood Byers, Ray Luckenbach, Sue Gunter, Len Wilkinson, Joan Oppel, Patricia Sanders, Pat Walthers, Catherine Ade

Guests: none

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/50570353 A new 40 mile variation that visits some of my favorite roads (Pindell, Lower Pindell, Nutwell) you'll see often on Waysons routes to Deale, along with some new twists and perhaps surprises (Swamp Circle to Plantation Drive to Chalk Point) and a first ever stop at the new Royal Farms at the corner of Shadyside and Deale Churchtown (very successful, we'll definitely be back).  After the break at Royal Farms we went down to the Bay at Franklin Manor before the main lunch stop at South County Cafe, which more than half the group skipped.  The route back to Waysons typically either follows Bay Front, with its seemingly interminable long, gentle grades, or takes the Sudleys to Harwood then down Sands or Polling House to Sands.  This route tried something different: Deale Rd over the bridge and past Happy Harbor all the way up to Franklin Gibson, but instead of zooming down Franklin Gibson to Bay Front and its interminable grades, stayed on Deale Rd to MD-2.  We took MD-2 to Bay Front, but soon turned onto Brooks Woods and then onto Little back to Bay Front for a short distance before the final return on So. MD Blvd.  40.5 mi, 1490' elevation gain per RWGPS.

Weather: Sunny, low 70s at the start rising to a very, very summer-like 84 by early afternoon, accompanied by 12-15 mph winds with gusts up to 22.  The forecast had been threatening rain in the early afternoon for days, but we had none.

AMS: 12.8

Mechanicals/Mishaps: none I'm aware of.

Report: It's always fun to visit Deale, the West River and the Chesapeake Bay, but it's especially fun when you've got a great group, some of whom I haven't seen in quite some time.

Leader:   Ron Altemus

Members:   Donaro Gardner, Gene Villiva, Oswald Martin



Route:   Indian Head Rail Trail - east from Livingston Rd parking lot to White Plains trailhead.  After a short rest stop, return westerly to ride start.

Weather:   Sunny, warm mids 70s to low 80s temps, humidity beginning to become noticeable,  SW 8-10 airs

AMS:   mid 11s

Mechanicals/Mishaps:  none

Report:   a smaller group but still plenty of conversational opportunities.  Not a large number of other trail users though one of interest noted below.  Wildlife sightings included a couple of turtles crossing the trail; a mole king snake and green snake at various points outbound; and, eagles on the nest, red winged blackbirds, and other brown somethings.

Both outbound and inbound, we encountered a fellow cyclist viewing the eagle nest near the Livingston Rd parking lot.  He was hopeful of catching sight of the adults returning to the nest with food for the young eaglets.  Of interest - he had taken a long, sturdy piece of dead bamboo from the adjacent stand next to the trail and fashioned it into a monopod to hold his cell phone for picture taking purposes.  This clever rig allowed him to view the nest through binoculars and then have the phone ready to capture photographs.

What a simply SMASHING day for a bike ride!  The temp, sunshine and windless day could not possibly have been better.  We had a bit of excitement and everyone enjoyed the ride. 

RIDERS: Barbara Butcher, Jim Cavanaugh, Susan Golonka, Jessica Hirschhorn, Lynda Honberg, Ron Honberg, Harry Kidd (SWEEP), Kathy King, Karen McMillan, Joan Oppel, Peggy Tyree, Anne Wittenberg. 

Babs Butcher had a rear flat, and 3 of us stayed to help her change it.  We caught up with the group at Roddy Bridge.  We stopped at Loy Bridge.  The livestock were out in force today, and we passed many horses, cattle, sheep, goats, and lambs. The sun was brilliant and the early spring wheat was a wonderful deep green.  

Roddy Bridge was CLOSED due to damage from a truck, but we were able to figure out a "workaround".  Enough said about the details. 

Total 36 .28 miles, 1657' elevation with an average speed of about 11.