Sunday Morning July 20 we held our weekly mountain bike ride at Cedarville. We were able to get started around 9:45, and followed the train in a clockwise direction. The only obstacle we had to deal with is were they were rebuilding the bridge across a creek. After wet feet, we were back on the trail and finished up our ride in about 1-1/2 hrs. Riders included Barry & Randy.

Leader: Brad Francisco

Members: Scott Walker, Karen Fitzgerald, Darin King, Claire Chiamulera, Matthew Lewandowski, Blake Altman

Route: 55 miles, http://ridewithgps.com/routes/5347322

Weather: Overcast, dark clouds at start with some sun by the end.  70's.  Light wind.  Who could ask for more in July?

AMS: 19.3 with about 2,400 feet of climbing

Mechanicals/Mishaps: None

Report:  Nice weather, good roads, and light traffic.  If I could find a route that didn't have to go on Route 2/4 it would be perfect.  I had planned to lead this ride for some time and Darin convinced me that today was the day!

Matthew led us at a brisk pace up Greys road.  Blake kept us all going at a fast pace with his long pulls at the front.  Karen is the spin master, she kept her cadence high regardless if she was pulling us along or in the pack (spinning is something that I particularly need to work on).  Claire just flew up the hills as did Darin with the rest of us hanging on, well some of us didn't actually stay with them and were lucky to keep them in sight.  Scott somehow picked the best roads to show off his aero bike components and techniques.

The group split a few times and then regrouped.  Most of the time we were a cohesive group just out for a fun ride on a nice day.

We did not spot the zebra at Fresh Meadows Farm.  Maybe it will be spotted during the Annual Picnic Ride.

Leader: Sylvia Pope

Members: Mike Bivens, Patricia Russo,Henry Smith,Diane Harris, Ken Meredith, Steve Perakis, Lou D.

Guests: Lamont Bailey and Steve Wilk

Weather: Overcast skies and low humidity for the start of the day contributed to a pleasant ride. 

AMS: ~17 -18 

Mechanical/Mishaps: we had one front flat tire that occurred about 10  miles into the ride. It repaired quickly and we were all on our way again. 

Report:  Great early morning ride, as usual.

Ride Leader: Mike Bivens

Class: B

Members: Larry Peed, Jay Lewis, Sam Perry, Phil Mitchell, Kishor Kaswala, Kim Rosenfield, Steven Perakis, Walt Roscello, and Vernon Daley     

Ride Name: Southern Exposure (Saturday Edition)

Distance: 53.3 miles.  AMS ranged from upper 16 to low 15.  Ride leader, sweeping the group from the rear averaged 14.8. 

Weather: Perfect! Temperatures were in the mid to high 70s; moderate humidity; mostly cloudy; and a light breeze.  May the weather be the same for the Indian Head 100 in September!

Ride Report:  A weekend edition of the regular Tuesday morning Southern Exposure, allows for a longer ride and brings out riders who don’t have the opportunity to ride during weekdays.  Kishor and Kim joined us for their first ride from Bryans Road.  Today’s route included portions of the first stages of the Indian Head 100, i.e., Hawthorne, Ripley, Annapolis Woods, Port Tobacco, Chickamuxen and Riverside.  As is the recent norm, two riders (Larry and Vernon) broke away before we got to Ripley, but everyone else stayed together.  The first rest stop was at Smallwood State Park (road end/water edge), where the park staff treated us to frozen mini Clif Bars, saying they were for all bicyclists coming to the park.  Steve broke out a container of watermelon he was carrying and offered to all. During the break we all listened intently as Vernon complained “Larry is killing me.”  We left the park, imposing a five minute penalty on Larry and Vernon for aggressive riding, but they overcame that deficit on Chickmuxen before we turned on Riverside. Most of the group stayed together, while Sam and I swept.  We picked up Kishor at the intersection of Port Tobacco and Mason Springs and the three of us met with the rest of the group at the second rest stop – the Pisgah Store.  We returned on Mason Springs, Hawthorne and Livingston.  Sweeping, I saw Kim at the intersection of Livingston and Bumpy Oak (see below). After ensuring she was okay, I started to ride and observed Larry’s “Rescue 1” sitting on the shoulder looking for Kim (yes, Larry had already completed the ride, packed his bike in his truck, and was back on the route assisting a fellow rider).  It was great to have new riders coming out and enjoying some of the best bicycling roads in Maryland – even better to get their positive feedback afterwards.

Sonja led a CC version of this ride, but her group decided to deviate from the cue sheet.  She will post a separate report.

Mechanicals/Incidents: Coming up Livingston, Kim suffered not one, but two simultaneous flats.  When I talked with her she was on the phone with her husband, who was coming to pick her up and get her back to the start.  Larry waited with her until he arrived.  Kishor, riding with a group for the first time, pushed himself to the point of severe leg cramps.  He rode slowly back to the start and was able to complete the ride.

Leader: Chuck Coe

Members: Ken Meredith

Guests: Edwin Tabarez, Maynor Guillen

Route: Accokeek-Port Tobacco 48/A

Weather: Overcast

AMS: slightly under 17AMS

Mechanicals/Mishaps: Re-track for lost and 1 flat front tire

Report: Darin convinced me to choose a hillier route – who wants to ride up Bumpy Oak after just recovering from Rose Hill! I began to worry when only AA riders where showing up and I thought I was going to be tortured by riding with the AA riders.  However, to my surprise and relief, Ken Meredith rolled into the parking lot.  A couple of other riders (Edwin and Maynor) signed in as A riders as well.  We all rolled out of the parking lot together.  The last we (Ken & I) saw of the AA riders was on the long hill on Marshal Hall road.  We too, had to dodge the accident near the Bryan Road VFD.  All was going well until we hit Turkey Hill road where I lost my glasses and Ken got a flat front tire. I backtracked for about a mile looking for my glasses, however just as I was returning to catch back up with Ken, his front tire blew out making a loud noise and an exciting ride until Ken was able to slow down.  The rest of the ride was enjoyable and without additional slowdowns.   

Ride Leader: Debby Bowman
Members: Steve Palincsar, Sharon Miller, Chuck Miller, Brad Francisco, Linda Bankerd, Rich Greene, Sherwood Byers, Robin Kyle, Jule Thorne, Larry Greene, Tasha Harris
Guests: John Harris
Route: 52 miles, 2423 feet of climbing, http://ridewithgps.com/routes/4937426
Average speed: 13.6 mph at the back
Weather: Quite nice for July, with clouds that held temperatures in the high 70s, and sunshine for the last few miles
Mishaps and mechanicals: A couple of missed turns, quickly corrected

We had a great Backwards Bay Country bike ride today, following a clockwise route from Northern High School on Chaneyville Rd. The first part of the ride went up into Anne Arundel County, going as far north as (the easy part of) Franklin Gibson, Leitch and Town Point Roads. When we reached our first rest stop at Honey's Harvest Deli, we found many DC Randonneurs taking part in a 209km brevet. One was a former OHBTC member, Tim Copeland, who recognized our club jerseys. Tim has been stationed overseas and in other parts of the US, but is now back in the DC area and living in northern Virginia. He asked about several club members, including Jim and Jane Hudnall and Sam Perry, and mentioned that Michie Sidwell continued to help him take care of his bike even after he had moved away from southern Maryland. 

As we left Honey's Harvest, we began the "new" part of our ride. We rode south on Walnut/Bay Ave into North Beach, then climbed away from the bay on 8th St, Madison Ave and the 5th St Extension, briefly turned south again on Boyd's Turn Rd, then turned east to ride back towards the bay. We used Horace Ward Rd so that we would only have to ride briefly on the high-traffic Chesapeake Beach Rd, then turned from Chesapeake Beach Rd onto Harrison Blvd, riding along residential streets on our approach to the Chesapeake Beach Rail Trail. After enjoying the quiet scenery along the trail, we rode out to our second rest stop at the Northeast Community Center. This was roughly the halfway point of our ride.

The remainder of our journey was back on familiar roads, as we climbed away from the bay for a second time on Old Bayside Rd and then rode south as far as Wilson and Emmanuel Church Rds on our way to our final rest stop at Bowen's Grocery. Though we split apart somewhat on the undulating roads in this segment, we all came together again for the final stint from Huntingtown back to the school.

Many thanks to everyone who joined me today. Special thanks to Brad, who volunteered to wait for John at the ride start and paced him up to the group when John realized that he had left his water bottles in his car. Also thanks to Eric Petersen, who provided me with helpful information about using the Northeast Community Center for a rest stop while I was planninng the route. (The center has rest rooms, a water fountain and benches in front. The staff there asked that we park bikes at the bike rack or along a nearby wrought iron fence, rather than using the boardwalk that leads to the building entrance. Also note that when leaving the center on Gordon Stinnet Ave, it's difficult to make a left turn onto Bayside Rd due to heavy traffic, so it's better if your route will be taking you south so that you're making a right turn instead.)

For anyone who would like another perspective on the Bay Country, we'll have a chance to do it counter-clockwise on August 9th, during the club's annual multi-class picnic ride. See the ride schedule to RSVP.

Leader:  Darin King
Riders:  Blake Altman, Michael Blaine, Karen Fitzgerald, Rob Golding, David Kemp, Matthew Lewandowski, Samson Samson, Scott Walker, Edwin, Maynard (sp?)
Route:   Accokeek-Port Tobacco 48.  47.8 miles @ 19.5 AMS
Weather:  70's, light winds
Mishaps:  2 flats (Rob, Samson)

We had pretty mild temperature for a July ride, as well as overcast skies.  We started with Chuck Coe's A group, and I think we inherited a couple of his riders (sorry Chuck).  The route was a modified version (shortened, reversed sections) of a club favorite (Accokeek 54 to Port Tobacco).  We found some gravel on Berry's Hill, an accident detour on Livingston, and a fair amount of traffic all around.  Sprinkle in some disjointed riding (lots of splinter groups), two rest stops, two flats, and it didn't really have the feel of a "normal" AA ride.  Having said that, the speed was on target (19.5 at the rear and 20.x at the front), and everyone was safe and exhausted. 

Thanks for coming out!

Ride Leader:  Judy Mutty

Member: Neil Ferguson

Guests: none

Weather: 80 degrees, overcast with delightful breeze

AMS: 9 mph

Mishaps & mechanicals:  none

Ol' bike buddies Fergy and Judy enjoyed their 11 mile ride with the requisite bunnies and deer. This is the trail where they got their start with OHBTC some seven years ago. As always a fun ride.

Ride leader: Randy and Jackie Schoch

Members: Robert Smith, Desiree Holkom, Vicki Garlech, Toya Mitchell, and Mia Haynes.

Guests: Karen Strick and Cornelia Johnson.

Weather: a lovely summer day, 70 at the start to almost 80 by early afternoon

Mishaps & mechanicals: None

AMS: 11 mph

We had a great day for one of the last rides on the trail before the construction begins and shuts most of the trail down until next spring. There were quite a few people enjoying the trail this morning thus we didn't see much wildlife except a large snake crossing the trail. We saw Bob Moye, Bev White, and I think it was Ken Meredith that sped by us. We will be doing one more "whole" trail ride on Aug. 1st and then we will be doing a "COMBO" ride on Fridays at 10AM using the first leg on the trail then Rt.224 Mason Springs/Rt.225 Hawthorne to Ripley/Ripley Road to Poorhouse Rd./Pisgah Store/Bicktel to Sweetman Road/Rt.224 back to Mason Springs and return on the trail. We ate lunch at George's again.

Date: July 16, 2014 5:30pm
Class: A/AA
Gain: 783’
Distance: 25.8mi
Max Grade: 4.9%
Founders: Benny Budd and Joni King
Support: OHBTC and Paul Bales/Casey Jones Restaurant
Motto: “For the love of the people and the ride” - Michael Blaine
Ride Leaders: Karen Fitzgerald, Scott Walker, Blake Altman
Riders:Jean Wright, Jason Hendricks, Gordon S., Brad Francisco, Zach Peacock, Darin King, Steve Wilk, David Kemp, Michael Levesque, John Jordan, Mike McCahill, Paul Bales too (even though he signed in with the B class)
Weather: 82 degrees, low humidity and with winds from the ENE at 9
AMS:        Leaders    22.0 mph
               Chase-1    21.0 mph
               Chase-2    20.1 mph
               Sweep      18.7 mph

Mishaps: None
Mechanicals:  None
Report: Some gorgeous weather for ~20 riders including the B class. 

Welcome to CJE first-timers Zack (and his wife Lisha riding with the Bs), Steve, John and Mike.  Not completely sure, but this may have been Bruce Wright's first CJE outing as well (Bruce is Jean's Husband; he was also out with the B class this evening)!  Glad you all could join us!

                  

This Week’s Play-by-Play: This evening I’m sweeping the AAs, which means riding in the middle of this very strong A/AA contingent (a fun place to be).  Until the Rt-6 hill into Dentsville, the AA variant remains intact, with everyone riding in a single pace-line.  After the breakaways on Rt-6, I stay with Paul and Karen.  We trade pulls to the bottom of Allen’s Fresh, maintaining intermittent sight of the leaders (we're about 500 meters off the back).

On the return up 301 we lose sight of the leaders but continue an aggressive pace into a strong crosswind.  As we rotate pulls, each leader moves to the left so the two drafters can echelon to the right (we’re careful not to half-wheel).  It’s effective, but our AMS still drops from 22 (at Budd's Creek on 301) to 21 by the time we arrive back into the CJR parking lot.

Another fun ride celebrated after with good food, drink and company at the CJR…a great evening!

The Tally