Ride Leader:  Steve Palincsar
Riders: Lisa Oken, Richard Harrington, Joan Oppel, Larry Peed, Darryl Lowery
Weather: a very chilly-feeling 31 degrees and breezy at ride start, warming up nicely once the heavy cloud layer dissipated and the sun shone through, reaching 43 by the end of the ride. 
Route: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/3811689  just over 31 miles and 1686' of climbing, according to RWGPS.  The route included a few thermal inclines: Cross Road Trail heading towards North Keys (most welcome, as some were having real trouble warming up until that rise set everyone's furnace well alight), Van Brady, Croom between Tanyard and Bald Eagle School, Nelson Perrie, Molly Berry and Martin.  Rest stop at Nottingham Store, and Joan had to work pretty hard to pry us loose and get us going again afterwards.
Mishaps & mechanicals: Larry turned back around 7 mi into the ride with shifter problems.  "Rescue 1" was gone by the time we got back to the parking lot, so he must have made it back OK.
AMS: 12 at the caboose, a little higher up at the front of the train.
No question, this one was a genuine Polar Bear ride.  But very pleasant once we warmed up, with many pretty winter scenes.

Lovely day, just a bit chilly but lots of sun (and occasional wind to make things interesting).  Though I had assumed a lot of people would like to ride, having the day off or just wanting to get in a few more miles, only 5 showed up to join me: Richard Harrington, Darin King, Teresa Martin with Bill R, and Steve Palincsar.  This ride was designed to include a few rises, to visit a newly discovered park and to check out new art on Bumpy Oak.  So we went down Livingston, up Chicamuxen, around Smallwood Church to Mason Springs.  Then, just a bit before the Pisgah store, we turned left into the road for the Landfill and Pisgah Park.  The park is about 1/2 mile or so down the road, has a nice (clean) portapotty in the winter (indoor bathrooms in other seasons), picnic tables and many fields for sports.  We had a snack there and skipped the store.  Making our way around to Bumpy Oak, Steve and I stopped at the driveway of the chainsaw artist (about 1/2 mile after the top of the hill).  As of today, he's got a complete rearing horse, a squirrel, a cat, a human figure and he was working on something else really big, too early to define.  Pretty cool.

Ride Leader:  Blake Altman

Date: December 22, 2013

Ride Name:  Doncaster & Nanjemoy

Ride Distance:  47 miles (planned), 39 miles (actual)

Average Speed of the Ride:  16.6 (for ride leader)

Ride Class:  A

Mechanical Issues: Derailleur malfunction & shredding

Weather: Cloudy low 70’s and windy at start; low 60’s, steady rain, no wind at end

Guest Riders: None

Member Riders: Scott Walker, Darin King, Diane Harris, Michael Blaine, Mimi Newcastle, Steve Perakis

Ride Report:

This ride is best summed up as half of a good ride or perhaps the triumph of optimism over the weather forecast.

 

We started you fairly slowly since some of us rode pretty hard the day before.  We were warmed up by route 6 and it was off to the races.  By the time we hit the wider portion of route 6 at Nanjemoy some of us had fallen off the pace.  Eventually the ride consisted of two groups Darin and Scott in front riding at an AA pace and everyone else behind riding at a high A pace.  We regrouped at Riverside road were Darin and Scott waited for the rest of us.  The pace dropped down on Riverside road and we actually had some conversation, unusual for an A ride.  Mimi stopped for a picture of the dark cloud and we decided that that was the dark cloud that would get us wet; unfortunately we were right.

 

It started with the temperature dropping noticeably, next we got some spitting rain, soon it was basically pouring.  Folks stopped to put on what they had as far as wet weather or warmer gear and the ride spread out a bit.  We reached the rest stop and agreed to short-cut the ride.  At this point I found out that Steve’s derailleur had lost a jockey wheel.  He found the wheel but not the bolt so it could not be repaired.  I thought he would have to wait and get a ride back but I was told he had ridden about two miles with it this way and could make it back.  We then continued back the most direct way.  This turned out to be a mistake.

 

By this point the rain was merely steady not pouring which was a good thing.  The not so good thing was the continued shredding of Steve’s derailleur.  Steve would continue to stop and lace the chain around the remaining jockey wheel but eventually it became clear that it was unsafe for him to continue with the condition of the bike.  Unfortunately we were miles from anything by this point it was too far to walk anywhere to get out of the rain.  We agreed that he would wait and I would come back and pick him up in my truck.  It was not a good thing that we still had miles to go and it was still raining but we had no other choice.  Fortunately, I got a call from Steve about 2 miles from the finish that some kind soul had picked him up and that he would be at the ride finish before us.  That is exactly what happened.  We owe a big thanks to whoever was nice enough to welcome a wet bicyclist and bicycle into their car!

 

I guess we have had better rides! 

It had been a very warm Saturday, as high as 70 degrees but feeling cooler because of the brisk winds.  When I left home at 3:30 to ride down to Jones Point Park it had started to cool down a bit, and the wind gusts grew even stronger.  I caught up with Linda Bankerd crossing Washington on Wilkes St and we rode into Jones Point Park together.  We found Holly Carr, Joan Oppel, Barbara Hoover, Loretta Troen, Jannel Saunders and German Deortube there, and while they were getting ready Alan Kurzweil rode up.  Most, perhaps all, had been on other rides earlier in the day.

We made a merry sight with our reflective clothing and our lights on as we rode through Old Town, up King to City Hall and then over to Cameron, north along the bike trail on the east side of the Metro tracks to the Braddock Road station, and then north along Commonwealth, across Russel and up Woodland Terrace and Virginia to Cameron Mills and Allison over to the Spokes, Etc. shop on Quaker Lane in the twilight.  We found there OHBike members Leslie Tierstein and Deb Reynolds, and as night fell, an ever-growing number of riders joining the Alexandria Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee ride.  Our presence made this the largest such ride the BPAC had ever had.

Darkness, and at last we set out.  We made a group of around 20 as we rode down Virginia to Tennessee and left on Old Domion to the Glebe Rd. crossing.  An impatient car crossed the double yellow into the oncoming lane as we all waited for the light to change, and we made sotto voce comments about scofflaw drivers while we wondered what oncoming traffic trying to turn onto Old Dominion would do when they found their lane blocked by a salmoning driver.  Then it was through Chiralagua and across Mount Vernon onto the Wayne Anderson trail over to Commonwealth and up into Del Ray proper, and now the real fun of the ride began. 

We criss-crossed through Del Ray looking at houses lighted up with Christmas lights, ringing our bicycle bells and wishing the neighbors a merry Christmas, while they in turn marveled at the display we made, our tail lights flashing red and our headlights lighting up the street.   While there were many gaudily illuminated houses, far and away the most extravagant was on E. Nelson a half block east of Mount Vernon Avenue, a jaw-dropping display of exhuberance and unbounded enthusiasm that left us marveling.  A block later we passed a party of teen agers who, judging from their cheers and hooting must have found us every bit as jaw-dropping.  If only the cheering section welcoming riders at the finish of the Seagull Century was as enthusiastic!

After an hour and more of criss-crossing through narrow Del Ray streets observing the Christmas light displays the group broke up: some of the BPAC riders heading back to Spokes or off on their own, while others joined the OHBike riders heading north on Mount Vernon Avenue to St. Elmo's for hot chocolate.  I had to leave the group there -- my knee had packed it in and it was just a couple of tenths of a mile to home -- and we parted with holiday wishes and hugs.  Joan Oppel led the group back to Jones Point Park.

It's enormous fun riding at night in a group like this, and not something you experience very often: more like riding on a lighted party bus than the usual solitary commuter's or randonneur's journey, riding in a small lighted bubble in the silent darkness, the occasional cyclist's taillight visible in the distance.  Even the Moonlight Monuments rides in downtown DC, although similar in terms of the group riding, were no preparation for the holiday greetings from people watching us from their front porches or our answering greetings and bell-ringing. 

Thank you to Calvin, Celeste, Steve, Hans, Dez, Reggie, William and Queen for coming out to help me get my 5th ride lead in!

Exercise, fun and JOKES were had by all!!! ;-)

Sat, December 21, 2013 10:00 AM | Ryan Steadman

Leader:  Ryan Steadman

Riders:  Jack Gardner, Darin King, John Giglio, Scott Walker, Robert Golding, Steve Koegle, Blake Altman, Dwann Buford, Mark Wimbush, Ruland ?, Charles Sidwell, Mike Miller, Lou Dallorso, Karen Fitzgerald, and Ryan Steadman.

Route: Accokeek to Merkle 47.  47.1 miles @ 17.5 AMS

Weather:  Mid 60's with winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph.

Mishaps:  None

Pictures: Karen's Birthday Ride

Today's ride brought out the snowbirds as forecast called for and delivered mid to upper 60's with abundant sunshine. The A riders were slightly delayed with sign in, so the B riders pushed out a couple of minutes ahead. After weaving down Farmington Rd and heading toward Floral Park, the A group caught the B riders at the Livingston/Floral Park turn. It must have been the weather today as the A group was in fine fashion, pushing paces over 20 mph for nearly the entire trip to Merkle. Once rejoined in Merkle for a quick break, the group seemed to enjoy a short warm up ride before the engines roared again, this time with a sharp headwind. The winds and pace finally split the group into two around mile 25, but both groups maintained good pacelines and seemed to equally share the headwinds on the front. After a long trip down Cedarville Rd. and a brief stop at the Wawa for the lead group, both groups finished out the final 10 miles back to the firehouse. Ride leader averaged 17.5 at the tail end of the dragon, which says quite a bit given the lead group was well up the road. Overall, a great ride with great company. 

The weather prediction was too good to pass up a ride opportunity, so we B's tagged along behind Karen.  (Regina and Mike Saizan, Larry Peed, Janell Saunders, Liam Henly, Karl Gator, Sam Perry)  The weather proved as good as predicted. We had no mishaps although Karl suffered leg cramps,  and pretty much stayed for the whole ride.

Ride Location: /Southern Middle Shl (S. Anne Arundel Cty)

9:30am / Temps upper 50s start, ended near 70 very windy often w/ gusty headwinds mostly sunny.

No mechanical or mishaps.

Ride Leader: John Gorman   Riders: (guest Chris Teves(Bob’s son-in-law), (Mbrs): Bob Howell, Pat Walthers, Kathleen Bailey, Sharon Griffin(?), Barbara Hoover.

Stats: AMS  13.4( advertised as a 13+)/ riding time-2.58/ 40 miles

This ride was listed as  a  low-elv (836ft) “touring mode” ride (w/ straightaways and community streets) we started off on Solm’s Isl/Rt 2 turning R onto MD-258/Bay Front W w/ a loop thru the farmlands of Brooks Wooods/Little Rds, back on Bay Front E one quick elv on the upper part of Franklin Gibson, to Deale/Churchton/MD-256 w/ a break @ the 7-11/Subway shopping center. Leaving the break we visited the Franklin Manor community w/ a beautiful sun drenched view of the Chesapeake Bay ( Chesapeake Dr), from here we headed to Shady Side (a quiet dead end water community), went down Snug Harbor/Idlewood out/back (always head/cross winds on this straightway stretch. 

Took another break @ a gas station turning onto Chalk Pt. I twisted the arms of the others and suggested we go to the end of Chalk Pt(added 3more miles) to see if the satellite view of Map My Ride offered the view I hoped it would,  it sure did!, (which it did of nice homes/piers on South Creek), one rider advised us that NBC 4’s Wendy Reiger lived at the end of the dead-end cul-de-sac.  From here we made a R on Plantation Blvd ( a wide-open fairly new community/(good-life homes), that brings you out to MD-468/Muddy Creek.  We X-ed over and made a R onto Swamp Cir thru the turf farms, bringing us back to MD-258/Bay Front (one final steady few miles elv trek) before getting to Rt2 Solm Isl back to the parking. 

Everyone seemed to appreciate the planned route, kept fairly close contact w/ ea other throughout the ride, and we  wished each other Happy Christmas, and a good ride to ALL!, especially the warm weather for late December. Most of us had not rode in several weeks and were happy to do 40miles. (funny how lower elv will help w/ getting in miles and less misery, just saying..LOL)

Vicki Garlock, Darin King, John Riconda, Daryl Lowery, Jerry Finan, and Janell Saunders joined ride leader Randy Schoch (Jackie is recovering from cataract surgery) for what was supposed to be a nice relatively warm ride on a December day.  Such was not the case.  It was cold and breezy but we went anyway.  After we warmed up, it turned out to be a good ride.  The trail was lightly used by other bikers, walkers and/or dogs.  We didn't tarry long at the White Plains Trail Head rest break because we didn't want to cool down.  All  made it back to the Village Green with no problems.  It felt good to get out and ride.

Ride leader: Steve Palincsar
Riders: Richard Harrington, Scott Walker, Lisa Oken, Larry Peed, Regina & Mike Saizan, Loretta Troen, Joan Oppel, Darryl Lowery, Alan Kurzweil, Teresa Martin, Karen Fitzgerald, Ryan Steadman, Lara [Illegible], Erica Kane, Darin King, Lou Dallorso and, joining us en route, Sam Perry; members all, according to the sign-up sheet (although no "Lara" could be found in the list of members).
Weather: The forecast called for partly couldy and a high of 53.  That turned out to be spectacularly wrong.  Bright sun, clear cloudless blue skies, 40s at the start rising to the low 50s by noon and then all the way to 61 by 2 pm.  You'd think it couldn't get much nicer than this for the 19th of December (at least, if you hadn't heard the forecast for the 20th).
Route: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/3788195 a 34 mile figure-8 with 1150' of climbing: two familiar loops, but put together in an unfamiliar way. 

We began by taking North Keys and Martin to Molly Berry and Nelson Perrie -- except for a couple of A riders who missed either Nelson Perrie or Westwood and ended up with 10 bonus miles on the Croom Rollers -- to Westwood with a quick bio-break at the Baden VFD for the CC group and on to the scheduled rest stop at the Cedarville Deli.  No A/B group, so on we went, Cedarville to Dent, St Thomas Church, Poplar Hill and Dr Mudd to the Moreland store, where we did meet the A/B group.  Shortly after the CC group arrived, the A/Bs took off, with some following Darin on a six mile bonus loop down Young, Celestial and Wilkerson, the rest continuing to Malcolm, Horsehead, Brandywine and a little jog down Gibbons Church and North Keys.

Mishaps and mechanicals: none, unless you count bonus miles -- and on day like today, bonus miles hardly counted as "mishaps."
AMS: 13.7 for the CC group, and a lot faster than that for the A/Bs.