A beautiful sunny day finally ended the long streak of dismal, gloomy weather and finished out the weekend on a glorious note.  It got to the low 50s, but windy -- according to the weather report, gusty winds between 20 and 30 mph -- so although it was pretty, we never got that "Oh my God, spring is here and I'm so not ready!" feeling.  There were 11 of us all told: Richard Harrington, Jim and Jane Hudnall, Loretta Troen (first time out after what seems like a month of illness), Janell Saunders, Jan Tucker (again, first time out in many weeks), Linda Bankerd, Holly Carr, Jill Thompson-Riese (also first time out in many weeks), Lou Dall'Orso and leader Steve Palincsar.

The basic route was 39 miles: Mason Spring to 6 to Bowie and Poseytown, Rt 6 to Greenleek Hill, then Sandy Point to Riverside, staying on Riverside for 11 miles, turning off on Holly Springs.  The short cut (which nobody took) turned off Riverside on Smith Point Rd; the long cut (which nobody took) stayed on Riverside all the way to the T at 6.  From 6 we took Ironsides to Durham Church, 6 to Welcome, then Fire Tower, Annapolis Woods and Poorhouse back to the firehouse.  Pretty scenery, lots of woods, and almost no traffic on the roads.

We seemed pretty fast today: 15.something to the first regroup at Greenleek Hill & Jacksontown; 15 again all the way down Riverside to the second regroup at Holly Springs.   We regrouped again at the water stop at Old Durham Church and then zoomed down Durham Church Rd to 6, then took a real rest stop at Scott's store on Welcome Rd. 
Linda had been experiencing lousy shifting all day, and by the time she arrived at Scott's her right hand shifter cable had completely parted. 

Spring may not be here yet, but it seems as though the spring broken STI shifter cable season is already under way.  If you can't remember the last time you changed yours, it may just be time to bring your bike around to the LBS and get it changed while it's cheap and only takes a minute, before it breaks on the road and maybe the little bits jam up the shifter and you have to buy a new one. 

After the break came my first time on Fire Tower since the crash.  Somebody who'd been there that day hooted to acknowledge the spot, and I'm pleased to say it held no terrors for me today. 

A hundred yards from the end of the ride, Holly's rear derailleur broke.  200 miles at most on a brand new SRAM Red rear mech.  Sorry it happened, but if it had to fail, it picked a good place, almost at the parking lot, because she couldn't even push the bike the way the chain was tangling itself up. 

We finished with an AMS of 14.something.

It was hard not to ride with a smile on your face today. After last Sunday’s bone-chilling cold and wind, today was a treat. Ten members joined me on this beautiful day: Scott Walker, Ken Meredith, Diane Harris, Al Manley, Mike Bivens, Darin King, Blake Altman, Jo Lutmerding, Michael Blaine, and David Kemp. We headed out from Laurel Springs and looped up around the Blue Crab Stadium and back towards La Plata before heading east towards Gilbert Run Park via Springhill-Newtown and Rte. 6. The group spread out but regrouped at the park, where we took a break by the lake. Gilbert Run is one of my favorite local parks and I always enjoy sharing it. On the return, the front group very courteously waited for the back group at various points. We all made it back to Laurel Springs without a hitch. Thanks all for coming out!

Photos

Phil Creed, Larry Peed, Tom Short and Richard Harrington, Polar Bears all, joined me today for what turned out to be a sunny, very windy and surprisingly, not all that cold (considering it was 31 when we started and 39 when we finished) but, thanks to the wind, challenging ride. One might think that on a route that does Baden Naylor, Bassford and Clestial the hard way, that terrain might be a factor in the ride's difficulty, but with the wind as it was today we never noticed the terrain, drowned out by the wind.

As predicted, clear cloudless blue skies, 10 mph winds, 31 degrees when we left Oak Ridge Park, rising to 41 by the time we arrived back at the park at 2:30.  In the group were Ken Meredith, Darin King, Janell Saunders, Scott Walker and leader Steve Palincsar.  It was, as Ken put it, a "good old fashioned polar bear ride,"  and a very pretty one.  There was almost no traffic anywhere, and a scenic route was made even nicer by the bright golden sun.

We took a vote at the first rest stop in Chaptico and all decided to do the full 46 mile route.  The A riders did a marvelous job hanging back and regrouping, and it always felt as though the group stayed together (even though Ken, Darin and Scott could drop me in a heartbeat, were they so inclined). 

Members Claire Chiamulera, Scott Walker, and Michael Blain joined me for the 48 mile Hidden Amish ride.  It was about 32 degrees at the start of the ride and windy; it was about 35 degrees at the end of the ride and windier.   The weather conditions were such that we were questioning whether riding was such a good idea.  We started out and after some painful acclimation to the conditions I think everyone was reasonably comfortable (at least I was).  After about 5 miles against the wind we turned and had the wind from the side or behind us until we turned left on to MD 242 from Dr. Johnson road; we then had a slog of almost 20 miles into the wind until the end.  We all took turns pulling and stayed together.  While the conditions were not ideal it seemed like everyone was glad to get out and ride.  We were pleasantly surprised by our 17 MPH average; I would have expected slower given the wind.  The ride moved us closer to compliance with rule #5 (www.velominati.com/the-rules/).  Special rule #5 mention goes to Claire who rode to and from the ride from home.  Did I mention it was windy?

It was supposed to snow today.  The forecast was so dire DC Randonneurs postponed its scheduled 200K brevet until next week.  I had no hope of riding today and didn't even bother to set the alarm.  So it was a huge surprise when I noticed that it was kind of nice outside and the forecast showed no chance of precipitation.  On a very last-minute basis I put in this ride, and not surprisingly only Holly and I showed up.  For a day with a dire forecast, it wasn't bad at all.  We rode for 2 1/2 hours and when we got back to the Wilson Bridge decided to skip the northern loop.  

Leader Jackie Schoch, riders were Randy Schoch, Steve Palincsar, Darin King, Jane and Jim Hudnall and John Rigonda.  We also saw Vicki Garlock on the way back from White Plains.
What a beautiful day for a ride on the Indian Head Rail and Trail.  I have to say this was Randy and my first club ride of the year. We have been on the trail on our own either by bike or walking our dog Zoe for 5 miles. We will be so  glad when the warmer weather is here to STAY.

It was a beautiful sunny winter day, sunny, breezy and eventually 50 degrees; and what better way to celebrate Valentine's Day than go for a bike ride? At least, that's what Richard Harrington, Darryl Lowery, Patricia Sanders, Holly Carry, Larry Peed, Regina and Mike Saizan, Jim and Jane Hudnall, Sharon Miller, Lou D'allorso and I thought. The route was one we haven't done in quite a while: down North Keys, up Van Brady, through Marlton and down Trumps Hill, then Croom to Mount Calvert and Duvall over to Jug Bay, returning on Candy Hill and Martin, with a final jog down Gibbon's Church. There were no breakdowns or flats I'm aware of, but Jim did some re-routing because he wasn't able to shift his front derailleur and he was planning to go straight to a bike shop after the ride. [Edit: Jim says the left STI unit failed and is being replaced.]

Nice sunny weather for our Tuesday ride. Fourteen riders joined me ( Darryl Lowery, Steve Palincsar, Larry Peed, Mike and Regina Saizan, Jane Hudnall, Sharon Miller, Alan Kurzweil, Linda and Paul Bankard, Scott Walker, Ken Meredith, Sam Perry and Joan Oppel ). We cycled from Bryans Rd to Durham Church and back, with a rest stop at the Pisgah store. No mechanicals or incidents, although the ride leader was gabbing and missed the turn at Pomfret Rd. We didn’t mind the extra mile or so.

 All in all, a great day for a winter ride!

Despite a very cold morning we meet at Rosaryville State park to ride the trail. We headed out on the trails and followed the course clockwise, we found the sunny sections had thawed out the ground and provided us with some very slipper sections. So we back down the pace and enjoyed a very enjoyable ride. Riders included Barry & Tommy