Rider Leader John Gorman joined by Ken Meredith, Scott Walker, Dave Melville, and Pano Gianniotis, on a cold cloudy start of 41 degrees w/ winds of 15-20 mph & stronger gusts. So when the weatherman talks about windchill chill temps, today is what he's telling you. All riders had the appropriate winter riding gear on and we had no problems.

The route uses lots of straightways going down to Moreland's Store (Cedarville/St. Peters/Poplar Hill-Dr Mudd/Woodville to the break @ mile 15.  After the break we took another long straightway S. on Gallant Green before turning left thru Bassford/Truman Manor/(ride leader's diversonf) going up Young back to R on Woodville, back up to the 4-way stop & L back on the retrace loop of Poplar Hill (nicely paved conditions)/Cedarville to L -Ashbox & L- Brandywine Rd. Then using the typical  side roads of Gibbons Chruch / N. Keys back to Brandywine and the less than 2mile finish to the lot.   

As expected on cold riding days there were some stronger riders who came out, Dave & Scott grouped together from the front and rode back  together finishing w/ a 15.85 ams.

Panu, Ken, and I grouped together on the return (w/ Ken kindly letting me re-group on the inclines), giving the rider leader a final: 14.85 ams, total riding time of 2:43 and 40miles. Total elvation was 1100ft. No mechanical or adverse problems to report. All riders seemed to give me the "thumbs up" for the route and ride.

As Ken & I discussed on days of this temp & combined winds, it is better for Dec-Feb ride's miles to be 30-35miles.  Look for my future winter rides to be in that range and  my standard offer of 14ish ams, sweep support and lower elvations routes, than the typical OHBC cuesheet libray listings.      

Although John Gorman had four or five for his faster, shorter and flatter route, it was just Holly and me for the 42 mile CC version. Not too surprising, considering the day: 40 degrees "feels like 30" due to the wind chill at the start, blustery with 20 mph winds gusting upwards of 30, and overcast skies with gray clouds that parted allowing the sun to peek through only as we were in the last few miles of the ride, and then only for a few minutes.

Even at the end of the ride at 1:30, the temperature never got above the low 40s and felt like the mid 30s. Of course, once you get going and provided you have the right clothing, days like this don't feel cold, exactly, and with a strong north wind you could almost believe you were having a really good day when you're headed south. And that pretty much sums up the first part of the ride.

We left the ride start a few minutes before the B group, and they didn't catch up with us until the first rest stop at the Moreland Market. My computer quit working after the first few minutes out of the car, probably a dying battery in the pickup unit, but Holly's GPS said we'd averaged 15.1 or so getting to the rest stop; the B group arrived with a 16 point something AMS. We left the store before them and never saw them again.

Both routes went down Gallant Green and Bassford, but where John's group went left on Young and then retraced back on Poplar Hill and St. Thomas Church, Holly and I went up that steep little rise on Celestial (amazing how quickly it gets hot inside those windproof layers), then took Wilkerson and Dr. Bowen over to the Little Store for a second rest stop. And then the payback began.

Heading north on Aquasco was tough, but riding the Croom Rollers in the teeth of a headwind was something else again. Normally if you go all out on the downhill you can ride your momentum most of the way up the steep rise at Mill Town Landing, but today the gusting winds meant we crept down the hill and reached the rise with no momentum to speak of. After fighting our way along Croom, we turned on Baden Westwood, once again into head winds.

Somewhere along Croom my annual mileage rolled over 10,000 and I briefly considered twitting Holly, telling her now that I'd reached my goal for the year I was stopping right there, and she should go back to the car and SAG me back, but the grim look on her face convinced me that wouldn't be a good idea. It was still a tough slog into the wind along Bald Eagle School, Nelson Perrie and Molly Berry.

Things got better once we made the turn on North Keys, and by the time we passed Cross Road Trail the clouds parted and the sun came out; time to take off the wind breaker and put on the sun glasses! The good times lasted until we got to Brandywine Rd., when the clouds returned and once more it was back into the head wind.

We arrived at the firehouse after exactly 3.5 hours, unknown AMS, to find the Bs had long since come and gone. A tough winter ride, but fun.

Ride Leaders: Larry Perkins and John Gorman

Riders: Calvin, his two guests, David and Derek, Reggie, Harold or was that Herman (C/CC  joke), Nancy Ruth and Teeny, Tom, and guest 'B" riders Michael and Kerry.

To begin make sure you are sitting.. are u ready? Calvin showed up 30, yes 30, minutes EARLY! I know you are saying the same thing Fred Sanford said, "Oh, this time its real, I'm a-comin' 'Lizabeth!"….  Luckily no one did have a heart attack. After the shock wore off, we got ready to ride. The temp was on the rise as the sun rose so we took off on time (+- 10m). We had 10 riders (4 of them were guests), not counting the 2 ride leaders. 

This ride turned into a Musical.  We had a C Minor (Calvin did not feel good in the beginning), then we had a B Minor (a guest B rider could not keep up with the C/CC pace), next we had a B Flat (other B rider got a flat with NO spare tube) which lead to the C Major (the C/CC Ride Leader was there with a spare tube), and lastly we had a D Minor (the B Minor who rode from home to start had to be SAG'ed home). All in all we had a Great Time and made room for more Turkey with all the Fixins.

I want to thank John Gorman for being my Co-Ride Leader and marking turns for us. Job well Done. 

Hope everyone and a Great Thanksgiving.

Larry Perkins

Riders:  John R, Leslie Wiggins, Lisa Watson, Walter Carr, Jane Hudnall, Jim Hudnall, Polly Choate, Belinda Acre, Warren Green.

The weather was great ... sunny and warm. We had a beautiful, mostly flat route and a good group of riders.This was a short ride,  setup for those who wanted to get in some saddle time on turkey day, but didn't have a lot of time. This ride was perfect.  We split into two groups, faster riders in front, slower riders in the rear. Polly, Belinda, Walt and I brought up the rear ... I finished with a 13.5 average. Jane, Leslie, Lisa, and Warren had the lead. Jim was all over the place (taking pictures).  I didn't see a lot of John, but he was waiting for us at the end ... he added in a few loops around the neighborhood to keep from being bored. Everyone had a great time, and left feeling justified (after this workout) about eating any/every thing they wanted for Thanksgiving.

Hope you all had a good Holiday.

Special Thanks to Jane for taking the lead group!!!

RIDERS: Jon Aggazi, Joselyn Herrington and guests Sophie Ballo and Chris White

This was one of four rides starting from Gwen Park HS for a Thansgiving Day ride.  It was a beautiful morning and the parking lot was full of energy and positive vibes as everyone scrambled to get ready, find the cue sheet to the ride they wanted to do, and meet and greet other members.  Their were four other riders to join me for the faster ride.  We stayed together for most of the ride.  However, I fall behind on Aquasco and Croom roads while maintaing an A pace.  We regrouped at the corner of Croom and Madison.  We separated again shortly after and Joselyn and I rode in together.  Special thanks to Jon who offered to sweep, however, since I was the slowest of the bunch that wasn't necessary.  Also, a special mention: Sophie Ballo is from California and is here visiting family for Thanksgiving.  She brought her bike looking to ride and we are very happy that she chose to ride with OHBTC.  She was very impressed with the ride and all of the positive energy from everyone. 

We had a great ride: Ride Leader finished with 17.7 AMS

Ten of us gathered in the parking lot - but six were there for the B section of the CC ride - only 4 of us rode the (mostly) CC pace (there was occasional pace inflation today).  Linda Bankerd, Paul Bankerd, Steve Palincsar and I rode a very stretched out line for this 32 mile 3 Hills ride created by Mike B (Barry's Hill, Mill Hill and Turkey Hill - I guess Bumpy Oak doesn't count any more).  

Ride Leaders: Jim and Jane Hudnall

It had warmed up to the mid 40s when we left Bryans Road at 10:00.  A quick stop on Bumpy Oak to remove a layer, and by the time we stopped at Scott's Store on Welcome Rd at mi 14.7 it had warmed up to the low 50s, where it stayed for the rest of the day.  Sunny, breezy and crisp all day.

It was a joint PPTC/Oxon Hill ride, and I was pleasantly surprised to have 15 besides myself in the group.  After Saturday's ride, I anticipated 5, prepared for 16.  In the group were Patricia Sanders, Linda and Paul Bankerd, Mike Bivens, Holly Carr, Joan Oppel, Rita Bell, Loretta Troen, Joni Forman and PPTC members Bruce Rolfsten, Jill Thompson-Riese, Pano Giannioto, Jeff Mason, Stephen Cohen, Brodi Kemp and Sara Thrall.

The pace, as is common for this sort of ride, varied: a fast group doing what they do off the front but regrouping at the rest stops, and a "borderline B" group a bit strung out at the back, ranging from the low 14s to the high 13s.

The route was very rural and featured a few surprises: Smith Point Rd. from Maryland Point Rd to Riverside (if people ride it at all, it's always from Riverside towards 6 as a shortcut); a water stop at the Nanjemoy Community Center, skipping the Nanjemoy store (which, as you may recall, made it clear earlier this year that they really didn't appreciate our presence or our business); and Greenleek Hill from Rt. 6 to Jacksontown, which I doubt has ever been on a club ride before.

One minor mishap to report: Linda Bankerd had a flat tire somewhere along Livingston Rd. almost at the end of the ride.  We'd gotten pretty well strung out after the second rest stop, and the end of the trailing group passed her somewhere near the intersection with Hungerford, walking.  It didn't seem worth doing a roadside tire repair so close to the end. [Edit: just learned, Jill had a flat too, about 5 miles from the end, which puts it on Chicamuxen just before Lackey HS]

Stats from the back of the pack: recorded AMS of 0.0 (it's quit working on this computer) but the Pace Arrow seemed to think 13.7 was below the average and 14.0 was above.  54 miles, 2162 feet of climbing, and just under 5 hours total elapsed time.

This route -- http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1799509 --  is a keeper; I'll definitely lead it again.

Cool temperatures at ride start had us all well layered anticipating it would warm up and we'd start shedding clothes.  And that's exactly what happened.  John Giglio, Blake Altman, Ken Meredith, Jesse Tampio, Jack Gardner, and another cyclist who wishes to remain anonymous, joined me for this 46 mile ride through southern Prince Georges County.  We warmed up quickly especially after Jesse was chased by one of 3 pit bull-looking dogs shortly after the ride started.  Other than that the ride was uneventful.  17.1 ams with 1615 feet of climbing (it felt like more than that!) over 46 miles.