The gusty winds of yore had died down, temps were rising, with sunny blue skies. Leader Polly Choate was joined by John Riconda, Dee McChesney, Jay Lewis, Richard Harrington, and Belinda Acre on this 26mi C/CC ride. The 3 guys surged ahead.  We 3 ladies were joined by John Early at 301/Dyson Rd. We all re-grouped at Cedarville Deli, rediscoving it is closed on Sundays. The real pitstop awaited at WAWA. Some headwinds on the way back, we bid adieu to John at Danville Rd. All agreed -- good company and a pleasant riding day with 12.5mph for the leader who swept from behind.

Being much warmer and sunnier than the day before, ride leader Holly Carr met with Diane Harris, sister Theresa, Linda Bankard, Ruthann Cumberland, Janell Saunders, Mike Bivins and the Hudnalls.  We all enjoyed a B pace until low and behold, a extraordinary tire blowout occurred on the way back.  Not to worry, Jim Hudnall "gave Diane the Boot" and the tire was good enough to get her back to Starbucks, where we all enjoyed some mojo.  Good trip, good folks, great day!

Members John Giglio, John Choate, Ken Meredith and Claire Chiamulera joined me for the Doncaster and Nanjemoy ride. The temperatures were in the mid 30’s at the ride start and it got up to the low 40’s by the end of the ride.  Fortunately, the winds were down from the day before!  We had a nice ride down to the rest stop at Linda’s Store where we stopped for drinks and a bathroom break. We stood around talking for a while in the parking lot which felt good in the sun. However, we stopped too long and were chilled for a bit once we started up again. It was a very pleasant ride with everyone staying together though out the ride and everyone taking turns at the front. We finished up with a 17.5 MPH average which isn’t too bad for this time of year.

Rider leader John Gorman was joined by member Walter Measday and PPTC guest Chris Bradshaw. This ride was a combo start with Steve Palincsar's 45 mile post.  Well the event of the day was the WIND advisory posting for the metro area, which by start time had sustained winds of 15-25 gusting near 40, with temps of maybe 40, well either we are simply gung ho or crazy(?).   We pushed off into some serious head/crosswind conditions, I and Joan Oppel committed that we almost got blown over. Lucikly upon starting down Rossback and Patuxent River Roads, the buffering of the large trees allowed the ride to be bearable. 

What John said. It was Joan and me, John and his group, and the wind. After the break at Harwood we headed down Polling House directly into strong gusty winds - confused, whirling leaves, sudden sideways shoves, but somehow always ending up dead ahead. At one point I was going down what seemed to be a 6% grade, standing out of the saddle in a low gear, doing all of 6 mph. At the intersection of Bayard and Sands, instead of turning left to follow the route, we turned right and headed back, cutting off around 17 miles. John rode longer, and he ended up doing it faster.

Leaders were Jackie and Randy Schoch, riders were Jimmy Bartlett, Jane and Jim Hudnall, Ruddy Elly, Jeanne Ulrich, Larry Peed and Calvin Conyers.  The weather reporters said it would be in the 70's.  It was 55 when the ride started. The photographer from the MD Independent Paper was there to take pictures of bike riders on the trail. We were told not to wave to the camera. The ride started out great.  The fast group was ahead and Randy, Jackie and Calvin were taking their time since Jackie was riding slow due to a back problem.  When we got close to White Plains the fast group was heading back due to hearing thunder.  So we turned around and then Jackie saw the lighting and started counting to the sound of the thunder.  Jackie told the guys the storm was 2 miles away.  Well within the two miles the sky open up to a thunder storm over top of us.  We got to one of the picnic areas to get under a roof that we found out the roof leaked. At Bumpy Oak Road there are now 2 porta-pottys, Jimmy Bartlett was in one to get out of the storm and he was talking to a girl in the other one who was doing the same thing.  The girl called for somebody to pick her up and they also took Jimmy back to his car.  Jeannie, who was dressed like it was supposed to be in the 70's (no jacket and she had shorts on) was in the porta-potty at the Bennsville Road.  Jeannie was so happy to get into Jim Hudnall's warm van. When they got back to their vehicles, Jackie, Randy and Calvin were SOAKED.  Jackie and Randy had to squeeze the water out of their socks.  All they wanted to do was go home and get into a very hot shower.  Jim, Jane, Calvin and his wife ate at Cala Jaro's.  I have to say this is a ride we will never forget.  What an adventure!

Feb 23 Best of Brandywine: Croom and Eagle Harbor, Leader: Steve Palincsar A lovely early spring day: sunny, temperatures in the 50s and 60s but a brisk wind that seemed much stronger than predicted. Joining me were Jimmy Bartlett, Holly Carr, Regina Saizan, Joan Oppel, Tom Roberson, Richard Harrington, Diane Harris, Sharon Miller, Sam Perry, Linda and Paul Bankerd, Jim and Jane Hudnall and Dave VanAmayden, with John Early meeting us at the rest stop at the IGA on Aquasco Rd for the second half of the ride.

Note to self: when you dig in the "archive" pile of left over cue sheets, check to see if you've changed the route since the last time you led it, even if the change was just fixing an omitted turn. And failing that, make sure you take a new one, not an old one.

Other than that, no mishaps or excitement, but lots of ups and downs, especially in the middle 20 mile segment, which included Nelson Perrie, the Croom Rollers, Eagle Harbor Rd. and Dr. Bowen. 37 miles and 1400 feet of climbing: 78' in the first 5 miles, 1175' in the next 20 and 175' in the final 12 miles.  Final average: 12.9 mph.

Today's ride was 34 miles, with wind and chilly temperatures.  Eleven riders joined me: Paul and Linda Bankerd, Mike Bivens, Richard Harrington, Jim Hudnall, Darryl Lowery (preparing for writing a paper prior to his evening class), Steve Palincsar, Larry Peed, John Riconda plus Yvonne and Henry Hoyle on their super trikes doing their own thing.    We circled around and about from Bryans Road Shopping Center toward Indian Head then to the Trail, and then through Pisgah.  We stopped at the store on Rt. 6 near the community of Welcome (the store is on the obscure Welcome Rd. while the map says Welcome is more or less in the middle of Mill Swamp).  The store is friendly and has a bathroom, a good rest stop.  It is actually reached off Fire Tower Rd, a hundred feet or so before Rt. 6.  We encountered lots of one lane closures for road work today but friendly flag crews gave us plenty of time to get through.   

Ride Leader Ron Leak was joined by Ken Meredith, Carol Harris, and guest Mike Cordova, on a nice ride to Aquasco from Accokeek.  This ride was officially supposed to go at 10:00am, but due to wind chill, it was moved to 11:00am.  The ride was supposed to stay around 16 miles per hour.  Well as we all know that never really happens.  By the time we got to Cedarville State Forest the average was 18.3 mph, but come to find out after the rest stop at the IGA, we were riding with a tailwind.  So when we left the IGA, we headed down Aquasco/Brandywine with a headwind.  The final average was 16.7 mph.

Feb 20 - Presidents Day ride to Fort Washington. Leader: Steve Palincsar. Another day of clear blue skies, bright sun and brisk wind. Cooler today than earlier in the weekend: although the heavy gloves and the wind breaker came off a dozen miles into the ride, the balaclava never did. Joining me were Jim and Jane Hudnall, Holly Carr, Tom Roberson, Sue Gunter, Bruce Rolfsen and Jill Thompson-Riese. Bruce, Jill and I rode over the Wilson Bridge from Virginia, and Holly, Jim and Jane -- running late because they couldn't find their winter riding gear (if that's not a sign of unusual weather this year...!) -- rode from home and joined us opposite Oxon Hill Manor. Before the ride, Walter Carr wondered how we were going to get to Pisgah in only 30 miles - as well he should do, since we were going to Piscataway instead. Two Indian names, both places we ride to, both begin with "Pis," call it a "Brain-O". The route was very similar to the 40th Anniversary ride, except we went down Gallahan and up Livingston instead of the other way around, and instead of coming up Oxon Hill Rd. at the end, we turned left on Fort Foote (after waiting for the funeral procession with police escort) and up Loughran. Remarkable observation: we actually saw some snow on the shoulders of Old Fort Rd., perhaps enough to fill an 8 oz glass if you packed it down. So much for last night's weather forecasts!