Co-Ride Leaders Calvin Conyers and Herman Young were very pleased to be joined by 10 members in the CC/C group with a shared start from the Brandywine Fire House with the B group led by Janell and Ruth Ann. Under  weather perfect for riding, the route delivered on it's promise of "lot's of flats, rollers, and only reasonable hills"  we also had plenty ofnice scenary and shaded road covers.  All riders completed the ride with no mechanical problems and at or above expected times/speeds.

Thanks to Jimmy Bartlet, Ani Hortini, Bill Blankenship, Laquinia and William Beale, Valerie Love, Brooky Givens, Diana Donahue, Latasha Banks, and Celeste Conyers for coming. Also special thanks to Diana who  (while even nursing a sore foot) rode ahead and marked turns to make certain no rider missed one.

 

First, I must apologize to Chantal.  The first turn on the cue sheet was supposed to be a Right and not a Left.

Leader was Jackie Schoch and riders were, Randy Schoch, Larry Peed, Calvin, Richard Harrington, Steve Palincsar, La Tasha Banks, Jane and Jim Hudnall, Jeanne Ulrich and Brookey Love.  We had a great ride. Today was also a good day to see creatures like a young eagle, hawk and a box turtle.  We also had our picture taken at the NEW rain shelter that was built. I wish I could say it was built  just for the Friday Group since we know a lot about being caught in the rain on Fridays.

Absolutely fabulous weather today, 70-80 degrees and sunny, with any chance of rain only very late in the day.  Today the group consisted of Larry Peed, Joan Oppel, Regina and Mike Saizan, Barry Winkleman, Dave VanAmayden, Jim and Jane Hudnall, John Early, Sam Perry, Loretta Troen, Richard Harrington, Dana Middleton, guest Fred Warwick and leader Steve Palincsar.

Bike Virginia's only a few weeks away, and here we are in the flatlands (relative to Bike Virginia, anyway!) with little opportunity to do any real hill training.  Today's route was meant to fill that gap.  According to ridewithgps, the route had 2,259 feet of climbing (although Barry's GPS only recorded something just short of 1800 feet) including Mattaponi and St. Thomas Church, Duvall and Mount Calvert, Croom Station and Cross Road Trail, with one rest stop at the Safeway located at South Osborne and Rt 301.

The hills, such as they were (I talked up the hills before the ride start, and at the rest stop and at the end several riders expressed disappointment and asked where had the fabled hills gone to) seemed to agree with the group and helped keep them together and at a reasonable pace.  Unlike some other rides, we didn't see large breakaway A groups averaging 16 mph today; pretty much everyone stayed together and had averages around 14 mph.  We'll have to do this more often!

Although it was a lovely day, for Jim it wasn't a particularly lucky one.  His rear shifter cable broke by the rest stop -- recall Tuesday's discussion about STI shifters and breaking cables?  This happened to him last year on the legendary "Lucky Jim" ride, and Shimano gave him a new STI unit that allegedly was free of the defect causing premature cable breakage.  (Guess the new unit has the defect as well.)  And as with last year's sequence of cascading failures, the bad luck didn't stop there.  He got a flat on the return, and discovered his spare tube had a valve stem too short for his inflator.  Fortunately, someone riding along with him had a pump that fit the valve.  But, it's off to the bike shop for a new cable, a new tube and a new tire, and let's hope the bad luck stops there. 

And word to the wise: it's a good idea to test your pump or inflator to be sure it actually fits the tube you've brought along as a spare -- and also to be sure that spare doesn't have a hole in it, like the last two I used to fix flats on a ride!

So let's talk about right hand integrated shift cable breakage for a minute.  Does it happen with SRAM and Campagnolo?  Or is this strictly a Shimano problem?  And what groups are prone to it?  Does it happen with the new style STI units with the cable housings that go under the bar wrap, or is it confined to the older style units with the housings that stick out sideways? 

Two things are for sure: it's better to replace the cable before it breaks than after; and you won't get any useful warning ahead of time.  So that leaves you with preventative replacement on a time-table. 

Obviously, although replacing the cable every time you pump up your tires would avoid the problem, but chances are that's just a big too often.  Change the cable when you clean and lube the chain?  For some that is never, so that won't do; if you're like me, that would be every 100 miles, and that's probably excessive as well.  Annually?   I guess that depends on how many miles you put on each of your bikes in a year:  I put over 5,000 miles on one of my bikes in the 10 months I've had it, and I doubt an STI cable will last that long.  Has anyone had an STI shifter cable break in less than 1,000 miles? 

Maybe if you have had the bike a year and haven't had the cable replaced, some time in the next 24 hours and definitely before you go on the next ride would be a good time to have that done.  It's not just being stuck on the road with a two-speed; if you remember the "push the derailleur in so the chain stays on a large sprocket and hold it in place with cable tension, catching the cable under a water bottle cage" trick, you will have two useful gears, and some would say that's all you really need.  It's also that sometimes that little broken off stub of cable will jam the STI unit and you will have to buy a new one.  And that can be really painful.

Update: Jim's cable was successfully replaced, and the shifter is now working properly again.

The skies above were mostly sunny, and it was a comfortable 70F.  Dark storm clouds were lurking nearby throughout the ride though, and the raindrops started to fall as the ride leader rode into his driveway 3/4 mile from the start/finish point.  Joining me for the ride were Kirsten Watts, Randy Schoch, LaTasha Banks, Calvin Conyers, Larry Perkins, Jimmy Bartlett, Jim Hudnall, Jane Hudnall, and Richard Harrington.  Ron Leak joined us shortly after the start, and Peter and Jeanne Ulrich were approaching the river as the rest of the group were heading back to the firehouse. 

No mechanical problems on the ride, and I sincerely hope that Ron made his trek home before the rain started, and that Peter and Jeanne also missed the raindrops.

The rain was short-lived, and a little while after arriving home, Kirsten and I witnessed a beautiful double rainbow that lingered for over 15 minutes.     

Although this was a same day impromptu posted ride, 6 members were able to join the ride leader on this nice stress-free ride on the trail.  In addition to LaTasha Banks, Gigi Talastas, Diana Brown, Reggie Stokes, and Ron Leak, Jackie Schoch rode even though she had already completed the 34 miles route in the morning.  Her total miles for the day exceeded 60.  That's impressive! 

 It was a very nice ride, enjoyed by all.  Let's do it again.

A cool day - perhaps 60 when we left Bryans Road, reaching a chilly 70 by the time we finished - and windy. They said "partly cloudy," but that didn't begin to describe the large puffy clouds, some with dark blue and gray bellies that seemed to promise rain, interspersed with areas of clear blue skies and brilliant sunshine.

In the group today were Jon Agazzi, Randy and Jackie Schoch, Jay Lewis, Darryl Lowery, Mike Bivens, Jane and Jim Hudnall, Paul and Linda Bankerd, Loretta Troen, Richard Harrington, Dana Middleton and Sam Perry, and guests Thane and Robert.

Today's route was a counterclockwise loop to Goose Bay: Pomfret and Bumpy Oak to Ripley, Annapolis Woods, Fire Tower and Mill Swamp to the rest stop, followed by climbs on Blossom Point, Rose Hill and Bumpy Oak for the return, and as you'd imagine, faster in the first half than on the way back.

The group split in two early on, a small A contingent going off the front and long gone by mile 3, with a fairly cohesive large group of B riders arriving at the Marina with 15.something averages. Neither the average nor the cohesion would survive Rose Hill and Bumpy Oak, of course. Still, the last one in finished with a 14.1 mph average.

Jay Lewis' rear shift cable broke at the shifter on the way to Goose Bay, and not the first time for him. It seems his cables last around 1 year, perhaps 2,000 miles, and then a brief warning of gears auto-shifting is quickly followed by complete failure at the shifter. Much the same happened to Jim last year.

Do you change your cables before they fail? I don't use STI - my bikes have bar end shifters, and when those start to go the frayed strands poke you in the finger, like getting stuck with a pin - hard to ignore, even with full finger gloves on. Unless you notice the auto-shifting (and even there, you may only get a few minutes advance warning) a failing cable may take you completely by surprise. How's your luck holding?

Rider leader, John Gorman, was joined by his wife Diane, member Bernie Cohen, and returning guest Judie Artman. For those of us that live in northern PG, or for Bernie coming way over in VA, the 65 mile trek from Annapolis over the Bay Bridge and then north/east bound  MD-301 @ the RT 50E split (which you never stop for lights, etc), is an enjoyable auto ride to experience the wide-open shoulders of these nearly flat rural farmlands, for cycling.  Not to say that riding often into head and/or cross winds (similar to the Seagul), coming across the corn fields, doesn't offer some nice continuing endurance, but doesn't put you thru the heavy chest breathing of super climbing.

Today was one of those post-card cycling days of temps in the low 70s w/ breath taking clear blue (smog free!) skies w/ white puffy clouds. The route used was a tweeked one from the annual "Ride-to-See" Galen event, w/ a few GPS mapped out cut thrus of corn fields to get you off the N/S E/W major roads. A stop & U-turn at the end of Turner's Creek, offered a photo shot (see FaceBook) @ mile 27. We all enjoyed a comfortable and steady CC pace, w/ some going ahead and others ensuring no one got dropped. No problems of any kind were noted and we all returned to the Galena Middle School lot together. Seeing some different scenery is nice time to time. The Chestertown, Galena, Rock Hall towns in Kent County, would offer a nice future overnight B/B trip in the future for OHBC.  Lots of pre-published cycling routes, to choose from and 85% low or non-traffic conditions w/ wide shoulders.  

Ride Leaders Calvin Conyers & Herman Young were pleased to be joined by 12 members and guests on this nice Sunday evening ride to the Smallwood Park Marina.  Although cloudy at the start, the skies cleared completely and gave a wonderful view of the waterfront .  Riders shared good stories and suggestions.  Everyone was very impressed with our youngest rider, Nate Faucht, age 10, performance (+13AMS).  This polite young man is the grandson of member John Riconda.

Leader Claire Chiamulera with John Choate, Blake Altman, and George Chiamulera. It was a beautiful morning to ride to the Leonardtown Criterium, an annual short-circuit race held on the town square. We rode at a strong clip for the first 25-mile leg through St. Mary’s County. Bayside Road, a quiet, shady back road with some fun rollers was a highlight and Blake's favorite St. Mary's road. As we rolled into Leonardtown, a race was underway (Cat 4 women). We spotted OH member Diane Harris leading a pack of racers. What perfect timing to arrive and be able to cheer for her. Diane met us after and said she’d heard us and saw my red ride leader jersey. She’d also had her best race on this course (congrats Diane!). We stayed for an hour, watching the men’s masters race before leaving to complete our ride. On the 20-mile return, the wind picked up on a few roads but we still finished strong. We all had a great time!

Photos