Best of Brandywine: Trumps Hill & Patuxent River Park  Leader: Steve Palincsar

A foggy morning and overcast, low 60s at 10:30 but clearing and becoming a glorious sunny day in the mid-70s by noon.  As gray as the morning was, I thought the 18 cue sheets I printed for the day would be far too many, but there were already cars at the fire station when I arrived at 10:00, and they just kept on coming: 21 all told. 

Among those present were:  Randy Schoch, Jim McDermott, Grant Bagley, Craig Turner, Darryl Lowery, Joan Oppel, Tom Roberson, Alan Kurzweil, Jane and Jim Hudnall, Barry Winkleman, Richard Harrington, Dave VanAmayden, Mike Bivens, Sharon Miller, Tom Short, Sam Perry, John Early (who joined us at Patuxent River Park), Kelly Bilak (visiting from Atlanta, GA) and one other whose name became a blurred water color when my water bottle leaked on the sign-up sheet on the way home.  (And one other, who arrived without cycling shoes and went home without riding. Don't you hate it when that happens?)

A big group, and fast, too.  I lost sight of the main group on North Keys three miles into the ride, didn't see them again until I arrived at Jug Bay.   Turning left off Duval onto Croom Airport en route to Park Entrance Road I met Tom Short, who had been in the lead group, heading back home; if he'd gone all the way down to the rest stop, the leaders must have been at least 10 minutes ahead.  Those at back of the pack arriving with me were averaging 15.6 mph at the time, putting the leaders up over 18. 

The route was just under 39 miles long: down North Keys, back on Cross Road Trail to 301and Old Indian back to 301, down Trumps Hill to Croom up to the Mount Calvert Spur and down Mount Calvert and Duvall to a rest stop at Jug Bay, then back on Croom Airport and Croom to a second rest stop at the Nottingham store.  

The last part of the route featured a 6 mile loop down Candy Hill to Nottingham, Tanyard, Brooks Church and Croom back to Candy Hill (that some skipped), returning on Molly Berry and North Keys.  39 miles, 2172' of climbing, and 14.2 mph at the back of the pack. 

Photos are now up on Facebook

Ride leader Ron Leak was joined by Ken Meredith on a ride around parts of Charles and Prince George's Counties. The route was changed to accommodate traffic. Instead of going down to Dr. Bowen, we took Horsehead Rd. There were no incidents during the ride.

Ride Leader Jane Hudnall with Richard Harrington, Ron Leak, Holly Carr, Shane LaBrake, Kristen Watts and LoRita Simmons. This was LoRita's first ride with the club and, as a beginning cyclist, she challenged herself to do the 16 mile route. Other beginning or casual cyclists are encouraged to join us for a ride of about 10 miles or shorter to get use to riding on the roads and with a group. Call the ride leader to let him or her know you are planning to ride. Shane and Richard decided to race from the river back to the fire station while the women took a more relaxed pace. Jim and Ron hung back with LoRita and offered encouragement as she completed the ride. [Photo]

Ride Leader Jane Hudnall with Richard Harrington, Ron Leak, Holly Carr, Shane LaBrake, Kristin Watts and LoRita Simmons. This was LoRita's first ride with the club and as a beginning cyclist, she challenged herself to do the 16 mile route. Other beginning or casual cyclist are encouraged to join us for a ride of about 10 miles or shorter to get use to riding on the roads and with a group. Call the ride leader to let him or her know you are planning to ride. Shane and Richard decide to race from the river back to the fire station while the women took a more relaxed pace. Jim and Ron hung back with LoRita and offered encouragement as she completed the ride.

It was a near perfect evening for a ride tonight with temperatures at about 72 at the start. We had another great turnout with 18 riders in total. Club members included Jan Tucker, Ken Meredith, Charles Coe, John Choate, Mike Dent, Michael Blaine, Scott Oglesby, Brad Renter, Drayton Reese, Jeff Lagana, Brad Francisco, Blake Altman, Michelle Dyer, Dave Owens, and both your ride leaders. We also had two guests, Rob Golding and Mike Cordova. It was an excellent ride and the group split early into like-minded riders. We had another flat on Crain Hwy on the way into La Plata; a group effort got it repaired quickly.

Ron Leak was joined by Ken Meredith and Brad Renter on a ride out to Pisgah and back via the trail.  The road was a little more crowded than expected with people getting home from work, but all in all it was an enjoyable ride.  It was a nice day with clouds in the sky and the temperature in the 70s.  The trail was a bit crowded from Bensville Rd.to Theodore Green Rd, but we managed.  At this point Michie Sidwell joined up, and we had a nice push up to Middletown Rd. from Bensville rd.  I am still trying to get used to that incline, even though it is slight, it does take some out when trying to push.  After getting to Middletown, it was a nice cool down ride back to Theodore Green. 

March 20 Southern Exposure: Goose Bay via Hawthorne & Burch Leader: Steve Palincsar

It was a good day to be riding in the Mattawoman Watershed rather than Southern Maryland. The night's rain had moved east by 9 am, while radar showed heavy rain moving from Brandywine down to Leonardtown all morning.  It was cool and cloudy with not much wind: 63 at 10, rising to 71 and clearing by 1 pm, and humid enough for cue sheets to get soggy by the time we arrived at the first rest stop at Goose Bay.

We were a fairly small group today: Richard Harrington, Jimmy Bartlett, Randy Schoch, Darryl Lowery, Linda and Paul Bankerd, Jim Hudnall, Michie Sidwell and Dave VanAmayden.

The 37 mile route went down Livingston, up Hawthorne to Ripley, Poorhouse to Burch, right on 6 to Blossom Point Rd and down to Goose Bay for a rest stop. After the break we took Mill Swamp back to 6, headed west to Welcome, Fire Tower to Annapolis Woods and Poorhouse to a second rest stop at the Pisgah store; then Mason Springs and Chicamuxen back to Hawthorne, returning on Indian Head Highway.

In all, a very pleasant day for riding, a relief to not have the strong winds of the past week, and the pace showed it, everyone finishing at 14.5 and above, having held over 15 mph for most of the ride.

The gray skies and cool weather quickly morphed to sun, blue skies and warms temps for the afternoon ride down the trail to Smallwood.  Leader Polly Choate was joined at the start by 14 riders including: Janell Saunders, Jim & Jane Hudnall, Jean Wright, Theresa Jackson, Mike Bivens, John Riconda, Walter & Holly Carr, Richard Harrington, Dee & Tim McChesney, Herman Young, and Larry Pied. On the way back, we were joined by Calvin and Celeste Conyers who had discovered their broken gas gauge when they ran out of gas near BJ's. Without a gas can, Calvin considered putting gas in his water bottle, but thought the better of it, and bought a small gas can.  We're glad you both made it ok and could enjoy a nice ride!

The morning started with heavy fog, misting the windshield during the drive to the ride start.  All was dry in The Plains, VA (and stayed dry throughout the ride) and 25 riders enjoyed a very scenic up and down ride through Aldie and Atoka back to The Plains.  The sun finally showed itself 8 miles from the end of the ride but the route itself got many compliments.  Total mileage was just under 46 miles.  Oxon Hill was represented by Michelle Dyer, Alan Kurzweil and Tom Roberson (it was a joint ride with Potomac Pedalers).    

The weather wasn't at all what I was expecting from the weekend's weather reports.  It was cool, overcast, misty, and the roads were wet.  Bob Thompson, Chantal Briere, Blake Altman, Liam Healy, Ken Meredith, John Clark, Jack Gardiner, Nancy Avitabile, and Richard Edelman braved the wet roads and mist to join me for this ride.  We quickly split into 2 groups but met at the rest stop.  Nancy and Richard went on ahead while the rest stayed a bit longer to give me and Liam a chance to take advantage of the break.  The 2nd part of the ride was at a more leisurely pace, with the group staying together, soft pedaling when needed to let those behind catch up.  Towards the end of the ride the sun came out.  All in all a good day.  Ride leader averaged 15.6 mph.