MEmbers:  Darrell Myer, Lisa Okin, Joan Oppel, Dave VanAymaden, Liam Healy, Martin Oswald, Tom Short, Donaro Gardner, Luis D'Alorso

LEader:  Ellen Goodwin 

Route:  This was a repost of a Thursday ride that was canceled due to rain.  33 mile route that started at North Keys Park, and proceeded to Merkle Nature Preserve and Patuxent River Park for two rest stops, then back to North Keys Park.

Report:  We had a good turnout of 10 riders on a forecasted sunny day with highs somewhere around 60.  The ride itself was quite hilly for 33 miles.  A few of us were on one of our first rides for the year and felt the hills.  The wind definitely picked up as the ride progressed with winds between 16 and about 23 mph.  But the company was great and the group stayed together for the whole ride for the most part.  On the way back, three of us looked for the elusive zebras that used to roam the area, but found none.  Lisa's birthday was today and we were glad to celebrate with her.    Thanks to everyone for coming out on surely the better day of the weekend.

Mechanicals:  none that I know of.  

Leader:   Ron Altemus

Members:   Donaro Gardner, Oswald Martin, Leesha Saunders, Denny Miller

Route:   Indian Head Rail Trail, Livingston Rd parking lot east to White Plains, rest stop, and westward ho! to the start

Weather:   sunny; temp range 48-54; 12-14 mph breezes out of the west with a gust or two in the 20s

AMS:   swept 11ish

Mechanicals/Mishaps:  none

Report:  nice day even with the breeze.  Not a lot of other trail users, just a few walkers, cyclists, and the blade woman.  After the winter snows and rain, all of the ponds along the trail have returned to their full levels. 

Of note - turtles sunning on logs in the Port Tobacco Creek pond just west of White Plains.  Spring is slowly coming.

Leader: Joan Oppel

Members: Lou Dall'Orso, Tom Short, Patricia Sanders, Pat Walthers

Route: A pleasant visit to Nanjemoy from Pisgah Park by way of Mason Springs and Ironsides all the way to Rt 6. Then Maryland Point to Smith Point, taking Riverside to the Nanjemoy Store, then back to Riverside. On to Chicamuxen, leading to Gilroy, Bowie, Rt 6 again and Mason Springs back to the Park         https://ridewithgps.com/routes/49794581

Weather: Mostly cloudy, with occasional sun, temperatures in the 50's, wind very light

Mechanicals/Mishaps: None.

Report: Today felt warm compared to all the prior riding days of this year - 50's for most of the ride. Riders spread out, gathered together, conversed some and spread out again throughout the day. Nanjemoy delivered very quiet roads, and polite drivers when encountered. The Nanjemoy store made for a nice rest stop, as always. 

No wildlife other than birds, spotted along the way were an eagle, a pileated woodpecker, blue birds and two killdeer.

(Ride leader forgot to take a picture.)

Leader:   Ron Altemus

Members:   Lisa Oken, Gene Villiva, Karen McMillan



Route:   what has become the de facto routing:  Out and back on Belmont Blvd, then Gunston Rd to the Mason Neck trail.  A spur on Springfield, back to the trail, and then High Point Rd to the Mason Neck State Park visitor center.  Retracing, Gunston Rd to Hallowing Point for a meander through that subdivision.  Returning, visits to Gunston Manor neighborhood, Gunston Hall, Pohick Bay Park, and finally the Pohick Bay golf course.

Weather:   a big improvement over the past week!  Plenty of sunshine and cloudless blue skies, temp range of 43-49, 3-5 mph breezes out of the NW.  It felt quite pleasant riding today.

AMS:   11ish

Mechanicals/Mishaps:   none

Report:  Lisa's first ride in Mason Neck while Karen hadn't been down there in quite a few years  The four of us rode as a group with lots of conversation.  Vehicular traffic was fairly light.  We did see several other individual cyclists. 

In Hallowing Point, we road down River Road to where it stops.  Looking through the yard of the house there, we were able to view Tundra Swans in the Great Marsh.  In the next couple of weeks, leaves will start coming out on trees and bushes and such scenic views, only possible late winter, will no longer be visible.

Leader: Joan Oppel

Members: Ron Altemus, Donaro Gardner, Susan Golonka, Oswald Martin

Weather: Sunny! Light wind! Temperature between 40 and 44 during the ride. 

Mechanicals/Mishaps: None.

Report: Another very nice day for a ride, sun, light wind, mid 40s - we were comfortable and it seemed we all knew how to dress for this kind of day.  As always, the porch at Goose Bay made for a great rest stop and as always, we stayed longer than we would have somewhere less appealing. 

Wildlife, well, "Birdlife" sightings - eagles, a red tail hawk close overhead with full tail extended, pilieated woodpecker

My arms are not long enough to get all of me plus riders plus the key element, the Goose Bay porch with sign!

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/49087127 A simple route to Goose Bay - via Pisgah  Pisgah Marbury, the Stuckeys and Poorhouse, connecting with Annapolis Woods, Fire Tower and on to Goose Bay. Return Rt 6, Burch, Poorhouse, Ripley. Go right on Hawthorne to connect with Bumpy Oak and  the Indian Head Trail

Thanks to my co-riders for a really good day on the bike!

Leaders: Joan Oppel and Ron Altemus

Members: Darrell Meyer, Rita Zeidner

Overlooking the Potomac from the Mt Vernon visible to the eye but way up river

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/40798783 The mostly standard Mason Neck route, as Ron and I like to do it. Some riders chose to add some downs and ups on a couple of hills (ups/downs not on the official route).

Weather: Temperatures 41-44, pleasant enough for winter. Mostly sunny mixed with some clouds, winds in the 12 to 17 mph range, with the higher winds early in the ride. However, the wind was at our backs on the way to Mason Neck and the end of the peninsula, and in addition this route has a lot of sheltered areas and we only felt the wind occasionally. 

Over looking Belmont Bay

Mechanicals/Mishaps: None

Report:  This was a really nice day to be riding, especially with a route that provided for the wind at our backs when it was strongest plus a lot of sheltered roads. We took our break at the Mason Neck visitor center, overlooking the bay. And it was very windy there so we bird and wave watched for a while and then moved to the other side. At the Visitor's Center, we met up and chatted with the Potomac Pedalers club riders, also a small group. They were doing the same roads but with a different twist.

Wildlife - on the first part Springfield Road a very healthy-looking beautiful fox crossed the road ahead of us, sprinting full out. And then we saw eagles more than once, possibly the same eagles tracking our progress. 

George Mason's historic home

All pictures thanks to Darrell.

RL Ron Altemus; Members Oswald Martin, Robin Garnett, Donaro Gardner



Route:   Indian Head Rail Trail

Weather:  mostly sunny, temp range 46-50, NW 9-10 mph air w/higher gusts

AMS:  swept at 11.9; others in low 12s

Mechanicals/Mishaps:  none

Report:  another day w/o a lot of trail users, maybe one other cyclist and some walkers.  No significant (nor insignificant) wildlife sightings.  Just a pleasant social ride with lots of conversation.

Leader:   Ron Altemus

Members:   Denny miller, Sam Perry, Esther Stewart, Joan Oppel, Oswald Martin, Donaro Gardner.  Not pictured:  Robin Garnett and Jackie Schoch who eschewed Marshall Hall landing for a quicker return via Barrys Hill.



Route:   Regular Tour de Accokeek routing to Bryan's Road and then an exploration of the Timber Ridge subdivisions back to Marshall Hall Road.  Following a hair raising descent of Marshall Hall Road, out and back on Fenwick prior to a rest stop at Marshall Hall Landing.  Return next featured another out/back of River Rd before resuming the standard TdeA with the ascent of Barry Hill Road.  Final leg was a short excursion left on Old Marshall Hall Road before retracing and returning to the start.  RWGPS: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/49615056  30.4 miles 735' elevation change.

Weather:  Sunny; temps 56-57 degrees, feeling warmer in the sun with a tailwind, colder near the river with a headwind; said winds out of the NW 12-15 mph gusting to the mid 20s, most noticeable between Fenwick and Marshall Hall landing.

AMS:   swept in the mid 10s

Mechanicals/Mishaps:   none

Report:   a good turnout for a nice morning ride.  Vehicular traffic was light and we rode as a group, with some separation at times, for the entire route.  The Bryans Road subdivisions continue to proliferate with building sites laid out on Matthews while Timber Ridge grows bigger.  Fortunately, the areas closer to the river are still largely undeveloped and wildlife sightings are common.  Along the marshy areas of both River and Barry's Hill, we observed large raptors in flight, the former probably a hawk, the latter an immature bald eagle.

Winter rides also provide viewing opportunities of the countryside unhindered by tree leaves.  A nice view of Pomonkey Creek from Fenwick is one such example:

Leader:  Ron Altemus

Members:  no takers...

Route:   JRA Mason Neck https://ridewithgps.com/routes/40798783  27.6 miles, 738' elevation change .

Weather:   Gray cloudy skies, temp range of 36-37, 7 mph SW air which wasn't really noticed.  All things considered, it wasn't bad riding today.

AMS:   mid 11s

Mechanicals/Mishaps:   none

Report:   evidently too cold for others,  Only saw one other cyclist on the road but a few riders were using the mountain bike trails off Belmont Blvd.  Wildlife sighting of note - 10+ deer crossing Gunston Road a bit past the park entrance.  Fortunately, for both deer and bicyclists alike, very little vehicular traffic today.

Leader:   Ron Altemus

Members:   Oswald Martin, Robin Garnett, Alan Kurzweil, Esther Stewart, Donaro Gardner, Gene VIlliva, Denny Miller



Route:   Indian Head Rail Trail from Livingston Road east to White Plains trailhead and return

Weather:   mostly sunny, temps in mid 40s, westerly breezes climbing from 3 > 8 mph over the course of the ride

AMS:   swept in the mid 11s

Mechanicals/Mishaps:   none

Report:  after three weeks of cancellations and with the prospect of rain on the last Friday of January, we had a good turnout of eager riders for a Thursday edition of the IHRT ride.  The trail was in pretty good shape regarding snow/ice coverage as we encountered only a few iffy stretches.  Most notable were a couple of sections before Middletown where bare asphalt was reduced to narrow lanes prompting some riders to dismount and walk.  On the return, sufficient solar energy had continued the melting process and passage was easier with no one needing to dismount.

Not a lot of other trail users though we did see two other cyclists after Bumpy Oak when we were outbound.  Wildlife sightings of note:  two bald eagles were on the nest just to the east of the parking lot; upon our return, a single eagle was perched above the nest as seen below, with possibly the head of the other in the nest to the left.  It is egg laying and incubation season so perhaps we will see fledglings at some point in February.