Ride Reports

Date: October 21, 2018         

Ride Name: White Marsh-Sotterley

Ride Distance: 54 Miles

Average Speed of the Ride:  18.2 MPH

Ride Class:  AA/3, Sport

Mechanical Issues: None

Mishaps: None

Weather:  Mid 40’s rising to mid 50’s, mostly sunny, very windy

Guest Riders:  None

Member Riders:  Brad Francisco, Pete Czapiewski

Ride Report:

The big story of the day was the wind.  It was blowing at about 20 MPH fairly continuously and gusting to about 30 MPH.  Since the wind was out of the northwest and we started out heading southwest and then east, I expected the wind to be mostly at our backs heading out.  This seemed to be the case.  Conversely, I expected the wind to be mostly against us heading back.  Once we did start back, the reality was different.  The wind seemed to be swirling about such that we could have head wind, side wind, and tail wind all with in the space of a mile or less.  Don’t get me wrong, we did have significant sections of unrelenting head wind particularly on Route 235 and coming back on Thompson Corner Road but it could have been far worse.  Handling the bike in the cross winds was definitely an issue and you had to be careful about your road placement because the wind could easily shove the bike over a foot when it was gusting from the side.  Brad reported his high-profile wheels were especially problematic in the side winds.

Enough about the wind, we all rode together throughout with only some slight regrouping after a few hills.  Our average speed was just over into the AA category; given the weather conditions I’m surprised we rode as fast as we did.

Today’s ride was a case of riding despite the weather conditions and I’m glad we did.  After all, perfect conditions are going to be rare as we head into winter.  Thanks for joining me Brad and Pete!

Barb Haney, Tom Roberts, Jay Lewis,(Members), & Megan Livak (Guest) joined me(Sherwood Byers, Ride Leader) for this Saturday morning jaunt.  Then, the flat tires started showing their ugly face. This ride was shortened because the flats were coming  frequent enough that they were becoming a nuisance to the time allowance for the ride.  Ten miles was trimmed from the route.  One rider quit and went on their own to return to the start.  An AMS (Average Moving Speed) of 15.5 was recorded after the frustration.  But, even with that, all agreed it was a nice ride (The road shoulders do need cleaning).

Thank you to all for enjoying this ride with me.

Sherwood 

Leaders - Jackie and Randy Schoch

Members - Larry Stirling, Yvonne & Michael Dong, Belinda Acre, Ron Altemus, Robin Garnett, and Don Gardner.

Guests - Walt Fink

Route - IHRT

Weather - Very nice - mid 40's to start and not much wind.

AMS - Varied according to riders preference. Leaders did 12 AMS.

Mechanicals/Mishaps - None

Report - A good turn out of riders this morning. The trail was in good shape considering the flooding of last week. Many trail users today. We saw Bev White on our return. After our rest break at White Plains, we experienced some head wind on the return to the parking lot. We had lunch in the sun on George's porch. A great ride, good company, and tasty food.  

Ride leader: Steve Palincsar

Members: Jay Lewis (who rode with the Bees), Ron Altemus, Joan Oppen, Pat Walthers

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/26074572  A route chosen by Sam to celebrate his birthday, 37 miles and 1215' of elevation gain - continuing his tradition of flattish rides to Malcolm whose names feature roads that are not included in the route (today it was Bassford, but let's not forget the Gallant Green ride that doesn't go on Gallant Green -- unlike this one, which does).  On today's route the elevation gain all came at the end, along with a second rest stop at the Nottingham store.  We did the elevation gain but skipped the second stop.

Weather: Mike Saizan calls North Keys Park the South Pole of Brandywine.  No doubt about it, it's the coldest, windiest place in the entire county and today showed that off.  40s to at most 50 at 10:30, with a brisk and chilling wind, and we all still acclimated to the 80s and 90s.  It warmed up and in the sun was quite pleasant, especially in the lee of the Moreland Market, but the wind brought the felt temperature down by 5 -10 degrees.  It was in the mid-50s when we finished at 2 pm.

Mishaps & mechanicals: None

AMS: 12.8

Best of Brandywine - Bassford, Gallant Green & Baden

Distance 37 Miles

Class B

Ride Leader- Sam Perry

Five Riders rode with me today on my "Birthday Ride". The weather today was cold, Winter Gear was in effect, along with a 14 mph wind. 

The route today covered portions of the Bassford community, Gallant Green and returning through the Baden area.  I like this route because it has flat portions, rolling hills and a few climbing hills to challenge you to hold onto your AVS.  

We stopped at the Moreland Store for a Rest and Regroup, the faster team were in, followed by everyone else.

We were briefly surprised by a County Sheriff  ( Charles County) who got out of his Cruiser to remind us of the proper rules of the road as they pertained to Stop Signs.  The Officer wants bicyclist to come to a full stop at the Stop Signs before proceeding.

He advised that he has no problems with Cyclists being on the roadway as long as they obey the traffic laws that motorists have to abide by.

We thank him for his comments and we  each went our own way. 

We only had one mechanical a flat tire at the Moreland Store which was quickly repaired.

Riders Participating: Mike Saizan, Barb Haney, Jan Tucker, Alan Kurzweil, La Tasha Banks, Morris.

My thanks to all who came out to ride on this cold and windy day to help me celebrate my 66 years old born day. 

Leader: Matt Schwaller

Members: Tim Murphy, Michael Dong, Troy Eddy

Guests: 

Route: The usual 16 mile Tour de Accokeek

Weather: Beautiful!

AMS: 17.3 MPH

Mechanicals/Mishaps: None

Report: Blue skies, sunshine and cool breezes were in store for one of the last Tours of this season. Although small in number, the riders set off from the Accokeek firehouse at a brisk pace through the surrounding neighborhoods and really blasted down Marshall Hall Road to the Potomac. After re-grouping at the river the riders enjoyed a wind-assisted ride until turning off for the Barry’s Hill Road climb. Michael Dong peeled off for home at the intersection of Old Marshall Hall Road and Accokeek Road West while the other riders continued on to Accokeek firehouse. An enjoyable ride on maybe one of the nicest days of 2018!

A photo is attached.

Leader:  Pete Czapiewski

Members:  Brad Francisco, Barb Haney, Ron Haney, Tom Roberts

Route: Bryans Road to Goose Bay and Pisgah and back. 35.2 miles, 1140 feet elevation gain. https://ridewithgps.com/routes/27781218?beta=false

Weather: Mid 50's, overcast and windy.

AMS: 18.5 mph

Mechanicals/Mishaps: none

Report:  An excellent brisk ride with five seasoned riders. With only a few minor regroups after hills, we all  finished together. It felt colder outside than the temperature indicated, so the ride leader wasted no time getting up to speed in order to generate body heat. We took a shortish rest stop at the Goose Bay marina, and skipped the second one. I am sure a day like this will feel toasty next March, but not today. 

Thanks to all who came out today, and happy birthday to Tom and Brad! Thanks to Ron A. for the route.

Leader:  Ron Altemus

Members:   Randy Schoch, Jan & Ron Tucker, Steve Palincsar, Larry Peed, La'Tasha Banks,  Pat Walthers, Alan Kurzweil, Joan Oppel, Mike Saizan, Tom Short, Donaro Gardner

Route:   https://ridewithgps.com/routes/27781218?beta=false  35 mi, 1117" elevation change.  Outbound:  Pomfret, Marshall Corner, Hawthorne, Valley, MD-6, Blossom Point to everybody's favorite - Goose Bay.  Return via Mill Swamp, MD-6, Fire Tower, Annapolis Woods, Poorhouse, Mason Springs, and Livingston.

Weather:   Cloudy, NW winds at approx 10 mph, temps in the mid 50s.  Properly attired, it wasn't hot and it wasn't cold but rather invigorating.

AMS:  swept at close to 12.5

Report:  a good turnout of "Friends" joined the CC regulars for a most enjoyable ride to Goose Bay and back.  It is interesting that we are mid October and most all of the vegetation is still green though the soybean fields have changed over to yellow.  And a big thank you to Mike Saizan for shepherding the friends!

Ride leader: Steve Palincsar

Members: Janell Saunders, Jay Lewis, John Gorman, Patricia Sanders, Pat Walthers, Ron Altemus, Walt Roscello, Joan Oppel, Karen McMillan, Dave VanAmayden

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/26432740?beta=false  43 miles, 1300' of elevation gain and 73 turns.

Weather: cloudy, low 50s at the start rising no higher than 60 before falling back to the mid-50s.  The forecast showed only the smallest chance of rain, but that didn't prevent the ever-so-slight occasional raindrops we encountered from the time we turned onto Bay Front until we left the store at Deale.  It turns out we were lucky: riders on some of the PPTC rides to the north were drenched.

Mishaps & mechanicals: none

AMS: 12.5

What a great turnout for an overcast, chilly-feeling day!  We even were joined for most of the route by John Gorman, who earlier in the year had decided to stop riding with groups.  Although some in the group are perfectly capable of speeds fast enough to drop the group in short order, we stayed together until nearly the end, when a few riders decided to skip the last rest stop at the Harwood Store. 

Of course, the route's winding through (and through) the back streets of Deale Beach and Franklin Manor put a premium on staying together, but besides the slow and scenic stretches as we roamed through waterside neighborhoods admiring the sights there were also plenty of stretches on wide open roads that cried out for a spirited effort.   Even though the group spread out on those stretches, we always regrouped soon after.  No dropped riders here! 

If you've never been to Deale, the Washington Post published a story about the community earlier this year. 

Date: October 14, 2018         

Ride Name: MV 45 Manokeek Espresso

Ride Distance: 45 Miles

Average Speed of the Ride:  20.0 MPH

Ride Class:  AA/3, Sport

Mechanical Issues: None

Mishaps: None

Weather:  Mid 40’s rising to mid 50’s, Cloudy, a few rain drops, little to no wind

Guest Riders:  None

Member Riders:  Pete Czapiewski, Lynne Blake-Hedges, Tom Roberts, Phil Mitchell

Ride Report:

We managed to avoid a multi-bike pile-up when photo bombing the B ride’s pre-ride photo so we started with a success of sorts.

We had a quick ride to the rest stop with the group staying together.  Once at the stop we hung-out for about 15 minutes.  That may have been too long with some of the riders (including this one) complaining about being cold and it taking a long time to warm up.  Eventually we did warm up.

After the rest break we had another quick ride to the end.  Again everyone stayed together throughout.

It was a fun ride with a good group of riders; everyone seemed to enjoy it.  I know I did.