Back Roads Century Group Ride Leaders Needed · US Postage PAID Merrifield, ... Post Your Ride on Our New MeetUp Page ... picnic at Kingsbury’s Orchard. As in the past,

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The Official Newspaper of the Potomac Pedalers Touring Club, Inc.

July 2012

PEDAL PATTERPEDAL PATTER

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Continued on page 17.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE2 Club Information

3 Notes From the Chair

4 Bulletin Board

5 Release Form

6 Request for Grant Proposals to PPTC

7 Ride Schedule

14 Order of the Cast-iron Crotch: 2011 Survey

17 Longleaf Trace: A Beautiful Ride

18 Shenandoah Weekend; Out of Bounds; Post Your Ride on Our New MeetUp Page

19 Allenberry Weekend

20 PPTC Events Calendar; PPTC Membership Form

Back Roads Century Group Ride Leaders Neededby Bob Manka

I would like to invite you, fellow PPTC members, to commit to co-lead-ing one of the organized “group rides” at the PPTC Back Roads Century in Berryville, VA on September 23, 2012. These group rides were started as part of the Back Roads Century in 2010 and proved very popular in 2011. While any rider can follow the cue sheets and road markings for their ride distance, many have expressed a strong preference to ride with others in their speed class. The group offers good company and possible assistance with the route or an unforeseen problem.Leading or co-leading one of the groups is a great way to represent the club and provide a nice service to other riders. I offered to James Lewis, the Century Coordinator, to coordinate the group rides and solicit the Group Leaders. I also plan to provide signs identifying the group starts, support the group starts, and co-lead the 25 mile group. From my expe-rience last year co-leading a group ride, it is very useful to have two leaders (co-leaders) for each ride. For some of the large groups (40-60 riders) even 3 co-leaders would be helpful in case the group splits and/or to have a sweeper to assist riders who encounter problems. The group

Save the Date - September 29!The Montgomery County Farm Tour Returns!by Denise Cohen

I hope you’ll join me once again for a romp around our beautiful Ag Reserve. This year’s tour will be held in honor of my dear friend, PPTC stalwart and tour supporter Neal Molloy, who passed away in a bike accident in September 2010. We’ll have an enjoyable day of riding, with routes from 17 to 70 miles that include stops at Homestead Farm for pie and ice cream, and a sumptuous picnic at Kingsbury’s Orchard. As in the past, the event will support our friends at the Montgomery Countryside Alliance (www.mocoalliance.org), the folks who keep the “Ag” in the Ag Reserve. I’ll need some help at registration and at the picnic. Volunteering won’t interfere with riding any route you choose. Keep it in mind. We can’t do it without you! Details to follow in the coming months. Contact Denise Cohen at bikergal101<at>yahoo.com to volunteer.

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PEDAL PATTERPedal Patter is published monthly by Potomac Pedalers Touring Club, Inc., a non-profit, educational, and recreational organization for bicycle enthusiasts in the DC metro area. Opinions expressed in Pedal Patter are of the authors, not necessarily reflective of PPTC’s official position. Editor reserves the right to refuse ads or material inappropriate to the Club’s purpose. Pedal Patter is mailed to current PPTC members, member businesses, and bicycle clubs.

Delivery ProblemsPlease call PPTC at 703.385.1688 to report missing issues.

Editor: Carol Linden [email protected]

Bulletin Board: Jo Keister [email protected]

On The Road: Gary Timmons 301.718.4327, [email protected]

Out of Bounds: Teresa Noonan [email protected]

Ride Schedule: Joe Stusnick 301.365.3135, [email protected]

Layout: Julia Rosenbaum 301.527.2300, [email protected]

Advertising Manager Kate Schwarz [email protected]

Commercial AdsAd rates are as follows: full page– $550; 1/2 page– $350; 1/4 page– $200; 1/8 page– $130; 1/16 page– $80. Discounts available for durations of 3 or more months. Contact the Advertising Manager at [email protected].

Submitting MaterialPhotographs and articles from Club members are welcome. Please send submissions to Carol Linden – [email protected].

DeadlineEditor must have material by the 5th of the month. If the 5th falls on a weekend, deadline is the preceding Friday.

Web Site www.potomacpedalers.orgPlease visit the web site for address changes, joining the club and other requests.

Webmaster [email protected]

PPTC Business Office Mailing Address

10378 Democracy Lane, Suite A, Fairfax, VA [email protected]

PPTC ExCom Meeting ScheduleThe Executive Committee meets in the evening on the third Monday of every month. Locations of the meeting may vary. Members of the club who wish to attend should contact a Committee member the week before to get the exact location and time of the meeting. ExCom meeting minutes are available on our website.

Mailing InformationTo receive Pedal Patter via first class mail, members must pay an extra $13 per year. Otherwise it is sent standard mail, which can take as long as 3 weeks, but usually only takes days. Pedal Patter is mailed between the 15–18th of the month. If yours hasn’t arrived by the 4th week of the month, call the Business Office to report this or any change-of-address. Remember to check your membership expiration. Membership remains uninterrupted only if renewed by the 5th of the expiration month.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEEChair Bob Bernstein, [email protected] Chair-elect Rich Tepel, [email protected] Treasurer Nancy Avitabile, [email protected] Secretary Jim Cline, [email protected] Secretary Daniel Bird, [email protected] Denise Cohen [email protected] Pilsk [email protected] Reynolds [email protected] White 703-678-9498

RIDE COMMITTEES & COORDINATORSRoad Captain Dan Lehman 703.241.9113, [email protected] Schedule Editor Joe Stusnick 301.365.3135, [email protected] Sheets Issuance Joan Oppel, Doreen Dotzler Sign-Up Sheets Archives Dan Lehman 703.241.9113, [email protected] Sheets/Map Librarian Eric Pilsk, [email protected]

Ride Coordinators–Area WideTandem Don Schneider 301-942-6330Family Rides Team Brugman 703.339.3948, [email protected] Sunday Picnic Rides Tom Doerr [email protected]

Ride Coordinators–Maryland/DCD Chris Moriarity 301.270.3416, [email protected] C Mike Divine 301-258-7820 [email protected] Tom Moore [email protected] Jim Quinn [email protected] Karen Berlage, 301.963.1482, [email protected]/AA Karen Berlage, 301.963.1482, [email protected]

Ride Coordinators–VirginiaD Woody Lipinski 703-203-4934, [email protected] Teresa Brooks H 703-971-3617, [email protected] CC John Ordway 703-518-8941, [email protected] Dan Lehman 703.241.9113, [email protected] BB Dan Lehman 703.241.9113, [email protected]/A Dan Lehman 703.241.9113, [email protected]

OTHER COMMITTEESGovernment AffairsVA Chair Jim Wamsley (also handles Alexandria) 703.751.6086MD Chair Bill Clarke 301.474.7280DC Laurel Weir 202.544.4576, [email protected] Park OPENHoward County Bill Kelly 410.480.1909, [email protected] County Darius MarkMontgomery County Bill MichieNorthern Virginia David Connor 443-677-4076 [email protected] County Joy Willingham 703.608.5211, 202.833.9771 [email protected] County Glenn Gillis, 703 430-0568, [email protected] William County Ed Kerr 703.791.6113, [email protected] Services Greg Drury, Century Coordinator James LewisCommunications Committee Eric Pilsk, Bob Bernstein, Kate Schwarz, Tom HumphreyWeb Team Manager: Bob Bernstein Repair Tickets: Greg Drury Assistant Web Master: Denise Cohen Content: Joe Stusnick, Dave Robare, Denise Cohen, Editorial: Steve Palincsar, Eric Pilsk, Neal Grotenstein, Dale Hunt Membership: Richard Doege, Joe Wible, Craig FalkMessage Committee Teresa Browder , Janet Cyphers, Richard Doege, Irmgard Dugge, Lois Lightfoot, Beth Merricks, Joan OppelAsset Management John Rossi, Keith Sargent, Neal Grotenstein, John Lynn, and Craig FalkSpecial Events Committee Rich Tepel, [email protected] Committee OPENPR/Marketing Committee Karen Bescher, Greg DruryBike Case Coordinators Rita Zeidner, 703-998-7489, [email protected]; Bob Bloomfield, 301.253.9481, [email protected] Neal GrotensteinFor questions regarding Ride Committees please call the Road Captain. For questions or changes regarding other committees please call the appropriate committee chair listed above or any ExCom member. For changes regarding this listing please e-mail Julia Rosenbaum at [email protected].

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Notes from the Chairby Bob Bernstein

It is now well into the cycling season and even those who do not ride if the temperature is below 90 degrees are out on the roads and trails. I am midway through my tenure. When I started, being the Chair was a daunting prospect. Now I fear that I will fail to complete all that needs to be accomplished and leave too many issues for my successors.

In addition to being a PPTC member, there are many ways to give back and help the cycling community. I would suggest finding an area that would help you along with other members of the community. As stated in their literature, “The League of American Bicyclists has been working to improve the quality of bicycling in America almost as long as there have been bicycles.” The Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) is the national capital region’s nonprofit bicycle advocacy and education membership association. Rails-to-Trails Conservancy is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., whose mission it is to create a nationwide network of trails from former railroad rights of way. If you are interested in helping preserve the Capitol Crescent Trail and the C&O Canal National Historical Park from development, contact Sally Strain of Defenders of Potomac River Parkland at [email protected].

If I may get a bit more parochial, your Club is more than just rides. In this issue and on the website we are soliciting requests for grants which support the Club’s goals. See http://www.potomacpedalers.org/?article02 for a list of our goals. The ExCom will review the grant requests and award the grants in October.

I am still frustrated by a lack of a Communications Coordinator. This volunteer would oversee the website, Pedal Patter, and various subcommittees that serve as the voice of the Club. Many initiatives such as online ride listings by Ride Leaders, keeping the website up to date, and funneling information requests are on hold or lack efficiency due to the lack of a central planner/director.

James Lewis has stepped up to lead our efforts at continuing the Backroads Century success of the past two years. Please see http://www.backroadscentury.org/volunteer to help. Of course, as a riding club, we are always looking for members to lead rides. Leading a ride is easy. If you have not led a ride before, start with one of your favorite routes and email the appropriate Ride Coordinator found on the website at http://www.potomacpedalers.org/?page=clubofficers or on page 2 of Pedal Patter. Information on leading a ride and other resources also may be found on the website.

And while I am on the subject of Club volunteers, it is not too early to be thinking about your nomination for the Good Shepherd Award, the Best Original Ride of the Year Award, the Rookie Ride Leader Award, the Neal Malloy Volunteer of the Year Award and the PPTC Lifetime Award. These awards recognize volunteer members who have gone above and beyond in making the Club and events a better experience for you, the rider. Please send your nominations to me or any member of the ExCom with a short paragraph describing the nominee’s qualification for the award.

Finally, become involved when you see a problem or area that needs to be fixed. Call or email the local government or organization responsible. I recently emailed the DC Department of Transportation concerning the danger created to cyclists with the new lane markings at the intersection of Potomac Ave SE/SW and South Capitol St. However, truth in advertising causes me to warn you that there are a myriad of organizations responsible for trails and cycling resources. It may take a few tries before you find the proper organization and the right belly button in that organization. Last year I tried to contact the organization responsible for Springfield Rd north of Powder Mill Rd in PG County. The road is the responsibility of three different organizations (PG County, National Park Service, and Department of Agriculture). Even trying to contact the right individual within an organization may take a bit of hit and miss, but the results can be a safer or better riding experience for yourself and others.

Please ride safely and keep the rubber side down.

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To subscribe or to manage your subscription –

v Go to www.PotomacPedalers.org

v Enter your e-mail address in the yellow dialogue box “Join Our Mailing List” on the left side of the screen, just below the main menu

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We hope that you enjoy our e-mail blasts, and that they become a valuable part of your Potomac Pedalers Membership!

PPTC Bulletin Board

Email ads to Jo [email protected]

Deadline: Submit by first of month forpublication in the next month issue.

Limit: 30 words per ad

No ads accepted from commercial establishments. Only bike-related ads from members are accepted.

FOR SALESEVEN ELIUM RACE, 56CM titanium/carbon frame, Sram Red group, compact crank, Zipp carbon bars, Seven stem/seat post, NO wheels or pedals, $3,000. [XL2NAN at msn.com].

SCHWINN CIMARRON: Red/silver/black/white, w/added Planet Bike fenders, quick releases on new tires w/new tubes, no pedals or saddle. Asking $300. Call, 703 627-8152 for more info.

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Release and Waiver of Liability, Assumption of Risk, and Indemnity Agreement (“Agreement”)

In consideration for being permitted to participate in any way in

(event name): __________________________________________

on (dates)____________________, an event sponsored by Potomac Pedalers Touring Club, Inc., I, myself, my personal representatives, assigns, heirs, and next of kin:

1. ACKNOWLEDGE, agree and represent that I understand the nature of Bicycling Activities and that I am qualified to participate in such Activity. I further acknowlege that the Activity will be conducted over public roads and facilities open to the public during the Activity and upon which the hazards of traveling are to be expected. I further agree and warrant that if at any time I believe conditions to be unsafe, I will immediately discontinue further participation in the Activity.

2. FULLY UNDERSTAND that: (a) BICYCLING ACTIVITIES INVOLVE RISKS AND DANGERS OF SERIOUS BODILY INJURY, INCLUDING PERMANENT DISABILITY, PARALYSIS AND DEATH (“RISKS”); (b) these Risks and dangers may be caused by my own actions, or inactions of others participating in the Activity, the condition in which the Activity takes place, or THE NEGLIGENCE OF THE “RELEASEES” NAMED BELOW; (c) there may be OTHER RISKS AND SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC LOSSES either known to me or not readily foreseeable at this time; and I FULLY ACCEPT AND ASSUME ALL SUCH RISKS AND ALL RESPONSIBILITY FOR LOSSES, COSTS, AND DAMAGES I incur as a result of my participation in the Activity.

3. HEREBY RELEASE, DISCHARGE, COVENANT NOT TO SUE, AND AGREE TO INDEMNIFY AND SAVE AND HOLD HARMLESS the Club, its administrators, directors, ride leaders, volunteers, agents, and employees, other participants, any sponsors, advertisers, and, if applicable, owners and releasers of premises on which the Activity takes place (each considered one of the “RELEASEES” herein) FROM ALL LIABILITY, CLAIMS, DEMANDS, LOSSES, OR DAMAGES ON MY ACCOUNT CAUSED OR ALLEGED TO BE CAUSED IN WHOLE OR PART BY THE NEGLIGENCE OF THE “RELEASEES” OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING NEGLIGENT RESCUE OPERATIONS.

I HAVE READ THIS AGREEMENT, FULLY UNDERSTAND ITS TERMS, UNDERSTAND THAT I HAVE GIVEN UP SUBSTANTIAL RIGHTS BY SIGNING IT AND HAVE SIGNED IT FREELY AND WITHOUT ANY INDUCEMENT OR ASSURANCE OF ANY NATURE AND INTEND IT TO BE A COMPLETE AND UNCONDITIONAL RELEASE OF ALL LIABILITY TO THE GREATEST EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW AND AGREE THAT IF ANY PORTION OF THIS AGREEMENT IS HELD INVALID THE BALANCE, NOTWITHSTANDING, SHALL CONTINUE IN FULL FORCE AND EFFECT.

Participant’s Signature: ___________________________________

Printed Name: __________________________________________

Date: _________________________________________________

Companies Giving PPTC Discounts

Many cycling-related companies offer discounts to PPTC members. If you don’t see your favorite store or tour company listed here, just ask them!

Thanks to all companies who support PPTC Say you saw it in Pedal Patter

Bike-related Products & ServicesDave’s Bright Bikes

Paul R. Wiesenfeld, Attorney at LawTurbo Crank, www.turbocrank.com

Viking Automotive, www.vikingsaab.com

Bike Shops and RetailersA&M Cycles, Bowie, MD

A-1 Cycling, www.a1cycling.comAll American Bicycle Center, www.aabikes.com

Arrow Bicycle, www.arrowbicycle.comBicycle Outfitters, www.bikeoutfitters.com

The Bicycle Place, www.thebicycleplace.comBig Wheel Bikes, www.bigwheelbikes.com

Bike Doctor, www.bikedoctor.comThe Bike Lane, www.thebikelane.com

Bike Stop, www.rideva.comBlack Bar Bicycles, www.blackbarbicycles.com

Bob’s Bikes, www.bobsbike.comCity Bikes, www.citybikes.com

College Park Bicycles, www.bike123.comDistrict Hardware/The Bike ShopGriffin Cycle, www.griffincycle.com

Hudson Trail Outfitters, www.hudsontrail.comJust Riding Along, www.justridingalong.biz

Mt. Airy Bicycles, www.bike123.comOasis Bike Works, www.oasisbikeworks.com

OnCore Fitness, www.oncorefitness.netPapillon Cycles, www.on-the-pike.com/papillon

Pedal Pushers Bicycle Shop, Severna Park, MDSampson Frames and Components, www.sampsonsports.com

Silver Cycles, www.silvercycles.comSpokes Etc., www.spokesetc.com

Takoma Bicycle, www.takomabicycle.comTandems East, www.tandemseast.com

The Bike Rack, www.bikerackdc.comTrails End Cycling Company, www.trailsendcycling.com

Wheel Base, www.wheelbasebikes.comWheel Nuts, Alexandria, VA

Tour CompaniesAdventure South, www.advsouth.co.nz

African Bikers, www.africanbikers.comAtlantic Bicycle Tours, www.atlanticbicycletours.com

Bike Switzerland, www.bikeswitzerland.comBike the Sites, www.bikethesites.com

Blue Coast Bikes, www.bluecoastbikes.comCANUSA Cycle Tours, www.canusacycletours.com

Charleston Bicycle Tours, www.charlestonbicycletours.comEasy Rider Tours, www.easyridertours.com

Escapades Bike Tours, www.bikeescapades.comEuro-Bike and Walking Tours, www.eurobike.comFar and Away Cycling, www.farandawaycycling.com

Freewheeling Adventures, www.freewheeling.caGreat Explorations, www.great-explorations.com

Grouseland Tours & Bike Shop, www.grouseland.comIbike/International Bike Fund, www.ibike.org

In Situ Travel, insitutravel.comIsle Inn Tours, www.isleinntours.com

Laurel Highlands Cycling Tours, www.lhct-cycling.comNew Zealand Pedaltours, www.pedaltours.co.nz

Pedal PA, www.pedalpa.comPedal Power Vienna. www.pedalpower.at

Randonnee Tours, www.randonneetours.comRussian Cycle Touring Club, www.rctc.ruSenior Cycling, www.seniorcycling.com

Sirocco Road Cycling Adventures, www.siroccoroad.comSummer Feet Cycling, www.summerfeet.net

Timberline Adventures, www.timbertours.comTour de Spokes, www.tour-de-spokes.com

Tri-State Wheelers, www.newenglandadventure.comVermont Bicycling Vacations, vbt.com

Virginia Bicycling Adventures, http://virginiabicycling.com/

HospitalityBest Western Leesburg-Dulles, www.bestwestern.com

Hamburger Hamlet Bethesda, www.hamburgerhamlet.comVilla Bella Vista, www.darrylhaley.com/Villa_FrontPage.html

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Request for Grant Proposals to PPTCby Bob Bernstein, PPTC ExCom Chair

The Potomac Pedalers Touring Club, a Non-Profit Corporation incorporated in the District of Columbia, is open to receiving requests for grants up to $2,500 consistent with the purposes of the Club. The purposes of the Club according to the By-Laws, are as follows:

(1) To sponsor and to promote bicycling events, tours, races, and other bicycling activities, for members as well as for the general public, that will develop physically fit, resourceful, self-reliant, well-informed citizens of all ages.

(2) To provide information, by publication, lecture, demonstration, or other means, pertaining to safe and effective cycling habits, safe riding conditions, proper bicycle maintenance, beneficial and/or legally-required bicycling equipment, traffic regulations applicable to cyclists, etc.

(3) To instruct cyclists on how to ride safely, both in group and in nongroup situations, under varying weather, traffic, and road conditions, while obeying applicable traffic laws.

(4) To instruct the public, including pedestrians and motorists, on how to legally and safely interact with cyclists in traffic situations.

(5) To sponsor and to promote recreational bicycle trips designed to inform participants on various aspects of our natural, cultural, and historic heritage.

(6) To promote and to encourage the use of the bicycle and the development of bicycle facilities on both public and private lands as a resource preserving, non-polluting, non-congesting, quiet means of recreation and transportation, thereby lessening the burdens of government in the areas of traffic regulation, highway construction and maintenance, pollution control, and resource use regulation.

(7) To otherwise lessen the burdens of government by sponsoring and promoting bicycle rides that raise money for charitable organizations within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue law).

(8) To engage in any and all lawful activities incidental to the foregoing purposes, except as restricted herein.

(9) No Club resources shall be used to organize or promote activities not related to these purposes.

Grant requests will be reviewed by the PPTC Executive Board (ExCom) at its October meeting. The ExCom may approve the request in full, approve a lesser amount or not choose to award a grant, at its sole discretion. The ExCom’s decisions are final and not reviewable. Awardees will be notified electronically using the contact information provided.

An application for a grant must contain the following information:

□ The name of the organization or individual requesting the grant.

□ If the applicant is an organization, how that organization is incorporated.

□ The name and email address of the contact person.

□ A brief description of how the grant will be used.

□ How the grant will support one or more of PPTC’s purposes (from above).

□ The dollar request for the grant.

The application shall be in WORD or PDF format, not be larger than 3 megabytes in size and be attached to an email sent to [email protected] with the name of the applicant as the subject line of the email.

Applications must be received by no later than midnight, Friday, 28 September 2012. Requests received after this time will be deleted without response. Receipt will be acknowledged only if requested in the email.

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PPTC’s Monthly Ride ScheduleHow to Read the Ride Schedule

Note: This ride schedule is accurate as of the editorial deadline for Pedal Patter. For the most up-to-date listings, please consult the Ride Schedule at www.potomacpedalers.org.

PPTC rides are described according to a standardized, easy-to-read format that always lists: (a) ride classification, (c) distance, (d) locality, (e) start time, and (f) start location.

B (H) * 45 * MD * 9:30am *Poolesville HS (POO) * 40˚/35

a b c d e f g h

You may also see (b) a (F) “Flat” or (H) “Hilly” terrain indicator, (g) a start location code, and (h) weather notes. Directions for ride starts given in the Reference Manual.

The ride listing above is read a “B” class ride over hilly terrain (expected overall pace of about 12, 13 miles per hour), about 45 miles long, with a ride start time at 9:30am in Maryland from Poolesville High School. The ride will go if the forecast high temperature is 40˚F or higher, AND the chance of rain is less than 35%.

Ride Classification TableThis table shows the range of average riding speeds, the range of typical ride distances, and typical intervals between rest stops.

Average Riding Speed (ARS) (Miles) (Miles) Ride Route Rest Stop Use of Class (H)illy (M)oderate (F)lat Length Intervals Pacelines

D 6.0–7.9 8.0–9.9 10.0–11.9 10–25 5–10 no

C 8.0–9.9 10.0–11.9 12.0–13.9 20–35 10–15 no

CC 10.0–11.9 12.0–13.9 14.0–15.9 30–50 15–20 occasional

B 12.0–13.9 14.0–15.9 16.0–17.9 40–60 20–30 occasional

BB 14.0–15.9 16.0–17.9 18.0–19.9 50–70 25–35 frequent

A 16.0–17.9 18.0–19.9 20.0–21.9 60–80 25–35 common

AA 18.0–19.9 20.0–22.0 22.0–24.0 60–100 30–40 common

R Randonneuring is long-distance (endurance) cycling over scenic and challenging terrain. Randonneur rides often leave early in the morning and require lights, go under most weather conditions, and typically are challenging all-day affairs with distance and speed determined by the participants. This includes the annual Brevet series of qualifying rides between 125 and 625 miles in length.

ATB These are rides for all-terrain or mountain bikes. the individual ride descriptions should be read for specific information regarding terrain (e.g., single-track, double-track, or gravel roads), distance, and equipment, requirements (e.g., type of bike or tire with).

T Specialty rides for bikes with two or more cyclists. Tandem ride leaders often choose routes that are particularly well-suited to these types of bicycles, as they typically go much faster downhill and flat sections, and slower uphill, than single bikes.

Weather NotesA ride description may contain minimum GO conditions– limits of temperature or chance of rain, given as “temp/chance” e.g., “40º/35% or less. Otherwise, the ride will be cancelled. Temerature is a maximum in the summertime. A general rule is that a ride is cancelled if there is rain at start time, or if it is winter, snow is falling, or roads are covered with ice and/or snow. The National Weather Service number is 703.260.0405. Call the Ride Leader if you’re in doubt.

g g g gg g g g

July -- Mondays

B/BB * 30ish * MD * 9:30 AM * Glen Echo Park (GLE)The Usual Monday Ride From Glen Echo. Moderately hilly ride through Potomac, with a probable stop at a cafe near the end. No go in rain or on wet roads. Please park in the lower portion of the lot, off of Oxford Rd, farthest from Macarthur Rd. Warren Farb [[email protected]] 301/320-4942 Cathy Wilson [[email protected]] 703/328-1029.

July -- Tuesdays

D/CC * <=20,30 * VA * 6:10 PM * Wakefield Park (WKP)Annandale Training Works. PPTC membership and registration is not required but encouraged. (Directions: From I-495 to Braddock Rd West exit, first right into Park. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: from Pentagon Metro Station buses #17 to Queensberry Ave and Braddock Rd. Restrooms and free parking at Wakefield Park Recreation Center parking lots. The “D” core ride is “11 miles 11 gently hills” on route http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=5283559 upon cyclists request extension up to 20 miles is possible. The “CC” core will ride approximately 15 - 20+ miles, according to conditions and desires, staying close to the park (It is easy to drop off from, or to extend, the ride.) CC: Peter Klosky [[email protected]] 703/727-4939 D: Shirley Lipinski [[email protected]] 703/470-6637 CC-D substitute leaders: Martt Harding [[email protected]] Woody Lipinski [[email protected]] 703/203-4934.

C/CC * 26/34 * VA * 10 AM * Belle Haven Picnic Area (BEL)Mid-week Morning Belle Haven. Come on out for this mid-week ride through pleasant neighborhoods, with just a short time on the bike path and a few slightly busier streets. There is typically a “C” ride leader for the 26 mile route and a “CC” ride leader for the 34 mile route. The routes have a few good hills and converge at the rest stop and at the end. Group typically goes to lunch afterwards. It is recommended you check the web site each week, especially if weather looks doubtful, to confirm the ride is a go and that there will be ride leaders for both the “C” and “CC” ride. If there is no posting, the ride is a go and there will be a ride leader for each class. The entrance to the Belle Haven picnic area is the first left off the George Washington parkway going South, once you are completely through Old Town. Once you turn into the Park, take the first left and we meet in the first parking lot on the right. Please use cell numbers the day of the ride only. C: Teresa Brooks [[email protected]] 703/971-3617 or cell703/728-7635 Lois Lightfoot [[email protected]] 703/451-2361 or cell 571/228-9907. CC: Roger Cubbage [[email protected]] 703/534-4027 or cell 703/447-7169 Steve Forman [[email protected]] 703/734-2352 or cell: 571/263-5080.

CC * 14 * MD * 6 PM * Capital Crescent Trail (CCT)Looking for a Relaxed, Social Midweek Ride?. If so, come join us for our weekly ride from Bethesda to Georgetown and back on the Capital Crescent Trail. We go to dinner afterwards at a moderately priced Bethesda restaurant. The ride leaves promptly at 6 PM, one block down from the intersection of Woodmont and Bethesda Avenues on the Capital Crescent Trail. Bring quarters for nearby parking lots and garages!! The meter maids are out until 10 PM. No go if it’s raining, pavement is wet or storms are seriously threatening. Helmets required. Patrice Coss 703/521-6159.

CC-A(MH) * 22 * VA * 6:30 PM * Cameron Run Regional Park, AlexandriaTuesday Night Ride. The route loops through Alexandria and around Lake Barcroft over flat, rolling and hilly terrain. All levels of riders are welcome to join us and set your own pace. We’ll ride unless it’s raining at start time. (Directions from the Beltway in Virginia: Take Exit 174 to the Eisenhower Ave Connector; R on Eisenhower @ light; L into Cameron Run Park after 0.5 mile). Please bring your helmet. Brad Kuhn [[email protected]] 703/967-3544.

CC/B/BB/A * 17-29 * MD * 6:10 PM * Layton Village SC (LAV)The Slurpee Ride. The front group is a bunch of hammer heads, but the Tuesday night gang

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has riders from All Classes and we welcome more anytime. Plus, we all go to 7-Eleven and get Slurpees afterward. We will be riding into Howard County via Riggs, Zion, and Howard Chapel roads and coming back via Hipsley Mill Rd. There will be multiple length options of the same basic route. No go if raining or wet roads. BB: Geng Chan [[email protected]] B: “leader needed. Email Geng if you’d like to volunteer” CC: Johanna Nathanson [[email protected]] 202/210-8599.

B-AA (MF) * 25 * VA * 6 PM * Wakefield Park (WKP)Annandale Evening Speedworks. This is a multi-paced ride around the quiet residential streets of Annandale. We’ll try to roll out promptly at 6:10 PM, as later riders should find it easy to intercept the ride en route, which stays within 3 miles of the park (!). There are rest rooms and water at the park. We park in the first lots on the left of the entry drive; the park is located off of Braddock Rd immediately outside of the Beltway (I-495). Dan Lehman [[email protected]] 703/241-9113.

July -- Wednesdays

ALL * 20-38 * MD * 6:30 PM * Ivy Lane Office Complex (IVY)Midweek Madcap. It is time once again for hump day fun. Come out and enjoy a mid week ride through the Ag Center and Old Town Bowie. Terrain is flat to rolling. There will be several routes to choose from with no rest stops. There is certain to be someone who rides your pace or use this as training and find a faster wheel to challenge speed you up. Historically, “A”, “BB”, “B” and “CC” riders have attended. Ride Leader will have cue sheets but guarantee no set pace. No go in rain/wet roads. At times this ride may be “leaderless” and without cue sheets. Save your generic cues from previous rides. Kirk Walder [[email protected]] 301/210-5914.

CC(MH) * 10-24 * MD * 6:15 PM * Rockville Regal CenterRockville Rambler. Starting the first Wednesday in April and every Wednesday thereafter through September, join us for a ride with some variety around Rockville, enjoying some routes you may not have known. Explore the many neighborhoods in and around Rockville on secondary streets, utilizing little known connector trails to avoid major roads along the way. We’ll try to maintain a cohesive group through a few hills and tight turns, including some trail and street riding. Convenient parking in the lot immediately in front of The Regal Theatre for $1.50 after 5 PM. Meet at the upper corner of the lot at Montgomery Ave and Monroe St. Afterwards pizza, beer, and salad at Giuseppi’s, just to the left of Regal Rockville Cinema at 199-L East Montgomery Ave, RV MD 20850. Try this ride and see what you’ve been missing. No go in rain or on wet roads. Reggie Beard [[email protected]] 240/899-4391. Bob Bloomfield [[email protected]] 301/922-979 .

CC/B * 18-25 * DC * 6 PM * Mitchell Park (MIT)Downtown Breakaway -- B/CC Version. Little traffic at rush hour downtown! A moderately paced ride through the hills of upper Northwest, stretching out to Potomac as the daylight increases. Flat and fast along MacArthur for return to Mitchell Park. This is a slightly modified, shorter version of the “BB/A” route for riders that don’t keep up with the front pack all the way. Ride leaders will ride at a high “CC” to low “B” pace with a regroup or two along the way for slower riders to catch up. There are plenty of shortcuts that allow a return to the start before dark. See details about parking etc in the “BB”/”A” description. Liz Milor 301/367-2430 Monique Sears [[email protected]] 202/256-5218.

BB/A * 35-42 * DC * 6 PM * Mitchell Park (MIT)Downtown Breakaway. Did you know that you could ride in DC at rush hour and not be in the midst of cars? It’s true! Come join us on this beautiful ride, through the treelined streets of NW and out to Potomac. The ride goes up and down many hills between Dupont Circle and Potomac, great for building up for the season’s big event rides like Mountain Mama, Eat A Peach and the Civil War Century (and it beats the pants off the repetition of laps at Hains Point). The return, as the daylight is fading, is flat and fast along MacArthur Blvd, good for working on speed and paceline skills. Something for everyone - the division between “A” and “BB” usually happens closer to the return stretch, which most people (hopefully) know, though the cues are easy for said stretch. Plenty of short cuts along the way to finish by dark or make your evening date, though it’s STRONGLY advised to bring front and rear lights, just in case. Too speedy for your tastes? There is a “B/CC” group as well. Ride leaves from Mitchell Park, S St NW, between22nd and 23rd Sts. Parking in the neighborhood, but please be mindful of zone regulations, as ticketing crews are known to enforce as the ride distances lengthen (there is limited free parking in front of the Textile Museum and Wilson House). Leaders may alternate week to week, alternating according to availability. No go in steady rain or impending thunderstorms - late-breaking

announcements on Pedalers Google Group and PPTC website. A: Mark Hemhauser [[email protected]] 202/834-9309 A: Jonathan Mirsky [[email protected]] 202/320-1310 A: Rudi Riet[[email protected]] BB: Keith Barron [[email protected]]BB: Matt Birnbaum, [[email protected]] 202/895-0979.

July -- Thursdays

D/CC * <=20,30 * VA * 6:10 PM * Wakefield Park (WKP)Annandale Training Works. PPTC membership and registration is not required but encouraged. (Directions: From I-495 to Braddock Rd West exit, first right into Park. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: from Pentagon Metro Station buses #17 to Queensberry Ave and Braddock Rd. Restrooms and free parking at Wakefield Park Recreation Center parking lots. The “D” core ride is “11 miles 11 gently hills” on route http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=5283559 upon cyclists request extension up to 20 miles is possible. The “CC” core will ride approximately 15 - 20+ miles, according to conditions and desires, staying close to the park (It is easy to drop off from, or to extend, the ride.) CC: Peter Klosky [[email protected]] 703/727-4939 D: Shirley Lipinski [[email protected]] 703/470-6637 CC-D substitute leaders: Martt Harding [[email protected]] Woody Lipinski [[email protected]] 703/203-4934.

C/CC * 10-20 * DC * 6:30 PM * Tenley Circle (TEN)Thursday Tenley Ride. Meet the regular group on the East side of Tenley Circle on Yuma street and ride with us every Thursday until the end of September. Friendly, social ride through side streets down to the river or into the park and back up the hill to Tenley Circle. Then on to Armand’s for pizza, beer, and salad and more socializing! New people are welcome and will soon be part of the regular group, so come on down and share your experiences! No go if raining or wet roads. Paul Fegelson 202/966-8191.

CC-A(MH) * 22 * VA * 6:30 PM * Belle Haven Picnic Area (BEL)Thursday Night Ride. The route is fairly flat through the Mt. Vernon neighborhoods to Fort Hunt Park. Then the pace picks up and the ride leader is blown off the back. All the hills are in the second half of the ride. We’ll ride unless it’s raining at start time. (Start location is first parking lot at Belle Haven Marina.) Please bring your helmet. And bring a change of clothes on the last Thursday of the month, and meet at Rustico after the ride for food, drink, and conversation. Brad Kuhn [[email protected]] 703/967-3544.

B-AA (MF) * 25 * VA * 6 PM * Wakefield Park (WKP)Annandale Evening Speedworks. This is a multi-paced ride around the quiet residential streets of Annandale. We’ll try to roll out promptly at 6:10 PM, as later riders should find it easy to intercept the ride en route, which stays within 3 miles of the park (!). There are rest rooms and water at the park. We park in the first lots on the left of the entry drive; the park is located off of Braddock Rd immediately outside of the Beltway (I-495). Dan Lehman [[email protected]] 703/241-9113.

B/BB/A * 30ish * MD * 6 PM * Layton Village SC (LAV)The Thursday Trainer. This is generally a fast paced cooperative training ride through the Laytonsville area and Patuxent River valley. Same route as in previous years. The ride leader will make no attempt to keep the group together for the ride, so make sure you have a cue sheet and know where you are going. Ride leader will insist on single file riding until the top of Howard Chapel Rd because of the traffic and narrow roads. We would prefer not to have members of racing teams join us. The roads are too narrow and the PPTC members are too uncomfortable with riders employing racing tactics during our ride. If you want to do race training please choose another place, route or time. We will leave promptly at 6 PM. No go in rain or on wet roads. Please park in the far corner of the parking lot near the donation bins. Please consider donating cash to offset part of the cost of the Port-A-Potty sponsored by Just Riding Along Bicycle Shop in the LAV shopping center. Tim Guilford [tim @ guil4d.net] 301/704-2723.

July -- Fridays

CC * 35 * MD * 10 AM * Buddy Attick Park (BUD)Bud Bike Friday. Join our nice crew of regulars and irregulars for this rolling “CC” paced ride with a few nice climbs for your trouble. Lunch after ride if temps in the 60s. Two rest stops but

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only vending food ... park in the Buddy Attick parking lot and not at Ivy Lane. Ride decision based on conditions- call cell after 8:30 AM on day of ride if weather marginal! CC: Harold Goldstein [[email protected]] 301/854-0388 Cell 202/997-2376 George Schneider [[email protected]]

CC/B/BB/A * 21/25 * MD * 6:16 PM * South Germantown RC (SGR)6:16 Scenic Social!. This ride rolls from Germantown into Poolesville on lightly traveled roads with green pastures and orchards along the way. The ride usually stops to re-group at the top of Whites Store. This ride invites pace levels from “CC” on up and naturally splits into smaller groups though ride leaders will make an effort to encourage group togetherness. There is no sweep because of varying route lengths. RIDE START: We meet on the south-east side of the circle on Schaeffer Rd (Nationals Miracle Field/Ball Fields C, D and E parking lot) where there is a real bathroom and tons more parking! Watch the speed cameras on Schaeffer Rd. No go in inclement weather, on wet roads, or temps below 50ø. Dinner afterwards is often an option and all are welcome. B/BB: Bill Hermach [[email protected]] CC Willy Aladro [[email protected]] 301/467-2600 A: Ken Rowe [[email protected]] 301/367-2600.

July 1 Sunday

D/C(MF) * 16 * VA * 9:45 AM * Shirlington Library/Signature Theater (SHR) * 30% Lunch in Shirlington. Another great ride from the original Ride-To-Eat production team! Both MEMBERS AND NON-MEMBERS are very welcome to join us for this social ride, followed by lunch at one of the many restaurants in Shirlington (free parking in garages and lots on weekends). NO REGISTRATION is needed just show up. IGNORE THE MAP BELOW (on the website) it is incorrect; use Mapquest instead (find this address: 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, Virginia). We meet at 9:45 AM for a 10 AM departure on the brick plaza in front of the Shirlington Library / Signature Theater on Campbell Avenue in Shirlington (in Arlington). We select a restaurant, then go to lunch at about 12 PM. See you there!!!! [P.S. Between 10 AM

and 12 PM you are welcome to join the leader on the bike trails of Arlington (the Arlington Loop: traveling first on a portion of the W&OD Trail, then the Custis Trail, the Mount Vernon Trail, and the Four Mile Run Trail) with a rest stop at Starbuck’s in Lyon Village, and a brief regrouping at Gravelly Point (cue sheeton PPTC website, and passed out at ride). The 3-4 miles on the Custis Trail are hilly; the rest of the ride is pretty flat. Leader rides a slow “C” pace; all levels welcome (those wanting more or fewer miles may wish to continue up the W&OD and return to join us for the main event: lunch!). The ride leader is very likely to cancel the ride if the chance of rain is 30% or more. If the weather looks doubtful it is particularly important to check the “Ride News” forum on the PPTC website for a late cancellation notice. If you cannot access that forum, you may email the ride leader instead. If you need special help w/directions, please contact the ride leader for careful guidance. Ron Trueworthy [[email protected]]

C(F) * 22est * MD * 9:30 AM * Candy Cane City (CAN) * 90o/90% Park-to-Park. A scenic mostly shady “C” paced ride, on Beach Drive (via Rock Creek Trail) to Veirs Mill Park (VMP). 202/362-4225 for emergencies only. Marc Lasky [[email protected]]

CC * 68/51 * MD * 8:30 AM * Bryans Road SC (BRY)Annapolis Woods and Riverside. A delightful, shady ride through the Mattawoman and Nanjemoy Creek watersheds, including Riverside aroud Maryland Point. Three rest stops, gently rolling terrain, 2400 feet of climbing, easily shortened to 51 miles. Joint ride with Oxon Hill Bicycle Club. Steve Palincsar [[email protected]] H: 703/548-1585 or 703/655-8959.

B/CC * 63 * MD * 9 AM * Walkersville HS (WHS)Long & Short Sheetz. We willl ride on low traffic roads with as much shade as possible in the valley between Walkersville and Emmetsburg, Thurmont, and Taneytown. It won’t be flat as a pancake, but it will be close, except for a few hills to add a little challenge. There are two Rest Stops: one around Mile 26, and one around Mile 48. Regardless, bring plenty of water and sunscreen. Both Ride Leaders will do the 63 mile ride. However, a cue sheet for a shorter, 42 mile version will be available. Although this is listed as a “B/CC” ride, all ride classes are

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welcome, as long as you know how to read a cue sheet and change a flat tire. No go if raining or wet roads. For last minute cancelation info., please check potomacpedalers.org, “Ride News” for “MD Rides”, or call one of the Ride Leaders, after 7 AM, on ride day. B: Monique Sears ([email protected]) 202/256-5218 CC: Ed Hazelwood ([email protected]) 202/255-1787.

A * 50ish * MD * 8:30 AM * Layton Village SC (LAV)50 Miles To Somewhere?. I will pull out a not overly hilly ride as a “recovery” from the century the day before. It will be some variation on 50 Miles to Nowhere, with the usual rest stop in Lisbon. It will probably be hot, so bring lots of water. No go if the forecast is for more than a 50% chance of rain during the ride time or if the roads are wet Tim Guilford [[email protected]] 301/704-2723.

July 4 Wednesday

CC * 40 * VA * 8 AM * Lake Braddock SS (LBS)Fairfax Wanderings. This ride attempts to disprove all those Doubting Thomases who say there are no more quiet rides this close in! The course takes you from Kings Park West through Mantua to Vienna and Falls Church, then back through Annandale along mostly lightly traveled roads. The ride is moderately hilly. (Directions to ride start location: Beltway Exit 54, “Braddock Rd / Rt 620” West; 1.8 mi. L Burke Lake Rd / CO Rt. 645; 1.0 R Lake Braddock Dr; 0.1 mi. R Raintree Road to enter school parking lot.) Jim Houghton [[email protected]]

CC/B * 33 * MD * 9:30 AM * Poolesville HS (POO)Ag Reserve Loop. The start time is a compromise between sleeping in and getting out for a nice short-ish ride before it gets too hot and before the festivities start. There’s an option to add Sugarloaf for +3.7 miles and bragging rights. No go in rain or threat of thunderstorms. Bring two water bottles just in case the Dickerson Market is closed. Carol Linden [[email protected]] cell: 240/205-5035.

B * 61 * VA * 8:30 AM * Loudoun Co. HS (LOU)Loudoun Loop. Here’s a nice ride with a mixture of ups’n’downs, sun & shade, on an old familiar circuit. No go in rain. Check if in doubt. Deanna & Tom Calligaro [[email protected]] 703/264-7425.

B/BB * 50ish * MD * 7 AM * Sherwood ES (SES)Holiday Early Bird. It’s Back! For a limited engagement in honor of the Fourth of July we are pleased to offer an early morning ride so we can get a fun ride in before we head off to our Fourth of July picnics and celebrations. Not sure where exactly we will be heading, but we’ll try to put a

new spin on the familiar roads in this corner of our riding world. One rest stop. Ride leaders will ride the posted pace,but riders at any other level who don’t need a formal ride leader are welcome. No go in steady rain; call after 5:30 AM if the weather is doubtful or if there were heavy storms the night before. Updates (if needed) will be posted in the Pedalers and the PPTC web page no later than 5:15 AM on the day of the ride. BB: Eric Pilsk [[email protected]] 240/893-3499 B: Nancy Kotarski [[email protected]] 301/221-1057.

July 7 Saturday

D * 15 * MD * 11 AM * Veirs Mill Park RC (VMP) * 50o/50% Lake Needwood Adventure. A pleasant, easy ride with a few hills on the Rock Creek Bike Trail to Lake Needwood. Lunch afterwards at Black Market restaurant in Garrett Park. Locks and helmets please. Call ride leader if weather is marginal. Street address for VMP is: 4425 Garrett Park Rd. Silver Spring, MD. Linda Kolko [[email protected]] Cell: 301/785-1342.

C * 29 * MD * 10 AM * Candy Cane City (CAN) * 50% Lake Needwood Adventure. Add a few miles to your bike ride to Lake Needwood. Cruise up Beach Drive to pick up riders at VMP enroute who want to start later and/or do less distance. Ride leader will maintain “C” pace (11 mph) as we bike along the Rock Creek Bike Trail to Lake Needwood. Lunch afterwards at Black Market restaurant in Garrett Park. Locks and helmets please. Call ride leader if weather is marginal. Street address for CAN is: 8200 Meadowbrook Lane, Chevy Chase, MD. We will meet at the Playground across from the pedestrian bridge on Beach Drive. Parking is also available on Beach Drive and at the French International School at the corner of Woodbine and Beach Drive. Linda Kolko [[email protected]] Cell: 301/785-1342.

C/CC (MH) * 34&50 * VA * 9 AM * Tyler ES (TYL) * 95o/50% Bear and Bull. Mostly downhill and always a tailwind. This is a rural ride out of Tyler ES to points north. The ride traverses country roads alongside tranquil woodlands and pleasing pastures. A short stretch is out and back, turning around just before the surface becomes gravel. When Ed Kerr and I originally pre-rode the route years ago, a bear was spotted at mile 13. Later, Ed had an on-bridge stare-down with a young bull that had escaped from the pasture. BOTH TRUE! I did not try to outrun either the bear or the bull, but I made a point of riding faster than Ed and keeping him between the critters and me. The 34-mile ride has a few short hills but also is refreshingly flat or downhill in many places. Ascent is 50 feet per mile. The 50-mile version is hillier and goes to The Plains via Waterfall and Hopewell roads. Rest stop at 16 miles for both distances and another at 33 miles for the longer ride. No restroom at ride start. HELMETS REQUIRED. I may cancel if the forecasted high is above 95ø or below 45ø or chance ofprecip is 50% or more. Please check the PPTC ride forum if weather looks marginal. Questions? Call me at home NLT 2 hours before ride start or on cell thereafter.Len Wilkinson [[email protected]] H: 703/455-0368 or 703/350-9209.

CC * 56 * MD * 8:30 AM * Rileys Lock (RIL)Ride to Buckeystown, Adamstown and Dickerson. There are rest stops in Buckeystown at 27 miles & Dickerson at 40 miles. This is not an overly hilly ride, but this is not a flat area and there are some significant hills (Slidell, Thurston, Park Mills). I will not ride in rain or on wet roads. If the weather is questionable, please check the PPTC website Ride News or e-mail me no later than 90 minutes prior to the ride start. Lisa Oken [[email protected]]

CC/B/BB/A * 74/50 * VA * 8:30 AM * Marshall Park & Ride (MAR)Five Rolling Rivers. The ride that just keeps on giving, rollers that is. Starts with an easy warm-up, or at least when I do it alone..., out 55 to Ramey, which at the time of this writing has new pavement and chip seal alternately. But then we start rolling out to Hume, past Marriott Ranches with Texas Long Horns, & the now infamous Oasis vineyard, home of the White House party crasher. Then we ride up to Little Washington, home of the Inn, cross 211 where last year at this time we saw the most fabulous fields of wild flowers, reminiscent of the Graham Watson tour photograph ( http://www.grahamwatson.com ). Then we roll past Five Rivers Vineyard, back through Ben Venue, the most beautiful of the Virginia Point to Point race fields and just keeps on rolling back to Marshall as we pass more vineyards and cattle farms. Bring food or drink to tailgate. And a sun hat ;-) Check with leader or ride-news forums if the weather’s dubious. CC: Liz Milor [[email protected]] 301/367-2430 cellphone day of the ride); B: Doreen Dotzler& Terry Leonard (Doreen says call Liz or me);BB: Mariette Vanderzon & Rick Studley [[email protected]] 703/439-0175;A: Mark Hemhauser [[email protected]] 202/834-9309.

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BB/A * 100 * MD * 8 AM * Walkersville HS (WHS)A Variation on the Classic Tour du Gatorade. We will start from Walkersville HS and work our way northwest to McSherrystown, PA. The terrain is flat to rolling, with only one hill of any significance, Rte 97 to Mayberry (last half of the ride). There will be 3 rest stops including the detour to Detour. It will likely be hot and humid so bring lots of water. Much of the ride is through farmland with little shade. No go if roads are wet, or if the forecast is indicating a high percentage chance of rain during the ride time. B/BB: Karen Berlage [[email protected]] 301/963-1482 A: Tim Guilford[[email protected]] 301/704-2723.

July 8 Sunday

D/C(MF) * 16 * VA * 9:45 AM * Shirlington Library/Signature Theater (SHR) * 30% Lunch in Shirlington. The ride is on the bike trails of Arlington, followed by lunch at one of the many restaurants in Shirlington (free parking in garages and lots on weekends). See July 1st ride description for details. Ron Trueworthy [[email protected]]

C * 36 * VA * 10 AM * Nokesville Community Park (NCP) * 45-% Wolfgang Puck. Get a good forecast from www.weather.com hourly forecast or weather in motion. Doubtful weather? check the club web site about cancellation. This ride has no major climbs or drops, and has a food stop at mile 18. This is the 63rd birthday of Wolfgang Puck, so I don’t think I can recruit him to cook for us. On the other hand, Carini’s is a good Italian place, and near NCP. Neal Grotenstein [[email protected]] 240/938-6381.

CC * 46/36 * VA * 08:30 AM * The Plains (PLA)Upperville Express. This moderately hilly ride traverses some of the most scenic roads in horse country. The long route includes stretches on Pleasant Vale and Asheville Roads where the raspberry and blackberry bushes should be teeming with fruit. Rest stop at the country store in Upperville. Jim Houghton [[email protected]]

CC(H) * 50 * MD * 8:30 AM * Layton Village SC (LAV)50 Miles to Nowhere. A ride which really goes somewhere,although you can make it go anywhere because it loops back on itself to make it look like you’re going nowhere. (Short-cuts always available.) John Hutchinson Cell: 240/997-5820.

B/BB(MH) * 60ish * MD * 8:30 AM * Mt. Airy Municipal Parking Lot (MTA) * 40% Mt Airy to Taneytown. A ride to visit a familiar town, but from another angle and from a seldom used ride start location. The route takes in some nice country roads with some great views of picturesque farmland. The main Rest Stop is in Taneytown, but the Ride Leader will have at least two additional stops to keep you hydrated in what will more than likely be hot weather. There are plenty of ups and downs on this ride with an occasional hill with some bite, but nothing significantly long. Ride Leader plans to lead the ride at the club advertised “B” pace. No go in rain or wet roads. If weather is questionable check PPTC web-site “MD Ride News” 90 minutes prior to ride. The Ride Leader is still tweaking the route, so check the PPTC web-site at least three days prior to the ride for the RideWithGPS route profile. (Directions: Mount Airy Municipal Lot, 250 Cross St, Mount Airy, MD 21771 - Go north on I-270 to Exit 16A / Father Hurley Blvd east. Continue east and north on Father Hurley Blvd, which becomes Rt 27, for 12.8miles, and after crossing under I-70 turn left onto Main St at the light. Go 1.2 miles and turn right onto Center St (just past old firehouse on the right) and in one block right again onto Cross St. The municipal lot will be on your right. For some people living more to the east it might be quicker to take Georgia Ave / Rt 97 to Laytonsville Rd / Rt 108 or New Hampshire Ave / Rt 650 north into Damascus and then continue north on Rt 27, picking up the earlier directions after crossing under I-70. The PPTC web-site also provides the directions and a map of the area if confusing.) B: Jeff Boarman [[email protected]] Cell: 301/938-8803BB: Karen Berlage [[email protected]] 301/963-1482.

July 11 Wednesday

C (MF) * 17 or 19 * VA * 6 PM * South Run Rec Center (SRRC) * 95o/50% Burke Lake & Lake Mercer. This ride is a pleasant jaunt to Burke Lake along a shaded bike path. Then we take one of several alternate routes. We return on neighborhood streets and a bike path along Lake Mercer. The beginning and finishing legs are very peaceful with only the sounds of birds and an occasional sighting of deer. (Directions: South Run Rec Center, 7550 Reservation Dr, Springfield, VA. Go through the paved parking lot adjacent to the Rec Center and park in the gravel lot next to the lower field house.) HELMETS REQUIRED. I may cancel if the forecasted

high is above 95ø or below 45ø or chance of precip is 50% or more. Please check the PPTC ride forum if weather looks marginal. Questions? Please call my home NLT the day before the ride or my cell the day of the ride. Len Wilkinson [[email protected]] H: 703/455-0368 or 703/350-9209.

July 14 Saturday

TANDEM * 35 * VA * 9:30 AM * Middleburg ES (MID)Ride around Middleburg. ...with lunch at Hunter’s Head Tavern in Upperville. Little hilly and very scenic if you like horse farms. (Directions: Take I-66 to Rt 50 West. Stay on Rt 50 until you come into Middleburg. Turn right on Foxcroft Rd in the center of town. The school will be on your right in 0.2 miles. Saturday you can park at school.) Desi Sedgwick & Rick Rowe [[email protected]] Cell: 571/205-0566.

D/CC(FLAT/HILLY) * <=20&35 * VA * 10/8:30 AM * Vienna Community Center (VCC) * 40o/50% Woody’s Birthday Ride. Biking to Potomac Overlook Regional Park (“D” ride: http://www.nvrpa.org/park/potomac_overlook and to North Arlington. The “CC” ride: “Heavenly Hills of Arlington County”). After biking Woody’s birthday lunch at Sunflower Vegetarian Restaurant, 2531 Chain Bridge Rd, Vienna Phone: 703/319-3888. PPTC membership and registration is recommended but nor required. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: From Dunn Loring Metro Station left on Gallows Rd (better on the sidewalk) to the W&OD Trail and turn left on W&OD Trail (about 3 miles). From Vienna Metro Station take exit left and any street toward Vienna and after crossing Nutley St turn left on Cottage St (2.5 miles) and right on Battle St to VCC. Shirley Lipinski [[email protected]] Woody Lipinski <[email protected]> 703/470-6637.

C * 30 * VA * 10 AM * Prince William Forest Park (PWF)Biking Prince William Forest Park. Enjoy cycling a scenic national park circuit road through the largest forest in Northern Virginia. Prince William Forest Park near Quantico showcases 17,000 acres of Virginia hardwoods, beautiful streams, and a scenic roadway that is tailor made for cycling. Our route also includes Joplin Road adjacent to the Quantico Marine Corp Base, and the bike trail along Dumfries Road. One short stretch of gravel along Burma Road as we return to Prince William Forest Park. Break stop at Samskys Country Store near Independence Hill. Park at the picnic area parking lot on the left before reaching the park visitor center. Meet in the Visitor Center Parking Lot. Helmets required. Glenn Gillis [[email protected]] 703/430-0568.

C(F) * 22est * MD * 9:30 AM * Candy Cane City (CAN) * 90o/90% Park-to-Park. A scenic mostly shady “C” paced ride, on Beach Drive (via Rock Creek Trail) to Veirs Mill Park (VMP). 202/362-4225 for emergencies only. Marc Lasky [[email protected]]

CC(H) * 58 * VA * 8:30 AM * Strasburg HS (SHS)Fort Valley Tour. We start farther out than usual but we get to tour on roads that “CC”s do not often get to see. There is one significant hill and lots of rolling countryside. The early start time allows us to ride in the so-called cooler part of the day. Driving time is about 1:20 from Arlington and directions are on the PPTC website. Assume that there is no bathroom at ride start location so stop just after you exit I-81 onto U.S. Rt. 11 (McDonalds on the right). Call or email ride leader if you have any questions at all (on morning of ride, call only as ride leader may not check email). Joan Oppel [oppel.js……Verizon.net] 703/328-9863.

CC/B/BB * 45/59/70 * MD * 8:30 AM * Rileys Lock (RIL)Fun Ride, Funny Swim, Awesome Tailgate. This ride will bring back fond memories of rides along time-honored roads past Riley’s Lock. For the adventurous, Marlu will be there for the taking (hard or long way). For those looking to omit this thrill in either iteration, there is a detour to miss it. Either way, there are two rest stops along the route. People who go on this ride are encouraged to ride hard. They also should not be ashamed to socialize and be merry. “CC” ride leader will bring a 40 - 50 mile cue sheet in the event of high heat and humidity. The “BB” ride leader is promising to jump in the water for a swim at the ride’s end. All are encouraged to stay for an old-fashioned tailgate at ride’s end, featuring beer and authentic Wisconsin brats (with, of course, veggie options). Please bring a dish/ refreshment to share. CC/B: Carol Linden [[email protected]] Cell: 240/205-5035 B: Jim Quinn [[email protected]] 301/916-8868 BB: Matt Birnbaum [[email protected]] 202/895-0979.

12

July 15 Sunday

D * 20 * MD * 9 AM * Veirs Mill Park RC (VMP)Rock Creek and Sligo Creek Too. We’ll ride to Sligo Creek and enjoy the Sunday road closure. Optional lunch stop at the Black Market restaurant in Garrett Park at the ride’s end. Bring lunch money, lock, and water. If the heat’s too much, riders will be able to reduce their mileage, and still join us for lunch. Margaret Chapman [[email protected]] -- evenings before 9 pm -- 301/977-8988.

D/C * 23 * VA * 9:30 AM * Pohick Bay Park * 95o/50% Pohick Bay Picnic Ride. This ride is also being offered as a PPTC Meet-Up ride. This ride will be a relaxing social ride along lightly-traveled roads and paved bike trails on this scenic peninsula near Occoquan. We will ride through Mason Neck State Park, the adjacent National Wildlife Preserve, Gunston Hall historic plantation, and some lovely neighborhoods facing the Potomac River. There is even a covered bridge along the route. This is mostly a flat ride (only one hill towards the end) with lots of shade and natural beauty the whole way. The average “C” pace for the total distance will be approximately 12 MPH, though on the flat portions speeds could range from 14-16 MPH. The average “D” pace for the distance will be approximately 10 MPH, though speeds on the flat portions could be slightly faster. If you are interested in joining us for a picnic in the Park after the ride, please bring a dish to share (and your own drink, plate and silverware). There is no charge to get into Pohick Bay Park if you have a driver’s licenseshowing you live in Alexandria, Arlington, City of Fairfax, Fairfax County, Falls Church or Loudoun. If you live outside these member jurisdictions then there is a $7 entrance fee per car to get in the Park. (Directions: 1) From I95 S, take exit 163 to Lorton. Left onto Lorton Rd at the end of exit ramp. Go under second overpass and turn right onto Lorton Market St - you’ll see Shoppers Food Warehouse. Go about 1.5 mile to traffic light at Route 1. Go straight through light (road name changes to Gunston Rd) and go 3.4 miles to Park entrance on left. OR 2) From I95N. Take exit 161 to Lorton, Route 1 N. Go about 1.5 miles to first stop light and turn right on to Gunston Rd. Go about 4 miles to Park entrance on left. Once inside the Park, continue straight to the first parking lot on the right.) The ride leaders may cancel the ride if the high temperature for the day is forecast above 95 or chance of rain is 50% or more. Please check the PPTC Ride News if weather looks doubtful or call a ride leaderthat morning. C: Peter Dassira [[email protected]] 703/851-2274 D: Nancy Dungan [[email protected]] 703/818-8189 or cell: 571/334-6868Liz Tarpley [[email protected]] 703/973-7207.


C(MH) * 33 * MD * 9:30 AM * Rileys Lock (RIL) * 90o/60% A Summer Ride in the Country. The perfect time of year for this beautiful ride in rural western Montgomery. We’ll ride a casual “C” pace, with a sweep at all times; no one will be left behind. The ride is mostly on low-traffic rural roads, with just a few short sections on highways. Rolling hills, but nothing too intimidating. We’ll take a break mid-way at the scenic Dickerson General Store. See “Western Montgomery Circuit” in the cue sheet library. If the RIL parking lot is full, start driving back up Riley’s Lock Road; there’s another lot on your right just past Caleva. Relatively clean port-a-johns - but no water - at starting point. Lunch or refreshments afterwards in Poolesville or Darnestown. Mitch Stengel [[email protected]] 301/221-2899.

CC * 40ish * VA * 9:30 AM * Trails End Cycling * 95o

Ride to Your Crabs Ride. All levels are welcome and ride leader will stagger starts a few minutes apart to get safely out of town. Please park in the municipal lot or at Trails End Cycling (directions to ride start location: www.trailsendcycling.com). We’ll head out for a rolling hills route followed by a drive down the road heading east a few miles into Hamilton for outdoor eating at Lowry’s Crab Shack (www.lowrysfarmmarket.com), with all types of seafood and burgers and, of course, beer. There is indoor seating if it’s too hot or has started to rain so perhaps bring at least a t-shirt to change into if we do move indoors. No go if serious rain is in the forecast before we’re done. Contact ride leader with any questions before Sunday morning. Ride leader will post to PPTC website if the ride is cancelled. Brin Luther [BrinlutherATcomcast.net] 202/413-6548.

CC * 57/47 * VA * 9:30 AM * HM Pearson ES (HMP)Rural Splendor Remix Reversed: New Directions. This route, a remix of familiar and perhaps unfamiliar segments, takes us up to Warrenton, Remington and Brandy Station. Scenic, rural and

rolling: it doesn’t get much nicer. Three rest stops, 1,900 feet of climbing, honest “CC” pace. Steve Palincsar [[email protected]] 703/548-1585 or 703/655-8959.

CC/B/BB(H) * 63/83 * MD * 8:30 AM * Point of Rocks (POR)Smithburg Whistle Stop. A whistle stop cycling tour of some our favorite westerly towns, burgs, boros, and villes. From Point of Rocks, we head due north to our turnaround in Smithsburg. On the way out, we’ll zip through Jefferson, Middletown, and Myersville. On the return leg, we’ll hit Boonsboro, Keedysville, Sharpsburg and Burkittsville. No serious climbing but the feet will definitely accumulate. Three scheduled stops, but others available if needed. Note the early start for beating the heat. BB: Tim Barry [[email protected]] 301/881-7660. CC-B: Deb Reynolds [[email protected]] 301/346-1755.

July 20 Friday

C/CC (MF&MH) * 37&52 * VA * 9 AM * Brentsville Park (BVP) * 95o/50% Creek Crossings. Mostly downhill with a tailwind. This fantastic ride uses some familiar country lanes and then goes south of Bristerburg on roads that PPTC does not usually frequent. If you are pondering the short or long options, GO LONG - the additional miles are really great cycling. The short route ascends 1,200 feet - a flat-ish 35 feet per mile. The long route ascends 2,400 feet - 45 feet per mile with two short, steep climbs after two creek crossings. HELMETS REQUIRED. I may cancel if the forecasted high is above 95 or chance of precip is 50% or more. Please check the PPTC ride forum if weather looks marginal. Toilet not available at start. Questions? Call me at home NLT 2 hours prior to ride start or on cell thereafter. Len Wilkinson [[email protected]] H: 703/455-0368 or Cell: 703/350-9209.

July 21 Saturday

D * 18 * VA * 10 AM * Belle Haven Picnic Area (BEL)Fort Hunt. PPTC membership and registration is recommended but not required. BothMEMBERS AND NON-MEMBERS are very welcome to join us for this social ride. Biking with pleasure on the Mount Vernon Trail to Fort Hunt come back up the Mt Vernon trail and on cross the Wilson Bridge for an optional lunch at National Harbor, MD. The ride is with scenic views of the Potomac River and the City of Alexandria. Meet at the northernmost of the parking lots at Belle Haven. Lunch is either near Belle Haven or at Nat’l Harbor. (PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: From Pentagon take Buses 9 or 10 to Downtown Alexandria and exit on George Washington Street, bike on the left sidewalk to reach Mont Vernon Trail in direction of the Belle Haven Marina or take Metro Line Blue or Orange to King St Metro station and bike toward George Washington St and turn right toward Mount Vernon Trail.)Greg Basheda [[email protected]]Neal Grotenstein [[email protected]] 240-938-6381

C * 34 * MD * 9:30 AM * Rileys Lock (RIL) * 90o/60% W. Montgomery County Circuit. The usual familiar roads out of Riley’s Lock. Some rolling hills, but nothing major. Rest stop in Dickerson at the halfway point. No go in rain or wet roads. Dale Hunt [[email protected]] 202/299-9094.

CC * 50ish * VA * 10 AM * Theodore Roosevelt Island (ROO)Ride-to-Eat. We will ride to a restaurant on the Washingtonian’s Cheap Eats list and stop there for lunch. Bring money and a lock. The starting point is in VA but the restaurant is in Maryland. We will get there by a combination of roads and trails, and there may be some traffic. Leslie Tierstein [ltierstein AT earthlink.net]

CC * 59 * MD * 9 AM * Northern Senior CtrColton Point Clockwise. A gently rolling tour of rural Southern Maryland, featuring a rest stop at the Potomac River Museum at Colton Point, with possibly roads new to you traveled in unusual directions to keep things interesting. Joint ride with Oxon Hill Bicycle Club. (Directions: Northern Senior Center is at 29655 Charlotte Hall Rd, Charlotte Hall, MD. From Beltway Exit 7-A, take Branch Ave / MD-5 S toward Waldorf. After 13 miles, turn left on Mattawoman Beantown Rd to stay on MD 5. After 3 miles, turn left at Leonardtown Rd/MD-5 S. Follow Rt 5 to St. Mary’s County to Golden Beach Rd. Turn right at Golden Beach Rd and go 0.1 mi. Turn left at Charlotte Hall Rd/Old Route 5 and 0.9 mi to Community Center on the right.) Steve Palincsar [[email protected]] H: 703/548-1585 or 703/655-8959.

13

CC/B * 43 * MD * 8:30 AM * Layton Village SC (LAV)Looking for Reindeer. This is one of my favorite routes through the eastern side of the Ag Reserve and Howard County. Terrain is rolling. Most roads are lightly traveled. Let’s hope the chip seal guys will be long gone by mid July. The only rest stop is at mile 26, so bring plenty of water! Unless it’s raining steadily or the apocalypse hits, your ride leader will show up with cue sheets. Denise Cohen [bikergal101<at>yahoo.com] Cell: 301/233-7535.

B * 45 * VA * 9 AM * Midland Commuter Lot (MLD)Rappahannock Ramble. Kirk Yost led this ride in May, and it was a nice ride, with the cue sheet dead on. Cruise west to Jeffersonton, stop for a rest in Remington, and return via Sumerduck. Leader will probably be on a track bike, and others are encouraged. Check with leader or ride-news forums if the weather’s dubious. Bruce Johnson [[email protected]]

B/BB * 38/52 * MD * 8:30 AM * Allen Pond Park (ALP)Deale or No Deale. One of our favorite ride through scenic - mostly shaded - rural roads. Rolling and flat - something for everyone. Restrooms available at ride start. No go in inclement weather, on wet roads. Call Nancy after 6:30 AM on day of ride if weather is questionable. Cue Sheets at ride start. Garmin downloads at: 52 mile: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/433368 38 mile: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/433378 B: Kirk Walder [[email protected]] 301/210-5914 BB: Nancy Avitabile [[email protected]] 301/908-6303.

B/BB/A(H) * 76 * MD * 8:30 AM * Myersville Park & Ride (MYR)Happy Pain Happy. Mike Whitney led this ride in May 2011 & it was just spectacular! It has quickly become a club favorite. Join us & find out why. It is sort of the reverse of Happy Happy Pain Pain without High Rock and dropping off South Mountain into Carroll Valley. Route works over to Loy Wolfe and then drops into Smithburg; continuing North to a rest stop in Rouzerville. Then Mentzer Gap to Mt Alto and a long steady climb up to South Mountain and long descent into rest stop in Carroll Valley. Return via another long steady climb up Iron Springs and Gum Springs into Blue Ridge Summit (optional rest stop). Last 12 miles downhill into Myersville. No go if rain at ride start. Check PPTC Forum if weather is iffy. B: George Haas [[email protected]] 301/610-0085 BB: Corey Keifetz [[email protected]] 301/785-2388 A: Tim Guilford [tim @ guil4d.net] 301/704-2723.

July 22 Sunday

TANDEM * 47 * MD * 9 AM * Allen Pond Park (ALP)Galloping To Galesville. Lovely rolling hills through countryside with a turn around at the waterfront in Galesville, MD. Rest stop at a convenience store at 33 miles. Cary Sennett 301/452-0837 Sara Sennett [[email protected]] 301/520-2478.


C(MH) * 27 * VA * 9:30 AM * Gunston ES (GES)Lorton Springfield Loop. Here’s a challenging ride that’s half rural, half Northern Virginia suburban. Moderately hilly to hilly. Take a spin and judge for yourself. Part of the route goes past the old Lorton Penitentiary in the latter half. Lunch afterwards at a nearby eatery. Call in the event of questionable weather. Check the web site for cancellation information or call an hour before the ride start. For detailed directions, do an internet map search on Gunston ES, Lorton, VA. Jeff Mankie [[email protected]] 571/332-2130.

CC/B * 41/53 * MD * 9 AM * Monocacy MS (MMS)Three Covered Bridges. A club favorite in the Frederick valley - a scenic ride over rolling terrain (no real hills), beautiful mountain views and of course, three covered bridges! Both routes are the same until the rest stop at mile 28 then you can decide which distance to take. One rest stop. We’ll let the “B” group leave the parking lot first then the “CC” group will head out at a more civilized pace! No go in rain. B: Bob Coorsen [[email protected]] 301/717/0461 CC: Louise Campbell-Blair [[email protected]] 301/518-5990.

A * 50ish * MD * 8:30 AM * Layton Village SC (LAV)50 Miles To Somewhere?. will pull out a not overly hilly ride as a “recovery” from the Happy Pain Happy ride the day before. It will be some variation on “50 Miles to Nowhere”, with the usual rest stop in Lisbon. It will probably be hot, so bring lots of water. No go if the forecast is for more than a 50% chance of rain during the ride time or if the roads are wet Tim Guilford [[email protected]] 301/704-2723.

July 25 Wednesday

C/CC(MH)(ATB) * 10 * VA * 6:10 PM * Lorton Arts Workhouse * 95o/50% Escape From Lorton Prison. This is a MOUNTAIN BIKE ride around the land that used to be the Lorton prison farm, and it is more invigorating than the short distance of 10 miles suggests - or do two loops or variants for more mileage. Part of the route is the Fairfax County Cross County Trail, part is equestrian trail, which is stone dust and hard-packed; and part is woodland trail that tiny critters call home and grudgingly share with cyclists. Plan on a fun, roller-coaster ride and numerous short climbs. Wear bright clothing, long sleeves, and TICK REPELLANT to ward off the tiny critters that I mentioned earlier. HELMETS REQUIRED. I may cancel if the forecasted high is above 95ø or below 45ø or chance of precip is 50% or more. Please check the PPTC ride forum if weather looks marginal. (Directions: Route 123 Ox road at the Lorton Arts Workhouse about 2 miles north of the Occoquan River. Park in the northwest end of the Arts Workhouse lot.) Questions? Len Wilkinson [[email protected]] H: 703/455-0368 or Cell: 703/350-9209.

July 28 Saturday

C * 22 * MD * 9:30 AM * Candy Cane City (CAN)Wings of Pastrami - A Homage to George Constanza. The Capital Crescent/Rock Creek loop done counter-clockwise with the lunch stop close to the end of the ride. Lunch at Parkway Deli off Beach Drive. BRING LOCKS AND MONEY. Mike Divine [mikeandjoandivineATerols.com] 301/258-7820.

C/CC * 30, 36, 42 and maybe * VA * 9:30 AM * Nokesville Community Park (NCP)Nokesville Picnic Rides. I’ll bring a variety of the Nokesville picnic ride routes. As this goes to print I do not have a specific “CC” rider leader but I will recruit someone before the day of the ride as a number of much better riders have offered to help me out! Generally, assuming a nice day, lots of experienced riders come to this and we’ll all look out for each other. I’ll be leading the ride from the back because that s what happens anyway and one might as well make a virtue out of riding slowly. Terrain is flat to gently rolling. Anyone who wants can gather after the ride at Carini s (or there is a new place that is good too) in Nokesville for lunch afterwards. Questions on weather (won’t go if it’s raining) or any other, contact Catherine Kitchell [[email protected]] 301/767-6919.

CC/B/BB * 45-65ish * MD * 8 AM * Gary J. Arthur Community Center, GlenwoodJohanna’s 29th Birthday 1st Repeat. We’re planning a variation of rides to celebrate a birthday, use low travelled roads, find plenty of shade, and allow getting back to the farmer’s market before it closes at 12:30 PM if you ride short enough or fast enough. We’ll head northwest and up toward the Unions, then loop around near New Windsor and back over to Winfield to pick up the shade on Eden Mill and Morgan Station as we return back to Glenwood. The shorter routes will loop back sooner. (Directions: The Gary J. Arthur Community Center is located in Howard County, Maryland on Rt 97 / Georgia Ave extended and is approximately 10 miles north of Olney. Take Rt 97 through Olney, Sunshine, and Glenwood to the traffic light at the intersection of Rt 97 and Carr’s Mill / McKendree Rd. Proceed through the intersection on Rt 97 approximately 0.2 miles, make left into Library / Community Center entrance.) Community Center is open and has bathrooms! There is also a High’s Convenience Store at the intersection of Rt 97 and McKendree Rd for snacksand drinks. CC: Johanna Nathanson [[email protected]] 202/210-8599 B: Jim Quinn [[email protected]] 301 916-8868BB: Geng Chan [[email protected]]

14

Potomac Pedaler Age Ride Class

Total Miles

long ride

Com- muting

PPTC Rides

Date of Mi.5000

Big Month

Chris RANDALL 59 B/BB 12,857+ 151- 54%~ 1%~ 6/23= 1,247-Jeff BOARMAN OLD B 10,904 105 0% 34% 7/17 1,102Rickey DAVIS 71 C 10,671+ 100~ 5%- 5%+ 7/19+ 1,269~Don SCHNEIDER 70 B/CC 10,058~ 101- 64%= 4.6%= 7/10~ 1,002+Brent DEROBERTIS 61 AARP 9,874+ 102+ 0%= 10%= 7/12+ 1,138+Karol KROTKI 63 B 9,003- 60- 75%~ 10%+ 7/26- 1,106=Karen BERLAGE 54 BB 8,883 106 0% 70% 8/06 1,168Dominique Calabrese 56 CC/B 8,596 102 5% 1% 7/31 1,022William DENNON 61 CC/R 8,184- 128~ 0%= 12%= 8/26- 946~Tim BARRY fossil sandbag 7,827 112 0% many% 8/?? ?Kelly SMITH 57 BB 7,738+ 250= 17%= 8%= 7/24~ 1,113-Curtis HUNTER 68 R 7,663+ 131+ 0%= 0%- 7/15+ 1,381+Mark HEMHAUSER 46 A/BB 7,510+ 130+ 13%+ 39%- 9/28- 940+Nicholas CLEMENTS 51 BB 7,298+ 106~ 0%= 37%+ 9/02+ ?Yvonne HOYLE 65 CC 7,062+ 100+ 0%= 5%= 9/30+ 828+Shaun SOLHJOU 53 A 6,917+ 107~ 4%+ 20%- 9/05+ 781~Jeanne HARRISON 48 B/CC 6,797+ 101= 2%= 9%~ 9/25= 859+Steve ROSENBAUM 56 <?> 6,434+ 100+ 97%= 0%- 10/15- 800=Joan OPPEL 68 CC 6,422+ 108~ 0%= 35%- 10/05+ 744~Gene OSTIN 70 C 6,398+ 105- 0%= 5%- 9/11- 1,002-Gary REID 63 BB 6,266+ 102+ 33%- 0%= 10/11+ 884~James NACH 70 CC 6,170+ 101= 0%= 0%- 10/05+ 1,020-Tim GUILFORD 53 A/AA 6,111~ 110 1%= 85%~ 9/1nth~ naGreg GIBSON 49 A 6,032 107 0% 60% 10/20 841Lynne ROSENBUSCH 55 R 6,021+ 252+ 0%= 17%+ 11/05- 714-Joe EISCH 51 C 6,020- 102= 50%= 1%~ 10/29- 750+Micheal BELL 59 B/BB 5,909+ 108~ 0%= 8%+ 9/27+ 812-Jim QUINN 68 B 5,906+ 107~ 0%= 41%+ 10/08+ 777~Liz WELLS 53 C 5,809- 106= 70%= 5%- 10/08- 939-John FAUERBY 61 R 5,774+ 252+ 0%= 18%+ 11/19~ 714-Chris WHITE 52 A/BB 5,641 107 0% 75% 10/18 802Ron TRIPP 54 B 5,603~ 160+ 2%- 20%- 11/05- 687-Ken ROWE 50 A 5,558+ 73- 0%= 5%- 11/20+ 752-Corey KEIFETZ 60 BB 5,425 108 0% 56% 11/26 700Linda BANKERD 67 CC 5,410- 70- 0%= 20%= 11/25- 604-Stan SUNDERWIRTH 53 T 5,329+ 104= 31%+ 3%~ 11/26+ 812+Walter GREEN 53 B/CC 5,290 131 0% 5% 9/20 2,005Harold DATZ 73 CC 5,200 100 0% 60% 9/15 720TheBob BLOOMFIELD sexty sans 5,200= 89- 2%= 10%= 12/02- 713~Mike MCCARLEY 62 BB/A 5,195~ 122+ 0%= 38%- 12/10- 673~Ken SCHANTZ 60 CC 5,148+ 70- 78%+ 0.5%~ 12/14+ 643~Jenny SUNDERWIRTH 46 B/T 5,108+ 104= 0%- 3%~ 12/10+ 812+Jonathan KRALL 51 B/CC 5,033 47 67% 0% 12/22 548Jeff BREUNIG 58 BB 5,007 105 1% 5% 12/17 804Stephen FORMAN 71 CC/B 4,600- x x x 8/xx x

The Order of the Cast-Iron Crotch: 2011 Survey

July 29 Sunday


C (F) * 22est * MD * 9:30 AM * Candy Cane City (CAN) * 90o/90% Park-to-Park. A scenic mostly shady “C” paced ride, on Beach Drive (via Rock Creek Trail) to Veirs Mill Park (VMP). 202/362-4225 for emergencies only. Marc Lasky [[email protected]]

CC * 39/49 * VA * 9 AM * Tyler ES (TYL) * 95o

Express-Non, Middleburg - Yes, Old Tavern - Maybe. This unusual name is from a ride Mark Pankin leads on holidays. It is a fantastic and longstanding route that deserves more frequency as the quintessential Virginia countryside ride. Toward the end of the ride you are welcome to stop at the La Grange Winery, www.wineryatlagrange.com, which is a little over five almost-flat miles from the end of the ride. No go on wet streets. Note: rest rooms are in Haymarket, west of TYL; not at TYL. John Zebatto [[email protected]] 602/459-2424.

CC * 47 * MD * 9 AM * Allen Pond Park (ALP)Allen Pond Park to Galesville. Moderately rolling terrain plus a few hills on this popular excursion through the back roads of Prince Georges and Anne Arundel Counties. One rest stop. No go in rain. If the weather is questionable, check web-site “Rider News” 90 minutes prior to the ride or give the Ride Leader a call. Richard Rose [[email protected]] 301/996-6991.

B/BB(H) * 58/48 miles * MD * 8:30 AM * Monocacy MS (MMS) * 40% Knockin on the President’s Door. Yes, this is about the third time we have done this ride this year, but we have many PPTC’ers heading down to Monterey, Virginia to take on Mountain Mama next week, so we need to make sure they are heading out in good form. Plus, it’s actually a fun ride to do. Bring your climbing legs with you as we tackle the Catoctin Hollow and Park Central climbs. Both the 58 and 48 mile routes are the same until the Rest Stop in Thurmont at Mile 32, so don’t forget that second water bottle (possibly water is available at Ranger Station at the base of Park Central . . . will confirm). After the Rest Stop the 48 mile route takes you back to MMS in a fairly direct fashion. After you whip those two climbs the ride is really quite nice with a good downhill into Thurmont and then a great ride through the valley back to MMS via either route. Ride Leaders plan to lead the ride at the club advertised “B/BB” paces. No go in rain or wet roads. If weather is questionable check PPTC web-site “MD Ride News” 90 minutes prior toride. BB: Jeff Boarman [[email protected]] 301/938-8803B: Ruth Sheridan [[email protected]] 202/258-0788.

15

The Order of the Cast-Iron Crotch: 2011 Survey by Dan Lehman, PPTC Road Captain

Half of 2012 is now passing into history, but we’ll look back to the prior year as we survey anecdotes of some of our long-distance (or just persistent, frequent!) riders --those who have cycled for nearly a mile of miles (5,000) or more in 2011. The statistics have barely changed: mean & median age = 59 (vs. 58/59 in 2010), mean & median mileage = 6,601 & 6,111 (vs. 6329/5,997), and there were again nine women in the Order. Once again, Chris Randall exceeded 2 CIC totals and rose to the top of this Survey; he tells of one ride where he did a lot of rising. “At the end of October, I had to make a visit to the island of Grenada. I was able to rent a mountain bike, and headed out and rode completely around the island (69 miles with 5300 feet climbing). This was a volcanic island and the paved coast road went up and down a lot as it went over ridges from ancient lava flows. About two thirds of the way around I had to go inland and had a 3-mile climb, most of which was over a 10% grade; in the last half-mile the grade increased to almost 20%, and I ended up walking about the last quarter mile. After that, when I hit a grade of more than 10% (about six or seven times), I ended up walking parts of those hills.” Reveling in retirement, Jeff Boarman --a frequent Ride Leader-- challenged his “really old” status by logging a double-CIC total in 2011 “--by far the most cycling miles I have ever done. A great deal of credit (or blame) should go to Jim Quinn & George Haas: the three of us put in many a mile --usually weekday rides-- scouting routes on which we were to lead PPTC rides during the weekends. Jim & George kept me in the doghouse with my wife by twisting my arm to ride and I couldn’t resist! (A great deal of my time during the first year of retirement was expected to be spent renovating certain areas in the house, but I just didn’t seem to get anything done.) Hey, from chili and beer in New Windsor to ice cream in South Mountain to pastries in Shepardstown, we had a blast getting there by bike, and with a lot of other great folks on these rides!” So, Maryland PPTC “B” riders have lots of chances to follow Jeff over nice routes; just beware his chili-beer blasts. With maybe a decade in age over Jeff, Rickey Davis made his streak replete with “3”s. At some point in last year, Rickey’s lifetime bike odometer logged the amazing 333,333 miles in 33 years of cycling! His 2011 double-CIC’er was the finishing touch.

The fourth of our quartet doing a 2-CIC total is Don Schneider. “At age 70, I had a good year: bicycling New Zealand in February; legendary steep Fiddler’s Elbow, NJ, in September (on a tandem, after failing in 2005); and Spain, Gibral-tar, Morocco, and Portugal in November. Despite slowing some with age, I had lots of fun adventures.” Actually, some slowing might enable more fun --many of the faster folks seem to have no idea where they’ve been (and are finished too soon). Another intrepid Pedaler nearly reached the double-CIC threshold. Brent DeRobertis, though no spring chicken, has youthful feelings and goals --to wit, he wishes: “When I grow up, I want to ride like Ed Cook.” (As Ed, once among the CIC Order, has been absent for the past two years, one might infer that in 2011 Brent rode like TWO Cooks! Let’s hope it didn’t spoil anything.) In this big year, Dominique Calabrese’s “two biggest stories in 2011 were to complete RAGBRAI, where the cycling was not too bad compared to camping in extreme heat(!); and a nice story of the great awareness and success I achieved in riding the City to Shore MS event in New Jersey, where I raised over $10,000.” Con-gratulations on expanding the rewards of cycling. Another frequent (Maryland) Ride Leader, Tim “Old Man” Barry (more of a sandbagger, like Brent), tells a cautionary tale of a bad-dog encounter, one-upping --unfortunately-- Barry Sher-ry’s 2010 experience. “A pit bull bit me on the Alleghany Gran Fondo, leading to lots of blood riding the last 20 miles to finish, ambulance & medical treatment, police and all their paperwork, animal impoundment, no rabies but lots of worry. Immediately after the attack at the scene, I was more worried about the owner popping me with a shotgun and burying me in his back yard (the location was very remote) than the blood dripping down my leg. The old squirt-bottle-yell-loudly-at-dog routine didn’t work.” The Road Captain has no thoughts on how to handle this. We’re glad “Old Man” is yet around (and he managed to make it through Mountains of Misery, no less)! With a touch of randonneuring in his legs, Kelly Smith is bound to achieve a Cast-Iron Crotch, and with it some mem-orable lonnng rides. This year --it comes once every four-- his favorite ride has “gotta be PBP [Paris - Brest - Paris]: 5,000 riders from all over the world; start in the suburbs of Paris; ride across the Ile De France and Brittany to Brest; and hundreds of friendly local spectators cheering and offering food or drink. Motto: “You may be suffering, but you’re suffering in France!” C’est vrai; tres bon! Curtis Hunter reports : “Two fellow retirees and I rode the TransAmerica Bike

Trail and the final segments of the Lewis & Clark Bike Trail, from Yorktown Virginia to Seaside Oregon, 3,922 miles in 87 days (April 26 - July 21).” For details of this great adventure, see his blog, www.CrazyGuyOnaBike.com/doc/cnchunter2011. This has such interesting entry subtitles as “20-30 mph winds gusting to 40; 100 degree temperature”, “Riding between two tornado watches”, “A two-blowout day” [fortunately not the same day as previous one], “Munched by mosquitoes”, “Sensory Overload” (including a pic of a road sign reading “WINDING ROAD NEXT 99 MILES”!), and my favorite, “I veto today’s ride.” You can feel his pain. (Oh, yes, there are good times and good photos.) Unsur-prisingly, Mark Hemhauser’s most memorable moments come in “cycling in India again. One day we had to keep all 70 riders, support trucks, motorcycles, and ambulance within a tight group with police escort. The Tamil towns on the border between Tamil Nadu and Kerala were barricading the roads and stopping all motorized traffic in protest of a dam to be built in Kerala. We rolled through with no problem and then had a very quiet 21 km climbing time trial toward the hill station of Ooty.” More of mountains, Nick Clements writes that “the Moun-tains of Misery ride was the most challenging ride for me, both physically and mentally. With just a mile to go I was at the end of my rope. I was totally exhausted, as was my riding partner who showed up moments later. Together along with some cheerful girls we convinced ourselves that there were only a few more minutes of suffering to go and so with a shove from the girls, off we went to complete the ride.” And quite some ride that is, indeed! It was also a high point for Shaun Solhjou, who “finished [MoM] in 6:05” and doesn’t think he “can ever beat that time.” Well, in fact, in 2012 he just did so, and by ten min-utes, raising the bar! Not excluding climbs, Yvonne Hoyle “enjoyed biking in Xenia, Ohio (Bicycle Capital of the Mid-West), where five paved rail trails con-verge and head off in five directions for many miles across the Ohio countryside. I had some challenging rides at Bike Virginia and at Deep Creek Lake, Maryland (e.g., ‘Killer’ Miller Rd. with a 22% incline).” Jeanne Harrison has “another great cycling year” with husband, Randolph, although she was shy of her goal of 7,000 miles. “Darn that appendectomy in March!”, she cries. But, wait! Didn’t that make her lighter & faster? “A newly nagging left hip may ramp down future mileage goals; thinking 5-6k will still be totally respectable ... “ Sure, it’ll keep you in this “Order”! But we PPTCers with long memories recall the legend Seth Reigle, who managed 7,000 plus another 10,000 or so, with a replaced hip. Jeanne’s highlights? “In August we unintentionally experienced the thrill (??) of seriously muddy mountain biking during an otherwise gorgeous week of road riding in Vermont. As if the deluge of biblical proportions wasn’t enough on the unexpected 14-mile detour (no way we were riding in the van), the steep goopy squishy roads oozed mud that so completely covered us that we resembled Bog People. People do this for fun?! Thank goodness for our Surly Long Haul Truck-ers! And a few weeks later we were back on our road bikes for the second year of riding the excellent PPTC Back Roads Century on Sunday and the 50 States Ride the following Saturday.” Beyond these achievements, Jeanne “cheered” neighbors Bob & Rachael Loper back into cycling and into joining the PPTC, “and now he’s planning a cross-country ride with someone they met on Climate Ride.” So, the PPTC might’ve lost a body part but we gained two entire bodies! Gene Ostin and his “sweetheart”, Liz Wells felt 2011’s weather. “The tropical storms, excessive heat, and frequent rainy days took a greater toll than the big snowstorms of 2009. We still do most of our riding on full suspension MTBs --the biggest reason is that we work harder ... and consequently burn more calo-ries. A secondary reason is we find them more reliable and less maintenance intensive. Finally, we like to ride a bike that can go into any terrain without a second thought. One new thing this year: we tried bike touring. No big deal, just the Pittsburgh -to- Washington route, but we enjoyed it and are planning for another for this year.” “One good tour deserves another.” Close enough, huh! For Gary Reid, “Cycling the highlands of Scotland was the high point of the year. Fabulous views, we lucked out on the weather (only one day of rain --June 19-25), and did the monumental climb to Applecross, over the highest road in the UK, with a significant portion of the climb between 20-24%. Great fun!” Well, fun for some, especially in this Order. Joan Oppel had her “highest mileage year ever,” with “four bike trips accounting for 1,220 miles. These were : Hill Coun-try of Texas, in the spring; Bike Virginia, in June; Cape Breton Island (Nova Scotia), in July; and Seattle to Vancouver, B.C. (only 2 days, but 192 miles) in August. While I no longer commute, I do spend a fair amount of time each week doing *utility* riding --to the grocery store, pet store, library, dentist, doctor, other stores (e.g., Target, REI), Goodwill, hair salon, and restaurants. Those are mostly short rides of 4 - 15 miles (occasionally longer), but the mileage piles up and is akin to commuting mileage --i.e., using a bike instead of a car or public transit. In 2011, those trips amounted to 400 miles.” To help her 2012 be an

Continued on page 16.

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reconstructed French colonial fort and city on the southeast corner of the island, is worth a visit, though we drove rather than bicycled there.

There are three ways to get to PEI, Canada’s smallest province. You can fly, take a ferry, or drive across the Confederation Bridge from New Brunswick. The latter two cost nothing going, but charge for the return ($70 vehicle or $16 pedes-trian; $43.50, respectively). You cannot cycle across the bridge, but there is a government service that will drive you and your bike across. We could not ascertain whether there was a cost for this service. There is a rail trail (the Con-federation Trail) that runs the length of the island. It is smooth but unpaved and, honestly, quite boring. (The trail would be a great XC skiing venue, except that the whole trail is rented by the PEI snowmobile association during the winter and they prohibit skiers.) It’s much more scenic to ride along the coastal roads. The roads again are generally two-lane with no shoulder like CBI, but the traffic is less and more considerate and there is a shoulder where the traffic is heavy. We did a loop around the western part of the island, drove across the congested cen-tral portion, and then did a loop around the eastern end. On PEI, you must plan ahead for accommodations and food because most “towns” on the map are just crossroads with a house or two. This is especially true on the western or Acadian coast. PEI’s main export is potatoes and the island’s nickname is ‘Spud Island’. Anything you order is served on a heaping bed of fries. One of the great things about PEI is that they are the greenest province in Canada. Twenty-two percent of their electricity is generated by wind and EVERY hotel room has recycle bins for glass, plastic, paper, and biodegradable refuse.” Unlike the Sunderwirths’ bad weather on Cape Breton, Walter Green and “my brother-in-law and I rode from Anacortes, Washington, to near Dayton, Ohio, self-supported, (fully-loaded) just the two of us, 3003 miles in 45 days. We had almost perfect weather, and rode 43 of the 45 days, including 29 consecutive days from July 9 through August 6. (This explains the 2005-mile month of July!) Met great people, had a great time. Some hard riding, too!” TheBob (Bloomfield) had “no stories to tell” But those who know ‘im think “what the ‘ell?!” For when it comes to jabber, TheBob’s sure a gabber, at a rate that is quite hard to quell! (--Anon., II). Ken Shantz, on the other hand, has whopper story to tell. “On a warm spring evening, riding home from my daughter’s soccer game about 9:30 pm, I encoun-tered a human sized banana in the middle of the street with its dog on a leash. Several questions came to mind. Why would a banana choose to stand in the middle of the street after dark? Seems dangerous. Are bananas allowed to own pets? It was almost exactly 6 months from Halloween, so was the costume left over from the preceding Halloween or was the banana getting an early start for the following one?” Weird? Well, in 2010, Steve Forman reported seeing a pterodactyl. Sounds like overly tight chin straps. Many of us pause to consider that, for our weekend riding, we actually drive farther than we cycle. Jonathan Krall took things in the opposite direction. “This was the year I finally got rid of my car. I went from 9000 car miles + 4000 bike miles in 2007, to 1000 car miles + 5000 bike miles in 2011. I thought I would decide to go car-free based on economics, but instead simply got tired of checking up on my car to make sure the tires hadn’t gone flat. I have three bikes: (2105 miles) a Breezer Uptown 8, grocery-store bike with WALD folding basket, used for short trips and when wearing nice clothes, and also for commuting when I plan to proceed directly to a night out or stop at a grocery store on the way home --platform pedals; (1691 miles) a relaxed (40/16) singlespeed Rivendell Quickbeam with a rear rack, my main commuter, but can be used for shopping by hanging a pannier off the rear rack, usually ridden with SPD pedals which help with the one killer hill on my commute, in Oxon Hill Farms (in the winter this one gets snow tires, which limits its usefulness since I don’t like to ride snow tires when there is no snow or ice around); (1237 miles) a Bike Friday Crusoe light touring bike, which is my second choice for direct home-work-home commuting and my first choice for fast rides, but it can be used for errands in a pinch, but I rarely install the rack, so cargo goes on my back (it often gets used this way when I travel). The Bike Friday makes about 4 trips per year, mainly to whichever city in the USA is host-ing the space physics conference or workshop that I need to attend. This usually has platform pedals on it. The singlespeedy and the Bike Friday have MKS easy-to-swap-out pedals.” “One Less Car”, indeed! Jeff Breunig recounts a profoundly memorable ride. “This past September I was riding as a Mentor with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Societies Team In Training (TNT) program in the Moab Utah Century ride. We had over 50 riders from the DC area participating in the ride. The morning of the ride we woke to a heavy downpour and cool and windy weather. Moab UT only receives about 7 inches of rain on average the entire year and in the previous two days they had over 2 inches of rain with more in the forecast. At 7 am we started the ride with light rain and very threatening

even higher-mileage year for Joan, send your errand requests to her to fill! (ed. note: Just kidding!)

In 2012, Michael Bell “had better luck and, despite a month off for foot surgery, nearly made 6,000mi this year --on mostly solo rides, a few club rides (includ-ing of course the Back Roads Century), with Bike Virginia thrown in for good measure. Another major expedition was a *staccato* tour riding at various loca-tions in the Carolinas and Georgia, as my wife and I made our way to Florida. It was enough to secure South Carolina as #3 in the most aggressive driver states (current count is 23), awarded on a personal index of the number of times driv-ers actually seem to try to run you off the road. Numbers 1 and 2? Maine and Connecticut, respectively. Best riding of the year without a doubt was in the Dordogne region of France, in April. The weather can fluctuate, but I was lucky. I hired a great bike from an expatriate Brit who’s lived in the region for 20 years, and who made some excellent tailored route suggestions. If in the area, hire from him (www.aquitainebike.com); it’s a good starting point if you are consider-ing touring the Pyrenees. I had a static base, so did not have that option.” Jim Quinn found that “so many sub-plots arose during the year. I was determined that Jeff Boarman would not double me in miles and this pushed me to plan long exciting rides that Jeff would do. As long as I rode the same number of miles, I increased my percentage of miles to Jeff miles. George Haas decided to move large MMS rides over to Walkersville to avoid crossing US-15. I wanted a multi-distance, multiclass ride from Walkersville through Taneytown and up towards McSherrystown, PA. It took about 4 tries before we solved closed bridges, and avoided gravel roads, and new tar and chip surfaces. Finally, the fourth try was a charm, and we had a 50-, 63-, 75-, and 100-mile multiclass ride in late Sep-tember. Another sub-plot was started by Jeff B. looking for a new route to New Windsor. George Haas and I knew he’d need help, so we went out scouting and discovered chili and beer at the New Windsor Inn and then meandered on over to Westminster for homemade ice cream at Hoffman’s. Several beer and chili rides followed. And that brings me to another multifaceted sub-plot: Karen B. (not related to Jeff B. except in occasional ride conspiracy). How I wish I had movies of her circling at the second gravel road on the McSherrystown checkout ride and her expression at the New Windsor Inn as she uttered ‘This is a real restaurant!? They don’t have bicycling food. Aren’t you kidding about beer and chili??!!’ She rode over to the 7-Eleven as we had our beer and chili. And then there were the rest of the rides with the weekday-Pedalers group. We had so much fun and so many good rides. Several were later listed as PPTC rides. Perhaps we’ll list the ‘Twice Across the River for Parts & Ice Cream’ century from Poolesville to Purcellville to Middletown next year. We did list a 74-mile version from Point of Rocks.” Okay, check off another fellow not to draft after lunch. ExCom member Chris White tallied “4 English and metric centuries back-to-back.” And in a similar concentration, Ron Tripp, “as I’ve done for a few years now, rode back-to-back centuries in September (11-12) : the Amish Country Tour, in Dover; and the Indian Head 100.” Citing low & high points, Ken Rowe suffered a wreck at the Greenbelt B Race on a Wednesday night, when a couple racers before him got entangled and went down. But racing also brought the high point: “9th place at the District Championship Time Trial at Church Creek for Cat 4 --40K time of 58.48. I also had the #1 overall bike time at the Dewey Beach Sprint Triathlon.” Ken also leads Friday evening rides from our “SGR”, and finds “other high points just riding with my fellow biking fanat-ics.” Somehow I missed Stan Sunderwirth’s listing in the CIC table for 2010, although he was captaining the tandem on which his bride Jenny got her listed miles! In 2011, they had more miles on “half-bikes”, but shared many events. Stan writes that “this year’s big trip was a combination of Eastern Tandem Rally in Connecticut, a ride around Cape Breton Island (CBI) on the Cabot Trail, and a ride around Prince Edward Island (PEI). Unfortunately, we had 14 days of rain out of 19 total days on the trip. It was the coldest and wettest summer on record for both CBI and PEI. The Cabot Trail was billed as one of the top ten bicycle routes in the world. Obviously, this was a fantasy of the CBI tourist board. The trail is a rough, narrow, two-lane road with no shoulder, heavy traffic, and fast-moving trucks that do not move over for bicycles. We were run off the road 5 times! [Wow, north of Maine & Connecticutt, M.Bell’s #1 & 2 worst states --north is bad?!] It also has three big climbs (two of which are 1500’) with a maximum grade of 28.5%!” Which brings Jenny Sunderwirth’s note of achieve-ment : “This year’s Cape Breton Island tour was a major accomplishment for me: I climbed 4 mountains and I have asthma.” And there was that bad weather. Stan continues, “The locals all believe that the road is filled with cyclists, but we saw no more than ten cyclists in four days (and not Joan O.). The scenery is beauti-ful, reminiscent of the Scotland of the early settlers. Fortress Louisbourg, a Continued on page 17.

CIC, Continued from page 15.

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distances and speeds needing co-leaders are:100 –BB, 100 –B, 100 -CC65 –B, 65 –CC, 65 -C50 –CC, 50 -C30 –C, 25 -C/DPlease consider volunteering to co-lead one of these rides and let me know as soon as possible. I think you will enjoy doing it, and it will provide a great service to other riders. Contact Bob Manka, [email protected], 703-525-6919.

Century Ride Leaders Needed, Continued from page 1.

Pam and I took off for the month of May in order to explore bike trails in the Gulf States. Clearly our favorite was the Longleaf Trace. It’s a 45 mile asphalt trail (same as our W& OD) that starts at the Trail Welcome Center on the campus of Southern Mississippi University and heads due northwest to Prentiss. For cyclists that enjoy speed, I can count on one hand the number of turns in the trail. Just point the bike and hit the gas. For comfort, there are rest stops every seven miles with clean flush toilets, working sinks and fan-cooled water fountains. There are places to stop for food and lots of friendly people. You will also get a botany lesson as you coast along to view the flora and fauna that is native to the south. You’ll see what I mean.OK, Hattiesburg, MS is a 1,000 trip from DC, so I don’t expect you to make a weekend out of it. But it’s only 100 miles north of New Orleans. So, if you’re there on business/pleasure, you could take the time to do the ride. The Trail Welcome Center rents high quality bikes, including tandems.If you do the tour, here are some other trails in the area that you will like:Tammany Trace - LouisianaChief Ladiga - AlabamaEastern Shore - AlabamaSilver Comet - GeorgiaSwamp Fox - South CarolinaWe’ll bring some trail brochures to the Shenandoah Weekend if you would like to see more information.

Longleaf Trace: A Beautiful Ride By Bill and Pam Wolff

Longleaf Trace: A Beautiful Ride By Bill and Pam Wolff

skies. The morning was spent on the 35 mile uphill climb to Dead Horse Point State Park. The 4,000+ feet climb was made even harder by the gusty headwinds and always threatening skies. While the weather made for some very dramatic scenery as the thunderstorms rolled over the mesas, and snow covered the higher peaks, it definitely was not the type of weather we were looking forward to for a century ride. As we rolled into Dead Horse Point State Park around 11am the weather took a very dramatic and sudden change. In less than 20 minutes the skies cleared, the wind dropped off and the temperatures climbed into the low 70s --just perfect for riding; a remarkable change that was not in the forecast. At the same time we were doing the ride in Utah, the rest of our TNT team was back in Maryland doing a long training ride in preparation for the Seagull Century. One of the riders on that team was Shannon Schaffer, a longtime supporter of the LLS. Shannon, whose son Ashton was a leukemia survivor, had served many years as a Mentor and provided SAG support and more to the team. He had unlimited enthusiasm and made every ride a fun one. Unknown to the team riding in Utah, Shannon had pulled into one of the rest stops on the ride back in Maryland that day and had suddenly collapsed; he died on the way to the hospi-tal. Those of us riding in Utah only found out about the sudden loss of one of our dear teammates that evening after the ride. As we sat in shock that evening dis-cussing the events of the day, we realized that the sudden and dramatic change in our weather was shortly after Shannon had passed away. Shannon was always there to help the Team in any way he could. We all truly believe Shannon was still looking out for the team even after he was gone by giving us the weather to enjoy the rest of our ride. We all will miss Shannon dearly but have resolved to continue on to ride in his memory knowing that you must enjoy every moment you ride, because you never know when it will be your last ride. Ride on Shan-non.” Well put, Jeff. Steve Foreman, this year devoid of pterodactyl sightings, gains an honorable mention listing in the CIC table, showing the true metal (sic) of the Order of the Cast-Iron Crotch: “ I crashed last August, broke a lot of bones, had surgery and a metal plate and lots of screws put in. So I couldn’t ride outside (did do a lot on my trainer though) until mid-December and ended up with only 4,600 miles. I have done a lot of miles this winter so I hope to make the Cast-Iron Crotch list for 2012.” Sadly, injuries took some of the rest of us out of contention too : Peter Chang “had a little accident in February going down the Newcastle Ave. Hill in Silver Spring on a dewy, icy morning. It put me out of commission for two months, so I only rode 3600 miles for 2011.” Althea John-son, out for one of George & Harold’s Buddy Attick rides, found herself trying “to catch up and was going very fast down Research Hill, when a speed bump appeared in front of me and I became airborne and am not a trick rider! So I had 4 pelvic fractures which my friends decided disqualified me from a 9-day biking adventure in France 2 weeks later!” And, alluding to my own harsh encounter with a vehicle, Steve Friedman reported that “unfortunately, we have parallel reasons. I was hit by an SUV last January and ended up doing 30% of usual miles due to injuries and rehabilitation. Hoping for a return to form this year.” Yes, with our non-cast-iron parts healing, we will return to miles of smiles.

CIC, Continued from page 16.

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Out of Bounds

Shenandoah Weekend July 13-15, 2012Reggie Beard will be your host for the 2012 Shenandoah weekend, July 13 - 15. This established ride is in Mt. Jackson, VA, 105 miles from Washington, DC and uses lightly traveled roads. We’ll stay at the Super 8 motel off VA Rt 81, where you can enjoy the pool and party room in a relaxed atmosphere. You can store your bike in the room if you choose, and microwave and refrigerators are included. Mt. Jackson has restaurants and a Denny’s is right next door for Friday night dining. Rides range from 17-70 miles. Choose your ride and enjoy all the attractions this rural area has to offer, includ-ing mountain views, covered bridges and quaint little towns.

Roomates can be assigned if you want a double; triples must be arranged by you. This weekend is limited to 80 people, so register soon and don’t be left out!

Registration is $216 for singles $150 for doubles, and $122 for triples. Non-members pay $25 extra per person. Or they can join the Potomac Pedalers ($32 for individuals/$37 for families) and then register at the member rate. Register online at http://www.potomacpedalers.org/events/event_details.asp?id=226491

Included with registration: Hotel Friday (no dinner Friday night) and Saturday nightFriday night partySaturday night buffet dinner in the parkBreakfast Saturday and Sunday provided by hotelShowers are available after riding on Sunday

Cancellation policyFull refund before June 25, 2012, minus cancellation chargeRefunds after June 25 only if a replacement is found from waiting listNo refunds after July 7, 2012All cancellations subject to $25 per person cancellation chargeContact: Reggie Beard [email protected]

by Teresa Noonan

July 1 Double Cross Metric www.whiteclaybicycleclub.org Middletown, DE

August 11 Cumberland Valley Century www.bikecvcc.com Cumberland Valley Cycling Club Boonsboro, MD

August 17 – 19 Tour deFrederick www.tourdefrederick.com Frederick, MD

August 25 Shore Fire Century www.whiteclaybicycleclub.org Middletown, DE

September 8 Civil War Century www.baltobikeclub.org Baltimore Bike Club Thurmont, MD

September 9 Indian Head 100 www.ohbike.org Oxon Hill Bike Club Indian Head, MD

September 15 Bike4BreastCancer www.bike4breastcancer.org Hydes, MD

October 6 Seagull Century www.seagullcentury.org Salisbury University Salisbury, MD

October 6 Culpeper Cycling Century www.culpepercyclingcentury.com Culpeper, VA

October 12 – 14 Washington County Getaway www.baltobikeclub.org MD

Post Your Ride on Our New MeetUp Pageby Denise Cohen

http://www.meetup.com/PotomacPedalers/

You’ve volunteered to lead a ride and posted it to the Pedal Patter and the website. Now there’s a new way to promote your event, the Potomac Pedalers MeetUp page. PPTC recently launched the MeetUp page to bolster membership and already has 330 subscribers looking forward to joining you on a ride. Most subscribers are experienced cyclists--approximately 50 ride at a B pace or faster--but some are new riders interested in riding at a more moderate pace and distance.

I encourage you to give the page a try. Using our standard promotional methods, the ride schedule and the Pedal Patter, a leader never knows how many riders to expect. Riders on MeetUp actually sign up. So far, enrollment has ranged from a few as four to as many as 30 for a ride.

Social media, such as MeetUp, are extremely effective at helping people connect around shared interests. Please support our MeetUp by post-ing your ride. To do so, join the group (go to http://www.meetup.com/PotomacPedalers/), then contact me, Denise, at bikergal001<@>gmail.com (an address used exclusively for MeetUp related matters). I will make you an event organizer and will write back with instructions. Feel free to drop me a line with any questions.Thank you helping our club thrive!

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Allenberry Resort Bicycling WeekendAugust 17-19, 2012PPTC is once again sponsoring a beautiful and relaxing biking weekend at the Allenberry Resort & Playhouse. The resort is located in Boiling Springs, PA, only 100 miles from Washington, DC and 115 miles from Philadelphia. Enjoy scenic rides past historic stone houses and barns surrounded by beautiful mountain scenery. Rides range in length from 11 to 75 miles, providing variety for all types of riders. Choose a ride to the Amish country store for browsing, a short ride for a cool snack, or a leisurely paced ride along the shady Yellow Breeches Creek. The routes vary from flat streambed valleys to serious climbs. There will be featured rides each day led by the trip leaders. This year’s theater production is Chicago. This is the “Razzle Dazzle” dance sensation that rocked the nation. Chicago in the late 1920’s brings “All That Jazz”, “Hot Honey Rag”, and “Chicago After Midnight” together in one of Broadway’s great musicals. The 57-acre Allenberry property has a large swimming pool, hot tub, and lighted tennis courts for our use. Attendance is limited to the first 80 people. Most rooms have double beds, and all have private baths. If three/ four share a room, only two beds are provided. Indoor bicycle storage is available.

PRICE INCLUDES: Friday and Saturday night lodging, two buffet breakfasts, Friday night barbeque alongside the Yellow Breeches Creek, Saturday night buffet dinner, reserved theater ticket, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday afternoon lounge parties with healthy and not so healthy snacks and refreshments, map packet, all taxes and gratuities. Also, included at no extra cost, Darwin’s jokes & meatballs, Cheryl’s yummy hors d’oeuvres and lots of kibbitzing. We may even play adult charades.

CANCELLATION POLICY: Full refund before July 17 (minus the administrative charge). Refunds after July 17 only if a replacement is available from the wait list. No refunds after August 3. All cancellations subject to a $25 per person administrative charge.

EVENT CONTACTS: Darwin Roberts, 703/298-6301, email address: [email protected] or Cheryl Phipps, 703/726-1542, email address: [email protected].

Allenberry Resort Bicycling WeekendAugust 17-19, 2012

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(W)___________________________________________________

E-mail address (for confirmation) ____________________________

Emergency contact and phone#:_____________________________

_______________________________________________________

PPTC Member: _____YES ______NO SEX: ____M _____F

PRICES: Non-members must include an additional $25 non-member fee or you can join PPTC for $30 per individual or $37 per family and not have to pay the non-member fee

Single: $369 per person

Double: $310 per person

Triple: $270 per person

Quad: $260 per person

Total Enclosed: $_________________

Make check payable to PPTC or register on-line w/credit card (preferred method)I wish to room with________________________________________

Please arrange a roommate for me ( ). If you want a triple or quadruple, please arrange your own roommates before registering and let us know who your roommates are.

Signature(s) _____________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

If not paying on-line (the recommended method), send payment to: Darwin Roberts, 44301 Stableford Square, Ashburn, VA 20147

Remember to include:

1) Check made out to PPTC

2) A signed and completed registration form.

3) A signed and completed Release & Waiver Form for each person. Form located in either the Pedal Patter or, go to web site www.potomacpedalers.org for a copy.

4) Stamped and self-addressed long envelope to receive confirmation or an e-mail address.

PPTC Rents Protective Bike Boxes for Travel

Potomac Pedalers has several wheeled, hard-shell bike boxes (and one soft case) for short-term rental. The boxes are available exclusively to club members, and help keep your bike safe while traveling.

Demand for the boxes is high, particularly in the summer and fall. So reserve early.

The rental price is $20 per week, and $3 per additional day, with a $20 minimum fee (nonrefundable). You will need your own tools, including Allen wrenches and a pedal wrench, to disassemble your bike. These are not provided by the club.

Size: 46” by 30” by 10”. (Many airlines charge an oversize luggage fee of $50 or more each way; be sure to get specifics from your individual carrier.)

For more information, or to reserve a box, please email coordinator Bob Bloomfield in northern Montgomery County or Rita Zeidner in Arlington. Include information on the dates of your trip AND approximately when you would like to pick up and drop off the box.

Bob Bloomfield: [email protected] (301.253.9481) or

Rita Zeidner: [email protected] (703.998.7489)

20

Name: _______________________________________ New member or Renewing Address: __________________________________________________________________City:_____________________________________State:_______ Zip: _________________Home Phone:________________________Work Phone: ____________________________ E-mail address: _____________________________________________________________Emergency contact: __________________________________________________________Number of cycling members if it’s a family membership:_______ Today’s Date: ___________PPTC is mostly a volunteer organization, and we cannot function without the assistance of many members. If you can help with any of the categories below, please circle the number. This information will be added to the PPTC database.1. Leading rides 5. Database/computer expertise 2. Organizing or planning rides or events 6. Writing a column for Pedal Patter 3. Recruiting volunteers 7. Seminar and workshops 4. Membership Drives 8. Non-cycling jobs at Club events

Where or from whom did you hear about PPTC ? _________________________________To ensure speedy processing, make sure you fill out the form completely and LEGIBLY! Allow 3-4 weeks for your application to be processed. Enclose check or fill out payment information. Do not staple check to form. Mail to PPTC, 10378 Democracy Lane, Suite A Fairfax, VA 22030. You may also join the PPTC via our web site at www.potomacpedalers.org Please DO NOT print the following in the Membership Directory: my entire listing my phone number my e-mail

Potomac Pedalers Touring Club Membership FormMember Dues

1 year 2 yearsIndividual $30 $55Family $37 $69Lifetime $350Student $20 n/a1st class postage $13 $26

PPTC Membership Total: $______Voluntary Contribution:PPTC $______ PPTC Community Services Grant $______Total Amount $______

Individuals must be 16 years or older. Pedal Patter is mailed bulk rate. 1st class delivery is availible for an additional $13 per year.

Payment: check credit cardVISA Master Card Discover American Express

Name on card _____________________

Card # ___________________________

Exp___/____Amount $ ______________

Signature _________________________

Change of Address Form

-Notify the PPTC Business Office of your move, especially if your Pedal Patter arrives via third class mail (the Post Office does not forward third class mail).-Notify us by the 8th in order to affect that month’s mailing.-Include your phone number and legibly PRINT all information. What you print is what we will use as your record in the database, as well as as your listing in the Membership Directory.-You may use this form to simply change an e-mail address, phone #, a name, or zip code.-Mail this form, ALONG WITH YOUR OLD MAILING LABEL, to: PPTC c/o Core Association Services, Inc. 10378 Democracy Lane, Suite A Fairfax, VA 22030.

Name ___________________________New Address _____________________________________________________City ___________________State_____Zip _____________________________Day phone _______________________Eve phone _______________________e-mail ___________________________goes into effect on: ________________

PPTC 2012Events Calendar

Contact Carol Linden at [email protected] to get an event on the calendar.

July 13 - 15 Shenandoah Weekend Reggie Beard

August 17 - 19 Allenberry Weekend Darwin Roberts & Cheryl Phipps

September 23 PPTC Back Roads Century

Why Bike Alone?Join PPTC!

www.potomacpedalers.org

Enjoy the benefits of social and recreational bicycling in DC, MD,

and VA by joining the largest bike club on the East Coast!

Potomac Pedalers offers hundreds of year-round bike rides

for everyone. With varying lengths and speeds, there are rides

to suit beginners to experienced cyclists

all over the Washington metropolitan area.

Plus we offer many weekend trips and discounts to many bike shops and more!

Check out our website to find the best rides for you!

Documents

Back Roads Century Group Ride Leaders Needed · US Postage PAID Merrifield, ... Post Your Ride on Our New MeetUp Page ... picnic at Kingsbury’s Orchard. As in the past,