December 2016

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Happy Holidays Happy New Year

ohbike.org Whether you head for the gym, hop on your Celebrate the New Year with a bike ride. Find trainer or bundle up and head out for a ride, it’s more December and January rides on the ride important to stay active during the winter months. schedule at www.ohbike.org. Come out and enjoy a walk or a ride. Here are two events to entice you out of your house. New Year’s Day Monumental Tour On Sunday, January 1 at 10:30, meet at Jones Christmas Lights Bike Ride Point Park, under the Wilson Bridge in Alexandria. On Thursday, December 15 at 6:30 pm, Tulane The ride uses the Mt Vernon Trail, does a short tour Drive, Alexandria, VA. This joint ride with PPTC is of the monuments, and stops along the way at a on neighborhood streets in the Belle Haven area to coffee shop. See the ride schedule or contact Joan see Christmas lights and enjoy Christmas music. Oppel, 703-328-9863, [email protected]. Dinner afterwards at a nearby restaurant. Bright front and rear lights are required. For more info, see the Hang Over Mountain Bike Ride ride schedule or contact Joan Oppel, 703-328- On Sunday, January 1 at 10:00 am, enjoy a 14- 9863, [email protected]. mile mountain bike ride in . Meet at the trailhead parking lot on the right. See the Christmas Holiday Walk ride schedule or check with Barry Howard, 301-807- On December 27 at 5:15 pm, walk from Capitol 9676, [email protected]. Hill to the Botanical Gardens. The walk starts at Mr. Henry's Restaurant, 601 Pennsylvania Ave, SE, Featured in this Issue Washington, DC, at 5:30 pm. At the Botanical Prez Sez Sam Perry…………………...... page 3 Gardens, enjoy the holiday floral displays, magical Road Captain’s Report Sherwood Byers….… page 4 miniature houses and trains, and a concert at 6 pm. Volunteer Appreciation Party Pictures….….. page 5 Then head to the US Capital to see the holiday tree. Circle back through the neighborhood to Mr. Henry's Remembering John Hutson...... …. page 6 for dinner at 8 pm. Reservations for Mr. Henry's are New Harry Nice Bridge……………………... page 7 needed, so PLEASE RSVP to Polly Choate, 202- Anacostia River Trail Celebration………..…. page 8 966-5571 or [email protected], no later than SO. MD Bicycle Infrastructure Committee.… page 9 early on Dec 26.

There will not be a January issue of the “The Spoke’n’Word.” Watch for the February issue in late January, 2017. 2 The Spoke’n’Word - the monthly newsletter of the Oxon Hill Bicycle and Trail Club December 2016

Oxon Hill Bicycle and Trail Club Welcome, New Member Jill Patterson Alexandria VA class A Club Officers President Samuel Perry [email protected]

Vice Pres. Mia Haynes [email protected] Road Captain Sherwood Byers [email protected] Club Jerseys Secretary Holly Carr [email protected] OHBTC short sleeve and sleeveless jerseys are Treasurer Mimi Newcastle [email protected] available for $60 per jersey plus $5 shipping. Arm- Ride Coordinators warmers are $25 and arm-coolers are $10. You can Class AA Scott Walker [email protected] order using the order form at www.ohbike.org. Class A Bruce Wright [email protected] Holly Carr [email protected] Class B Michael Saizan [email protected] Debby Bowman [email protected] Class CC George Martin [email protected] Majesta Hartley [email protected] Steve Palincsar [email protected] Class C Randy Schoch [email protected] Mia Haynes [email protected] Class D vacant Mountain Bike Barry Howard [email protected] Overnighters Steve Palincsar [email protected] Standing Committees OHBIKE is on Facebook Program Susanne Kohl-Parker [email protected] Visit www.facebook.com/ohbike to see photos Public Relations Jim Hudnall [email protected] from club rides and other items of interest to club Newsletter Jane Hudnall [email protected] Advocacy Walt Roscello [email protected] members. A Facebook account is not needed to view Safety/Ed George Martin [email protected] the club’s Facebook page, but an account is needed if Jerseys Janell Saunders [email protected] you wish to post an item or leave a comment. Communications Joan Oppel [email protected] Handy Telephone Numbers SHA MD Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator Do You YAHOO? Tony Campbell 410-545-5656 OHBTC members use the 24-hr tape 800-252-8776 Yahoo group’s e-mail list to M-NCPPC Trails and Bikeways Information share club-related information, Fred Shaffer 301-952-3661 especially changes in the ride Pothole Repair Hot Lines: schedule. Joining the OHBIKE Yahoo group is free . Alexandria 703-838-4488 Go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ohbike. Calvert County 410-535-0905 Charles County 301-932-3450 The OHBIKE Yahoo group is for OHBTC Prince George’s County 301-499-8520 members only. When you join, please include your St. Mary’s County 301-863-8400 name in the box for “Comments to List Owner.” Washington, DC Citywide Call Center - 311 Members of the Yahoo group can send email to MD-SHA non-emergency contacts to report road problems: the list at [email protected]. http://marylandsha.force.com/customercare/request_for_service

December 2016 The Spoke’n’Word - the monthly newsletter of the Oxon Hill Bicycle and Trail Club 3

Prez Sez by Sam Perry I had a great time at the Volunteers Dinner at the Mexico Restaurant. It’s always great to see the people you ride with in street clothes. There is a pause in my brain as I try to process to whom I am speaking, since they aren’t in biking clothes. I was glad to see the turnout, and glad to see Jackie and Randy Schoch, Walter Carr, Jan and Ron Tucker, Diane Harris, Mike and Regina Saizan, Shane LaBrake, first time seeing him at this affair, and all you others who graciously attended this event. As I looked across the room I got a kick out of seeing everybody socializing and catching up with each other’s lives. The Hudnalls had to prompt me to get everyone’s attention so that we could be seated and have the servers attend us. The club has had more than 500 organized rides this year. Well done to all who participated! As I am writing this last Pres Sez for this year, there’s a 25-mile wind howling and a temperature to make you realize that winter is coming. Some bicycle clubs have their last gathering meal and then shut down group rides until next spring. Not this Club! We put on our winter gear and continue with group rides when the weather cooperates. For me, the temperature must be 40 degrees or above, with a wind less than ten miles an hour. There are plenty of you who have a more liberal position on rideable weather. I’ve seen some of you out in below-freezing temperatures getting your ride in. I want to give a shout out to Lou Dall’Orso and Matthew Lewandowski. We missed you at the dinner, Lou and Matt; hope you are healing well and will be back to riding soon. Jackie Schoch, keep us in the loop as to when you start riding again; I want to ride with you. Enjoy the Holidays everyone, and be safe out there riding.

OHBike/Bike Doctor 2016 Turkey Day Mountain Bike Ride at Rosaryville State Park Photo by Barry Howard

4 The Spoke’n’Word - the monthly newsletter of the Oxon Hill Bicycle and Trail Club December 2016

Road Captain’s Report by Sherwood Byers, Sr. As the waning days of autumn bring colder temperatures, some cyclists are coming to the end of their riding season. Although many will ride through the winter, many will not. For some, bikes will be put in storage until spring. Others will set up trainers to do their winter riding. The rest will ride in the elements throughout the winter. No matter your option, it is a great opportunity to do any maintenance you may have put off to keep your bike in tip top working condition. Winter is the slow season for bike shops and a great time to get your bike in for service and a checkup. I would like to thank the Ride Coordinators for their excellent Sherwood Byers congratulates Steve performance and the Ride Leaders for their diligence in leading more than Palincsar, who led over 80 rides so 500 rides. Volunteers, your perseverance, leadership and work keep the far this year. Way to go Steve! Oxon Hill Bike and Trail Club (OHBTC) fully functioning. Most of all, I am thankful that we as a club maintained an excellent safety record.

OHBTC Ride Coordinators at the Volunteer Dinner

Steve Palincsar Holly Carr Debby Bowman Scott Walker Mia Haynes Randy Schoch Mike Saizan

OHBTC Ride Leaders and the number of rides led and reported on by November 30, 2016

Stephen Palincsar 80 Sherwood Byers, Sr. 12 Bruce Wright 6 Larry Peed 2 Barbara Haney 30 Robert Howell 12 Michael Saizan 5 Nancy Avitabile 1 Randy Schoch 23 Linda Bankerd 11 Kirk Saunders 6 Vernon Daley 1 Blake Altman 22 Michael Bivens 11 Darin King 4 John Early 1 Scott Walker 22 Holly Carr 9 Walt Roscello 4 Karen Fitzgerald 1 Barry Howard 21 Samuel Perry 9 Polly Choate 4 Vicki Garlock 1 Joan Oppel 19 John Gorman 8 Majesta Hartley 3 David Kemp 1 Mia Haynes 18 Thomas Short 8 Lisha Peacock 3 Sharon Miller 1 Diane Harris 18 Shane LaBrake 7 Sylvia Pope 3 Sonja Newman 1 Jackie Schoch 17 Tim Murphy 7 Janell Saunders 3 Deborah Reynolds 1 Ron Altemus 15 Reginald Stokes 7 Dan Zavorka 3 Robert Smith 1 Deborah Bowman 16 Calvin Conyers 6 John Giglio 2 Leslie Tierstein 1 Jim Hudnall 15 Brad Francisco 6 Alan Kurzweil 2 Jan Tucker 1 Jane Hudnall 14 Norman Lisy 6 Judy Mutty 2 Jean Wright 1

December 2016 The Spoke’n’Word - the monthly newsletter of the Oxon Hill Bicycle and Trail Club 5

Volunteer Appreciation Party Seventy-one OHBTC members attended the club’s 2016 Volunteer Appreciation Party on Saturday, November 19, at the Mexico Restaurant in White Plains. Club President Sam Perry thanked all who had helped with club events. Road Captain Sherwood Byers recognized the ride coordinators and all who led rides during the year.

THANK YOU OHBTC VOLUNTEERS

6 The Spoke’n’Word - the monthly newsletter of the Oxon Hill Bicycle and Trail Club December 2016

Remembering John Hutson

Long-time OHBTC member John Hutson died on November 22 at the age of 62 after a long battle with colon cancer. John was an enthusiastic member of the club who enjoyed cycling, helped at club events and served as a club officer and ride coordinator. He was the club’s road captain for nine years, from 2004 to 2013. John was a Natural Resources Planner for Environmental Trust. One of the things he was most proud of is having served in the Peace Corps in Guatemala. He met his wife, April, on an OHBTC ride. John will be missed by all who knew and loved him. His family is planning a memorial service for him in the spring

April and John on one of the annual ohbike John and Jane Hudnall at the 2004 Maryland picnics at Fresh Meadows Farm Bicycle Symposium in Annapolis

John and Kevin Colvin at the Mattawoman Creek Walter Carr and John at a Patuxent River Rural Art Center Rest Stop on an Indian Head 100 Legacy Ride

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Maryland Transportation Authority Board Approves Building New Nice Bridge For many years, OHBTC bicycle advocates have lobbied for bike lanes on a new Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge on US-301 connecting Charles County, MD with King George’s County, VA. At a meeting in 2006 to present alternates for a replacement bridge, advocates were told that the new bridge could not have a bike lane, because bicycles were banned from all toll facilities in Maryland. After much hard work by bicycling advocates across the state, the law was changed in 2008 to allow bicycles and pedestrians on toll facilities with the approval of the MD Secretary of Transportation. In 2013, the bridge alternate that was selected included a bike/pedestrian lane, but no funds were available to build the bridge. At every bike symposium and meeting with government officials, bicycling advocates stressed the need to replace the bridge and include a bike lane. On November 21, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced plans to replace the bridge with a wider bridge by 2023. The new bridge will be on the north side of the current 1.7-mile bridge. The existing bridge will be removed following the opening of the new four-lane bridge. The new bridge will carry two lanes of traffic in each direction and a bike and pedestrian lane will be separated by a barrier from the auto traffic.

For more information on the new bridge, see http://www.mdta.maryland.gov/nicebridge/nice_index.html and http://www.mdta.maryland.gov/Nicebridge/Documents/Nice_Bridge_Presentation_.pdf It is exciting to think that in seven years cyclists will be able to bike across the between Southern Maryland and . The bike lane on the new bridge will bring new opportunuies for recreational and touring cyclists and bike commuters. The East Coast Greenway, Adventure Cycling Association and other touring organizations will be able to use the new bridge for long-distance routes. The bike lane on the new bridge will be an impetus for the building of new bike trails and bike infrastructure in Maryland and Virginia. In 2023, OHBTC will have a bike ride to the ribbon cutting to celebrate the opening of the new bridge. Come join us!

8 The Spoke’n’Word - the monthly newsletter of the Oxon Hill Bicycle and Trail Club December 2016

Anacostia River Trail Celebration

On Monday, October 31, OHBTC members Jim Hudnall, Walter Carr and Kirk Sanders attended the ribbon cutting ceremony for a new five-mile section of the Anacostia River Trail which runs between Benning Road in DC and 52nd Avenue in Hyattsville. The new trail connects the 15-mile DC portion of the trail to more than 40 miles of existing trails in Maryland and along scenic stretches of the Anacostia River. These two major trails connect the District to Prince George's County and breakthrough a very bike- hostile area. The District has been slowly building the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail (ARWT), which runs from the Frederick Douglass Bridge north to Benning Road on both sides of the river. (left to right) Pete Rahn (Secretary, Maryland Department of The opening of this segment of the trail Transportation), Leif Dormsjo (Director, District Department of Transportation), Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton represents a giant step forward and was attended (DC), Victor Mendez, (Deputy Secretary, USDOT), Robert A. by federal, state and local politicians, planners Vogel (Regional Director, National Park Service) cut the ribbon and bicycle advocates. to officially open the trail.

Jim Hudnall on the Anacostia River Trail after riding US Senator Ben Cardin (MD) and Walter Carr at under US-50 (New York Avenue) ribbon cutting ceremony for the Anacostia River Trail

For a map of the River Walk area, see http://www.capitolriverfront.org/_files/docs/awiriverwalk12lr.pdf

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Bike Infrastructure Advisory Committee by Walter Roscello On November 17. OHBTC bicycle advocates Walt Roscello and Jim Hudnall attended the organizing meeting of the new Tri-County Council (Charles, Calvert, and St. Marys) Bicycle and Pedestrian Infrastructure Advisory Committee The committee’s purpose is to promote, plan and increase bike trail connectivity throughout the Southern Maryland. It has members from county planning, parks, and tourism departments, the State Highway Administration and bicycling and environmental groups. The new committee hopes to better support requests for state projects and grants by prioritizing projects across the counties and different agencies, then putting the support of all three counties behind the most desired projects. Creating additional connections between existing trails and parks continues to be popular, as is creating links to new destinations such as the new college campus in Hughesville. The committee will revise and build on the project priorities identified at the Maryand Department of Natural Resources Trails Conference held this summer: Calvert Prince Georges 1. Chesapeake Beach Rail-Trail to Route 4; 1. WB&A bridge crossing over the Patuxent; 2. Prince Fredrick to Patuxent River; 2. Rosaryville State Park to Cosca Park; 3. Dunkirk Circular to Patuxent River; 3. to Fort Washington NP; 4. Huntington to Kings Landing; 4. Indian Head RT to existing PG trails; 5. Solomons to Calvert Cliffs State Park. 5. Governor bridge crossing the Patuxent. Charles St. Marys 1. Extend 3 Notch Trail into Hughesville; 1. Finish all phase of 3 Notch Trail; 2. Route 5 bridge crossing; 2. Use utility corridors to connect trails; 3. Zekiah Swamp Route 6 bridge crossing; 3. Improve trail systems on State land; 4. to Port Tobacco; 4. Provide safe shoulders on roads; 5. Indian Head Rail Trail to SHA Park & 5. Resolve conflicts between multiple users. Ride (North).

Top 10 Connection Priorities 1. Extend 3 Notch Trail into Hughesville; 2. Finish all phases of 3 Notch Trail; 3. Indian Head Rail Trail connecting to existing Prince George’s trails; 4. Indian Head Rail Trail to SHA Park & Ride (North); 5. Solomons to Calvert Cliffs State Park; 6. Chesapeake Beach RT to Route 4; 7. Rosaryville State Park to Cosca Regional Park; 8. Use utility corridors to connect existing trails; 9. Chapel Point State Park to Port Tobacco; 10. Provide safe shoulders on roads to connect trails.

Next Steps  Tri-County Council will share this information and try to create a group of interested parties;  Share this information with Maryland Association of Counties and Maryland Municipal League to develop support;  Conduct a workshop on trail funding opportunities;  Create a good regional trails map using data obtained from the counties