October 2013
ohbike.org Farewell Service for Record Number at Indian Head 100 Malcolm and Dorothy Hodges On Sunday, September 8, 767 riders
enjoyed a beautiful day on the roads and trails of Southern Maryland.
The event was successful
thanks to OHBTC members who volunteered to paint the roads, fold t-shirts, register riders, help with parking, serve at rest stops, offer sag support and help with the end-of-the-ride-picnic. Special thanks to Tim and Dee McChesney for the great egg muffins, to Wally and Jane Huie for
On October 26, at 2:00 pm, an internment the delicious hot dogs and to Marcelo and Erin
service will held at the Cedar Hill Cemetery for Lorado for running the picnic.
OHBTC founding member Dorothy Hodges and The club is grateful to the Bike Doctor of her husband, Malcolm. Dorothy helped start the Waldorf, Maryland Park Bicycles, Keany Produce, club in 1972. She led rides, was membership and Paceline Products for their support. chairman, published the newsletter (typed on a See photos at www.imageevents.com/ohbike manual typewriter and copied on a mimeograph and www.facebook.com/ohbike. Read more about machine before she got her computer), and the event on page 6. advocated for better bicycle facilities on the local, state and national level. She kept the club Featured in this Issue going, recruited new members and did it all with Prez Sez Calvin Conyers…………………… page 3 grace and style. From the Road Captain Ron Leak...... page 4 If you remember Dorothy and would like to Thank you Indian Head 100 Volunteers… page 6 attend this service, email [email protected] Tour de London Harry Kidd………………. page 8 or call 301-567-0089. Her daughter Rowena Fab Brew Girls Linda Molesworth………... page 10 asked that we let her know how many club Area October Bicycle Events………….... page 13 members would like to attend.
2 The Spoke’n’Word - the monthly newsletter of the Oxon Hill Bicycle and Trail Club ohbike.org October 2013
Oxon Hill Bicycle and Trail Club Do You YAHOO? OHBTC members Club Officers use the Yahoo group’s e- President Calvin Conyers [email protected] mail list to share club- Vice Pres. Blake Altman [email protected] related information. Road Capt. Ron Leak [email protected] Secretary Holly Carr [email protected] Joining the OHBIKE Yahoo group is free and easy. Treasurer Mimi Newcastle [email protected] Go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ohbike. Ride Coordinators The OHBIKE Yahoo group is for OHBTC members only. When you join, please include your Class AA Charles Sidwell [email protected] name in the box for “Comments to List Owner.” Class A Darin King [email protected] Class B Michael Saizan [email protected] As a member the ohbike Yahoo group, you can Class CC George Martin [email protected] send e-mail to the list at [email protected]. Herman Young [email protected] Class C Randy Schoch [email protected] Class D Judy Mutty [email protected] Mountain Bike Barry Howard [email protected] Overnighters John Early [email protected]
Standing Committees
Welcome, New Members Program Mike Butler [email protected] Kathleen Bailey Washington, DC CC Public Relations Jim Hudnall [email protected] Newsletter Jane Hudnall [email protected] Natasha Craig Waldorf, MD CC Advocacy Jane Hudnall [email protected] John Arrington Riverdale, MD Safety/Ed George Martin [email protected] Bobby Ball Bowie, MD C Claire Chiamulera [email protected] Jerseys Janell Saunders [email protected] Kenton Davis Haymarket, VA A‐B Horace Franklin Clinton, MD B, MTN Handy Telephone Numbers Clayton Hashimoto Port Tobacco, MD D SHA Md Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator Philip Ludd Bowie, MD B‐C Dustin Kuzan 410-545-5656 Teresa Martin Alexandria, VA B 24-hr tape 800-252-8776 John Melville Gwynn Oak, MD M-NCPPC Trails and Bikeways Information Maria Mietzner Clinton, MD CC Fred Shaffer 301-952-3661 Prince George's Co. Bike/Ped Coordinator Joshua Mietzner Clinton, MD CC, MTN Victor Weissberg 301-883-5650 Samson Samson Waldorf, MD B City of Bowie Bike/Ped Information Carrie Shearer Dunkirk, MD B Frank Stevens 301-809-3053 Henry Stancil Fort Washington, MD B Pothole Repair Hot Lines: Alexandria 703-838-4488 David Thatcher Deale, MD A Calvert County 410-535-0905 Jake Thomas Accokeek, MD C Charles County 301-932-3450 Darryl Watson Upper Marlboro, MD A‐B Prince George’s County 301-499-8520 Steve Whetstone Hollywood, MD AA‐B, MTN St. Mary’s County 301-863-8400
October 2013 The Spoke’n’Word - the monthly newsletter of the Oxon Hill Bicycle and Trail Club ohbike.org 3
Prez Sez by Calvin Conyers When an organization sets it collective sight and pools its vast talents, it can accomplish great things. OHBike has demonstrated this throughout the year in areas of membership growth, ride offerings, impactful safety programs, enjoyable annual picnic, and of course, our tremendous Rural Legacy Ride. In fact, the record-setting results from our Rural Legacy established a daunting bar for our September 8th Indian Head 100 Century Ride, So what do we do? Simple, we exceeded all previous results. As I mentioned last month, the Indian Head 100 draws riders from near and far, all looking for a quality riding experience. Well, I am elated to share with you that 767 riders participated this year. That’s 167 more than last year. Additionally, I am happy to see that more than 80 club members and friends volunteered their time and skills to make the event possible. Each and every one of our volunteers deserve the clubs deepest appreciation. As I mentioned in an earlier email, please recognize the Club President Calvin Conyers leadership and outstanding efforts of Jim and Jane Hudnall (Event Coordinators), Mike Butler (Program Chair) and Blake Altman (Vice-President) who presided over the event in my absence. There were many others like Wally and Jane Huie who grilled hot dogs and Tim and Dee McChesney who made egg McMuffins, but it would be an end list to attempt to name them all. So please join me in extending one great big Thank You to all our volunteers. While we have completed much of the “non-polar bears” riding season, there are still many weeks remaining for some very enjoyable riding. I personally prefer the fall weather for its cooler, less humid days. So please feel free to post to the online OHBike schedule the ride you want to do. If you require assistance with posting or would like a co-leader to assist, please contact any coordinator, other ride leaders, the Road Captain, Ron Leaks, or myself. We can help. Enjoy the great weather and …Let’s Ride!
Cyclists on the 100 mile and 60 mile routes of the Indian Head 100 enjoy a rest stop at St. Ignatius Church Photo by Jack Hammond 4 The Spoke’n’Word - the monthly newsletter of the Oxon Hill Bicycle and Trail Club ohbike.org October 2013
From the Desk of the Road Captain by Ron Leak
Ride leaders are the heart of OHBTC and the rides you post are important. Before cancelling a ride, see if there is another rider who can lead the ride or talk to a class coordinator to see if they can find someone to lead it for you. Request a substitute at [email protected]. We all love to try new routes in different areas of Maryland and Virginia. If you would like lead a ride in an area that is not often used or in an area where there are roads you enjoy, put a route together and post it on the ohbike ride schedule. If you need help in putting a ride together, contact me or a class coordinator. Names and email addresses are listed below. ● Road Captain Ron Leak [email protected] ● Class AA Charles Sidwell [email protected] ● Class A Darin King [email protected] ● Class B Michael Saizan [email protected] ● Class CC George Martin [email protected] Herman Young [email protected] ● Class C Randy Schoch [email protected] ● Class D Judy Mutty [email protected] Road Captain Ron Leak
Mountain biking and road biking are both fun and OHBTC offers both. The mountain bikers ride on Sunday mornings and show another side to riding, whether it be Cedarville State Forest, Rosaryville State Park, or trails in Northern Virginia or Maryland. The equipment is heavier and beefier than road and fitness bikes, but have the purpose of taking brutal punishment from the rider and trail. The one thing you get out of it is a greater appreciation of bike handling. Speeds are slower, concentration is higher, and some beautiful views are seen. If you have been on the fence about trying mountain biking, give it a chance. Contact Barry Howard at [email protected], 301-843-9750 or 301-807-9676. Cycling can be a great year-round exercise. The way to ride all winter is to dress for the ride. With long sleeve jerseys, base layers, tights, booties, full finger gloves, wool socks, and balaclavas, it is easy to ride in colder weather. The main thing to think about is dressing for 15 minutes into the ride. Our bodies warm up as we ride, and dressing for the beginning of the ride can lead to overheating After a recent accident, there have been some concerns about paceline riding. Pacelines, when done correctly, are safe. It takes concentration and knowing what is going on three riders ahead of you to get do it right. I have touched wheels on numerous occasions and gone down because of it, because I was not paying attention to what I was doing. One thing we try to do in the club is to have the faster riders leave first so we do not have the issue of having faster groups passing slower groups. Pacelines can be dangerous because of the closeness of the riders, but there is an etiquette to pacelines that will keep riders safe. For those who do not understand pacelines, it is a way for riders to work smarter together and not carry the burden of going all out during the ride. See page 5 for a great guide to pacelines from http://home.comcast.net/~mutant325/bike/paceline.htm. October 2013 The Spoke’n’Word - the monthly newsletter of the Oxon Hill Bicycle and Trail Club ohbike.org 5
Paceline Etiquette Here are some general rules for riding in a paceline. They are not the last word in pacelining but if you know these then you know a good bit. There is no mention of echelons etc.
● Ride at an even speed (constant effort). ● Try not to use your brakes. Sit up or move out of the draft some to catch some air to slow your speed. ● If you must brake feather your rear brake to slow you smoothly. ● Never brake when at the front of a paceline. ● Do not coast or soft pedal at the front of a paceline. ● Wiggle your arm to signal that you are moving off the front. The arm that you wiggle indicates the side that you wish the following riders to pass you on. ● Keep pedaling as you move off the front. Don't stop or slow your cadence until the following rider has begun to pull through. ● When assuming the front of a paceline, keep your speed constant. Do not accelerate rapidly! ● Don't open Gaps! Keep the paceline tight. ● If someone accelerates to open a gap, do not jump to close the gap (except when racing), close it slowly, the riders behind you will appreciate you. ● Keep about a 1 to 2 foot gap between you and the leading rider. ● Don't overlap wheels. If the rider you are following moves to hit your wheel, you will crash, not the other rider. ● If you contact wheels, turn your wheel towards the wheel of the rider in front. If you turn away you will go down quickly. ● If your handlebars or bodies touch a rider next to you, don't turn away; relax and keep your bike straight. ● Don't make any sudden moves. ● Don't ride too close to the edge of the road, Leave a ~foot to the right side when possible. ● Look at the middle of the rider's back in front of you and toward the front of the paceline. Do not stare at the wheel in front of you. If you stare at the wheel you can't react to things around you. ● When re‐entering the paceline from the back, begin pedaling when about 2 or three riders from the back to increase your speed and move smoothly into the line. Don't wait until you're at the back. If you wait you'll have to jump to catch the group. ● Don't pull too hard at the front when racing or riding fast. Save enough energy to get back on the paceline. ● When standing, don't throw your bike back. You may hit the rider behind you. ● If you are too tired or weak to do your turn at the front of the paceline, don’t pull at the front. Just rotate smoothly through without disrupting the group's pace. Then sit at the back about 1 bike length and let others fill in the space. ● Learn to trust the wheel in front of you and ride that track. Too often riders will sit off to one side or another. This makes the pace line inefficient and look ragged. ● Don’t use your aerobars in a paceline. Save them for a solo ride or time trial.
6 The Spoke’n’Word - the monthly newsletter of the Oxon Hill Bicycle and Trail Club ohbike.org October 2013
Thank you Indian Head 100 Volunteers
Over eighty OHBTC members helped make the Indian Head 100 a great ride for 767 cyclists on September 8th. Beautiful weather and enthusiastic volunteers made the day memorable for those who rode. Cyclists praised those who painted the route, registered riders, sagged the route and provided food and drinks at the rest stops and picnic. T-shirts were folded and packaged by Diana Brown, William Bryant, Ruddy Elly, Beverly White, Gladys Goodrick, Lin and Lowell Edminster and Jim and Jane Hudnall. Roads were marked by Dan Donahue, Sam Perry, Steve Palincsar, Alan Kurzweil, Larry Peed, and Jim Hudnall. Tom Roland, Stephen O’Keefe, Ron Tucker, Walt Chalmers, Ron Gonzales, William Beale, Jim Beliveau, German Deortube and Jay Lewis assisted with parking. Mechanical support was provided by the Bike Doctor of Waldorf, Benny Budd and Joni King at the start and John Epps and his nephew of Maryland Park Bikes and Lou Dall’Orso at the Mattawoman Rest Stop. Diana Brown, Jan Tucker, Monica Irmler, Dana Trevas, Majesta Hartley, Clair Taylor, Sharon Chalmers, LaQuinta Beale and Theresa Jackson welcomed pre-registered riders and walk-ups at registration. Janell Sanders sold t-shirts and club jerseys. At the Mattawoman Creek Art Center, cyclists were served egg muffins and other treats by Dee, Tim and Lauren McChesney, Aileen Dan Donahue climbing Chapel Point and Fernando Bonilla, Pat Colvin, George Martin, Jeanne Ulrich, Photo by Jack Hammond John Early, Mannix Hernandez, Pat Walthers, Bernie Cohen and Diana Brown. The Riverside Rest Stop was staffed by Mark Holt and members of the Congregation Sha’are Shalom. Cyclists who climbed Chapel Point were cheered and fed by the St. Ignatius Youth Group, Angela Hume, Janet Fulcher, Jack Hammond and William Bryant. At the Thomas Stone National Historic Site, cyclists were greeted by Sonja Newman, Azalia Butler, German Deortube, Ron Gonzales, Dee, Justin and Page Smith, Mike Johnson, Richard Harrington, Martine Palmiter and Dave Smith. SAG wagons drivers were Blake Altman, David King, Linda and Paul Bankerd, Ken Meredith, Barry Howard, Randy Schoch and SAG Coordinator Walter Carr. Bob Curran and members of the Charles County Amateur Radio Club provided communications. Cyclists enjoyed an after-ride picnic, thanks to Marcello and Erin Loredo, Wally and Jane Huie, Ellyn Peed, Les and Joan Jackson, Azalia Butler, Beverly White, Kurt Fedder, Nancy Hankin, Joan Oppel, Janell Saunders and Blake Altman. Peter Ulrich created the Indian Head 100 t-shirt design featuring the Thomas Stone National Historic Site.
October 2013 The Spoke’n’Word - the monthly newsletter of the Oxon Hill Bicycle and Trail Club ohbike.org 7
Rita Zuchelli and Keany Produce provided the fresh produce. Michael Butler arranged for the donations of Chamois Butt’r from Molly Crahan of Placeline Products, Inc., Gogo Squeez Applesauce from Katherine Sheane, Q-Caddy from Harry Rieck, and Udderly Smooth Hand Crème from Linda Kuzior. Larry and Ellyn Peed purchased and delivered the potato chips to the picnic. Dee Smith picked up the Rita’s Ice twice so cyclist could have a cold treat at the Thomas Stone Rest Stop and returned the gotts. Pictures from the event that appeared on Facebook were taken by Jack Hammond, Ellyn Rob Smith leads a group up Chapel Point. Peed, Jim Hudnall and Pat Hinman. Photo by Jack Hammond Buying bread and ice and taking supplies to the start of the ride, to rest stops and to the picnic is much appreciated. Many thanks to William Bryant, German Deortube, Sonja Newman, Mark Holt, Pat Colvin, George Martin, Herman Young, Marcelo and Erin Loredo, Jack Hammond, Janet Fulcher, Nancy Hankin, Blake Altman, Ken Meredith and John Early. At the end of the ride, supplies, drink coolers, tables, chairs and pop-up canopies go back to the Hudnall’s for storage. We appreciate the help of Nancy Hankin, Mike Johnson, Pat Myers, Pat Walthers and George Martin. Jack Hammond stored drink coolers. Blake Altman put up and took down the start/finish banner and worked throughout the day driving SAG, biking to rest stops and helping at the picnic. Rest stops for the Indian Head 100 are held in beautiful scenic spots. Registration and end of the ride picnic were in the Indian Head Pavilion and on the Village Green thanks to Karen Williams and the town of Indian Head. The first rest stop was at the Mattawoman Creek Arts Center in Smallwood State Park with support from Park Ranger Nakia Johnson. Cyclists doing the 100 mile route visited Marjorie Harrison’s house on the Potomac River. Thanks to Father Tom Clifford, Youth Blake Altman at St. Ignatius Director Angela Hume and members of St. Ignatius Photo by Jack Hammond Catholic Church for the rest stop on Chapel Point overlooking the Port Tobacco River. Ranger Scott Hill of the National Park Service welcomed the rest stop to the Thomas Stone National Historic Site.
Coordinators Jim and Jane Hudnall thank all who made the event possible and fun!
8 The Spoke’n’Word - the monthly newsletter of the Oxon Hill Bicycle and Trail Club ohbike.org October 2013
Tour de London by Harry Kidd
A visit to London is a wonderful experience and an experience that leaves many with cherished memories. The usual start to a first visit is to take a double decker bus ride to orient yourself. On subsequent visits many people take walking tours through organizations like London Walks, who offer numerous two to three hour walks of specific neighborhoods. I have taken dozen of these walks and highly recommend them. On my visit to London this past summer, I took advantage of the opportunity to take a guided bike ride around town. Using the Trip Advisor web site, I selected BrakeAway Bike Tours. There are several other tour companies operating tours, all of whom had good recommendations on Trip Advisor The BrakeAway peloton formed on Sunday morning in August for a 3 hour tour at Waterloo Station. We walked around Westminster Abbey the corner to the Banksy Tunnel) to select our mounts. Mike, the BreakAway Bike Tour leader, began with safety instructions and description of our route: London Eye, Houses of Parliament, Westminster, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Victoria Embankment Gardens, Covent Garden, through the Inns of Court, Dr. Samuel Johnson's House, and across the Millennium Bridge past the Tate Modern and back to Waterloo Station. A wonderful way to see central London. FACTS: 5-speed cruiser bikes, helmets provided, I've done the walking and bus tours and found this rest stop at Covent Garden, no major hills, a great alternative. I'll do it again and try one of their Weekend tour has fewer cars, but more people. other routes. Have a great ride!
Safety instructions for London Tour Ride back to Waterloo Station October 2013 The Spoke’n’Word - the monthly newsletter of the Oxon Hill Bicycle and Trail Club ohbike.org 9
Street Performers at Covent Gardens
Tour stop at Buckingham Palace Banksy's Tunnel Lord Nelson's Pub on the South Bank
Tour Stop Buckingham Palace 10 The Spoke’n’Word - the monthly newsletter of the Oxon Hill Bicycle and Trail Club ohbike.org October 2013
Fab Brew Girls Go North! by Linda Molesworth
Deb Brower, Robin Brungard, Shannon Pasch, and I headed north on a late Wednesday night in mid-August, planning to drive overnight to Lockport, NY, just outside of Buffalo, a 7 hour drive. Sadly our journey started with a flat, on my truck, no spare, at midnight on a lonely highway just over the Maryland line into Pennsylvania. Thanks to AAA, State police, and a friendly tow truck driver named Dean, Deb’s iPad, and very patient friends, we spent the night in a nice hotel just off the next exit, with a Mr. Tire within sight. We arrived at the Lockport Inn and Suites the next afternoon. GREAT place, family owned, friendly people, nice rooms. After Robin changed the first (bicycle) tire, a broken valve stem, we rode about 20 miles along the Erie Canal, and visited the locks in the canal at Lockport. Day two: We rode over 60 miles round trip to Niagara Falls visiting the US side. Thanks to a very helpful motorist, we found our way past the closed road, did not join the highway with the “no bicycles, no pedestrians” sign, and backtracked three blocks to the park with the hidden trail entrance that lead to Niagara Falls. One off- road, grassy hill and we made it to the falls, had lunch and rode back a slightly different route. In Lockport this day the running race “Beasts of Burden”, a 100 mile/24 hour event, was going on along the Erie Canal. For this part of our trip we used “Cycling The Erie Canal” guidebook. It was a great introduction and overview of the area, but detailed directions and distances were very deceiving. There are great roads and trails, but finding them and keeping on course was a challenge. We had the book, local maps, and two GPS units with limited battery life, and were very thankful for the people that stopped and help direct us. “Bike 5” is a route that parallels the Erie Canal and is great. But road signs were difficult to follow. We took our road bikes with panniers. We LOVE Bike Doctor, but go to a commuter bike shop when planning a tour. There are very few good options to attach a rack safely to a carbon road bike. If you plan to cycle just the Erie Canal, a hybrid would be advised. For our multi area trip, the road bikes were the best choice.
October 2013 The Spoke’n’Word - the monthly newsletter of the Oxon Hill Bicycle and Trail Club ohbike.org 11
Day Three: We started with a breakfast at Tom’s Diner, our second visit. This day we wore our matching End Hunger jerseys. A local business woman saw our shirts, and bought us breakfast! Three other women stopped to chat as well. Very friendly place. Then we rode back to Niagara Falls over the Rainbow Bridge into Canada. We took the pedestrian path, and were right or wrong depending on whom you asked. The other option was waiting in four lanes of standstill traffic for hours in the hot sun. Great views from the bridge and we met another new friend, Bob Bach from Chicago and Holland, who escorted us across. The Canadian side had a more scenic for a view of the falls and was more crowded. We had a very expensive lunch overlooking Niagara Falls and got to know our waiter whose girlfriend was a cyclist. A wonderful rainbow appeared over the falls during lunch. Then up over the BIG hill to ride to Niagara on the lake. We were in an unpleasant industrial area for a part of the ride. As we got closer to Lake Ontario and along the river, the trail became awesome - beautiful scenery, nice paved trail, few people. Then a long great downhill into town. Sixty miles after starting our day in Lockport NY, we arrived at the “Blacksmith” cabin in Niagara on the Lake - a three bedroom cabin with sofa bed in the center of town. Great location and a town filled with flowers and expert landscaping. At every corner were bakeries, ice cream stores, gift shops, and horse-drawn carriages giving tours. A great place to visit! Day Four: Shannon and I headed out early to ride lakeside to the next town of St. Catherine’s. We stopped and chatted with the pro at a golf course and learned about Lake Ontario. Then on our journey stopped at a closed winery for a photo shoot, a fruit stand for “fruit tasting”, and chatted with a guide directing traffic for a 100 mile bike ride to benefit cancer research that was going on that day. We passed the century riders a few times the rest of the day, mostly on the same roads but in opposite directions. We arrived back at the Blacksmith Cabin and joined Deb and Robin for the ride back to Lockport where we had left the vehicle. Dreading the big hill we coasted down the day before, we were pleasantly surprised the bike trail off the road was much less scary and everyone made it up well. The Lewiston Bridge to USA was at the top of the hill. No pedestrian path on this one, so with the cars we went, staying to the right, as we should, which just happened to be the express truck lane with no traffic. The cars had the same stopped traffic as the Rainbow Bridge. After politely asking a car to let us cut in to go through the border, we rode as a group with our passports to the booth. And got reprimanded again for cheating by using the truck lane and not waiting in line with the cars. So we were consistent, did it wrong both ways according to the Canadian official entering Canada, and the US official entering USA. (We would do it the same way next time.) There was no cost to cross the borders either way for us. We did hear that the Rainbow Bridge charges 50 cents to leave Canada. Shortly after entering the USA, passing the “I Love NY” sign and riding with traffic on the 65 mph highway, Robin got her second flat tire. We changed it in a driveway with a friendly but lonely man on his riding mower. We got offered everything except the kitchen sink, and can come back anytime. He offered his bicycle pump, at least 100 years old, and was amazed at our skinny tires and bikes that he was sure 12 The Spoke’n’Word - the monthly newsletter of the Oxon Hill Bicycle and Trail Club ohbike.org October 2013
cost at least $700. The ride back to Lockport was interrupted by Deb’s fall into the railroad tracks, ugly! By now, our fourth time on this route, we had Bike 5 understood! Deb also informed us we were riding through the “Love Canal”. I’ll let you look it up! Another sixty-plus mile day. We loaded up the truck, said our goodbyes to the friendly folks at the Lockport Inn, and drove to Geneva, NY on Seneca Lake. We stayed at the Belhurst Castle, in the Playhouse. The cabin was a mile or so from the main castle on the lake, behind another mansion that was part of the hotel. A private 2 bedroom cabin, with fireplace and Jacuzzi in the living room. Cool place overlooking grape orchards. Day Five: We left the truck at the castle, and rode south to Ithaca, along Seneca Lake. It was a hot day, and hilly! Deb started out with a flat early in the day, and accepted help from her friends as she had an injured hand from her fall. We stopped at a winery for lunch overlooking the lake. Robin was feeling a bit under the weather, and hired a waiter to drive her back to the truck in Geneva. She then drove to meet us in Ithaca. Three of us then braved the mighty hills going over the mountain to Ithaca. A few miles of hard packed dirt roads, some Mennonite farms, gorgeous views, and three pit bull Rottweiler mixes that had their sights set on us, I ran them off with my mean authoritarian veterinarian voice, confident my Rabies vaccine was up to date. We finished another sixty-plus mile day at the “Boathouse” on Cayuga lake in Ithaca. Two bedroom cabin, on the water, and two of us jumped in! Conversation turned quickly to the guidebook “Backroad Bicycling in the Finger Lakes Region” which so far had been very accurate and a good guide, “The road out of Ithaca is marked by gradual uphill’s, with more than three miles of climbing in the first seven.” With the truck in the driveway, three of the four of us decided to drive to Ithaca Falls the following day, lunch at the famous Moosewood Café, and visit a few wineries on the drive back to the Castle in Geneva where we spent the last night of our trip. Day Six: Ready to ride, I left our lakefront cabin on my bike, alone, and conquered the Ithaca climbs, alone. Bike Virginia would be proud! I was rewarded for my three-mile climb with a flat tire. My three person personal sag crew offered to come get me, but I changed my tire and continued my journey looking forward to the Triangle dairy bar at mile 19, “locally popular for good, simple country fare, ice cream, and homemade desserts”, which I had earned by this time. Sadly I arrived to a weed covered overgrown building, that had obviously not been popular for quite a long while. Checked, last issue of guidebook 2004- BUMMER! Onward to the “Be Happy Café” for lunch, and a beautiful ride the rest of the way back to Geneva, no dogs, no gravel roads, no more flat tires.. Day Seven: We awoke to two bikes with flat tires, but were quick about changing them. And a switch, I had a massage at the castle, and the three well-rested riders took off for a nice morning ride before packing up and heading home. Overall, an awesome trip. This is the second tour for our group as we did the GAP trail together last summer. The areas we visited were great for cycling, bike friendly, and the people we met were helpful and nice. A road bike, at least a B level riding ability, ability to change tires (we got fewer flat tires than the road earned!), extra tire supplies, and backup power for GPS, is required for this trip. We saw some people that were riding the Erie Canal for some distance, and a hybrid would be best for that type of trip. The surface was similar to the C&O Canal. The Finger Lakes rides have many options. We did a published three- day tour in two days. It was strenuous terrain but absolutely beautiful and well worth sweating out the hills. It was great having the vehicle close by, leaving it for a couple of overnight trips, then coming back. It meant less to carry with us, and a great option when plans changed and some did not want to ride. Suggestions were also made for scheduling in a “rest” or sightseeing day. We did 60 miles a day on that terrain was challenging. For seven days, the costs for travel and lodging were $460 per person, plus meals. October 2013 The Spoke’n’Word - the monthly newsletter of the Oxon Hill Bicycle and Trail Club ohbike.org 13
Go to www.ohbike.org/events to learn more about these October bike rides!
Saturday HERO‐PALOOZA Oregon Ridge Park, Hunt Valley, MD. Oct 5 12, 25 or a 60 miles for cyclists. Benefits those with leukemia and other blood cancers.
Saturday Culpeper Cycling Century Culpeper, VA. Oct 5 35, 65 and 100 miles. Benefits the Culpeper Recreation Foundation.
Saturday Seagull Century Salisbury, MD. Oct 5 62 and 100 miles.
Saturday Law Enforcement Ride and Run to Remember National Harbor, MD. Oct 12 30 and 55 miles. Honors the contribution and sacrifice law enforcement officers.
Saturday Page County Grown Century Luray, VA. Oct 12 26, 55 and 100 miles. Benefits Page County Grown, supporting local growers.
Saturday Shenandoah Fall Foliage Festival Staunton, VA. Oct 19 10 to 100 miles.
Saturday Rotary Club FallFest Bike Ride Waldorf, MD. Oct 19 31 and 61 miles. Benefits the Charles County Library Reading Programs.
Saturday Crop Hop Gilbert Run Regional Park, MD. Oct 19 5‐63 miles. Helps low income communities receive fresh, local produce.
Saturday Save‐a‐Limb Ride Oregon Ridge Park, Hunt Valley, MD. Oct 19 15, 30 and 62 miles. Fundraiser for the Save‐a‐Limb Fund.
Saturday Shelter Century Fall Foliage Ride St. Michaels, MD. Oct 19 11, 31 and 62.5 miles. Benefits the Talbot Interfaith Shelter ‐ a cold weather homeless shelter.
Saturday Between the Waters Bike Tour Onancock, VA. Oct 26 25, 40, 60 or 100 miles. Fundraiser for Citizens for a Better Eastern Shore.
Saturday The Great Pumpkin Ride Warrenton, VA. Oct 26 24, 43 and 71 miles. Fauquier Trails Coalition, Inc. fundraiser for construction of trails.