Articles from the April 2007 issue of Pedal Patter
By Catherine Kitchell
Many of you have already checked it out, but the new PPTC website went up March 1st – if you haven’t seen it, please go to http://www.bikepptc.org and see for yourself. It’s slick and neat and a great round of applause goes to Marc Currie, Steve Wartik and past Executive Committees and Website Committees over many years for all the hard work and dedication that went into it. Many thanks also go to Steve Palincsar for his dedication to developing the old website and his input into the new site. Also, please thank Sherri Core, our staff person, for living through the transition. Some aspects of things like credit card processing one would believe should be easier if they are automated but sometimes a lot more goes on in the background than one would think. Hopefully, all that extra work will be alleviated soon.
There will be a second phase to the new website and that is creating a new system for scheduling rides. Currently rides are scheduled through our ride coordinators who usually send out emails to their usual ride leaders. Coordinators then send the schedule for their geographic area and class to Dan Lehman and Joe Stusnick who work some kind of magic to make the schedule as it appears in Pedal Patter. Coordinators really do a great job making sure, to the best of their ability, that there is at least one ride in every category in every geographic area both days of the weekend. People still like to get Pedal Patter and the first evolution of the new ride scheduling system will be tied to Pedal Patter deadlines. The downside of the system is that often ride leaders are committing to rides 6 weeks or more in advance and it’s hard, in the current system, to get in more “impromptu” rides if the weather should be unexpectedly beautiful or even to cancel rides if the weather is bad. The Executive Committee is aware of these issues and welcomes your comments on how the process will work. We are also hoping to develop some online forums to help with these issues. Please email me at ckitchell@earthlink.net with your concerns and comments as it is important that we hear from a variety of people in the club. The Ex Com has authorized the Website Committee to spend up to $30,000 working with the developer to get this accomplished and we want to know that club dues and money are well-spent getting members what they want.
In other great news, Tom Humphrey has taken over as editor of Pedal Patter. Tom has a degree in Journalism from the University of Maryland and over 15 years of writing and editorial experience. He completed his first century last October at the Seagull Century and he’s a B class rider. Tom can be reached at KiteFencer@comcast.net – please send story ideas to him. Also in PP news, Teresa Noonan is now writing the “Out of Bounds” column – taking it over this year from Chris Moriarity. If you know of out-of-town events that are really great and in the mid-Atlantic area Teresa will be happy to see if the meet the column’s guidelines for inclusion.
Please join everyone for the Volunteer’s Party/Ride Leaders meeting in Fairlington on April 14th. Barbara Binder has ordered up a great selection of food but please bring other items to share. The club will provide the plates, napkins, beer, wine, etc. also. We haven’t had a real party since the Annual Meeting so it’s a great time to see if you recognize people when they aren’t in spandex. You’d be surprised how many members clean up very nicely indeed! It’ll mostly be a party but if you are interested in the nuts and bolts of how to lead rides we’ll address the issues at the event. Again, we are working on building a new ride schedule program this year so this is the year to get involved with that process. If you constantly think “You know I’d like more rides that start earlier or are slower or more social or take place in Manassas during the week, etc.” chances are that someone else in the club thinks the same way and the best way to meet that need is to lead the ride and see who else comes out. Most of the really fast riders don’t need more motivation – they are really fast for a reason – usually they are highly motivated – but the rest of us could always use help and leading rides is the best motivator there is.
Please also check out our schedule of other events for the year on the back page of Pedal Patter. All our weekends are planned and the Nokesville picnic is May 6th. Most of the weekends are already up on the website so you can begin to sign-up.
Just a few more weeks until the Tuesday night rides on the Capital Crescent from Bethesda start up. Thank you Patrice Coss for those – a real harbinger of spring!
Going on organized bike weekends is high on my sons’ list of fun things to do, especially when there are other kids out there as well. So few of their friends at school do any serious riding that they really enjoy getting together with the other kids on the bike rallies.
Here are a few of the Bike rallies coming up this year that we’ve found to be very family friendly. May 6th will be the PPTC’s Nokesville Picnic Ride. This is a multi-class ride with something for everyone. There will be rides from 10-51 miles, covering classes D to A. The roads in the Nokesville area are generally flat to rolling and generally quiet. If your family is just starting out, you can enjoy the 10 mile ride. If you are a bit more adventurous, you can ride farther. Afterwards you can enjoy lunch while the children play. Rides start between 8:30 and 10:15, depending upon the ride class. The picnic starts around noon. Check out the new PPTC web site for more information. Kudos to all the folks who have worked so hard to make this web site more informative and easier to use.
We will start our year at the “Tour de Chesapeake” in Matthews VA. The ride is organized by BikeWalk Virginia the weekend of 18-20 May. I started riding this with Jonathon when he was still in the trailer, and he enjoyed it back then. He is now 10 years old and still looking forward to a weekend with Dad. This year both boys will be with me, and poor Mom will be all alone with her quiet and her bubble baths. Activities start on Friday with pre-registration and a Pasta Dinner, where you can meet some of the other riders. Saturday morning starts off with ride options of 15, 20, 35, 50 and 62 miles in length. The courses are flat, but they can also be windy. The ride includes a lunch stop. Last year it was Subway sandwiches, chips and sodas. There are other rest stops along the way, some with snacks and others just at beautiful locations where you can take a break. When you get to the end, they serve strawberry shortcake to finish up your day. In the evening there is a Bluegrass concert at nearby Gwynn’s Island. On Sunday there are maps for local “No Frills” rides as well as opportunities for hiking, canoeing and kayaking on your own. If there is a downside to this ride, it is a lack of hotels and motels in the immediate area. However camping is available and some of the folks in Matthews open their homes to visitors for a fee. For more information go to: www.bikechesapeake.org.
Memorial Day Weekend is the “Kent County Spring” hosted by the Baltimore Bike Club at Washington College in Chestertown, MD. This is the 25th year that they have hosted this ride and it continues to be a highlight for many families. While it is not a cheap weekend, it is a good value. On Friday there are a number of casual rides, then on Friday night there is a welcoming desert bar for all to meet and greet. After the Saturday morning breakfast, there are a plethora of ride options. However, many of the families do the 20 mile Cliff City Crabbers ride so they can get back in time to participate in the festivities downtown. There is a wonderful street festival celebrating the second tea party. Yes the Chestertown Tea Party occurred when the British decided the ships were no longer safe in the Annapolis Harbor after the Boston Tea Party. They soon found out there were many patriots in Chestertown as well. Children of all ages enjoy the activities. That evening after dinner there is another desert bar and folk dancing. While the parents are dancing the children can play either in the immediate area or in the college Game Room. Sunday morning brings a number of rides, all meeting at Worton park for lunch. In the afternoon you can either extend your ride or head back to the riverside park in Chestertown to shop at some of the streetside vendors and watch the raft races. Some of the rafts are quite exquisite. Squids, Super Heroes, Dragons and anything you can imagine has probably been tried. On Monday morning, many of the folks go off on short rides before coming back for lunch and pack out. For more information go to: “http://www.baltobikeclub.org/” and select the “Rides and Events/Special Events” options.
The last event for this issue is the PPTC/WABITS Family Bike Weekend on the 22-24th of June. This has been a great event over the years. Ride on quiet back roads, take rest stops where the kids can play, have ice cream, and enjoy the swimming pool. There are lots of places for the kids to make noise and wear themselves out, so they’ll sleep well during the night. This weekend is hosted out of the Pocomoke State Park/Shad Landing. Where the Kent County Spring Fling has professional Chefs cooking the food, we have children flipping pancakes. Where the Kent County Spring Fling has exquisite chocolate delicacies, we have s’mores straight from the fire. Both weekends are great fun, just different styles. For more information see the PPTC-WABITS Family Bike Weekend article elsewhere in Pedal Patter, or contact Kevin and Kim Brugman.
May 6, 2007
The annual Free for All Membership Picnic Ride will be held Sunday, May 6th at the Nokesville Community Park in Nokesville, VA. This wildly successful event is a multi-class ride with something for everyone. There will be rides from 10-51 miles, with rides for all ability levels from ride classes A to D. It’s open to everyone - new, old and non-members. An information table will be available before and after the rides to answer questions anyone might have, from choosing the right ride to how to join the club.
Last year we had a great turnout, and it’s a great way to meet people who are not in your normal ride class. It’s rumored that at least one marriage has come out of this ride in the past! We are focusing on attracting lots of new cyclists so that they can all come out and experience riding with the Potomac Pedalers.
After the rides we will gather at the pavilion for hot dogs, hamburgers, veggie burgers and other special veggie sandwiches and drinks, all at no charge. We’ll even have plates, napkins, cups, utensils, and condiments. As always, everyone is encouraged to bring a dish to share. Please mark the date on your calendar and hope for a lovely day, but remember that this is a rain or shine event.
Rides will start between 8:30 and 10:15 depending upon the ride class. The picnic will start around noon. For more information click here.
We need volunteers to help with setting up, cooking, cleaning up, and manning the info table. There will be a special volunteer’s ride of about 20 miles. Anyone interested in helping, please contact Deb Reynolds: email or phone (703-360-2339).
The Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) has just released a new Bicycle Tours map and brochure for Washington County, Maryland. The hundreds of miles of low-traffic rural roads in Washington County, almost all excellent for bicycling, have always attracted cyclists. The C&O Canal Towpath and the Western Maryland Rail Trail are also popular destinations, as well as Antietam Battlefield. Several local state parks also have excellent mountain biking, including Greenbrier State Park.
Trails.com rankings show that half of Maryland’s 10 most popular trails are in or near Washington County. Thousands of cyclists explore Washington County annually, many who are escaping out of the confines of the urban metro areas. The new glossy map folds out to include eight different bicycle loop tours throughout Washington County, including one through Hagerstown. Each tour varies in length, from 10 to 34 miles, and explores a variety of terrain. The inside of the map shows Washington County with all eight loop tours and the routes for seven of the tours. The back side of the map shows the city of Hagerstown and the route for the "Hub City Tour," which utilizes the newly constructed Hamilton Run bike path and the new North Prospect Street bike lane. In addition to bicycle maps and routes, the new map includes a welcome to Washington County, pertinent safety information, a listing of local bike shops, points of interest, and a brief history of the county. ??
The tour routes were supplied by the Cumberland Valley Cycling Club (CVCC), which provided a great deal of support and guidance to the CVB throughout the entire process of creating the brochure. The CVCC is a recreational and racing bicycle club that has been based in Hagerstown since 1983. The organization's web site is: www.bikecvcc.com. The new map-brochures are currently available at the CVB Visitor Welcome Center in downtown Hagerstown and will be available from many CVB member businesses, especially hotels and bike shops, throughout the area. The map-brochure will be periodically updated, as well.
The President of the Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Tom Riford, said that the entire project is being made web-friendly. "We're moving forward with putting this whole bike map on our web site. We want to be able to reach even more potential visitors, who are looking for cycling opportunities in our area." The CVB's web site is www.marylandmemories.com.
It's time for a new VA "D" ride coordinator. This role requires less than an hour of volunteer time per month, and makes a significant contribution to PPTC and our community. A candidate needs to be organized and have good written communication skills, along with a reliable PC and email system. You’ll also need cut and paste word processing expertise. You will be up and running with less than an hour of coaching; I will be happy to provide help to the next VA "D" ride coordinator for a smooth transition.
Please contact me, or someone on the Executive Committee if you're interested so we can support you and help you to succeed.
Thanks,
Kate Schwarz
Advertising Manager
Potomac Pedalers Touring Club
pptcadvertising@pobox.com
703-622-6494