♠︎

[Bruno Moore]

We’re calling it as we see it—a spade’s a spade, and the fearsome Armada of Prince George is setting forth.

WHAT are our names?
Brünø Moore (captain)
ewilliams0305
sarahybillington
mtansill
bikenurse
historygeek
ramblingrider
ronwalf
TrishN

WHAT is our quest?
To seek the Holy Grail and not freeze our @$$es off in the process.

WHAT is our team Strava site?
Oh, that’s just right over here

WHAT is our team name going to be?
I don’t know that! (AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!)

Obviously I could go for a bit of a Pythonesque title (Knights Who Say Brrr, [Nobody Expects the] Maryland Inquisition), though something Maryland related (Battle of Bladensburg, jousting/lacrosse reference, terrapin/Testudo joke) or even card/spade themed (I know the suit of swords in tarot is equivalent to our spades—something there, maybe? The Knight of Swords riding headlong forward, without regard to sense or sanity?).

Also, a first team meetup. While many of us attend Proteus potlucks on Thursday nights from 7 until 9 (food! Refreshing Beverages!), I’m always looking for excuses to ride to Vigilante or Franklin’s…or anywhere else, for that matter. Ideas?

Onward!

—Cap’n Brünø

Topic

[ronwalf]

Hi, I’m Ron.

I’m a researcher over at the Naval Research Lab. I’ll be competing for the spot of Team Boat Anchor, as my ~45 mile round-trip commute from Greenbelt takes about 3 1/2 hours, limiting the number of days I can bike to work. I started biking as an adult while I was a grad student at UMD. My riding is still mostly transportational, although I love getting the whole family out for weekend rides when the weather permits.

[sarahybillington]

Hi everyone,

I’m Sarah and I’m mostly a weekday commuter with a penchant for weekend century rides. I live in Riverdale and have no cats, husbands, nor children, which makes for a lot of cycling time. I work for the Smithsonian as a construction project manager, so I’ve got a pretty short commute into SW DC. I don’t spend much of my time in MD, so I’m looking forward to biking more locally and meeting fellow local cyclists. Nice to meet you all.

Warmly,

Sarah

[Bruno Moore]

@bikenurse 104832 wrote:

…except when Brünø Moore takes off and gets lost…

I don’t know what you’re talking about, nor why jongon liked that. I never get lost. Find interesting places I didn’t know that I actually wanted to go come to think of it, sure, or explore alternate routes that take in a small amount of extra elevation gain, fine, but lost? I always know exactly where I am—on my bike. How can you be lost when you’re right where you mean to be?

Now where was I?

For those of you who haven’t met me (and perhaps for those who have), I’m Phill, Grand Inquisitor of the Unexpected Maryland Inquisition AKA Captain of The Spade AKA Collector of Impressive Sounding but Perhaps Pointless Titles. I’m not entirely sure what it is I do right now; over the last year I’ve worked at an academic publishing house, at Proteus with Laurie, sold handmade wood fired ceramics, wrote practice test questions for test prep companies, and worked as a tutor for high school and college students. One of these days I’ll find that mythical steady gig, but that day is not this one.

More importantly, I’m also a crazed cyclist. I mean, I may not be racking up the insane distances some people are, but there are other kinds of crazy, no? Along with bikenurse and Greenbelt, I’m on the PGBAC; also (was? will again be? am?) a WABA DC Bike Ambassador (I miss you, Things 1 and 2!); will be getting my race license and will be joining the Cat 5 combine (gulp); am one of the few people I know who not only names their bikes (Marianne and Valentine), but actually uses their names; am a certified coffeeneur, with a patch to prove it and everything; occasionally write about bikey things and urbantransitplanningthings; and have taken the only photo I can find of the Holy Grail on the whole entire Internet and know how to bike there.

As for ride ideas: well, I think my opinion on coffee and coffeerides is pretty well known. I’m trying to get a regular Prince George’s coffee club going at Vigilante, but it seems as if they open a bit too late for most people ( and/or it’s hard to pick a good day to do it on. Another coffeeride I’ve wanted to do for a while is to Ceremony in Annapolis; we might be able to work in a stop at VeloOrange along the way. There may also be an embassy ride to rack up a couple miles and score us a pointless prize or two, a ride down to the sculpture garden or Navy Yard for ice skating, or just some general exploring. I really kinda am up for whatever, and, with so many of us local, it’s easy to meet up and coordinate, even if we end up riding somewhere over in the next county.

I know that many of us already attend Proteus potlucks (7-9 PM every Thursday at Proteus on Route 1); while that may be a good time to meet up and coordinate, especially for those of us who couldn’t make it to the Shirlington happy hour, I don’t want to assume it works for everyone. If need be, I can ride out to wherever is most convenient and meet up with you/y’all’s there!

—Brünø

[TrishN]

Hello Team! I’m Trish and I live in Mount Rainier. I’ve done Freezing Saddles twice before, and after fracturing a fibula last February from crashing on some black ice, I swore I would not do it again. So of course here I am.

I’m not too keen on great distances in chilly weather, but I’ll try to at least be sleazy.

I’ve met Laurie, and Lisa, don’t know if you recall but we met briefly at the Schuylkill century. I look forward to meeting and doing some (slow) miles with the rest of you!

[ramblingrider]

@TrishN 104951 wrote:

Lisa, don’t know if you recall but we met briefly at the Schuylkill century. I look forward to meeting and doing some (slow) miles with the rest of you!

I totally remember you, Trish! And I remember being confused briefly, because I knew you lived in MD, but the first time I saw you was in Philadelphia. Looking forward to seeing you again!

[sarahybillington]

Fellow spades, I’m headed to Phoenix for the long weekend and want to squeeze some miles in for the team. Do you have any recommendations of where I can rent, buy, or borrow a folding bike that I can have as a carry-on?

Cheers,
Sarah B

[Bruno Moore]

Rent—I don’t know. Borrow—I don’t have a folder, but that doesn’t mean one of us doesn’t. Buy—we have a few at Proteus, if you want to have a look. Avoid the Whole Issue—Phoenix has a bikeshare system, though whether it goes where you are or want to be may be another matter entirely.

I’m increasingly surprised where dock-based bikesharing options are popping up; even Oklahoma City and Tulsa (where I grew up and went to school) have systems these days.

[ewilliams0305]

I’ve had the privileged of meeting most you at one point or another, (trish I think I met you at hains point Jan 1st with Rod) some of you I’ve even been on a bike ride with.

I’m relatively new to cycling and even newer to the cycling community. I purchased my first adult bicycle from Proteus about 5 year ago. This summer I discovered a new found joy for bike riding and all things bike related, while on my first tour ride in Cape Cod. Since then I haven’t really been able to stop. Those of you that know me already, know I’ll ride any distance for a good cup of coffee!

Little about myself… I’m a single parent living and working in silver spring MD. My daughter Kaylee AKA team spade’s mascot has been very supportive helping me achieve my long distance cycling goals (!whatever they are!).

I look forward to many cold days ahead with a great team. Hopefully we can organize a social ride soon.

Eric

[TrishN]

Eric, didn’t realize that was you. In that case, hello again!

[Bruno Moore]

@Raymo853 105266 wrote:

Spoke too early before it included my lunch ride. We are now nine points ahead!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]7450[/ATTACH]

Hmmm…it seems we have a problem—someone else is nine points and one person ahead.

Time to fix this. Back in a bit.

[ewilliams0305]

I may have a few more tricks up my sleeve…

[historygeek]

I still have my commute home (and plans to ride in every day this week). It seems like the points shuffle a bit every morning/evening around commuting time.
But really, why do we only have 9 people? All but three of the teams have 10.
That said, kudos to you all for having held the lead with only 9 people!! (given my two rounds of sickness in the first two weeks, I know I haven’t helped that much. But I’m better (and cleared by the doctor) now!).

[Bruno Moore]

We might be getting another person—someone who entered late, for instance. Or it might just be a way to try to keep things fair for the other, less generally awesome, teams.

[Bruno Moore]

Speaking of somebody else, we now have our tenth player—Msalemme—and are now a mere 58 points away from retaking the lead!

Cool factoid: 70% of cyclists on our team are female, compared to 24% nationwide.

[bikenurse]

@ewilliams0305 105037 wrote:

My daughter Kaylee AKA team spade’s mascot has been very supportive helping me achieve my long distance cycling goals (!whatever they are!).

Kaylee rocks – happy to have her as our team mascot!

[Author]

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