[BicycleBeth]

Great to meet you tonight! I’ve sent an email to all of you with our team assignments. We need to brainstorm a team name and I need you all to join our Strava group.

[BicycleBeth]

@AlanA 204294 wrote:

Beth.

Another clarification please. This time regarding streets.

I’ll give an example. Let’s assume that JEB Stuarts Cavalry used what is now Rt. 97 from Olney up to Westminster on their way to PA. How many times may I use this street? There are a few markers along the way, but may I use a stretch between two markers? You mentioned the different city/town rule, so would that apply to one continuous road as well? Would a random section in the middle of nowhere count? After all, the are marching from point a to point b with a purpose.

We have a fair amount of roads like that up my way. The National Road is another example.

Also, would a road that just involves a troop movement count? I have found numerous maps that show most of the troop movements along with the current name day of the road that was used. If I explain that it was used for “A Troop” going from “A to B”, would that make it more legit?

Just trying to figure out how to manage what I have to work with out my way.

Thanks.

Hi Alan A,

You may use this road (with troop movements or events) as many times as you like as long as the jurisdiction is different and troops went through there. You should cite some details about the movements like what side they fought for and under what general and what battle, raid, or skirmish, if any, were they moving toward.

For example, Seventh Street Turnpike (now Georgia Ave) goes through Washington, DC, Silver Spring, MD, and Colesville, MD. Colesville, MD is technically part of Silver Spring, which is technically an unincorporated part of Montgomery County. However, all 3 jurisdictions will count for this game since Colesville and Silver Spring are socially known to be distinct places. I have not confirmed that Confederate troops moved through Colesville though so I’d need to research this prior to making this #civilwarstreet claim.

Rational (other than these are the rules): I love people getting to see and experience the terrain that the troops experienced 155 years ago. There’s something to be said for the connection with the land, rivers, and place. And I love being able to see the sight lines from HQ buildings & roads. Winter is amazing time for the sight lines since it’s so much easier to see through the tree growth.

I hope that helps you, Alan A, and you, matte black.

Beth

[BicycleBeth]

@AlanA 204249 wrote:

FYI, I appreciate that you are trying to get people to follow the rules. However, I think you’ll find that it will become a full time job trying to monitor everyone and getting the “not quite legit” tags off the leaderboards.

It appears as though I could just tag every ride with every tag and have it count (although, I would never do that).

Hi Alan,

I’m just making sure, especially this first week, how the rules work. I’ve been checking out all of the hashtagged posts on Strava each day so far. If work picks up, I probably won’t have time for such a detailed review. (I’ve only caught my riding buddy using a hashtag that won’t count so far and mentioned it in a comment on her post.)

Beth

[BicycleBeth]

@Kbikeva 204183 wrote:

#CivilWarMarker – Vienna VA

I don’t know if you’ll consider this adequate, but it was cold today so I grabbed what I could and kept moving.

Freeman House & Museum

From the marker:

In 1859, Abram Lydecker, a New Jersey merchant, purchased land in Vienna on which to build a large combination dwelling and store. The Lydecker family was displaced early as the Civil War swirled around the small village. Vienna village changed hands many times and the Lydecker’s store and residents was occupied by both sides. Union officers were quartered here and kept their horses in the cellar. The Confederate army used it as a hospital.

The Alexandria, Loudoun and Hampshire Railroad passed nearby. A wooden bridge connected the store with the tracks. On June 12, 1861, Confederate troops ambushed and routed solders from four companies of the First Ohio Regiment less than one-half mile from this spot as they approached Vienna by train. The Federals, most of whom had left the train to fight, were forced to retreat on foot when the engineer hurriedly escaped with the locomotive and attached cars.

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This definitely counts as long as you hashtag on Strava and describe the pic like you did here on Strava either in the ride description or the photo caption.

[BicycleBeth]

Hi everyone, I’m so excited that so many of you are playing the Civil War Marker and Street game with such enthusiasm!

Please make sure you are using the hashtags #civilwarmarker and #civilwarstreet ON STRAVA in your title. In your ride description or photo comment, please describe the marker or street as discussed in detail in the rules. I’ve seen a few people not describe the photo on Strava or not even identify which photo the marker is in. Sometimes it’s not obvious when there are many pics.

Sharing your finds on this thread is great fun, but it doesn’t count for points for the game.

Beth

[BicycleBeth]

@lordofthemark 204052 wrote:

Oh dear. There are at least a dozen signs around Fort Ward, not counting the newly installed ones that tell the story of the adjacent post war AA community and its 20th century displacement.

Those will be great for getting Civil War points on your sleaze ride days! Strategize accordingly.

[BicycleBeth]

@matteblack 204038 wrote:

Thanks for the clarification…it’ll make my route planning a bit easier

You’re welcome!

[BicycleBeth]

@matteblack 204031 wrote:

So if I come across a place associated with the Civil War, and there are two separate markers that say different things, I could use them both on separate days?

For example, let’s say that for the sake of argument that at the junction of 66 and the Beltway there are a pair of signs (about 25 yards apart put up at different times by different organizations). One sign says “Battle of the Beltway” and describes how contractors would raid the federal government with jacked up prices and false promises. The second sign says “Raid of the Beltway Bandits” and describes how the federal government was fleeced by contractors with their jacked up prices and false promises.

Could I ride to the first sign one day and then the second sign on another day?

Yes. That’s exactly it. Another example: there are three different sets of historic marker signs at Fort Ethan Allen park. I got one set yesterday and am planning to read and visit the two other sets on two more rides.

[BicycleBeth]

@Kbikeva 203780 wrote:

In the edited rules for sites that aren’t necessarily marked as CW sites, you mentioned our bike being in the photo. I don’t see that requirement in the other rules (Markers, Streets). So — should our bikes be in the photo or is that optional except if the site isn’t obviously CW?

Hi KBikeva,

I looked through the rules again. Sure enough, they state that your bike needs to be in the photo for both the marker and the street categories. You are welcome to post additional photos without the bike too to give us a clearer view of the sign or place.

Beth

[BicycleBeth]

@AlanA 203768 wrote:

Haha. I guess the “rude comment” part is for my interpretation of the actual events! (I actually assume you meant “ride”, but it’s funnier with rude).

And, while I will not get any markers today, I had plenty of time to do some more research (in the car and online).

Haha! I loved your commentary actually and it made me go look up what kind of carousing JEB was up too. I’ll go fix my “rude” typo now.

[BicycleBeth]

I have a found a wormhole that takes you from Seven Locks Road to Falls Road in Bethesda/Rockville. I name it “Briar Patch Way.” This section of the road is paved and closed to cars. Going northbound signs say “authorized vehicles only” but no such signs seem to exist southbound.

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[BicycleBeth]

@lordofthemark 203625 wrote:

Wait only one Street per day? Dang, I forgot and too pics of several street signs in West ALX this morning. I will tag the pics for the day, but leave the others up, is that okay?

Remember to hashtag your Strava title with #civilwarstreet so that you can get credit. I didn’t see you on the leaderboard yet.

[BicycleBeth]

@lordofthemark 203625 wrote:

Wait only one Street per day? Dang, I forgot and too pics of several street signs in West ALX this morning. I will tag the pics for the day, but leave the others up, is that okay?

Hi Lord of the Mark, any photos you post today of streets/signs today means that you can’t use those streets/signs again later… Since you have SO many West Alexandria streets to choose from, this may not be limiting for you.

[BicycleBeth]

@drevil 203556 wrote:

1/2/21 – find a palindrome on your ride. If you use a number, it should have at least 5 digits. Post it in this thread on 1/2/21. Happy hunting!

I spy a Civic and a Radar!
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[BicycleBeth]

@AlanA 203553 wrote:

Thanks for the links to the leaderboards in the first post!

I guess we got a head start on the competition. I also did some research on this dreary day, so beware!! I may start doing some streets, too.

Oh, and some of my descriptions of events might not quite be as factual as what happened. I like to keep things a bit more amusing.

Sure thing! I was surprised that there wasn’t a leaderboard for this year’s pointless prizes and Rumi asked the question about her Quax prize. Then I realized that I need to generate my own leaderboards.

I planned out my marker and street for tomorrow. I have to be home for work by 8:30 am so I won’t have much time. Thankfully, I live close to the Battle of Fort Steven’s.

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