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I attended for the first time today and had a great time. Didn’t get to meet everyone but plan to attend every other week from here on out.

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I will probably Bikeshare

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@creadinger 30814 wrote:

Anyone know if the Alexandria location is up and running yet? The website doesn’t look like it’s been updated in months. I think I’ll check it out later today an report back on my success or failure.

I think it was supposed to open in July or August. Let me send them a Tweet and find out.

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We were at the third rest stop when the storm hit and the sirens went off. The last 25 miles were in the rain and the hill at mile 60 broke my soul into 15,000 pieces but I finished the ride in 6 hours and 41 minutes with a top speed of 44 mph, average speed 15.4. My body was weak and slow all day, it was not a good ride for me although the event was terrific. Going to have a massive plate a baked ziti now and rock myself to sleep.

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Fully packed, bike ready. Going to bed to get up early. Good luck everyone.

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@TwoWheelsDC 30408 wrote:

I’ll be in my BikeArlington jersey! Right now, the forecast isn’t showing rain until the afternoon (yay!) and it should be plenty warm (70ish at start time). Problem is that most riders will be turning south right about the time the storms are starting, and it’s supposed to be winds from the south…so what should be a relatively easy 20 mile cruise from Gettysburg back into Thurmont could end up being pretty onerous.

TwoWheels,
I will watch for you.

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I will be there. Hoping to meet some forum members along the way. Look for the bright blue shoes on a Blue Norcross EX (probably not going to be a common ride out there). Still trying to decide on clothing. Did 56 miles in the rain a few weeks ago without rain gear and was a little chilly here and there. Probably just take the rain gear in the car and decide the day of the race.

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@consularrider 29484 wrote:

If doing the Mt Weather loop in the clockwise direction, it’s actually pretty easy to get confused and end up on the entry ramp to I-66 (a direct merge into the left lane). The good thing is if you’ve done it once, you’ll never do it again (or hopefully the person leading the ride is in front of you and knows this issue). Winchester Rd is SR 55/US 15 there and, while it is clear you are next to I-66, only the right fork of the on ramp has the sign letting you know that bicycles, pedestrians, etc are prohibited. If you take the left, it is sign posted to Washington without any real warning that its only outlet is onto the Interstate and you are going over the westbound lanes of I-66, so you can’t see where you will actually end up.

The most obvious landmark is Emmanuel Episcopal Church on the left (north). When you see that, make an immediate left turn onto Maidstone Rd (SR 713), and then an immediate right onto Grove Ln (CR T185) which will safely take you back into Marshall.

This is the perfect narration of what happen to us. Thanks for post this.

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@mstone 29480 wrote:

Note that I must take this with a grain of salt: if my route merged with 66 I’d scream like a little girl and assume the fetal position, not keep going. 😮

HEHEHEHE

I would agree but at the time I felt like we should needed to soldier on. In hindsight, we should be stopped.

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Hey Certified,
I edited the course to take the correct road. If you compare the two, you will see the difference. Just go to the end of the course and back track out of Marshall along Grove Lane and you will see how easy it is to end up on I-66. There are no signs to alert to this hazard. FOR EVERYONE INTERESTED IN THIS RIDE, PLEASE USE THIS COURSE TO KEEP YOU OFF I-66.

Had to make another edit, Garmin didn’t like something. Fixed now.

http://connect.garmin.com/course/1975888

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@Certifried 29473 wrote:

😮

I didn’t notice that, but would definitely not have gone on to I-66 for any reason. I even try to avoid it in my car! Glad you all made it safely off.

I’d have to edit the route anyways to start from my buddy’s house in Hamilton, which would be a great start point to the ride. This new Jamis I have is just blowing my socks off on how easy it is to ride. I almost have the mind to figure out a 2 day version and camp up there somewhere.

Hey Certified,
I edited the course to take the correct road. If you compare the two, you will see the difference. Just go to the end of the course and back track out of Marshall along Grove Lane and you will see how easy it is to end up on I-66. There are no signs to alert to this hazard. FOR EVERYONE INTERESTED IN THIS RIDE, PLEASE USE THIS COURSE TO KEEP YOU OFF I-66.

http://connect.garmin.com/course/1975888

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@mstone 29467 wrote:

How rideable are the roads out there? I’ve been thinking about putting together an overnight at sky meadows from a trip out the w&od but haven’t looked hard at the routing yet.

The roads are very rideable. For the most part, very little traffic, mostly on rural roads. It is very hilly. Lots of rolling hills but also a few steep sustained climbs at up to 8% grade. With the exception of a short ride on Va-17 and the totally avoidable and highly not recommended ride on I-66 (see post above, take Grove Lane back to Marshall), it very beautiful and rideable.

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@Certifried 29466 wrote:

I spent a few days once at Mt Weather. Very interesting place. 😎

thanks for posting the route, I just saved it! Now hopefully I’ll get a chance to ride it

Certified,
Be careful with the route. Somehow we ended up on I-66 for a short period of time which I really do not recommend. Make sure you research a route to get you from Va-688 (Leeds Manor Road) back to Marshall without getting on I-66. DO NOT ASSUME that Va-55 will do it for you. That was our mistake and a horrible one. Feel free to use the route but I do not advocate for following it towards the end. I just checked, you want take Grove Lane once you hit Winchester Road. Then take Grove Lane back into Marshall to avoid riding on I-66 which was suicide. We actually got busted by the cops for doing it and got a police escort back up to the Marshall exit about a mile up the road.

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@TwoWheelsDC 29455 wrote:

Nice…I may do this next weekend as a sort of trial run for the Civil War Century. I did a similar ride to this in North Carolina earlier this summer and survived okay, but I want to make sure I can get up the mountain with enough energy left for a full century.

That was our logic as well. We are doing the Civil War Century in a few weeks as well.

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I am in contact with WABA. They are primarily worried about “bandit riders” that don’t pay to the privilege of the ride but use the cue sheet to join in without paying. I understand their concerns about I think the “bandit” impact would be minimal. We are trying to work something out.

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