[KS1G]

According to one of my friends (he researched it on the Interwebs so this is factual and all that), the Mayans were dyslexic. TEOTWAWKI is on 12-21-21. CNN has yet to comment on their contribution to the confusion.

This conclusion also makes sense if you remember the Aztecs succeeded the Mayans, and the Spaniards found the Aztecs, and the Spaniards are European, and in Europe, today is 21-12-12, making the Euro-style date 21-12-21 more aesthetic. As cyclists, we’re supossed to be in awe, or thrall, or something of anything European, a further reason to go with 21-12-21. See you in 9 years!

[KS1G]

Yes, and it is probably fortunate several folks in my management chain are cyclists. And while I’ve met our CEO & COO in professional circumstances, I suspect I remain first in their minds as “that [crazy/] guy on the bike”!

[KS1G]

Layers, wind blocking, and not too tight so she can wiggle fingers a little. May also be a time factor – my old commute was long enough to end just as I started to warm up; therefore I felt particularly cold. I’m warmer now on the longer ride that gives me enough time to really get blood flowing. She should also check what she uses for head and feet – I’ve noticed a good head covering in particular helps keep hands and feet warmer.

[KS1G]

Access into the airport by bike is challenging – Ariane Way from VA 606 is feasible but 606 can be busy around rush hour and the shoulder is gravel. You can get to it from W&OD in Sterling. Figure 25 miles each way (W&OD @ Sterling Blvd is mile 22.5). Hilly on the Custis from Rosslyn, but you said you were OK with some hills. I think the bus route suggestions are a better idea. I have no idea if there is any long-term bike storage at the airport, and there is a risk the airport security would cut the lock on anything left near the terminal unattended. If you are counting on the bike being there when you get back, metro+bus is going to be more reliable IMO.

[KS1G]

Liz:

Good on you for doing this! Shakedown and practice rides are a great idea, for the adults going on the trip as well as the boys. You’ll initially be amazed at the range of bikes that show up, and their maintenance (or lack of). Plan a few evening/weekend meetings on bike maintenance and trail-side repairs.

A few more thoughts. Depending on the size of your group and number of adults (2-deep leadership!), you may want to split into an older/more experienced cyclists (faster) and younger/less experienced (slower). We had about 12 scouts and 5 adults on one trip (self-supported); another trip was much larger with a broader age range (vehicle supported). If you have sufficient non-riding adult support, carrying overnight gear in vehicles, at least for the younger scouts, will make it easier for scouts to get by just carrying their day supplies (easier to carry in a camelback on an MTB, which probably most of them will be riding). Although I prefered the self-contained mode; provides much more flexibility, such as continuing to less-used Hike & Bike campsites lacking vehicle access (also lacking drunken adult jet skiers). This also gave the Scoutmaster much amusement at our pre-trip shakedown meeting dumping all the un-needed stuff I had packed (my argument it was all “downhill” fell on deaf ears. 😮 )

W&OD has a gravel side path for much of it’s length. Just watch out for horses & their leave-behinds!

Use Cycling MB as additional guide & objective, especially useful for the boys who want to ride but can’t do the trip for some reason. If your unit has leaders and older scouts who are experienced backpackers/hikers/high adventures, use their experience to figure out what equipment to bring, meal planning, etc. If self-contained, arrange for a resupply and meal provided by non-riding parents mid-way for a fun respite from backpacker-style cooking. Bring something to flavor H&B site pump water in case they biys think it tastes “weird”.

Bikes & Tires. Our trips had mostly MTBs (mix of hard tail and full suspension) for the boys, hardtail mtb, hybrid (actually a pretty good choice), tourer, and cross for the adults. I don’t recall any pure road types. A trike or ‘bent would work, and I’ve seen Bike Friday folders on the C&O. It is not challenging terrain, but can be muddy and very bumpy in spots. IMO, 28mm is the minimal size I’d recommend; 32mm is preferable. Big knobby tires, however, are not needed. Bring spare tubes & inflators (Topeak ‘morph is my favorite), make sure you know how to switch it from presta to schrader valves as most of the boy’s will have that style tube. While the C&O doesn’t require a suspension (I’ve ridden a hardtail MTB and cross/commuter-style on it), 180+ miles of vibration can be punishing. In particular, any nuts or bolts that can vibrate loose will, especially if they are holding up a cargo rack! You’ll need headlamps/flashlights to walk through the PawPaw tunnel, and cell phone service can be spotty in the northern sections of the C&O (at least that was the case several years ago the last time I rode it).

The bikewashingtondc.org website (I think that’s the url) has a large section on the C&O and group trips. The Yahoo Groups coTowpath group is an excellent source for current towpath conditions, and there are numerous trip reports in the group archives, including those made by Scout groups. A lot of local troops and venture crews ride the C&O, so ask around at District Roundtable for advice from units that have done this before. Some troops make this an annual or alt-year event and have a huge amount of experience. Don’t forget to order the trail patch and segments (one from each council) so you can have a nice award ceremony at a subsequent troop meeting.

BTW, while it is a bit of a climb (!) up from the C&O and I’m not sure I’d want younger scouts riding the rt 34 shoulder, Nutters Ice Cream in Sharpsburg is a great midday stop!

[KS1G]

Yesterday on the W&OD, I was passed just east of Ashburn by someone wearing a well-known local team kit who was using a bike bell as a his “passing, on your left” warning. One sharp ding, unambiguous and clealry audible (at least if you’re not wearing earbuds and don’t have the volume cranked up to 11). Got to experience it twice (he pulled off at the Smiths Switch rest stop and passed me again a bit further east). Kudos to you, sir!

[KS1G]

Depending on where you ride, a brighter than otherwise necessary light may come in rather handy to illuminate moving shadows that turn out to be pre-dawn / post-dusk ninjas, and to light up the dirty torn shreds of reflective material ninja-wannabes may have on their clothes. Just remember to dim/shield/point away when you have an oncoming cyclist so you don’t blind each other (also, I’ve seen ninjas try to hide in the glare-bubble of the colliding light beams – obviously an enhanced cross-ploarization effect of their cloaking silks).

[KS1G]

Reston – Lawyers Rd from Fox Mill to just east of Myrtle Ln. Herndon – Dranesville Rd from Rt 7 south to Bennet St (Herndon High School).

[KS1G]

I stayed in Berkely Springs and drove around Great Cacapon a year or so ago. The side roads in the area may be rideable, hope you enjoy lots of hills and up & down. If you can get to Hancock or Paw Paw, you have the WMRT and the C&O Canal Towpath (bring wider tires for that that one). Very nice this time of year. Bring a flashlight for the C&O PawPaw tunnel. I don’t think there is any safe way to ride from Great Cacapon to Hancock MD – I recall US 522 is very busy, lots of heavy truck traffic, and no decent shoulder. There is a bike shop in Hancock MD that should have current info. If you wanted to do up and back hill climbs without getting anywhere (but a great view at the top!), the roads in Cacapon State Park looked interesting – also lots of ruts & gravel. Bring a ‘cross bike? A quick google search suggests there are off-road trails in the area.

Berkely Springs has day spas with excellent massage session packages – my wife had been there before and had the B&B we stayed at book one for me. I was so relaxed I was ready to be poured off the table into a bucket by the end of the session. Check ahead for days open and availability – the town closes up early and takes early weekdays off out of season.

[KS1G]

Finally pulled the trigger and signed up for Assateague, hopefully in time for my packet to be mailed to me. I’d estimate >7,000 registered riders at this point. 2nd the recommendations – try to leave early, mind the possibility of squirrly cyclists while the crowd thins out, expect a big crowd at the 1st rest stop, save something for headwinds the last 30 miles, and a rest stop with delightful ladies serving fresh pie rocks! A game I play as I pass (I can dream, can’t I) and get passed by other riders is identifying where they are from based on helmet decorations. I enjoy the sight of bike types you don’t often see and some you never see on the hillier rides in the region – ‘bents, trikes, lots more tandems (heaven to draft), fixies, unicycles (yes, unicycles), maybe some bladers.

[KS1G]

I don’t think we could have hoped for better weather (especially given recent experience on other local centuries!) – some of the scenery on the White Post loop in particular was postcard-quality. Big shout out and THANKS! to all the rest stop volunteers. I could not decide if I wanted my tomato & cuke with hummus or cream cheese, so tried one of each (still haven’t decided, more research is obviously necessary). I attribute the on-road behavior of some of the riders (not many) to inexperience vs. deliberate ignorance; kudos to everyone for trying. Especially the two father-child tandem teams I saw – you Dads & your kids rock!

I was VERY pleased by the behavior of the local drivers – not one instance I can recall of a horn blast, get off the road yell, finger, buzz-by, etc. Even when some of the ride groups took longer than I thought necessary to single-file. Big contrast to, oh, the residents of western Loudoun County who seem to resent us riding on THEIR roads (last time I checked, are maintained by VDOT, which I help fund with MY taxes, too). Law enforcement seemed more interested in safety than revenue generation, too.

The route was very well marked and I probably could have skipped the cue sheet – although it was handy for the “what’s next?”. I did not plan to rely on it, but the Garmin Edge 500’s “course” function worked pretty well – especially the one time I overshot a turn and it told me immediately. Definitely adequate for navigating the turns, as long as you don’t stray too far off course (and rememebr to check that display). It did have an annoying habit on some straight sections of signaling “off course” followed a few seconds later by “course found” – GPS location randomness at work. I think I was able to catch on to one of the PPTC organized groups midway on the 1st loop until the 1st water-only stop (many of them stopped, I didn’t) and an impromptu group helped keep my pace up for most of the way from midway to White Post. End of ride sports massage was best $20 I’ve spent in a while, and 100% agree on the Rita’s at the finish.

Rolling time was 6:10, 7:00 total (dawdled too long at the high school mid-ride). Skipped the water-only stop on the 1st 50 and only used White Post on the 2nd 50. Swiper – 6:30 is a great time, while Back Roads does not have many long sustained climbs, the ups and downs take their toll and you have to be able to maintain a good clip on the gradual climbs and with the headwind we had at times.

Evidence there is a $DEITY who is looking out for me (or Murphy checks your karma account balance) – my front tire went flat at the end after I finished and was going back to my car. The REI guys gave me a pump to ry pumping it back up, then helped replace the tube when it was clear the old one was shot. They’re faster at it than I am, and easier at the finish then on the side of the road somewhere.

[KS1G]

Going slightly off-topic, but per the Garmin forums, dcrainmaker, and ridewithgps, the Edge 500 Courses feature uses tcx files, not gpx files as I’d assumed. The Back Roads site has links to maps at ridewithgps (maybe mapmyride, too – can’t check from here); the maps have download/export-to-device links to get the appropriate file onto whatever you’re using. See: century map , ridewithgps instructions, a garmin forum thread, dcrainmaker blog post.

[KS1G]

Doing the century, will leave as close to 7:00 as I can and hope to be swept up by a group I can hang onto. And see if I can figure out how to load the route into my Garmin Edge 500’s course library (the gpx file on the Back Roads site is NOT the right way – needs to be a tcx file, like from the ridewithgps page) and actually use it.

Given my recent track record (Reston and Civil War centuries) with organized rides and weather, this means, of course, we will experience an early morning downpour (and I removed the Crud Roadracer Mk2 fenders last night), sleet, or epic headwinds! [You’ve been warned!]

Black November road bike, planned attire to include screaming yellow wind vest, arm warmers, red helmet with Hubbub mirror.

[KS1G]

The section of the W&OD connects the Herndon Town Green (site of weekend & friday night concerts and festivals) and the rec center area. The 2nd stretch continues west to the town line at Crestview. It sees a lot of foot traffic during and after events, as well as dawn and dusk patrol joggers/runners. A lot (most) of those folks lack reflectors, lights, or, it seems, common sense. Lighting the W&OD in that area will help a lot. The town may also be concerned about crime-related safety. The plan was on an NVRPA agenda earlier this year, so it looks like they’ve addressed any “closed at dark” concerns.

[KS1G]

Not elite here either, and I’ve thought several times about biking 8-9 miles to a Sunday morning blood drive, donate, and ride home, but have resisted the temptation to do so. As a more recent data point, I donated this past Tuesday, was fine that evening, and was on a moderate-pace sunrise ride the following morning. Ride felt faster than it really was and I felt more tired afterwards than usual. So should have gone easier or not at all. Yesterday was an off day, and felt more like my usual self during this morning’s ride. So I’d time donations for recovery and off weeks and definitely not a week or 2 before an important event.

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