Dear Friends,
We're going to take advantage of the excellent year's end weather forecast and ride both Saturday and Sunday. We'd love to see you out there to help us ring in the New Year!
Please download and print out your own cue sheets, GPS files, and overview maps for the weekend rides directly from the DCCenturyRides blog, http://dccenturyrides.blogspot.com/
Just click on "Cue Sheets" (on the left side of the page), and you'll find them there! If you're unable to print the cue sheet yourself, let me know and I'll bring a hard copy to the ride start for you. I won't be bringing extra copies of cue sheets to the ride start unless you email me directly and advise me that you're unable to print out your own.
Here's the schedule:
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2011
"HALF PONE POINT," starting from T.C. Martin Elementary School, Bryantown, Maryland. **NOTE LATE MEETING TIME 8:00 a.m.** A fairly gentle ride, mostly in St. Mary's County, featuring quiet roads, Amish farms, Greenwell State Park, and views of "Cuckold Creek." Lunch at the lovely Front Porch Restaurant in Leonardtown. See : http://www.thefrontporchsomd.com/. 103 miles with plenty of short options. Estimated elevation gain 3500 feet. Here's the link to the RWGPS interactive map and elevation profile:
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/869652
Directions to the ride start:
T. C. MARTIN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, BRYANTOWN, MARYLAND
6315 Olivers Shop Rd, Bryantown, Maryland
From DC Beltway, south on MD5 Branch Avenue, toward Waldorf (Exit 7A) In 12.2 miles turn left onto MD5 (traffic light) (just after entering Charles County, sign to Lexington Park/Leonardtown). In 3.2 miles turn left onto Leonardtown Rd to remain on MD5 (traffic light, Bus. 5 goes right). In 4.9 miles turn right onto Olivers Shop Rd MD232 (blinking traffic light). In 1.1 miles turn right into school parking lot.
******************************************************
SUNDAY, JANUARY 1, 2012 -- HAPPY NEW YEAR!
The "WEENIE ONE HUNDRED," starting from Hains Point, Washington, D.C. **MEETING TIME 7:30 am.** We have been doing this New Year's Day century almost every January 1 since1999 and will continue with the grand tradition. The ride begins with one lap around Hains Point, then heads down to Mount Vernon on the bike trail. Next, we'll visit Mason Neck State Park on our way to Occoquan for lunch at the Riverside Grill. After lunch we'll ride to Fountainhead Regional Park and on to historic Clifton, returning to Hains Point via Burke, Annandale, the W&OD and Custis Trails, Theodore Roosevelt Island, and Memorial Bridge. With all the bike-path miles and little side trips (and unplanned THINGS that inevitably happen on this particular ride), it's quite possible that the dark monster will have his wicked way with us. Accordingly, all riders should come equipped with lights. We actually enjoy finishing at dusk or later, as it's such a lovely sight to cross the Potomac River into our fair city and see the monuments all lit up. If you DO finish before dark and feel cheated, you can do laps around Hains Point until the cows come home.
All riders should be familiar with the Mount Vernon, W&OD and Custis bike trails. It's very difficult to keep a group together on the trails, and no one will be "sweeping" the route. While I've tried to produce an accurate cue sheet, there are still several parts of the trails where navigation can be tricky.
100 miles, with a couple of optional shortcuts--you can omit the Mason Neck tour and thus cut off 13 miles, and later in the ride you can cut off 4 miles. You can also rack up a couple of optional bonus miles if you want to visit Fountainhead Regional Park. Please don't let the name of this ride fool you into expecting a flat ride! While the beginning and ending miles of the ride are on fairly flat bike trails, the core of the ride features some honest-to-goodness HILLS, particularly between Occoquan and Fairfax Station, so don't be surprised when you encounter them. I estimate at least 5500 feet of elevation gain for the century. Here's the link to the interactive RWGPS map and elevation profile:
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/858723. I haven't attempted to generate a Garmin GPS file because of the heavy utilization of bike paths on this route.
Directions to the ride start:
HAINS POINT (EAST POTOMAC PARK)
1100 Ohio Drive, S.W., 202-619-7222
Take I-395 north into Washington (over 14th Street bridge) and take the first exit for Potomac Park/Park Police. Turn left onto Buckeye Drive at the T intersection, then left into the parking lot near the tennis courts.
Happy New Year to All!
Crista
