Cycling in No. Va/DC Metro Area

I've been riding by myself around DC and have decided it's time to try some organized ride (plus, I just bought a brand new Felt Z65). I'd llike some company.

I found "Babes on Bikes" during a google search and signed up for their e-mails. Is anyone a member of that group, or another cycling group that could give me some advice.

I looked at Potomac Peddlers and was intimidated by having to know what "class" you rode, etc. I think at this point, I'm looking for "no drop" rides. I'm not horribly slow (do about 15-20 on my hybrid and hope to go faster on my new road bike).

Also, I don't have a "day job" so I'm free to ride on weekdays.

I guess I just don't know where to start!

Thanks,

Cindy

Hi Cindy!

There are a bunch of us over here in the DC Metro area. Feel free to hit us up in the Mid-Atlantic region of the board.

I am on the Babes' listserv but all their rides are during the day which isn't the most convenient for those of us that work during those hours. It sounds like they may be perfect for you though.

I've considered the Potomac Pedalers group as well but have not yet joined a ride with them. A friend of mine has tried a couple of the more leisurely rides but did not feel the camaraderie I guess he was looking for. That shouldn't keep you from joining them and seeing if they are the group for you.

I had a great intro to group rides last year when I joined the VeloDCity Meetup group and did at least 2 with them last year. Here's the link: http://bike.meetup.com/133/. They are a great bunch of people and not too intimidating.

Welcome to TE!

I lived and rode in DC for six years until a few months ago.

While I was intrigued by Babes On Bikes, my working hours did not allow me to participate. Now that I work from home, however, I wish there was a similar group here in Richmond.

Potomac Pedalers (PPTC) is really great group with all sorts of levels. I really suggest that both of you try a few rides. Faith, try it out and judge for yourself! The D-paced rides are very leisurely. The C-paced rides are about 12-14 mph. I did those mostly and enjoyed them, although I really could have pushed myself more on the B-paced rides. I did do a few B-paced rides and would have continued with them had I not moved. PPTC rides are very well-organized and always have good cue-sheets. Alot of the rides are in Virginia, although not all.

Oxon Hill Bicycle Club (www.ohbike.com) is also a very good club, with alot of overlap with PPTC. Oxon Hill rides are generally in Maryland--Charles County/Akokeek/Indian Head. There are wonderful rides down there in the Maryland Amish country. Since I lived in Prince Georges County, I usually did the Maryland rides with OH. Alot of their rides were joint rides with PPTC.

There are also some rides that go from bike shops--check around. If you are into racing, there are some clubs, too, but I wasn't so I don't know their names.

Riding in and around the city is also a great way to learn about the area and the city. I commuted by bike between Prince Georges County and Alexandria, going through a big chunk of NE DC. It was a great, great way to learn about DC. I do miss it. Oh, and I highly recommend the 50 States tour in August. It's a self-guided bike ride (a whole bunch of people participate) that takes you to all 50 state Avenues in the District.

Welcome Cindy!

I've done a Potomac Pedaler ride as a "D" rider and was able to keep up. I haven't done a "C" ride, but there is a weekend ride that does the Arlington Loop, which I have done with my bf before. That's a great fun ride. Good luck!

Hi Cindy!
Welcome to TE.
Please be sure to check out the Mid-Atlantic forums here at TE.
We have lots of discussions about where to ride and even some group rides planned for folks in the area.
Also, there is a group-ride thread going on there where I mentioned the RLAG - Ride Like a Girl - series organized by MORE - Mid-Atlantic Offroad Enthusiats. They are increasing the number of road rides they organize this year - most (if not all) are very beginner friendly. See the links to those groups on that thread.

I have a friend in Potomac Pedalers, tho' he lives in Richmond so he doesn't do regular rides with them. Howver, he's one of my idols and was on my very first club ride (in February) and in the group that didn't drop lil' ol me on my big ol' hybrid. The man does oh, 12,000 a year but only crosses 20 mph going downhill ... (His name's Rickey by the way if you end up seeing him ;) )

My experience is that hwen they have the 'levels,' it means they are much more concerned about not dropping people who don't want to be dropped. The clubs that are all informal are sometimes great, but often it's 'way easier to have confused expectations.

My experience with Potomac Pedalers is that they absolutely will drop you, but they give you a cue sheet so you can find your way back.

I did a "C" ride, 12-14 mph, and in the end my average was 13.7 mph, but I was way at the back of the pack with a few other stragglers. The average of the folks leading the ride and most of the participants had to have been considerably over 14 mph.

It was a nice ride, but I never did another one with PP.

When in the season was it?

We always have that problem come the middle of June... *usually* the leader remembers to hang back. It's a constant aggravation :(

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Originally Posted by Geonz

When in the season was it?

We always have that problem come the middle of June... *usually* the leader remembers to hang back. It's a constant aggravation :(

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Can't remember, but based on the weather it was probably not early in the season.

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Originally Posted by Geonz

We always have that problem come the middle of June... *usually* the leader remembers to hang back. It's a constant aggravation :(

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I've heard that about Potomoc Pedalers...they rarely stick to their advertised pace. I think the squeaky wheel gets the oil. I'm not above howling if I don't like the pace! :o

I heard the potomac peddlers were supposed to be good. bummer. I think I will still have to check them out.

About Babes On Bikes, I used to belong to their email group. They are stay-at-home wives and ride during the day. Having a full-time job precluded my joining them. I tried to set up an afterwork ride with any of them who wanted to join me, but no one took up the invite. They seem like a nice bunch of ladies, though and most of them appear accommodating to less speedy riders.

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Originally Posted by madscot13

I heard the potomac peddlers were supposed to be good. bummer. I think I will still have to check them out.

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I found PPTC to be very good. It's not competetive, at least not on the C-paced rides, and the few B-paces I did I still found people who went my (slower) pace. People regroup at rest stops, but it's not a guided tour...you go at your own pace and follow the cue sheet. I always found people of similar pace to ride with. The cue sheets are good. Unless you are doing a race training club ride with a team doing pacelines, any group will naturally spread out.

Same with Oxon Hill.

Like me, you might want to start with slower D-paced. I quickly got bored with those and moved on to the C-paced rides.

Try it out a few times and see how you like it.

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Originally Posted by divingbiker

My experience with Potomac Pedalers is that they absolutely will drop you, but they give you a cue sheet so you can find your way back.

I did a "C" ride, 12-14 mph, and in the end my average was 13.7 mph, but I was way at the back of the pack with a few other stragglers. The average of the folks leading the ride and most of the participants had to have been considerably over 14 mph.

It was a nice ride, but I never did another one with PP.

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I'm sorry that you had a bad experience with Potomac Pedalers but I think you should give them another chance. While the speed classification system is supposed to work, ride leaders are only human and sometimes a group (or a select few at the front) want to go slightly faster than advertised. This happens more often with the CC and faster class rides.

Go out and try a D class ride sometime. It should be comfortable for you given the pace you've stated above. D class rides are generally no drop. You can also see if the ride leader puts an emphasis on keeping everyone together from the ride descriptions on the website. Often times they will include a "sweeper" to follow from the rear and make sure no one is left behind.

For the OP: the D class rides with Potomac Pedalers should be great for you to start out with. If you feel comfortable with them you can quickly move on to faster rides (as per Tulip's advice above). You can also email "woody lipinski" who is the guy who leads many of the D class rides and ask to be added to his mailing list. You can find his email listed in one of the rides he leads. He will occasionally send out emails with a list of D class rides he hand picks from the monthly ride schedules.

that is good to hear about the potomac peddlers. they have so many rides that it would be easy to find one in my class and starting location

I was looking at the Pedaler's newsletter last night(Mad, you're failing my English class;)). They do seem to have a wide variety to choose from.
One ride is up this way but the distance is too much for me.

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Originally Posted by zencentury

(Mad, you're failing my English class;)). They do seem to have a wide variety to choose from.

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Don't you mean "..a wide variety from which to choose."??? ;)

We're just working on spelling for now :D

haha it is nice to see that 7rider has my back

I joined Potomac Pedalers last year. My experience was that it depends a lot on the ride leader. Some ride sweep to make sure no one gets lost or dropped, some are more in the middle of the pack. Some leave cue sheets at their cars in case anyone arrives late, others don't so if you're late you're SOL.

The rides I did weren't particularly social. Some rides include lunch either during or after the ride, and I think that's were most of the socializing comes in. During the ride people were more interested in riding than chatting.

I did CC rides and even though I'm pokey-slow on hills I managed not to be the last person to finish. I think the faster rides are the ones where you're more likely to get dropped if you can't keep up.

Cindy, how's the road riding been going?

My weekday training buddy has to work normal hours this summer, so I'm also looking for company sometimes. I do a lot of solo training, but sometimes I feel like if I have to ride the same roads one more time, I'm going to lose my mind. I usually ride from DC up to the Maryland 'burbs.

I've also heard mixed reviews about the Pedalers. My friend who likes them the best has no problems keeping up with really any level, but even she says that they will leave you with nothing but your cue sheet. Sometimes, she just prints out their routes and does them on her own time.

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Originally Posted by aicabsolut

I've also heard mixed reviews about the Pedalers. My friend who likes them the best has no problems keeping up with really any level, but even she says that they will leave you with nothing but your cue sheet. Sometimes, she just prints out their routes and does them on her own time.

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My main reason for riding with them was so I wouldn't be alone on the roads in case of a crash or mechanical problem. Before last year I did lots of solo rides but they were mostly either on the WOD or Beach Dr. in Rock Creek Park/MoCo. But then when the time came for the big event ride that I was training for I would find I had not trained enough on hills, both physically and mentally. So last year I decided to shake things up by riding unfamiliar routes with more climbs, but I'm paranoid enough to not want to do that all by myself. On the PPTC rides even when I was by myself on a given stretch of road I knew that there were others behind me and that I had the phone number of the ride leader in case I needed it. All in all it worked out well and I plan to ride with them again.

I do keep the cue sheets for rides I like, in case I want to repeat them later with friends.