C&O Canal ride in October

[HillSlugger]

Saturday would work for me, but not Sunday.

I can make Saturday work for me too. I prefer to ride early, say meet at 9am? Doing the full 40 miles? Is there any provision for 1 or 2 more rest stops?

I am slow slow slow, especially on the hills, but it's still fun.

I'm fairly slow on the hills (hence my screen name) but decent on the flats. I can probably do an overall average in the 14's.

[divingbiker]

OK, Saturday at 9 it is, at the Rileys Lock parking lot. Anyone else want to join us?

And of course, we can ALWAYS take more rest stops. There just won't be a porta potty or a store to buy water etc like there is at D!ckerson.

I'll pm you my phone number in case something goes awry. I look forward to riding!

[7rider]

This is a road ride, right?
Unfortunately, I can't make this saturday. Have fun! Take pictures!
I am still planning on doing the TE Group's October 15th ride on the C&O canal, departure time and meet locale TBD.

[HillSlugger]

Yesterday Divingbiker and I met at Rileys Lock for our 40 mile ride through Poolesville. We have nearly identical bikes, her's is a 2005 Specialized Sequoia Comp and mine is a 2006 Elite. She was even able to explain the "trim" function of the front derraileur.

The ride started out with damp roads under a cloudy sky with gusty winds and very high humidity. A little way in the skies lightened and the roads dried out, but the winds and humidity stayed throughout the ride. We road the last 5 miles with occasional drops of rain.

This became my longest ride ever, but Divingbiker set a nice, moderate pace and I finished with my legs still feeling strong, but with my arms and shoulders starting to ache (still getting used to the new riding position).

The RouteSlip.com ride profile for this ride showed what looked like a really long, nasty hill right after the rest stop but it turned out to a huge distortion of reality. Overall, the route turned out to be a very doable 40 miler, even with the winds.

Thank you Divingbiker for leading me through the route. It was fun to have someone to talk with.

[aicabsolut]

Hey,
I'm a newbie and getting used to my first time on a road bike and with clipless pedals. I'm not ready for traffic yet--not quick enough with my reactions. And I have an issue stopping on pavement without slipping off my carbon-soled/Keo-cleated foot when I put it down.
I'm so far riding a fairly short part of Mt Vernon which is scary on the weekends, but not as scary as getting to the trails through Georgetown!

So when I get a little more skilled, I'd love to go on some rides with people who know where they're going! (or meet up for dinner) I don't think my bike can handle C&O though.

I just moved to DC over the summer (I lived in upper NW, but now live in Foggy Bottom), and I may only be here for the year. I've got lots of friends in the area, but only one other who likes to bike, and her hybrid is a lot slower than my road bike, which makes things difficult.

[7rider]

Hey,
I'm a newbie and getting used to my first time on a road bike and with clipless pedals. I'm not ready for traffic yet--not quick enough with my reactions. And I have an issue stopping on pavement without slipping off my carbon-soled/Keo-cleated foot when I put it down.
I'm so far riding a fairly short part of Mt Vernon which is scary on the weekends, but not as scary as getting to the trails through Georgetown!

So when I get a little more skilled, I'd love to go on some rides with people who know where they're going! (or meet up for dinner) I don't think my bike can handle C&O though.

I just moved to DC over the summer (I lived in upper NW, but now live in Foggy Bottom), and I may only be here for the year. I've got lots of friends in the area, but only one other who likes to bike, and her hybrid is a lot slower than my road bike, which makes things difficult.

Hi! Welcome to D.C.! I think everybody here is probably from "somewhere else", so welcome!

RE: Sliding on the cleats...I've had luck trying to make a habit of putting my heel down first when I unclip. My shoes have a little rough patch on the heel which doesn't slip on pavement like the cleat does.

[HillSlugger]

So when I get a little more skilled, I'd love to go on some rides with people who know where they're going! (or meet up for dinner) I don't think my bike can handle C&O though.

I just moved to DC over the summer (I lived in upper NW, but now live in Foggy Bottom), and I may only be here for the year. I've got lots of friends in the area, but only one other who likes to bike, and her hybrid is a lot slower than my road bike, which makes things difficult.

I would love to see us set up a semi-regular TE-DC road ride, perhaps once a month. If we could get a fairly regular group we could then take turns being the group leader and picking the route.

I've asked the forum administrator to add a Mid-Atlantic section to the "Places to Ride" forum. If they agree, hopefully it will make it easier to organize this sort of thing.

[Kalidurga]

I've asked the forum administrator to add a Mid-Atlantic section to the "Places to Ride" forum. If they agree, hopefully it will make it easier to organize this sort of thing.

You read my mind, Nicole, I was thinking of doing the same thing. I just don't think of our area as being southeast.

Ok, then, if you guys are going to start a regular TE-DC road ride thing, can I ask that you take me under your collective wings and ease me into road riding? I'm not used to traffic, I've had little practice on hills, and my 'cross bike is probably heavier than your road bikes, but I wanna learn to do roads.

I'll definitely continue to suggest C&O rides for those of us who enjoy a natural trail from time to time, though. Gotta have that variety!

And, welcome to aicabsolut!

[Squeaky]

I'm in the DC area and would love to get in on this. I have a couple of people I ride with and maybe we could join you or you could join us. Right now we're getting ready for the Seagull Century. Is anyone else doing that?

[Kalidurga]

Hi Squeaky,

There's also been discussion of this here. I believe a few folks mentioned in that thread that they were riding in the Seagull.