Snow

**owlice** · 12-21-2009, 04:41 PM

I rode on Briggs Chaney decades ago, when I was on a bike ride with a friend of mine from high school -- we were in college by then -- and it's a good thing he was a stronger rider than I, because if I'd caught up with him, I'd probably still be serving time for his murder. It was an extremely dangerous road to be on, one-lane bridge and all, in addition to it being a bit on the challenging side for me, AND it was a blasting hot day. It didn't help that we started the ride at his house, which means I had ridden over there from my house.

So we finally get to what he thought our turnaround point should be... the parking lot overlooking the old country club's swimming pool, which we couldn't enter, of course. He lived because my hands didn't have the strength to wring his neck. Plus, I had no idea where we were nor how to get back to familiar territory.

Of course we had no water with us; my road bike, a hand-me-down from my older brother, didn't even have a cage. Boy, did that pool look inviting! Boy, was I wishing for more strength in my hands!

Looking back on this, I can't believe I did such a ride. (I can say that about every ride I took with him, though that particular one really does strike me as unbelievable, and not just because we both lived through it.) I was an occasional rider only. Even with the improvements since then on Briggs Chaney, there are only parts of the road I'd consider riding on now (those parts bordering my community).

Wow. Memory dump. Sorry!

(The bike was the Panasonic "Bu!!sh!t" bike I finally gave away through Freecycle three or four years ago. I've since seen the bike parked at the Greenbelt Metro; it's quite distinctive!)

**Cataboo** · 12-21-2009, 04:49 PM

Looking back on this, I can't believe I did such a ride. (I can say that about every ride I took with him, though that particular one really does strike me as unbelievable, and not just because we both lived through it.) I was an occasional rider only. Even with the improvements since then on Briggs Chaney, there are only parts of the road I'd consider riding on now (those parts bordering my community).

ha. I should ask you if perhaps you were riding with R. I can describe a lot of my rides with im like that. Did you go to Sandy Springs Friends for high school, by any chance?

If I ride out from his house, I end up starting off the ride on a long slow uphill on Briggs Chaney that I absolutely hate, while sucking down exhaust fumes. So basically from a bit before Peach Orchard all the way up to New Hampshire. Of course, I wouldn't ride the other way on Briggs Chaney to do the stretch from 29 to whatever that road it ends on at all.

**owlice** · 12-21-2009, 05:02 PM

Ah! Maydale. Catriona, yes, it's easy to get lost in those woods. That's farther west on Briggs Chaney than the ride that could have landed me in the big doll house.

Someday-soon-ex-husband and I took a nice long walk in those woods one day a couple of years ago and ended up not only completely lost, but eventually out on a street that was completely unfamiliar to us. We had to ask the driver of a passing car where we were and which direction we should walk to get back to Maydale. I took pictures of milkweed beetles that day; pretty cool-looking bugs.

Maydale has very nice nature programs for children. I remember mucking around in the creek while a bunch of kids, one of them mine, were pulling up stones and catching all sorts of things to show the naturalist running the program.

And no, I didn't go to Sandy Springs Friends! I went to a public high school in PG County. And that stretch from 29 to where Briggs Chaney deadends (into Old Gunpowder) is exactly the stretch of road that inspired my murderous thoughts!

**ny biker** · 12-21-2009, 05:55 PM

Holy cow, I drove into DC tonight. I was shocked at how many streets were unplowed. What the hell have they been doing for three days? And this was in Foggy Bottom/West End, which is a business district.

Luckily my little Prius was up to the task.

p.s. I'm loving all these photos.

**7rider** · 12-21-2009, 06:30 PM

Originally Posted by Catriona

R said if you want to mountain bike over there, you should do it fast before the inner county connector takes it away.

Tomorrow I'm gonna go ski up at ski liberty in the morning, and then probably grab the snowshoes and head up Gambrill mountain or Cacoctin mountain park to walk around if anyone has a snow day.

The ICC will go south [PDF] of Fairland Park.

DH didn't want to go to Whitetail today. He was not looking foward to crowds he was sure would be there.

Looking at the web cams....it didn't look too bad. This weekend, we'll be at Stratton VT - if it doesn't rain.

**Cataboo** · 12-21-2009, 06:52 PM

Originally Posted by 7rider

The ICC will go south [PDF] of Fairland Park.

DH didn't want to go to Whitetail today. He was not looking foward to crowds he was sure would be there.

Looking at the web cams....it didn't look too bad. This weekend, we'll be at Stratton VT - if it doesn't rain.

*shrug* I guess he considers whatever trails run through where the ICC part of fairlands.

I tried to convince my brother we wanted to go to whitetail & not liberty tomorrow, but he'd heard from someone who'd been to liberty today and white tail sunday, that not all of whitetail was open and liberty was all open, etc.

I figure after being out in Colorado last week, both are going to be boring, so I'll ski for a while and then go do something else.

Have fun in Stratton!

**Zen** · 12-21-2009, 07:10 PM

Originally Posted by Catriona

I figure after being out in Colorado last week, both are going to be boring, so I'll ski for a while and then go do something else.

Miss Jet Set is too big for the small town now.

I'll just go tubing with one of my more down to earth friends

**Cataboo** · 12-21-2009, 08:00 PM

Originally Posted by Zen

Miss Jet Set is too big for the small town now.

I'll just go tubing with one of my more down to earth friends

Colorado skiing's kinda dinky compared to Canada... But I coped.

**Zen** · 12-21-2009, 08:08 PM

Pfft! You haven't skied until you've skied on the moon!

**7rider** · 12-22-2009, 02:55 AM

Originally Posted by Catriona

I tried to convince my brother we wanted to go to whitetail & not liberty tomorrow, but he'd heard from someone who'd been to liberty today and white tail sunday, that not all of whitetail was open and liberty was all open, etc.

Yeah, but "all open" at Liberty is still like, what? 3 useable trails on the back?

**Cataboo** · 12-22-2009, 04:16 AM

Originally Posted by 7rider

Yeah, but "all open" at Liberty is still like, what? 3 useable trails on the back?

Precisely why I am going to get bored. Of course, whitetail only really doubles that to 6 trails.

**Cataboo** · 12-22-2009, 05:21 AM

Originally Posted by Zen

Miss Jet Set is too big for the small town now.

I'll just go tubing with one of my more down to earth friends

Mere acknowledgement of the geographical limitations of one of my hobbies. If I was into scuba diving, I couldn't do any of it around here either.

But - since we do a river tubing day every summer, why not a TE winter tubing night & see how many people we can get to come out. Maybe everyone else is more down to earth than me.

**kmehrzad** · 12-22-2009, 08:57 AM

Originally Posted by Catriona

Why not a TE winter tubing night & see how many people we can get to come out. Maybe everyone else is more down to earth than me.

I'm in for the winter tubing night. Would probably bring a friend with me, too.

**HillSlugger** · 12-22-2009, 09:06 AM

Originally Posted by kmehrzad

I'm in for the winter tubing night. Would probably bring a friend with me, too.

When and where?

**divingbiker** · 12-22-2009, 10:46 AM

Originally Posted by Catriona

But - since we do a river tubing day every summer, why not a TE winter tubing night & see how many people we can get to come out. Maybe everyone else is more down to earth than me.

I'll do it, as long as I don't have to drive.

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