Cycling in No. Va/DC Metro Area

[Zen]

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.

[7rider]

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

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

[Zen]

We're just working on spelling for now

[madscot13]

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

[ny biker]

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.

[aicabsolut]

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.

[ny biker]

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.

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.