CHARLES TOWN, WEST VIRGINIA It has been a long time since I have ridden in this area. Rather than spend all day in the pool, I thought I would do a version of the three-state ramble which I have done in the past. This one would be clockwise. I left Bethany’s place and headed out […]
ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND Three years ago I was introduced to a cancer group. I was a “pedal pal” for Patrick Sheridan and then two years ago, for Anthony Venida. I “guided” (term used loosely) the 2013 and 2014 versions of Team Portland through western Pennsylvania. Last year some of those same alumni invited me on a […]
ASHBURN, VIRGINIA You never know what awaits on the open road. Or trail. Today was a mostly meaningless ride other than to find peace on a bike. I planned to head west from Reston on the W&OD. Three young guys, kids, rode up to me and asked if I would pump up a tire for […]
WOODBRIDGE, VIRGINIA There’s not a Top Ten ride in here. There’s no great performance rides in here although the day after Christmas I had a personal best in D.C. And I had one on the W&OD near Leesburg. But riding this month wasn’t about performance. Ashburn, Va. To left turn or not to left turn. […]
ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND On June 14 I was riding on Berthoud Pass with Bradley Allen, climbing on the lower section, tears in my eyes. Then I knew I had to have a Ride of Silence for Jamie Roberts. She had been killed the day before and I was numbed by the news. The logistics were relatively […]
RESTON, VIRGINIA It’s local. I ride on portions of it all the time so I never write about it. It is the Washington & Old Dominion Rail Trail, which runs from Arlington Co., near Shirlington, to Purcellville in Loudoun Co. Sign for motorists as they enter Virginia from the Key Bridge in Georgetown Sign is […]
THURMONT, MARYLAND It was hot. And I was worried. Last year I cramped by Mile 9. I did go out hard last year and posted my best time on the seven mile “warmup” climb from Thurmont up through the Catoctin Mountains. But today it was already humid and I wanted to pedal slowly. It worked. […]
TREXLERTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA Well, it’s not really the Trexlertown Turnpike. I began the day hoping that my sister, Betsy, and I would take our dad to the Great Allegheny Passage at Rockwood and ride about 12 miles to Fort Hill. But he said he was too tired to ride (he is 85) and I had kept […]
SWEET HOME, OREGON This ride was simple. Find someone’s ride on RidewithGPS.com. Download it to my Garmin. Follow it. Improvise at will. I am as Pennsylvanian as they come with all my ancestors of at least five generations having been born in Pennsylvania. With one exception. My grandmother, Ruth Ann (States) Lowmaster was born in […]
ASHLAND, OREGON I have dreamed for years of visiting Crater Lake but it’s pretty isolated for this East Coaster. But when I started planning this trip I knew I could visit the lake. And not visit but to ride around it. Both Crater Lake and Alex Shepherd are in the southern part of Oregon. Alex […]
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