***This post was edited **4/10/13** to reflect the 7:40am start time at Capitol Hill with G-town pick-up at 8:00 and edit other mistakes. ***

When: Saturday mornings, clip in and depart from Capitol Hill at 7:40am (sharp), rolling pick up in Georgetown at 8:00.
Where: Ride departs from 8th and Penn SE at 7:40 and rolls through Georgetown for a pick-up at Wisconsin and M NW at 8:00am. We roll through quickly so be ready to jump on at 8:00 sharp.
Pace: The lead group typically rides at an average pace of 20-23mph. Chase pack usually sticks to a steady 20mph. We're working hard to also get a regular pace group of 16-19mph. If you are in this camp, please post to the thread to make sure there are other riders. We need your help to establish this speed group!
Details: This is *not* a no-drop ride. Use this thread to post your preferred pace and distance to confirm that there will be other riders going at your pace. The first couple of weeks we'll make sure that everyone is comfortable with how things work so it will be a good time to check out the ride.
Distance: Typically, 40, 56, 80 or 100 miles. The minimum distance is 40 and on any given week you'll have people continuing on past 40 based on their training needs. Post your ride goals to this thread to see what people are planning.
Routes: These are the typical routes we follow with occasional variations to mix it up. Variations are generally decided on the ride. All rides include a rolling pick up in Georgetown at Wisconsin and M NW.
Cap. Hill to Great Falls (40 mi) »
Cap. Hill to the "T" at Seneca (58 mi) »
Cap. Hill to Poolesville (74 mi) »
Cap. Hill to Sugarloaf (98 mi) »
Group Ride: some paceline work, some hills, some re-group breaks.
Required: Helmet, flat repair kit and a basic knowledge of the ride route in the event of separation.
General Rules: No riding in aerobars in the pack unless you are pulling in front or slightly off the back. Call out pot holes, obstructions, cars, everything. No matter how obvious you think it is. Don't roll through a stop light and lead the group into a dangerous scenario - Slow up, regroup, and don't encourage people to blindly follow you into oncoming traffic. If you're new to the ride, don't be intimidated to ask questions. We may not always appear very chipper early on a Saturday morning but we all want a safe, fun ride and are happy to answer questions. For a comprehensive list of ride rules, check out our Rules of Cycling Etiquette.
Weather Policy: Check latest post for determining factors. Check weather.com "hourly forecast" for 8am Sat in zip 20003 (use the "feels like" temp).

IF you drop the ride on purpose PLEASE tell someone (preferably the ride leaders) so we don't go looking for you. Not only is it nice but it is REQUIRED. It is a group ride and we do our best to monitor how many riders we have- we don't leave people behind and we hold up at top of climbs to re-group.

This Sat. March 5 the ride is ON. But check the weather because it might rain.

8:10 clip in for the Cap Hill group and 8:30 pick up in G-town.

Hey Travis--I changed the link on the "Regularly Schedule Rides" page to refer to this thread--is that correct? Let me know!

--Abby

The other "required" items should be "Nutrition, Fluids, ID, and Money".

Nothing like bringing exactly what you need and then having to give away half of it because someone thought they could do 100 miles on a gel and half a bottle of water in the middle of July...not that it has ever happened...

Also, here is the general overall route out to Sugarloaf (95-100miles) and back as well as the Poolesville route (70+ miles). All the rides follow this general route for an out and back and all variations are pretty much derived from this route.

Sugarloaf (98 miles) - http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/29052074

Poolesville (78 miles) http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/21729244

The "T" (56 miles) - http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/29755360

Great Falls and Back (35-40 miles) http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/29755662

Link doesn't open unless I'm friends with you Chad.

Should work now.

I hope I remember how to do this whole cycling thing.

Abby -- Thanks for making the change!

Chad -- I'll quit bumming gels off of you. I didn't know you minded.

Any good hints on Parking around 8th and Penn on a Saturday Morning?

You can generally find parking on South Carolina between 8th and 10th. These are Zone 6 residential spots and I think it's only 2 hour (possibly 3) on Saturdays.

Where are you coming from?

-Travis

Hooking up to this link, thanks...hope to be out Saturday!

I'm in for tomorrow.
What is the go/no-go temp?

I'm coming in from the Arlington/Shirlington area....

I'm in for at least 40 tomorrow. See you in Cap Hill.

I'm in. Anyone meeting in Georgetown?

There will most likely be some people there but we'll catch you behind the bank on the NE corner of M and Wisconsin. See you at 8:30.

I'm in for tomorrow, probably start with the group on cap hill. Is the ride still happening even with high probability of rain?

I'll join in G-town too. Anyone else interested in a 16-19mph pace?

I'll be at Gtown and looking to do 40 @ 16-20 mph ... I have not ridden in ages! :-)
And yes, I'll have my gels n' stuff.

Glad we'll have a couple of pace groups going!

If you're sort of new to the group, the main group typically hangs a right at MacArthur and Mountain Gate. That gives a couple of good hillz to the ride.

If we get separated, just continue straight on MacArthur and you'll make up a couple of minutes on the front group by skipping the hill. Hang out at the top of the hill at Falls and MacArthur and we'll see you there.

I'm guessing that most of us are a little rusty on the bike so these first few weeks will be a good opportunity to get new people acquainted with the ride so please come on out. It's no fun to ride alone.