LBC Rides from the Past - September 2006

Suburban Urban Assault (A) Sep 2
The only assault this morning was from the weather. The tropical winds blew and leaves flew. I canceled the ride via email 45 minutes before the ride start. However, I went to the Quality Inn parking lot just in case someone braved the elements to ride. No one showed up. As I left to go home, it started raining in Ernesto. Riders: Mike Lutz (leader).

Ice Cream ½ Century (B) Sep 2
Rained out. Riders: Jeff DeLong (leader)

Ice Cream Lovers Ride (C) Sep 2
Ride was cancelled due to rain and high winds from Hurricane Ernesto. Riders: Rachel Kreider (leader)

Warwick Tour (A) Sep 3
This one is for Barry. Cloudy skies and damp roads did nothing to deter riders from showing up today. I guess everyone had cabin fever from the rain of the previous two days. 14 riders, including Greg Stoeber and Erin Malvey who are visiting from Long Island, took to the roads right behind the "B" group which also left from Warwick High School. We over took the "B" group about two and a half miles into the ride. After making a left onto Fairview Rd, Leo decided to start his breakaway from the peloton only to miss the turn onto Evans Rd. He was not seen again until the end of the ride. The group stayed together until the 31.5 mile mark. At that point I did not have enough legs left to keep my 30 lb commuter bike in the group, and they slowly pulled away from me up Woods Dr. I pulled into the finish a couple of minutes after the rest of the group. There was lots of gravel and debris on the road do to the wind and rain from the day before, but there were no spills or flat tires. The group avg. was 19 mph. Riders: Damon Schlott (leader), Ken Lessans, Warren Buch, Mike Lutz, Don Kulp, Scott Wagner, Barry Lavender, Mark Buckwalter, Curtis Palmer, Kyle Awkerman, and non-LBC members Joe Hess, Leo Rosenberger, Greg Stoeber, and Erin Malvey.

Warrior's Revenge (B) Sep 3
Riders: Jack Bingham (leader), Candae Deen (sweep), Roger Sheaffer, Rich Wagner, Brian Sowatsky, Dave Kessler, Ron Irvine, Chris Laudo, Michelle Bingham, Bob Colton, Bill Ressel, Sally Higgins, and non-LBC members Ed Wiest and Ron Jackson.

New Holland (C) Sep 3
A nice cool morning for a ride after Saturday's rainout. We stayed together until there was about a two mile section of fresh tarred and chipped. Three of us were more cautious across the loose stones and thus never caught up to the rest of the group. Riders: Lloyd Melhorn (leader), Ray Landis, Jeff Kosnett, Debbie Kosnett, Mendy Sharir, Steve Schmohl, Tom Mellinger, Lou Gray, Lew Hershey, and Pam Williams.

Raptuous Ride (D) Sep 2
Yes, we needed the rain! The leader showed and didn't need the rain gear. It was a "no show." Riders: Harry Campbell (leader).

Another D-lightful Ride (D) Sep 3
Nice 60º+ day feeling a little like fall. A fun ride. Riders: Jim Payton (leader), Linda Wagner, Steve Snyder, Karen Drawbaugh, John Rohrkemper, Harry Campbell, and Pam Williams.

Labor Day Lament (B) Sep 4
After a rainy start to the Labor Day weekend, we had a beautiful cool morning for the assault on Highville Hill. Despite the best efforts of your truly we broke up into several groups, early in the ride. The majority of the group seemed to coalesce just prior to the climb up Highville. Most of the group made it up although several able bodied seaman were seen tacking back and forth across the road. David even did his best impression of Laugh In's Artie Johnson when he missed a shift and fell over sideways in the middle of the hill. The leader and 6 others finished with an average speed just over 16 mph. Riders: Dirk Suereth (leader), David Ehrgood, Erin Mulvoy, Paul Yatabe, Andy Smith, Zach Weidler, Mark Ware, Chris Laudo, Gil Linde, Jude Sharp, Stephanie Ryders, Jesse Eisenbise, Christimas Brhder, and non-LBC members Seth B? and Paul Swishep.

Pretzel Logic (C) Sep 4
The weather was perfect for a ride except for a little headwind. Great group! Had a gravel road that a few rode, but most circled back. The cue sheet called for a loop anyway-no harm done. The group took one wrong turn, but that just proved the ride was correctly named. Made for an interesting ride. Terrific fun for everyone. Riders: Florence Good (leader), John Cardos (sweep), Mendy Sharier, Art Leid, Diana Rollin, Bill Ressel, Candae Deen, Dean Pascal, Randy Haluck, Marilyn Gelsinger, Dave Kessler, Rich Wagner, Garry Musser, Kevin Lunz, ?? (unknown), Lore and Haeuh Jung, and non-LBC members, Willard Good, Brent Wily, and Wanda Good.

Coleman Ice Cream Ride (Ice Cream) Sep 6
The weather turned sunny and warm after rain and clouds the day before. The ride leader shortened the ride in order to get back before dark; however, we were doing so well we added some of those miles back on at the end of our ride. Riding through Greenfield was beautiful with lots of people walking along the trail and ducks, geese and swans. Riders: Janielle Willemin (leader), Ellis & Liz Beattie and John Cardos.

Throttles & Bottles #11 (B) Sep 9
Patchy fog started burning off before the ride so it turned out to be a nice morning to ride. But soon, the leader lost two of the riders where they went ahead and got off course, but were still in sight. The leader attempted to chase them down while the others took the optional detour to the Lancaster County Winery, but the lead riders were soon out of sight, and not to be seen again. So the leader decided to return to the rest of the riders back on course, but only found one remaining at that time. We headed off to catch up with the others which had been riding at a slower pace especially on the uphill climbs. But we never caught them. Then fearing that they, too, may have taken a wrong turn after the winery, the leader decided to backtrack to search for them. Dave agreed to continue on course toward Strasburg just in case they were somehow still ahead of us and would call if he found them. It soon became apparent, however, that the leader had soon lost all his riders...but I got an extra 8 or so miles out of it with all the chasing and return trips. Dave eventually called to say all riders made it back to Strasburg after all and only a slight detour for the first 2 that got off course. The other three were just ahead of us all along; able to keep a very strong pace even through the larger climbs approaching Strasburg—Bunker Hill. That was quite unexpected since one of the riders was forced to climb in the big ring since her front derailleur failed. Impressive! Strong rider! Riders: Tom Barron (leader) Stephen Ransing, Dave Kessler, Chris Laudo, George Daily, Sam Spicer and Tammy Anderson.

Roots Auction Ride (C) Sep 9
After admitting to the group that this was my first time to lead a LBC ride, I proceeded to lose two or three people! The first one apparently dropped out after less than a mile but I didn't discover it till we got to Stauffers for our little break. After Karen tried several times to reach him on his cell phone, we spent a little time trying to decide whether we should wait around. I had visions of someone lying knocked out in a field somewhere. Fortunately we eventually reached him and he was okay. I was never clear on what actually happened, tire problems (maybe) and he decided to turn back. Well, it also did not occur to me until we were ready to start the ride, that since I had just gotten a new bike, I didn't have a computer yet, so I had no way of knowing if I was going to be able to stick to the posted speed! After losing one person, I decided that the best way to stick to the posted speed was to ride near the back! We came in at 13.3 according to Karen's computer so we were pretty close. But we ended up losing a few more people who decided they knew the route without looking. One of them was saved but the other one (or two?) we never found. Fortunately, there is this little rule that if you ride faster than the leader, you're on your own! :-) I got boosted from a score of C to a B- (or was it a B+?) for my first ride according to some of the kind gentlemen who rode. We had a good time and the weather was great. We had a nice sized group as well. Ceci Good (leader), Judy Hurlbut (sweep), Rich Wagner, Ray Landis, Diana Rollin, Bill Ressel, Jack Bingham, Karen Drawbaugh, Jim Payton, Todd Henley, Dean Pascal, Tom Horst, Janielle Willemin, Tom Mellinger, Carol Weisser, Bill Weisser, Ritch Mason(?), Kevin Lunz, Barb Koppenhafer, Greg Mayfield, Julius Goslin, Dianne Goslin, Steve Mentzer and Beth Hendrix.

Sundae Evening Special (D) Sep 9
Fog, the Lititz Parade, and the Peanut Tour conspired to make it a light turnout. The fog was gone by 9:25 and Chris Willard and I had a great ride. Chris is a new member from Gap. She was fine company for a ride that got back in time to see the whole parade. Riders: John Cardos (leader), Chris Willard (sweep).

Giro d'Earl (B) Sep 10
Riders: Jack Bingham (leader), Steve Mazeski, Michelle Bingham, Warren Buch, Bob Colton, Dave Harris, Matt Harris, Sue Burckhardt, Jeff ?, Bill ?, Dave Kessler, Chris Laudo, Bill & Nancy Ambler, Scott Wagner, Sally Higgins, Tim Good, and non-LBC members Mike Graybill, Tammy Anderson, and Paul Swisher.

Farmland Meander (C) Sep 10
The leader exceeded the advertised "C" pace; however, Commissioner Campbell stated that there would be no penalty since the leader was the last rider back to the parking lot! The leader's pace (14.1 did cause one problem . . . after riding in the dust of all other riders for several miles, the leader decided to reclaim the lead by taking a short cut. Unfortunately, he neglected to inform the "official" sweep who was both observant and conscientious. This brought the ride to a halt until the leader was located. After some verbal harassment, the ride proceeded. My apology to the sweep! Riders: John Furry (leader), Karen Drawbaugh (sweep), Dean Pascal, Richard Drake, Steve Snyder, Jim Payton, Tonya Nevling, Ray Landis, Tom Mellinger, Harry Campbell, Pearl DeLong, Jeff DeLong, Carol Weisser, Rick Shoup, Pam Klingensmith, Bill Weisser, Kevin Lunz, and Greg Mayfield.

15 Mile Ride (D) Sep 10
It was a nice day for a ride. It was a good group. We all stayed together! We had some laughs and a really good time! The leader missed a turn early but sweep Tony got us back on track. Then my sister Linda tried to get me off track again! She should've known I'm already screwed up without her help! Riders: Jim Drumm (leader), Tony LaRosa (sweep), Rich Wagner, Anne Schleef, Nancy Willard, Chris Willard, Jonas Fisher, Linda Wagner, John Mentzer, and non-LBC member Jon Singer.

Ice Cream Topped with Lititz (Ice Cream) Sep 13
A rain out! Riders: John Cardos (leader) Tour de Marietta (C) Sep 16 9:00, Sky cloudy & threatening with ten riders ready to ride. Then the rain started and a few packed it in, by 9:30 we were still talking and the rest decided to call it a day and go home and wait for dryer weather. Leader was battling the flu bug and was glad to go home and go back to bed. ( I was going to lead this ride from my car, that's how bad I felt). Miata Leader: Judy Flowers, Riders in wait: David Ehrgood, Thomas Barron, Rich Wagner, Joseph Simoson, Mary Stadden, Roger Sheaffer, Ralph Anttonen, Dave Kessler, Ceci Good, and Deborah Chu.

Middle Creek-S Mtn and Reuben’s Challenge (A) Sep 16
Approximately 12 people stood in the rain and waited for sunshine. At 9:00 rides were cancelled and scheduled for next day, Sunday at 9:30. Neil Gussman and Marlin Hess did Middle Creek-South Mountain in the rain. Brent Kametz and Marty McKeon did Reuben’s Challenge in the rain, which is an amazing feat. When doing a steep climb a biker may stand in order to have extra torque in the down stroke. That extra torque creates slippage on wet roads and the biker may stop and fall. Brent told me he was seated on some parts of the climb which keeps weight and traction on rear wheel. When standing he kept a smooth power output and steady cadence. Good tread on tires helped. Next day (Sunday) approximately 12 people arrived in nice weather. Ken Lessans said he and most everybody did Reuben’s Challenge. At one point on a steep climb, Mike Whitaker went faster which made the other bikers appear slow and weak. Reuben Weaver (leader) and someone did Middle Creek-South Mountain.

Kreiders Ice Cream Ride (D) Sep 16
Rained out! Riders: John Renard (leader)

Stackstown Spin (A) Sep 17
We had 2 "A" rides scheduled for Sunday, with the rainout on Saturday, and the turnout was somewhat smaller than usual. We still had 7 riders show and we were on our way by 8:33. I normally pre-ride the course before hand, but it didn't work out this time, which turned out to be a mistake. There was a detour on Strickler Rd, and instead of turning around, we elected to carry our bikes for about 50 yards over the dirt road. When we reached the macadam part, our cleats were full of mud and stones, and took some time to clean, before we continued on. Don and Ken wanted to be back by a certain time for other commitments, so the push was on. The rest of the ride went smooth, the pace around 19mph. Riders: Warren Buch (leader), Damon Schlott, Don Kulp, Carl (it's your birthday) Landis, Ken Stadden, non-LBC members, Bart Torre, Ken Wareham.

ARC Second Loop (Tandem) Sep 17
The temperature was in the low 80s. The wind was calm. They sky was sunny. So where were the bikers? No other tandems or singles made it to the start for a beautiful ride. At the end of the ride, the seldom seen Brenda Baker walked over with a flat tire. She bought my spare tube, repaired her flat, and rode home. Riders: Gary Musser (leader), Jan Birch (sweep).

Chickies Creek Long (B) Sep 17
It must have been serendipity. Otherwise, what are the chances that two ride leaders would not only pick the same route on the same date at exactly the same time, but also show up wearing identical jerseys? All that, without any advance communication between us! Rachel Kreider and I led our C and B groups out from East Pete on a near-perfect Sunday afternoon on a "Half All-Class Club Ride." It turned out to be a great opportunity for everyone to find their own pace-mates within the combined groups. The bulk of the B gang finished at about 16, with two young riders from the C group (two brothers, sorry I don't know your names!) easily hanging with us to the end - great riding, guys! Riders: Candae Deen (leader), Rick Shoup, Ceci Good, Tom Wiley, Laurie Amway, Patrick O'Donnell, Jim Drumm, Robin Smith, Craig Shreiner, and Andy Smith.

Chickies Creek (Long) (C) Sep 17
It was the first warm, sunny day after a rainy week and everyone was ready to ride. Welcome to Tom, Peter & Chris who were first time riders with the club. Tom & Peter took off after the B riders after 5 miles and we didn't see them again. After making a brief stop at Sheetz, 8 of the original group finished the ride together. Riders: Rachel Kreider (leader), Scott Jones (sweep), Harry Campbell, Tom & Peter Hauser, Rose & Mark Ward, Linda & Rich Wagner, Mendy Sharir, Doug Stark, Tom Wiley, Henry Manning, Chris Nashner and Carol Weisser.

Chicken Barn Ride (B) Sep 17
After a dismal Saturday with rain and overcast skies, Sunday morning was a picture perfect day for biking. Two bikers attempted to help the leader with her very tangled chain and the end result was to just remove the chain and the leader aborted the ride. Thanks for your help gentlemen! I'm sure the ride was fast. Rumor has it that Mary and Candae also aborted the ride early but with good reason. Mary flatted a tire. Between the two of them, the tire got changed. Good going! Candae had an afternoon ride to lead, so all was not lost on such a sunny, mild day. Riders: Sylvia Newcomer (leader), waved the following riders off: Mark Ward, Bill Ambler, Rich Wagner, Jim Drumm, Andy Charles, John Donati, Curtis Palmer, Roger Sheaffer, Dave Shephard, Kyle Awkerman, Craig Shreiner, Dave Kessler, Candae Deen, Mary Stadden, with late comer, Diane Lausman along with non-LBC members: Harry Fox, Mike Graybill, B.M. White and R (or P) Morinia?sp.

Intermediate Picnic Ride (C) Sep 17
Beautiful late summer day-perfect for riding bike. No unusual incidents to report. Riders: Gary Musser (leader), Barb Koppenhafer, Karen Drawbaugh, Richard Drake, Kevin Lunz, Steve Schmohl, Michael Hauck, Diana Rollin, Bill Ressel, Jim Payton, Jim Hurst, Carol Weisser, Ray Landis, Greg Mayfield, Kay Knepper, Jeff DeLong, Pearl DeLong, and Howard Gerstein.

Annapolis Ride (D) Sep 17
We had a beautiful visit to Annapolis. The weather was perfect and trail was clear. There were mostly first-timers on this trip which made even more fun. As usual, Annapolis was filled with amazing yachts and this time there was a car show with cars ranging from $15,000 to $800,000. Kim and Matt must have enjoyed themselves because they stayed to look around when we were ready to leave-hope they made it home okay. Riders: John Renard (leader), Amy Mitchell, Gary Ballina, Pam & Chris Klingensmith, Harold Baughman, Kim Lausch and Matt London.

New Witness Tree Trek (All Class) Sep 23
Riders: Damon Schlott (sweep), David Ehrgood, Steve Ransing, Steve Young, Tim Good, Lew Hershey, Rick Shoup, Mark Buckwalter, Debbie Pelletier, Hope Edwards, Chris Nashner, Dave Hertz, Chris Laudo, Matt London, Mike Zuran, Marlin Hess, Paul Smeltz, Jeff DeLong, Pearl DeLong, Tom Mellinger, Amy Mitchell, Gary Ballina, Curt Stager, Scott Wagner, Brian Mitchell, Steve Schmohl, Heidi Hendrix, Andy Hessler, Leo Rosenberger, Randy Haluck, Bill Ressel, and David Hirneisen, and non-LBC members Matt Wiggins and Rebecca Shepherd.

Giro d'Earl (A) Sep 24
Riders: Damon Schlott (leader), John Donati, Curtis Palmer, Mark Buckwalter, Don Kulp, Scott Wagner, Leo Rosenberger, and Jon Lyons. Galen Hall (B) Sep 24 Riders: Don Whitehead (leader), Craig Shreiner, Tim Good, Steve Mazeski, Roger Sheaffer, Matt London, Brian Mitchell, Barry Lavender, and non-LBC members Joseph Simora, Kristine Mehok, and Tammy Anderson.

Historic Lititz (B) Sep 24
The threat of rain must have kept riders from coming for the ride. It was a good ride for the three of us with only a little bit of drizzle. Riders: Lloyd Melhorn (leader), Harold Baughman, and Curt Stager.

Thursday Evening Special (B) Sep 24
It was one of those iffy days... would it rain, or would it not? Depending what TV station weather report you listened to, the odds where anywhere from 30-60% that we'd find ourselves in a downpour. I'll confess, I was hoping no one would show so I could go home, make popcorn, and finish reading a book. But several eager folks soon appeared, so off we rode to New Holland. Two miles into the ride, we had a full encounter with that 30-60% range, and spent the next 10 miles drenched and riding carefully on wet roads. Fortunately there were no flats or spills. Hey, once you're wet, it actually feels kinda refreshing! Yeah, kinda. We maintained a 16+ average to the Sheetz at the half-way point, even with the cautious riding. I thought that was pretty respectable until Lew Hershey reminded me that we'd had some assistance from a nice tail wind. Uh-oh. I had forgotten about that other prediction: winds from15-30 mph. As we headed back to the start, we were out of the rain but into the wind. My soggy cue sheet even dried out enough that I could finally flip it. Jim, Ron and I took a little scenic route on Hunsecker Road after a wrong turn near the finish. We arrived in the parking lot just as Lloyd Melhorn's C group returned from Lititz. Turns out they had ridden outside that 30-60% chance of precipitation: not a drop of rain for them! Figures... Riders: Kent Shirk, Lew Hershey, Bruce Anderson, Jim Forster, Rich Williams, Andy Smith, Jane Zintak, Candae Deen (leader), and non-member Ron Mumma.

Ride to Silver Spring (C) Sep 24
The rain didn't happen, although the forecast predicted rain. It turned out to be almost perfect riding weather. Only two riders showed-up. I don't know if the reason for the low turn-out was the weather forecast or that someone who doesn't like hills inconsiderately scheduled an impromptu ride at the last minute on the web site. Even though the ride is classified as hilly there is only one moderately difficult hill. Anyhow, the three of us had a wonderful ride. Riders: Michael Hauck (leader), Scott Jones and Kevin Lunz.

Strausstown Ride (A) Sep 30
Twenty-four people enjoyed the mountain scenery and low-traffic roads. Neil and Eileen Crone went farther than the ride by using Rt. 183 to get to the top of Blue Mountain. We had a sunny start but clouds and a bit of rain came at the halfway point. The rain eventually stopped and no one got soaked. I got free paint for the road arrows. Arrows were less visible than last year. I plan to return to high-gloss paint next year. Someone said bikers over 50 and women tend to avoid longer hilly rides such as Strausstown. That theory has not been proven on this ride. This popular ride has been scheduled by LBC several times this year. Also, throughout the year, bicyclists do the ride by themselves or in small groups. On August 26, I joined a church-related bicycle club which followed the course exactly. Approximately 14 people started the ride soon after sunrise and ate a mid-morning breakfast at the truck stop near Strausstown. Riders: Reuben Weaver (leader), Tim Good, Florence Good, Debbie Kirchner, Lew Hershey, Kathy Brugh, Kyle Awkerman, Roger Sheaffer, Eileen & Neil Crone, Craig Shreiner, Kristine Mehok, Damon Schlott, Ed Fearnow, Marty McKeon, George Metzler, Mark Buckwalter, Marlin Hess, Brian Sowatsky, Ken Lessans, Neil Fickes, C. ?, Heidi Hendrix, and Gail Burkholder.

CVHS-NH-Airport 3 (B) Sep 30
A cool morning and flat terrain lead to a rather spirited pace right out of the gate. The group hung together for the entire ride and everyone seemed comfortable with the slightly faster than advertised 18pmh pace. Riders: Sylvia Newcomer (leader), Dirk Suereth, Paul Smeltz, Mark Ward, Andy Hessler, March T. Diem, Dan Newcomer, and non-LBC members Bart G. Torre, Bart J. Torre, and Matt Dishart.

Roots Auction & Return (C) Sep 30
It was the first brisk morning of the fall. Arm warmers, leg warmers and even the odd long fingered gloves could be seen among the 20 cyclists. Your scribe quickly (and correctly) ascertained the group would break into a number of groups and after the warning about Airport Rd. we were underway. Trying to adhere to the advertised 13 MPH pace, I was firmly established at the front of the last group. Along the route, we encountered a very large number of runners doing a ½ marathon. Near the end, Nancy had a flat but no pump. Your leader endeavored to repair said tire but managed to do so for only a few miles. With 3 miles to go to the end, Nancy flatted again. This time, Janielle volunteered to get her car to bring Nancy back to Catholic. Nancy & I walked the route until Janielle met us. While walking, we were treated to a vintage Corvette caravan. Riders: John Mullineaux (leader), Rose Ward, Ray Landis, Rich Wagner, Rick Shoup, Dave & Lisa Heck, Diana Rollin, Bill Ressel, Mendy Sharir, Harry Campbell, Nancy Youst, Tom Mellinger, Jim Drumm, Amy Mitchell, Gary Ballina, Chris Mayfield, Greg Mayfield, Matt London, Janielle Willemin, Bill Ambler

Karen’s Ride (D) Sep 30
Riders: Karen Drawbaugh (leader), Tony LaRosa (sweep), Chris Willard, Anne Schleef, Dottie Sheehy, Pam Klingensmith, Barb Koppenhafer, and Brian Winn.