DC-area Forum Ride

[Mat]

Hi everyone. Today I ran into Too Tall (Josh) while out cycling. Later he and I exchanged a couple of PMs. One of the things we spoke briefly about was having a DC-area forum ride. Folks have organized rides on the West (Left) Coast and in the NYC region. From my time here at the Salon, I've gathered that there are a lot of folks in the DC-area, but until today I'd never met another Salonista in person. I knew what Josh looked like and what bikes he rode from pictures and references in threads, so when I saw him on the road I immediately recognized him (he knew my screen name but not what I looked like).

I was thinking it'd be really nice to put some more names and faces together and meet some more people through a forum ride, and Josh agreed. One thing he asked me to stress is that this would be, to borrow his words, a "Gilligan's Island ride and not a hammerfest". He was very concerned that folks not feel intimidated to come out and join a ride. That sounded like a great idea to me.

So...would there be any interest from DC-area folks to participate in something like this? I know a lot of people already know one another, but surely there are some who don't, and I know I'd love the opportunity to meet new people and make new friends beyond the virtual/on-line interaction here at the Salon (as wonderful as that is!).

Please post here and let Josh and me know what you think. If there's interest, we can figure out a good date and time. Thanks very much.

[Too Tall]

Fan freakin' tastic. Good to see a friendly face on a tough riding day Matt.
I am all for this and will volunteer to create a fun route that culminates in a location were we can break out a few chair and have a coffee perhaps?
As long as the weather looks good we'll plan on 40'ish miles.
I've got a route in mind.
The route is beautiful, low traffic and we can finish with a BBQ and beer at my placemo ;)

[mschol17]

I'm in.

As long as I can suck Josh's wheel all 40 miles.

[jjmstang]

Count me in

[Blue Jays]

Gilligan's Island Ride?
You're going to pedal bicycles crafted of palm trees and coconuts?
Professor was always good at that stuff.

[wgp]

I'd love to take part also. Never know with weekends and my kids athetic schedules, but I'd hope to be able to make it!

Will stay tuned!

[corko]

I'm interested....

Family constraints 'n all that permitting.... but with enough notice, well I'd be up for it :-)

[ShockTreatment]

Sounds good. Count me in.

[brent]

I'm in...

[scrafford]

I would love to.

[Britishbane]

Interested... if you all can put up with a complete cycling neophyte. I've probably got all of 40 miles done on-road (though many, many more off road) and am slowly getting more comfortable sharing the road with cars and trucks. The gilligan's theme definitely makes me feel more comfortable.

[cement shoes]

I'm in.

[anomaly]

Much jealous

[jmgorman]

I'm in - family permitting, of course.

[Too Tall]

NICE :) Can the band leader put up a few dates so I can plan?

[Mat]

Hey - I've been following this thread closely and am really excited to see such an enthusiastic reception. Hopefully some more folks will join in. I'm really looking forward to this.

I'm flexible and open to just about any date that works for the majority of people, but one thing came to mind as I was thinking about this: Saab2000 had a recent post in which he indicated that he's coming back to the area relatively soon (I think he said sometime in March or April?). It'd be great to have him along if he's interested.

If you're thinking BBQ and beer, that probably means nicer weather than January/February. March/April/May? What do folks think? Something later than this? Maybe have a rain date in case the weather doesn't cooperate?

We don't have any kids but I know that for folks with children their sports activities and school activities and other stuff has a big influence on how families plan their days. So maybe the ride should go late morning? Or is earlier better?

I'm very happy to do whatever's necessary to help organize this but I'm a little hesitant to throw a date out there because I don't want to presume to know what's best for other people, especially people I have yet to meet and people with families or other similar obligations.

Would you all mind please suggesting some dates and we can see what's best for as many as possible? For me just about any date in the spring works (NAHBS weekend is out, though that's in February, and TT's spring training camp in April are obviously no-go dates).

I feel like I'm punting here a bit so please forgive me. I just want to do what's best for as many folks as possible.

Thanks very much.

[jmgorman]

It will never happen if we try to accomodate the perfect time for everyone. I say we pick a day several weeks/months in the future so that we can all plan on it (and make the necessary family arrangements). What does everyone think about the first weekend of April (3rd or 4th)?

[robin3mj]

I can do pretty much any wknd from here to July.

[Britishbane]

It will never happen if we try to accomodate the perfect time for everyone. I say we pick a day several weeks/months in the future so that we can all plan on it (and make the necessary family arrangements). What does everyone think about the first weekend of April (3rd or 4th)?

+1

First weekend of April works for me.

[Mat]

Jmgorman: You're right, of course. My apologies. I just felt a bit of trepidation making the first suggestion for something like this.

April 4th (Sunday) is a bit better for me than April 3 (Saturday); it's my sister's birthday and I think we're driving to Philly that Saturday afternoon to have dinner with her. But we're back that night, so Sunday's fine for me if folks are amenable. But if more folks prefer Saturday, I'll make that work too. Maybe we can just meet up earlier. No worries either way.

This is sounding great.

Thanks.