Ajit Baid

Ride leaders are the heart and soul of Potomac Pedalers, and without them we wouldn't have a club.  In each issue of our e-mail blast we feature one of our terrific ride leaders.

Ajit Baid has been active throughout his life, but when he set his foot on a road bike in 2008, he knew right away that he was going to love it and pursue it for many years to come. He started riding in PA with his Swedish friend - Hawk, who taught him some of the basic tricks of being a successful and safe road biker. Since then, Ajit has continued to progress from a slow C rider to a B/BB rider.

Ajit moved to the Washington DC area for work in 2010. Soon after his move, he started looking for group rides and found Potomac Pedalers through the Rockville Bike Facebook page. Since then, Ajit has been frequently riding with the club. He has made several friends through group rides and in fact decided to give back to the community by volunteering to lead rides. He volunteered for the first time with the club in Back Roads Century ride (100-CC) as a co-lead in 2012.

While riding in his neighborhood, Ajit saw many bikers and was intrigued by the fact that there was no ride which started from the Rockville/Gaithersburg area over the weekend. In late winter, when most people were bringing their bikes out of hibernation, he submitted a weekly Saturday ride starting from Thomas Wootton High School (TWHS) at 8 AM. He recalls that three people showed up for the first ride when the temperatures were in the low 30's. The second week, there were eight. "As we hit warmer days in April, the attendance swelled to 20 plus," he recalls. The average attendance at the TWHS Saturday 8 AM ride is about 25. Due to the proximity of the ride start location to I-270, people from MD, VA, and Washington DC frequently come to the TWHS Saturday ride.

Ajit loves to try new routes and is inspired by the dozens of emails he receives over the course of the week - some inquiries, a few RSVP's, many thanks and appreciation. Since the group has become large, the ride has been divided into two ride classes. Ajit leads the B ride which averages around 16mph and the typical route is about 40-45 miles. His co-lead, Bill leads the CC ride which averages around 13 mph and a typical route length is 35-40 miles.

Ajit typically rides twice per week. He intends to continue leading this ride every Saturday morning and welcomes everybody who wants to come and have some fun filled exercise. Like most of us bikers, he says, "his best time of the day is when he is on a bike."

Ajit lives in Rockville, with his wife and two children. He runs his own company where he advocates for patients.  

Registration: Not required - just show up

Allenberry, PA - August 9-11 - Click here to register

Our final scheduled weekend event for 2013 is in Allenberry, PA, August 9-11.   The weekend based at the Allenberry Resort & Playhouse in Boiling Springs, Pa, which  performs a play Saturday night - "Annie" this year.  Darwin Roberts and Cheryl Phipps will be our hosts and will lead rides over the rolling hills and picturesque rural Pennsylvania countryside. 

And remember, Potomac Pedalers members receive discounts on all weekend Club events, so be sure to join our club before registering.

We're starting a new ride series for beginners.  If you're new to cycling or haven't ridden a bike in several years, come for a pleasant, easy ride on Beach Drive to Pierce Mill on July 27th at 10:00 am. The ride will be 10 miles on bike trails or on the car-free section of Beach Drive. The ride leader, Linda Borst-Kolko, will make sure no one gets left behind.

After the ride, an optional lunch can be enjoyed together at Parkway Deli. 

The ride will start at Candy Cane City, 8200 Meadow Brook Lane, Chevy Chase, MD. We'll meet at the playground across from the pedestrian bridge on Beach Drive.  Helmets required! 

Click here for ride details    

Nokesville Park Pavilion

by Mike Divine

Come out to the Nokesville, Virginia countryside on September 1 for a day of riding and fun ending with a barbecue/picnic open to members and prospective members. Through the years this event has grown into one of Potomac Pedalers' largest events, regularly drawing over 200 riders of all ages and abilities. As always, it's open to everyone - new, old and nonmembers.  

This is a multi-class ride with something for everyone, with rides from 11-51 miles, covering classes from A to D. It's a great way to meet people who are not in your usual ride class. After the ride we will gather at the pavilion for food. We are stressing going "green" at this picnic by encouraging lots of recycling and reuse. We'll provide main dishes, drinks, plates, napkins, cups, utensils, and condiments but feel free to bring your own reusable plates or utensils to keep the trash down. As always, everyone is encouraged to bring a dish - salad, chips, other side dishes or desserts - to share. The potluck is usually excellent!  

We hope for a lovely day although this is a rain or shine event (and the pavilion is large and quite nice). An information table will be available before and after the rides to answer questions anyone might have from finding the right ride to how to join the club. We could use some help with setting up, cooking, cleaning up, and manning the information table. There will be a special volunteer's ride of about 20 miles before the picnic. Contact Mike Divine if you wish to volunteer.  

Rides will be listed on the website in mid-August, and printed in September's Pedal Patter.   

Have you ever wondered how much your gas mileage suffers as a result of having a bike rack on your roof?  Well wonder no more.  Consumer Reports ran some tests in order to obtain the answer.   

They outfitted a 2013 Honda Accord with roof bike racks and wind deflectors.  Then they measured miles per gallon (MPG) in four different configurations while traveling at 65mph.

Lai Likun in Chinatown, Flushing, Queens, NY

Lai Likum, 41, a factory manager in China is determined to cycle across the world.  In the past three years he's pedaled 31,000 miles through four continents and nearly 25 countries as part of his five-year solo bicycle trip circling the earth.

Mr. Lai was recently in New York City and spoke with the New York Times about his travels.

He left his hometown of Shunde, in Guangdong Province in November 2009 with the equivalent of $20.00 in his pocket.  He relies on donations of food, shelter and money from strangers along the way - often living off the land and sleeping in a tent.

Traveling with a portable karoke machine, Mr. Lai belts out tunes in his native language of Mandarin to encourage passers-by to give donations.  He speaks no English and always makes it a point to find the nearest Chinatown (as seen above in New York).

He says that his journey has proved that "as long as you stay determined, there is nothing that a person cannot do."

Click here to read the article