The Oxon Hill Bicycle and Trail Club’s Indian Head 100

The Oxon Hill Bicycle and Trail Club’s Indian Head 100
(100? Is that the distance or the temperature?!?)

     September 3, 2018 was Labor Day, generally accepted as a day to be celebrated as free from toil for the American worker. Then there are those of us who volunteer our services on a day off – even when the combination of heat and humidity surpass the century mark. If you think that’s crazy, what about the almost 1000 bicycle riders who came out to ride through some of the more scenic portions western Charles County, choosing between six different courses varying in length between 17 and 100 miles? Along with the support staff from the Oxon Hill Bicycle and Trail Club, the caterers and the band (Yes, those of us at net control were “serenaded” by a live band), a great deal of effort went into the support of the Labor Day ride.

The CCARC has been supporting the Oxon Hill rides for well over a decade now and we have a good working relationship with the Oxon Hill club. This year’s ride was no different. We did, of course, experience a few minor difficulties that were quickly overcome.

A grand total of 12 CCARC members were in attendance; names, callsigns and assignments provided by Activities Manager Jeff (KB3SPH):

The event was scheduled to start at 7 AM with net control to be up and running at that time. I got a bit of a late start, leaving my house in La Plata around 6:30 which, I thought, would still be sufficient to get me to Indian Head prior to 7 AM. My first hint that perhaps I should have departed sooner came shortly after I’d passed the intersection of Routes 224 (Chicamuxen Road) and Route 225 (Hawthorne Road) when I saw the first cyclists heading east on 225. After turning south on Route 210 (Indian Head Highway) I saw even more cyclists headed north. I would later learn that a number of cyclists departed well before the “official” 7 AM start time to get as much distance in as possible before the day really warmed up. There was a long line of cars on IH Hwy all turning in to the Indian Head Village Green. After parking, I made my way to the net control spot and found president Bob (NW3M), who had been more conscientious than me and arrived earlier, setting up his canopy, the radio and associated equipment already in place. We completed our set up thanks to an assist from Jeff, Rob (N2OMC) and Boy Scout Bob (KB3KOW).

We received a call from Les (KH6CUJ) and Craig (KB3YQC) at 7:17 AM letting us know that rest stop was manned and ready. Pam (KB3SWS) checked in at 7:28 AM from Rest Stop 2. The first rider arrived at Rest Stop 1 at 7:30 AM and 2 minutes later Paul (KB3YXS) checked in from Rest Stop 3. Michelle checked in from Rest Stop 5 @ 8:23 AM with Jayne (W4VJU) joining Michelle @ 9:03. Bob and Rob checked in from Rest Stop 4 @ 9:05 AM with Joe (KB3HNP) joining them later in the morning.

The W4KGC repeater performed well – most of the time. During the first hour or two we experienced some interference with a repeater in the vicinity of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. This was a good example of “tropospheric ducting” that is covered in the Technician class license exam. Additionally the W4KGC repeater is a linked repeater and we heard at least one exchange from amateurs in the southwestern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia. We had been under the impression that the linking would be turned off for the event, however Bob would have a brief exchange with Dave (WA3GIN) Jordan, one of the repeater trustees. Dave informed us that they decided to leave the link(s) up as they thought that others monitoring the frequency might find the support of interest.

At least 2 of the rest stops did experience some issues communicating with net control however those issues were worked out prior to the end of the event.

All those assigned to the rest stops did a good job of keeping net control appraised of when the first and last riders had passed and the head count of the number of riders passing through each stop. Additionally Jeff, who rode with in a SAG (Support And Gear) wagon, one of at least three vehicles assigned to assist disabled riders, provided valuable information as a mobile operator informing net control when they’d located disabled riders and providing the disposition for those riders.

The morning started out fairly slowly however as we reached 9 AM radio traffic picked up notably as the heat began to take its toll on the riders. Between 10 AM and 1 PM net control handled 51 calls from the various rest stops, averaging 1 call every 4 minutes. Things dropped off markedly after 1 PM. Rest stop 1 shut down @ 11 AM, followed by rest stop 2 @ 12:53 PM, stop 3 @ 1:37 PM, stop 4 @ 2:35 PM and rest stop 5 was finally able to end operations @ 3:59 PM with the repeater being returned to normal use at 4 PM. Everyone ended up staying longer than originally scheduled, perhaps due to the number of riders and a slower than anticipated pace due to the heat.

After the event, Jayne, along with husband Rick made their way to the Indian Head Village Green to partake of what remaining food the caterer still had to offer and they along with Pam, Jeff, Bob and I took down temporary setup that had served as CCARC’s “communications center” for the previous 9 hours.

Thanks to all who volunteered, everyone did a good job and I know that our efforts were appreciated. Thanks also to the trustees of the W4KGC repeater for the use of the repeater.

There are already some photos up on the website of the Oxon Hill Bicycle and Trail Club’s website. You can find it at http://ohbike.org/ and then click on “2018 Indian Head 100 photos”. 

For those of us who were treated to the live music at the village green, you can find the website for “The Doc Stevens and Marilyn Band and Show” at: http://docstevens.org/

73, Art, AA3RT