🚀 go-pugleaf

The Potomac Pedalers Touring Club (PPTC) has organized two bike rides
this Saturday and Sunday, October 6 & 7, in conjunction with the 17th
Annual Metropolitan Washington DC Tour of Solar Homes and Buildings
[http://www.solartour.org/].  These casual-paced bike rides will visit
up to 14 of the more than 40 solar homes and buildings that will be on
display between 11 AM and 5 PM on either date.

A free Solar Tour booklet that describes each home on the tour and is
needed to enter the homes can be downloaded from [http://
www.solartour.org/].  For descriptions of the bike rides, see PPTC's
October ride calendar at [http://www.bikepptc.org/Oct07Rides].

On Saturday, bicyclists will first gather at 10:45 AM near the back
entrance of Sidwell Friends Middle School on 37th St NW, near Tilden
St NW, to tour this exceptional school building, starting at 11 AM.
Secure bike racks are conveniently located near the school entrances.
After inspecting the middle school, the bicyclists will visit up to
six private homes featuring solar and energy-efficient technologies in
the Upper Northwest, Adams Morgan, and Capitol Hill sections of the
District of Columbia. The route will mostly use low-traffic
residential streets, plus car-free roads in Rock Creek Park.  Since
the group may stay an average of 20 minutes at each home, and a lunch
stop in Mt Pleasant is planned, the full 24-mile bike tour may end as
late as 5:30 PM. Participants can readily shorten their tour by
visiting fewer homes (most are clustered near the ride start) and
either cycling or taking Metrorail back to the ride start (or home).
In addition, the cue sheet for Saturday's ride is posted at [http://
www.bikepptc.org/node/1058] for bicyclists who'd prefer to ride on
their own and/or vary the sequence or number of homes visited.

On Sunday, bicyclists will meet at 10:45 AM near the Greenbelt
Metrorail station entrance (and Parking Area 4B) to visit up to four
solar homes within the City of Greenbelt.  After a lunch stop at the
Roosevelt Center, an optional 10-mile ride will reach up to three more
homes in Takoma Park (not recommended for pre-teen children).  The
ride leader(s) may not return to the Greenbelt ride start from Takoma
Park, but those who park at Greenbelt and bike to Takoma Park can
either backtrack 10 miles by bike or take Metrorail for the return
leg.  As with the full Saturday bike tour, the Sunday bike tour may
end after 5 PM, but the four Greenbelt homes can be visited in an hour
or two, including the 8 miles of bicycling.  The cue sheet for
Sunday's bike ride is posted at [http://www.bikepptc.org/node/1059].

The start locations for both bike rides have ample free parking, but,
in the spirit of this tour, participants are encouraged to ride their
bicycles or take Metro to get to and from the ride starts.

If you need more information or have questions about these bike tours,
feel free to contact the organizer, Allen Muchnick, at 703-271-0895 or
<muchnick@capaccess.org>.