Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Baltimore and DC folks, holla back!

I'm going to be travelling to Maryland...Laurel to be exact *shudders* to visit my family. My aunt has liver cancer and I'm going out to see her.

So anyway, I'm going to be heading out that way on the 23rd thru the 26th and was wondering if anything was going down, wheres the hang outs, where can I drown my sorrows and imbibe vast amounts of fermented vegetable and/or fruit liquid , where do the cool people go?

I just called the airline and they said it's going to be 80 bucks both ways to bring my bike. Is it worth it?

Oh and if I do, I'm not used to this whole east coast thing you guys call weather, so what does one wear in the arctic tundra of the east whilest riding? (I was in a t-shirt and shorts today.) Thanks in advance for the info.

$80 both ways? was it Delta?
I want to bring my bike to nyc but there is no way i'm paying that much and I can't fit my frame into a box with dimensions less than 62" summed.

Right near Laurel there is a park called Fairland that has some singletrack. I haven't been there (despite working right by it) but I know it's they've been building out additional trail w/ our local MTB group MORE (http://www.more-mtb.org).

15 miles north on I-95 is the best riding in the immediate area, Patapsco State Park. We did Wed. night rides there if conditions are good. Always SSers present. If the conditions are bad we hit the road, always fixed gears present. And we always go for beers afterwards or during the ride.

If you will have access to a car there's some primo stuff an hour away.

If you are going to be around all day on the 26th, drop me a line at riderx AT singlespeedoutlaw DOT com.

Just down the road is College Park which is a college town (UMD) with plenty of bars. I live near there, but I don't go to them very often so I guess that's not much help.

Weather has been pretty warm lately; tomorrow we're supposed to get up into the low 60s!

$80 both ways? was it Delta?
I want to bring my bike to nyc but there is no way i'm paying that much and I can't fit my frame into a box with dimensions less than 62" summed.

I'm flying American Airlines. I'm not sure a total $160 is quite worth it, but then again my happiness would be greatly increased having my ride with me. Since I'm paying all that dough I'm not even going to box my bike, the only requirement is that I twist my bars to the side and remove my pedals. That's all I'm going to do. God bless my beater frame.

I'm going to be travelling to Maryland...Laurel to be exact *shudders* to visit my family. My aunt has liver cancer and I'm going out to see her.

So anyway, I'm going to be heading out that way on the 23rd thru the 26th and was wondering if anything was going down, wheres the hang outs, where can I drown my sorrows and imbibe vast amounts of fermented vegetable and/or fruit liquid , where do the cool people go?

I just called the airline and they said it's going to be 80 bucks both ways to bring my bike. Is it worth it?

Oh and if I do, I'm not used to this whole east coast thing you guys call weather, so what does one wear in the arctic tundra of the east whilest riding? (I was in a t-shirt and shorts today.) Thanks in advance for the info.
First off, I'm sorry about your aunt :(

I live in Beltsville, MD, about 5 miles south of Laurel. I would recommend checking out the DC area bike site, if you enjoy long lazy trail rides. There are lots of good rides around here: http://bikewashington.org/trails/rtrails.htm

If you pester AA enough, they may let you bring on a bike as a replacement for a normal bag at no charge. It sometimes works! If you're up for it, take your bike into downtown DC and explore by bike. It's a great city for bikes. It's unseasonably warm here right now. The 45 F temperatures are practically roasting me alive (I'm originally from Michigan). I would say bring rain gear and full finger gloves, not sure what else...

EDIT: I'm a grad student at the U of Maryland in College Park. It's not a great college town but has some stuff. We have 5 or so bars in the downtown area, I like either Town Hall (dive bar, pool tables) or Santa Fe cafe (the least pretentious of the college bars). The campus connects to a network of paved bike trails.

Thanks for the info. I'm pretty set on bringing my bike now. I'm not checking any bags so I'm pretty confident I may be able to get her on for free. I'm just going to pack my messenger bag ride to the airport, check my bike and hop back on when I get to BWI.

Thanks for the info. I'm pretty set on bringing my bike now. I'm not checking any bags so I'm pretty confident I may be able to get her on for free. I'm just going to pack my messenger bag ride to the airport, check my bike and hop back on when I get to BWI.

Once here, you can also ride from your Aunt's to the Metro station and take the train to downtown DC. Only restriction is you can't bring a bike on Metro during peak hours. Downtown is where I ride everyday, and it's always a good time playing in traffic. Adams Morgan/Dupont Circle/Eastern Market/The Monuments, etc. are all easily accesible in a day by bike.

Be ready for 40 and raining.

I agree, hop the train and come play in traffic. Plenty of bars, and check to see if there will be a Spin City "roller race" while your there.

Thanks for the info. I'm pretty set on bringing my bike now. I'm not checking any bags so I'm pretty confident I may be able to get her on for free. I'm just going to pack my messenger bag ride to the airport, check my bike and hop back on when I get to BWI.

I forgot what airline, but this is how I got around the extra charge for bringing a bike:

They said it was like $60 each way to bring a bike. When I got to the airport I took the wheels off, turned the bars, shortened the stem and stuffed everything in a big laundry bag. Checked it in without telling them it was a bike, carried on my only other piece of luggage (messenger bag). When I got to NY, I just reassembled the rig and stuffed the laundry bag in my messenger bag. That was it. I'm on my way, don't know where I'm going.......

i'm picturing an airline employee with a yardstick and a calculator that beeps if your sum exceeds 62. not sure what i should do.