MD Peeps - help Great Lakes member out
 

Hi all. I'll be in Baltimore for a month (April 28 - May 23) for training in a new job and I need some suggestions for riding. I'll be staying in an extended stay type hotel downtown 2 blocks from the inner harbor and would like to continue my riding schedule of 6 days per week. Weekdays I'll likely be tied up from 7am to 5pm - so I'd like to find something close for a quick 25 or so miler. There's a fitness center in the hotel, so I could ride the indoor bike once a week, but I would really like to avoid that.

Weekends, I'm free to go wherever and could travel a bit for more scenic routes.

Any suggestions on the best places to ride both during the week and on the weekends? The hotel indicated that there is a bike trail near there, but I'm not sure it's suitable for 20+mph riding. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

One thing to check is Bikely.com Lots of good routes in there.

There are some great riders who commute into and ride around the baltimore area. Hopefully some will chime in on some good routes directly from the inner harbor.

-D

I expect your hotel is talking about the Gywnns Falls Trail. I just rode it for the first time this weekend, and I would say that it's not very suitable for 20+ mph riding.

As Derath said, hopefully some of the city riders will pipe up with some good mid-week route ideas. If that doesn't happen . . . I'd suggest that once you get here, pay a visit to Light Street Cycles -- it's walking distance from the Inner Harbor, and the folks there can definitely give you some routes.

http://www.lightstcycles.com/_general/directions.html

As for weekends, if you head due north for about 20 minutes (up I-83 to, say, Monkton or Sparks), you'll find yourself in north central Baltimore County, my absolute favorite place to ride . . . beautiful scenery; twisty, low-traffic back roads; hills hills and more hills (many killer steep, but usually not too long.) The Baltimore Bicycling Club (http://www.baltobikeclub.org) does a lot of rides in that area. Send me an e-mail, I'll send you my favorite cue sheet. :)

As for trails, there's a 10 mile loop that goes around BWI Airport, and connects to the Baltimore-Annapolis (B&A) Trail (13 miles.) It's paved and urban -- lots of places to stop and get something to eat or drink. http://www.bikewashington.org/routes/bwi/index.htm. The North Central Railroad (NCR) Trail is a packed dirt trail, very rural and pretty, lots of trees, not many services, that runs from Ashland, MD (again, a short run up I-83) all the way to York, PA, about 40 miles one way. It's rideable on a road bike, but not terribly comfy if you've got very skinny tires. http://www.bikewashington.org/trails/ncr/ncr.htm

Hey Gromit,

Here's a ride of mine in and out of the city. A nice tour of the westside.
http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/91050
You could do it in the direction I've got it by riding north up to Wyman park/Johns Hopkins Univ. or you could reverse the whole thing and go out the south. There is some Gwynns Falls trail in there, but not too much. Lots of straight hard pavement.
Another route of mine is a 40miler north into the farm country Maxine was talking about.
here: http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/91051
both routes are trafficky in the city, but good once you're out.

Thank you all very much so far. I appreciate the links and routes, and I'm looking forward to doing some riding in your neck of the woods. Look for me out there, I'll be on a Blue RC4.

You could also check out the Baltimore Bike Club's ride schedule for April and May if you are looking for a group thing.

+ on Light Street Cycles.

I've taken my bike to the Inner Harbor area several times. I've never found a route with smooth roads from there. But I do know they exist once you get away from that area. Good luck.