Bike Forums - Where are the MD peoples

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wife has me on house duty, I got 2 loose hand rails and a bath tub to caulk, plus more car repairs. I should be able to get in an hour or two somewhere. Hopefully, then sunday, I'll charge my batteries and get in a night ride sometime after 6pm.

maybe next weekend I'll get in my January century.

Quote:

Originally Posted by greaterbrown (Post 8237390)

Anyone who might be interested in discount gear- there is a great bike swap meet up in Westminster every year. This year it's sunday, feb 8th. Lots of good deals from shops getting rid of old inventory to single sellers with exciting (to me) boxes of old parts. Clothes, too.
Anyway, I'm going and I can carpool if anyone else is interested.
link to a pdf of the flyer: http://www.stopswapandsave.com/SWAP_FLYER_2009.pdf

I need absolutely nothing but am interested;-) I've been before, organized chaos. I want too build up my old Bridgestone MB mnt bike into a rail trail/winter ride. I'll let you know as the date approaches.

did you go to the inauguration... or know someone that did... and were fairly close to the front? see if you can find them in this awesome pic. my dad found one person he knows.
http://gigapan.org/viewGigapanFullsc...648c2b4b06233c

Today's ride: http://bimactive.com/ba/journal/post/10783/20219

Quote:

Originally Posted by NoRacer

Severna Park Peloton Ride to Annapolis and Bay Ridge
24 January, 2009 12:46

Last night, I searched for a ride to do for today. None of the Baltimore Bike Club rides sounded "appetizing" and the DC Randonneur Ride at Glen Echo was a long way to drive for a metric century.

None of the folks from the B'more area that hang on the Where are the MD People's thread of www.bikeforums.net had any enticing suggestions, so I decided to drive down to the airport and ride the B&A Trail to Annapolis.

Then, it occurred to me to check on my friends at the Severna Park Peloton (SPP) bike club to see what they were doing. Lo and behold, they were holding a ride at 7:30am starting from the Park Ranger station on the trail. Perfect!

So, I pack my bag and ready my bike, finally hitting the sack by 11:30 pm. I'll need to get up at 5 am to have enough time to get myself dressed, caffeinated, fed, bag and bike loaded into my car, leaving by 6 am to arrive at the airport by about 6:30 am. That gave me an hour (too much time by 30 minutes) to ride from Sawmill Creek Park to the Ranger station.

I get to the Ranger station too early, so I ride about 10 minutes up and back on the trail. Back at the Ranger station I meet George and Bill of the SPP. We start talking about the brutally frigid ride they did last Saturday from Woodbine, MD. A few minutes later, most of the rest of the group shows up--Janet & John, Clint, Jeff, Steve, Chip, Jim, and Fran. A few minutes more, we're zipping south on the trail towards Annapolis, shooting off onto parallel roads once in awhile, but rejoining the trail about a mile before Bolter's Way.

We make it into Annapolis, crossing a windy Naval Academy Bridge on the way. In Annapolis, we stop and have coffee and snacks at a little shop that masquerades as a book store (or, was it a library?) Regardless, it's a "neat" place to stop -and- it was warm inside... almost too warm, if there can ever be such a thing this time of the year. While munching, we enjoyed each others conversations regarding such things as the plane crash due to "bird strike" that was recently in the news, bike laws in Maryland, Chip's singing career, and Randonneur events, including a Permanent occurring next weekend. [Some of these folks were suggesting that I ride the Permanent. Not likely, but we'll see.]

Jim voiced that he was getting a little "antsy", so we got ourselves together and headed out of Annapolis "centro" heading toward some really nice roads that skirted the Chesapeake Bay (Bay Ridge).

Shortly, it seemed, we were back in Annapolis riding past many of the quaint shops leading up to one of the bigger traffic circles/roundabouts in the town. Soon, we are crossing the Naval Academy Bridge and cross back over to Bolter's Way. Back at the intersection of Bolter's Way and the B&A Trail, we regroup. Jim suggested that the club show me "The Wall", a short hill that made up for it's lack of length by supplying us with 20 percent worth of slope. Indeed, once I got home to process my ride files, the iBike concurred that the grade is 20 percent.

A few more miles, we're back on the trail. We meet those who didn't want to do "The Wall" (i.e., Chip was on a "fixie" and wasn't up for a battle with "The Wall" on a fixed gear bike...today.)

In no time we were back at the Ranger station, but no one needed to stop (Bill & George didn't ride with us and they were the only ones parked at the station), so we kept going.

Soon, we were at the bridge for the East West Highway. This is where the SPP and I parted ways, bidding farewell and hoping to see each other on a future ride.

It was great riding with these folks. They are a very hospitable bunch. No super-egos.

On my way back to the airport, I get the feeling that I'm not done; in other words, I won't stop at Sawmill Creek Park, but keep going towards the BWI Trail and do the 10 mile loop around the airport.

I thought that I would encounter more wind than I did, since the airport trail is relatively open compared to the B&A Trail, but it didn't really happen that way. Sure, I had wind, but nothing more than then earlier today. What's more, once I got to the north side of the airport, I ran into a few snow flurries. It was just a very small passing squall, but I could've dealt with an actual snow fall. No fear of that here.

The next bunch of flurries I ran into occurred as I pulled on to my street in Essex.

Activity

Code:

Route:    --    Elev. Avg:    65 ft

Location:    Glen Burnie, MD,     Elev. Gain:    -3 ft

Date:    01/24/09    Up/Downhill:    [+2959/-2962]

Time:    10:58 AM    Difficulty:    5.0 / 5.0

 

Weather:    

Cloudy and Windy

38 F temp; 47% humidity

38 F heat index; winds NW 20 mph

Performance

Code:

Distance:    63.91 miles        

Time:    4:03:59

Speed:    15.7 mph        

Pace:    3' 49 /mi        

Calories:    2995

Notes

Code:

POWERMETER DATA

==============

Entire workout (143 watts):



Duration: 4:05:40

Work: 2105 kJ

TSS: 222.4 (intensity factor 0.737)

Norm Power: 192

VI: 1.34

Pw:HR: -6.28%

Pa:HR: 11.99%

Distance: 65.586 mi

Elevation Gain: 2821 ft

Elevation Loss: 2976 ft

Grade: -0.0 % (-155 ft)



          Min Max Avg

Power: 0 672 143 watts

Heart Rate: 91 182 144 bpm

Cadence: 1 121 70 rpm

Speed: 0.8 32.6 16.0 mph

Pace 1:50 74:17 3:45 min/mi

Altitude: -154 35 -69 ft

Crank Torque: 0 1605 165 lb-in

Wind Speed: 0 37.6 16.3 mph

Hill Slope: -12.3 20 0.2 %

MAP
http://bimactive.com/ba/ui/map_get.p...mapType=street

ELEVATION (FT)
http://bimactive.com/ba/ui/chart_get..._route&units=1

SPEED (MPH)
http://bimactive.com/ba/ui/chart_get...tivity&units=1

NR-Sounds like a good bunch. One thing I need to do this season is more group riding. I already found one guy down the street who joins a neighborhood group a couple times a week. So looking forward to riding with a group right out of the neighborhood. do the SPP hammer! or do they seem like they can hammer? Sounds like a good ride, let me know next time your doing the trail, or riding with that group.

I'm reading a book now called Heft on wheels, about a guy who goes from being an alcoholic, chain smoking 255 pounds to a 170 pound racer. Not a great writer but it's an inspirational tale.

http://www.amazon.com/Heft-Wheels-Fi.../dp/1400052408

No riding for me today, put on my electricians belt and spent the day knocking out stuff on my punch list. There are so many responsibilities around here that I gotta have bike free days and I also feel like I need to take more time off and look more forward to spring riding. Oh, and I went to the batting cages with my ten year old-man he can hit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HC203 (Post 8240743)

Harry, sounds like you had a great time without the need for a bike. I'm sure your son appreciates every bit of time you spend with him.

The SPP can and do hammer. Having said that, I was in the front most of the day, so I guess it's relative.

I think they do this ride every Saturday or something similar. I got the impression that they don't always go to Annapolis.

Hi, NR, I was on the BWI trail today as well -- only two loops (had to get to the bike shop to fetch the other bike, and had some other stuff on the to-do list.) The ride was a spur-of-the-moment decision, when the sun came out and I realized it wasn't quite as cold and windy as I had thought it was going to be. (Still a few good gusts, though.) I was there starting about 1:00, I think.

Sorry... being lazy, but also have stuff to do, so:

http://bimactive.com/ba/journal/post/10783/20254

Great ride! The lunch stop was excelent. There's a link to it in the report.

Quote:

Originally Posted by greaterbrown (Post 8237390)

I'll be there helping a friend with his new bike shop. Stop by and visit me at Ben's Performance Cycling's booth. Also in this space, HoCo Cyclists and BAHC.

Looking forward to meeting some of you.

Mike

Quote:

Originally Posted by maxine (Post 8243260)

Hi Maxine. Good to hear that you had a chance to get out. I was on the trail a couple of hours later than you... somewhere around 3pm, I would guess.

[QUOTE=HC203;8240743]NR-Sounds like a good bunch. One thing I need to do this season is more group riding. I already found one guy down the street who joins a neighborhood group a couple times a week. So looking forward to riding with a group right out of the neighborhood. do the SPP hammer! or do they seem like they can hammer? Sounds like a good ride, let me know next time your doing the trail, or riding with that group.

Harry
From your posts, I guess I have an idea where you live. Is this "guy down the street" named Chris? He rides with a group that rides out of Stoneleigh/Anneslie Wed. and Fri. mornings once it gets warmer and lighter. He's a beast according to my husband.
E

[quote=veloellen;8250274]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HC203 (Post 8240743)

Veloellen,
Indeed-his name is Chris, a couple houses up the street, and yes I think the majority of riders are from Stoneleigh, Anneslie. A beast? Thanks for the heads up, I'll need to step up my training. I just met him at a neighborhood Xmas party. He's gotta be like 6'3" at least. Haven't ridden with any of these people but I'm on the e-mail list, which appears lengthy.

Do you live in these parts?

Harry, Live in Anneslie. Chris is a great guy - big triathlete, very strong rider! In the summer months the group meets at sunrise - and get in about 18 miles or so - before 7ish in the morning. Last summer they met Wednesday and Fridays. Once a week they go out to Bellona and do hill climb there for a few reps. They also do a ride on Sundays. I definitely DON'T ride with them - I'm slow as molasses. My husband (Jim) rides with them. He's a pretty strong rider but these guys beat his butt! Neither of us ride in the cold though. I head to the Y a few days a week and Jimmy heads to the rollers in the basement.
E

That's great news because I need to get my but kicked a couple times a week. I look forward to being dropped by them, at least the first few rides.

I ride in the cold but can't say I enjoy it, more laundry too. I've mostly been doing Spinervals, a little running, and a few spinning classes, though haven't been to one of those in weeks. maybe tomorrow.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HC203 (Post 8252955)

I ride in the cold but can't say I enjoy it, more laundry too.

LOL, In the winter is the only time I can get near a full load of cycling cloths in the machine. But hey, I'll take a cold day over a 90+ deg. day any time.

Something we have not mentioned for keeping your face warm in the winter is facial hair. Seriously, in below freezing temps moisture freezes on the outside which releases heat to the inside. Now you now the rational for yet another of my oddities.

Tracked & documented--the afternoon ride will be much more interesting.

This AMs commute was quite interesting. Balto Co ride had roads free of snow but tons of salt. I thought I was encountering snow but it was lots and lots of salt. Usually I don't like riding on salt(last 2 weeks) but this morning I was good w/ it. PG Co. roads sucked. This county has some serious problems. I think they were the only county that did not close schools, so why not drop salt on the roads. Very slick roads. I did not mount the studs but will for the evening ride.
:winter2:

Quote:

Originally Posted by balto charlie (Post 8255217)

Balto Co ride had roads free of snow but tons of salt. I thought I was encountering snow but it was lots and lots of salt. Usually I don't like riding on salt(last 2 weeks) but this morning I was good w/ it. :winter2:

+1 regarding the salt this morning.

Looks like I may have plenty of snow to play on with my skinny tire bike going home.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NoRacer (Post 8255227)

+1 regarding the salt this morning.

Looks like I may have plenty of snow to play on with my skinny tire bike going home.

Good luck, very slick and getting slicker.
Read this and think about them for next year, OR next snow.
http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/studdedtires.asp

Quote:

Originally Posted by balto charlie (Post 8255217)

good ole PG county, gotta love it. didn't cancel schools, but just got word that they're letting them out early. i can't believe i live here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by balto charlie (Post 8255579)

Good luck, very slick and getting slicker.
Read this and think about them for next year, OR next snow.
http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/studdedtires.asp

I've seen that site before. Unfortunately, none of those tires will fit my fork.

Road report from a fellow bike commuter co-worker at noon:
Beltsville: Main roads are clear w/ slush on shoulders.

Quote:

Originally Posted by balto charlie (Post 8256841)

Road report from a fellow bike commuter co-worker at noon:
Beltsville: Main roads are clear w/ slush on shoulders.

+1, most of the roads to home for me were clear.

They were clear enough to do a stretch of road at 21 mph for a mile!

Now, I'm having some spaghetti with mushroom tomato sauce sprinkled with Tabasco served with garlic bread. :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by NoRacer (Post 8258252)

I really appreciate the successful ride reports, :love: they are really helping me to want to get back on the bike even in this weather.

And heck, I would probably being doing 21mph too on US 40, sheesh that ain't no road to dillydally on. :twitchy:

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Human Car (Post 8259518)

I'm sort of excited/apprehensive about what tomorrow morning will bring. I'm betting on the salt trucks making the roads passable, but it's a gamble as to whether they will hit all of the roads that I use to get to work.

Oh well... I'll "play it by ear".