Ok. I'll (nearly) say the 3 of us are in agreement and that makes me feel better about my assessments. Isaias is a badass as we all know. So, instead of Easy, Moderate and Hard, he's given us <yawn>easy, easy, and moderate. However, he's still identifying the same relative level of difficulty as me and Charlie.

Charlie, I'll try to describe rambles relative to one another rather than to some absolute. Good thinking.


Isaias:
Charm and Grace, = easy
Monument to Monument, = <yawn> easy
Holtwood/Conowingo Loop = moderate
In Search of Liberty, = easy
On Again, Off Again, = moderate
Point to Point = <yawn> easy

Bob:
Charm and Grace: moderate
Monument to Monument: easy
Holtwood/Conowingo Loop: hard
In Search of Liberty: moderate
On Again, Off Again: hard
Point to Point: easy

Charlie:
monument X2, easy but long
Charm and Grace: moderate but even longer
On Again off again hardest

Thanks guys. BTW I might be able to take the 2nd half of friday off and ride the other half of the Mason Dixon ride. :)

That was on the bottle of beer I was drinking when I posted--any guesses?



It's the BBC's Delaware-Maryland Flatlands Tour:

http://www.baltobikeclub.org/index.p...&catid=42:news

Basically, it's a flat (can be fast) century starting just south of Chesapeake City. I won't be riding to the start, because I won't have time (or the ambition) to do a double.

I've done some riding on the west side of Lancaster (headed to Elizabethtown/Mt Joy area) and road races out by East Earl. I go over the Holtwood bridge (RT 372) a few times a year.

Yeah... like I said in my PM to you, for me, it's the temperature that puts me in trouble. The hardest century rides I've ever done were ones that I tanked because the heat and humidity were too much. Since my symptoms have been getting worse with age, I'm taking a more active look at how to mitigate this problem. As of this week, I have a whole S-load of Nuun, and I have other stuff coming before the weekend.

Bob, are you driving up? (secretly wishing to skip out of work and do the ride with you)

Nice. Mt Joy/Elizabethtown isn't that far from me. I think, once I learn the area a little more and gain some more miles, I'll join the Lancaster Bicycle Club.

Nice blog, btw.

Thanks!

@ NR Beer, Is it Dos Equis??? I like the guy in the Dos XX commercial..."Be thirsty my friends".
Isaias, you don't find ANY of those rando rides hard??

Delaware Century ride: Flat sounds good, flat and fast doesn't sound as appealing:-) I'm only going to have time for a 1/2 day ride on Sat. Probably leave from my house early and head up towards Frederick. Maybe Bob's beer ride.
I went looking for the BBC century ride on their forum. Found an strange discussion on blackout dates. Seems Carl riled up the admin of the BBC.
First there's a blackout which means rides can't be posted, correct??(due to BBC events)
Then I read about the BBC Flatland tour and another are posted on the blackout date. BUT Carl can't post a ride. I don't understand the full meaning of blackout date I guess.

Yo Mango, welcome. The way some of these guys ride don't be surprised to see them ride up to Lancaster for a quick 200 miler.

"Blackout date" means pretty much what you would think it does -- for certain events, the BBC will not permit the posting of competing rides. I don't know, though, what the criteria are for picking which events are blacked out; I believe the Corn Roast ride and the picnic are. Possibly the Civil War Century, too, I can't recall.

Personally, I'm not much in favor of blacking out dates; it just seems odd to me, motivationally. You want to try to *force* people to come out to Thurmont or Cecil County or wherever on that particular day? If people don't want to do the CWC or the Flatlands Tour, they're not going to do it; if there's not a "competing" BBC ride that same day, they aren't going to say, "Oh, well, there you go! I guess that means I'm going to ride the CWC!" No, they'll just ride alone, or with their buddies, somewhere else. If you are trying to support the club, why not have that "somewhere else" be a club ride?

Races are hard. The rando rides are not hard.

No... not Dos XX - Corona.

I think this is Carl's point. Sounds like he would lead a club ride if folks don't want to go all of the way to some event, no matter who's event.

I've gotten to the point where I prefer not to drive anywhere, including club events, which may be the reason why I would miss Bob's Mason-Dixon Line ride, too.

@Bob, you've strayed from your formula--people have to drive to New Freedom.

So, the next One Less Car - Baltimore Bicycle Alliance happy hour is Thursday, June 24th, again in Fells Point:

"Come socialize with other like minded bicycle enthusiasts at Shuckers of Fells Point from 6 to 8 p.m. Located at 1629 Thames Street, Baltimore. 60 people attended the first Happy Hour which was a blast! $5 donation to One Less Car. Shuckers specials include $2 domestic draft, $3 Bud Lite Lime, $3 Sam Adams Summer Ale, half price house wine and delicious bison, black bean and regular burgers for $5.95! Raffle prizes from Shuckers and more. Let's get together and have a blast - come and see your friends and meet new ones too!"

Work is going to be insane for the next few weeks, but I will try to make this. I would love to be able to ride to it (and, time-wise, if I were able to sneak out a bit early from work, I could), but I'd have to ponder the idea of riding back home through the Westport/South Baltimore area after dark.

Why thanks Charlie and I'll keep a look out for 'em. ;)

Might try a ride up to this one. It'd be an easy and loooong 200 miler. This one is still a long way from being a ride. I might just make it a ride and not an official BBC Rando Ramble.
I'm still not sure whether I'll ride the eastern half (65 miles) tomorrow. In any case, I'd be driving up to New Freedom to do it. I'd love the company NR, but you might want to wait until it's a full tested ride.
1st run test rides are very slow. They involve frequent stops for me to make notes for the cuesheet. Probably not fun for another rider.

I can't be sure on this one either, but I'll do my best to make it.

One more thing. Carl quoted the BBC mission statement to rile up the crowds. I was shocked that the statement reads that the club promotes and sponsors bicycling in Baltimore City and surrounding counties.
Whoa! Someone needs to get some wite-out for that. Baltimore City?? That's absurd. As far as I know, I'm the only member leading rides that go anywhere within the city limits. And I'm not "feeling the love" for my rides from the BBC

Well, you know, if your rides weren't 500 miles long . . . :lol:

(Just teasing! I'm still hoping to make my debut appearance at the Chesapeake Beach ramble . . . )

It wouldn't matter to many of the BBC members... dare I say, especially the "old guard"? ...they just aren't (well, don't seem to be) comfortable riding around B'more city unless they have armed cop chaperons and road closures.

I will play the devils advocate here. Lots of the BBC have fancy CF bikes on 23s. Not exactly the mode of transportation through the city. If you recall one of the guys had 2 flats and we hadn't even been on the road for 5 miles. Plus many do not like to stop.....at all. Thus country rides suite them better. I'd be curious to see how many BBC members rode in the T dem P last wknd. I was talking to one of the bigger bike advocates when I brought up the BBC advocacy, he flatly said" they only do stuff in the county". I was surprised to hear this. He sounded like this discussion.

So where are we: I think the only way to create change is by hosting the rides we have been doing and talking about them on BBC forum. When people see the fun our epic journeys bring, they will follow. Max raises a good point, the rides are long. Maybe a few shorter rides through the city might entice a few more folks. Then a few beers after never hurts. DC has a cherry Blossom ride every year. If we can string together a bunch of cool looking gardens and ride through those hoods might also get a few more folks. The only Gardens I could think of is Sherwood near Loyola. We can call it the beer garden ride...ending at Brewers Art.

Other stuff: As Max pointed out the happy hour next week. There is also a BBA meeting on Tuesday night in Hampden. I think it's 630, stay tuned. I am definitely going to the meeting and maybe the social. I've been biking a lot, helping with the tour d parks and the BBA meeting so am running low on marital capital. I'll post more about the meeting when I look over my notes.

balto's bike map
http://www.baltimorebikemap.com/

BBA meeting:
The Bicycle Alliance Development Committee will meet on June 22nd from 6:30-8:00pm at the Knott Foundation located at 3904 Hickory Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21211. This meeting is specifically for folks who want join the Alliance Development Committee and volunteer approximately 3-4 hours a month to passionately promote bicycling in Baltimore City and County

@Bob - Do you know about this bike shop?

http://twenty20cycling.com/contact/

I see Kris Auer's name on the racing tab--not sure what his affiliation is.

I just shared the map on Twitter.

Not much of a devil here Charlie. I agree with everything you say. My rides are long, but that's my schtick. I do what I do and that's my part. It just seems like the BBC has gotten far away from promoting bicycling in Baltimore. There are many things I think the BBC could get into. Create a relationship with Velocipede. Do a Velocipede bikes bike ride. Do a fixed gear only ride. Some of these rides could be city only, like the moonlight madness route or could be longer 40-60 milers out to the counties. There are lots of folks who are roadies who ride from upper middle class Baltimore locations like Stonleigh or Federal Hill or Canton. Why cant there be 30-40 mile quickies from those locations? Why can't a BBC leader extract the safer sections of the Tour du Port or Tour dem Parks and lead a 10-12 ride every weekend? How about a commuter based ride that would go between major employers in the city like colleges, hospitals, office buildings and govt bldgs to help locals test out routes to work. Shall I go on?

Instead the BBC gives Isaias crap about riding his bike to the club meeting. Sheesh.

Hey my buddy, Kris. ;) I've looked in the window only. It is basically a Specialized brand store. Looks like a very nice refurb of the crumbly building they're in.

There are 2 ways to look at this. The BBC doesn't reach out AN/OR those groups you speak of don't join the BBC. Either way we are not a cohesive group. Can we be?? Just because we ride bikes doesn't mean we all have similar values and want to mingle. Look at DC. WABA is the main bike group yet there exist Potomac Pedalers. WABA reaches to all groups whereas PP tends to be similar to the BBC. Co-exist yet separate.
So the question is: should BBC represent all cyclist?? This can only be done if "other" (city) cyclist step up join and be heard. Or should there be another group and BBC an arm of it. We, cyclist, are a small group of folks and can only be strong if we stay united. We have a lot to accomplish and being on the same page is essential.
When you speak of the BBC you are really speaking of US. We are the BBC. You are certainly doing your part to promote Baltimore city in that group and also raising the bar for others. As of now you are the only one(maybe others) leading city rides. I never like leading a ride but will consider doing an all Baltimore as suggested.
If the BBC doesn't/can't/won't reach out to all cyclist then a new group is needed. Perhaps the new BBA will be that. Since I am going to the next meeting I will bring this up and let you know what they think. Not certain how this whole thing will shake out but I do agree that all cyclist should be under 1 umbrella so we are better heard.
I guess your main gripe is with the Admin of the BBC not directing the club to include Balto city. Would be nice. Why don't you run for office. I can be your campaign manager. We can bribe cyclist with homebrews.
It took me 2 hours to write this because they keep making me work at work....go figure.

My main gripe (on the BBC forum) is from being shocked by carl quoting the mission statement of the BBC ("to promote and sponsor bicycling in Baltimore City and neighboring counties") in light of ever more events that are very far away. Honestly the BBC can go in any direction they wish, but I think they should at least be held to their own mission statement.

Here's a guy trying to lead city rides
http://www.facebook.com/BikeBmore

found his link on Nates blog

If you folks routinely use Guilford Ave as a means of commuting/riding there's going to be a DOT meeting end of month. It's in the blog as well.
http://www.socializr.com/event/594267009

You didn't really think they meant "in" Baltimore City, did you? They should have used the word "around" or "in the counties adjoining" or your words--neighboring counties.

I'm sure someone will put a vote to have the words "in Baltimore city" stricken.

You have to remember that it hasn't been so long since cycling "in" Baltimore city was seen as radical, crazy, foolhardy, taking your life into your own hands,...