Great riding wknd!! Went on super long rides and tiny artsy rides.
Rando Ramble Monument 2 Monument #2 went well. My first century of the year. I came through unscathed though thoroughly spent. As always Bobs cue sheets are excellent, about 35-45 folks rode down to DC, great weather and camaraderie. A few route changes this year taking a few new roads. as always a few new riders excited that they were able to make the ride. Some folks returned via the MARC which is way better than previous years when folks had to take the Metro to the Express bus(Greenbelt) to the light rail. Way easier to bail these days, gotta say I was tempted.I rode from Catonsville to the Balto Monument with Mike H. Great seeing him again. He had just ran a 25K the previous day. Saw some old Rando riders, Dave H and Bob W. at the monument. Met Baltimore Bike party organizer, Tim B and rode with him for awhile, also rode with Carl for a bit, he is returning from a cross country bike ride I ended riding solo from DC to mile 75 rest stop where I joined a rather fast group to finish out the ride. I peeled @ Elkridge as always. I could not have hung with that group any longer anyways, phew! Legs started to cramp as I climbed my way back up into the hills of Catonsville. final mileage, 98.2. So I guess I didn't ride a century

CRTT hosted a local 5 mile Mural ride through C-ville. One of the main Mural artists joined us and gave a small talk on the murals historical significance. We had over 60 folks with many joining, as we rode. Ages ranged from over 70 to under 10 What a cool day to see so many different riders. Catonsville is on the move, our 2nd straight ride with over 60 folks.

Hope y'all had as much fun as I did this weekend

NoRacer and I had been looking at Monument to Monument again, and I had been looking at the C-Ville mural ride (Isaias said no way he was stopping so often on a bike ride, unless beer and/or whiskey was involved ). But then I had a sudden "want to get out of town" fit, and at the last minute I was able to get a room at the Black Duck Inn in Rock Hall, Maryland. We loaded both our bikes, my sea kayak, and all associated paraphernalia into/onto my little sports car and headed down Friday evening.

Isaias has been having some back issues of late -- not too bad on the bike itself, but the aftermath . . . not good. We did a deliberately very easy pace ride on Saturday, about 28 miles, around Rock Hall and then down to the Eastern Neck Wildlife Refuge. On Sunday I launched my kayak into Langford Creek and paddled about 5 1/2 miles while Isaias headed out solo on the bike. I lounged around Rock Hall's small local swimming beach (Ferry Park) after my paddle; Isaias ended up riding about 122 miles. He was a bit fried when he rolled back up to the inn, but his back wasn't complaining quite as much as expected, and it was better than the night before, so hopefully that trend continues. We had originally planned to get up at the crack of dawn (more like the middle of the night! ) on Monday and drive over to Indian Head to ride the Southern Maryland Century, but I changed my mind. So we slept in, had a nice fruit-and-pastry breakfast on the little porch landing outside our room, and a leisurely drive back with a stop for lunch at the Stevensville Rams Head.

A very relaxing weekend, we both really enjoyed it.

@ Max: you guys had rode in M2M ride. Mural ride was fun, not really a ride but an enjoyable tour. Next time we will incorporate homebrew stops. Trying to get a ferry setup from rock Hall to Baltimore. So far no luck but have had discussions with the mayor and other politicians from Rock Hall. Great crabs at Chester River Crabs. Cycled Eastern Neck last month, ospreys were incredible diving into the bay for dinner and great vistas.
Speaking of homebrews, I am brewing tomorrow with my fresh hops from my vines. A long day for sure, picking hops is no fun, brewing is


With the weather in our favor we went for a short spin today along the Anacostia River trail, ~10 miles. Short and easy but lots of fun. Some very impressive bridges (4) crossing the Anacostia. We rode both sides between Benning rd and Frederick Douglas bridge with a side trip to a small island. Lots of bird and animal life. Didn't realize there was a brewpub 1 block off of the trail, bummer. Here's a link to an unusual bridge along the DC side of the trail:
Things to Do By the Anacostia Riverwalk | Washingtonian

Next time I plan to paddle into the aquatic gardens from Bladensberg marina. Eventually(2016) the trail will meet up with the NW branch trail system near Bladensburg. I can see a new route for M2M.
A map of the area:
https://www.anacostiaws.org/userfiles...%20Reduced.pdf

Grounded, broken foot No clue how it happened but it hurts like a MF. Probably a hairline fracture that I did not rest. I have a lot to keep me busy, bike advocacy, and bathroom renovation. I am the GC for the project so I don't have to lift too much.

Don't forget: Bike Marylands Tour de Port next week
https://www.bikemaryland.org/events/...-tour-du-port/

Booooo!!!!! Hope you're healed up soon!

2 rides this month through Bikemore:

I thought some of you might be interested in a few upcoming city rides. Please respond via the Evite, just so we know how many folks will be coming.

Bikemore and Brewers Art Ride: This is a small fund raiser for Bikemore with a Brewers Art beer at the end. October 17 @ 2PM
https://bikemoreandbrewersart.eventbrite.com/

Doors Open and Bikemore: 9 miles to 9 sites. I will be leading this ride and we will visit 9 different Doors Open sites with a short tour or short visit. We will end the ride at Union Brewery for a brewery tour. Bring a bike lock just in case. Roads are a little rougher in the city so bring a bike with tires that can handle them. This ride is free. Oct 24, @ 10AM
Bike Ride to Doors Open Baltimore! 9 miles, 9 sites! Tickets, Baltimore | Eventbrite

Doors Open website: you can also drive to visit these places.
Doors Open Baltimore 2015 · Undiscovered Baltimore

Weather is superb for cycling. Get your miles in before the winter.

Sorry, double post

Tricky ride to the station this morning. Glad I have the studs on.

When is the Whiskey Ride? (sponsored by Tullamore Dew) ;-)

MD people:
Where can I get a fit done for shimano custom fit shoes near Balt/Balt county?

thanks!

New Roadie / Entry-level MTBer. On the PG/AA border. Pleasure to meet everyone.

Tell me more about this ride! I just learned of Tullamore on St Patty's Day If you hear news, please share.

Well, RacePace offers a pro cleat fitting for $99. Does REI not do shoe fittings? I'd say a non-chain LBS, but the staff might not have the knowledge of a retired racer/foot science

I've been told by other cyclists to check out Performance Bicycle.

I, personally, have only been to Laurel Bicycle Center so far. They're primarily a Giant[SUP]Ⓡ[/SUP] retailer

A long, long time ago a few of us teased up the idea of having a bike ride that featured whiskey stops. We had just done one with beer, so the next logical step was whiskey. Some of us here like Irish whiskey, but Tullamore Dew will not sponsor a bunch of drunk cyclists, unfortunately. :wink:

Oh man. That may be the motivation I need to finally get off my lazy butt and get back into shape.

Freudian slip if I ever saw one

Whoops!

It'd be great to have you, derath!

Yea, gotta work back up to it. But just picked up a new bike today which does wonders for the motivation

Indeed; can't have a nice ride just sitting there and never take it out for a spin. Madness!

What'd you end up getting?

I'm in Southern Maryland, ride mostly on Pax or the Three Notch trail.

Can't believe I missed this.

I got a Jamis Renegate Expat renegadeexpat

It's a really sweet ride. I had an old mountain bike with road tires which was my overall family bike (my road bike is like a sports car). When it got stolen this bike is a better fit. It rides similar to my carbon road bike, but I can fit a rack on it for more useful stuff. I'm trying to integrate riding into as many parts of my life as possible, including a quick ride to the grocery store etc.

I've been doing the same! The thing with groceries is that you have to go more often if you don't have a back rack or you eat a lot. I usually don't bring a lock with my road bike, so I ditch it behind the store in the bushes usually (no problems so far). That is a decent bike! Honestly, the difference between my bike and a $3000+ bike means nothing to me because (like you said) a road bike in general feels like a sports car.

Happy to see this thread is still alive. Cheers!

Just, hello.

Doing:

https://nationalbikechallenge.org/state/md

...this year. Over 11,700 miles for the year, so far.

Anyway, dropped in just to say hello.