eastern ave from eastpoint mall to middle river is where i ride(all county), I might even ride downtown if there were dedicated lanes, right now that are random share the road signs with bikes on them but no official bike lanes on the road (you know with painted bikes on road), if I had bike lanes and if they finished the trail on rt43 to the mall, that would be great too.

You're talking about my neighborhood, too. I live off of Mace Ave.

I've ridden Eastern Blvd (county) to Eastern Ave (county-city). I have no qualms about doing so. I've ridden right through the city on my way to Annapolis (met and rode with maxine and derath on one of these) and once to Elkridge with Barry to meet the DC Randonneurs for a ride. I've imangined riding to D.C. some long summer day.

As Barry can attest, I've had run-ins with the MTA on Eastern Blvd. I was told that bus drivers have been re-trained regarding cyclist on the road--to be determined.

I ride Route 43, periodically--usually to Route 40 for a ride to Havre de Grace or up to Susquehanna State Park and then back around to Bel Air. The worst part about going to the mall using Route 43 is negotiating the I-95 on and off ramps. It's doable, but you have to be:

- very careful when crossing over Route 43 to get to the mall
- highly conspicuous/visible
- generous at communicating with other traffic in the area

I have some you can have, they are white so you'll look like a mime. I think size 10, very very thin. My hands are L/XL and don't really fit. I'm thinking these are a medium. I might be driving to my parents on Thursday(live in Cedarcroft area) and can drop of at your home if you are on the way.

I don't like Eastern. The parts w/ shoulders are fine, in fact very nice. The area between 895 and 695(I think this is the area) had more potholes that any other major road. While riding it last year, I felt that the citizens needed to call their representatives to make repairs. Perhaps they have. I can handle traffic, I can handle potholes, but put the 2 together and you have a dicey situation. If I know the road and when to expect the holes then it might not be so bad. Just my thoughts on a road I've ridden but don't know very well. You can avoid this area by riding Lombard a little to the north.

Yes, I usually get off or on Eastern Ave at Patterson Park and take Lombard into or out of, respectively, the city.

The routes the city has down for the bike master plan in this area may be of interest. Map B Full Bicycle Network

I like Lombard going into the City.

Charley, gee thanks I am ~5 miles west of Cedarcroft but I am in no rush and would rather use this as an excuse to get together for a ride.

Sounds good.

Anyone know the best route from Catonsville to Reistertown(Main Street) I have to pick up my car. On google maps it looks like DeerPark Rd

Deer Park Rd is great! And it is hard to go wrong in the same vertical corridor as Deer Park. Just a reminder I’ve sketched out some routes nearby but I don’t have a continuous route up yet for your purposes here - http://www.baltimorespokes.org/stati...70815081612328

And anyone can help contribute to this project by sending me a link to just about any internet mapping program (I just need to export a GPX file to get it on my sites map.)

FYI

For anyone looking to do a bunch of miles before the end of the year, the DC Randonneurs have 300 miles of riding starting the 22nd:

http://dcrand.org/weekends/weekend.shtml

My latest rides bridging 2007-2008:

Wellsville One Hundred (century)
-----------------------------------------
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v285/NoRacer/DCRAND20071222/?albumview=slideshow

Bonne Route! (century)
-----------------------------
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v285/NoRacer/DCRAND20071224/?albumview=slideshow

The River Runner (century)
----------------------------------
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v285/NoRacer/DCRAND20071229/?albumview=slideshow

The Weenie One Hundred (century)
---------------------------------------------
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v285/NoRacer/DCRAND20080101/?albumview=slideshow

Great rides on the last few days of the year and starting into the new year!

Happy New year all:
NoRacer Looks like you are off to a great start already. I couldn't check out the pictures because of our "in-house' security. Did the rains hinder you at all. I was hoping to ride on Barry's trip on the NCR trail. I didn't see anything posted and figured the rain washed it out. I was able to ride some yesterday, wind was a problem but nice warm sunshine. i only rode 30+ miles as I had to squeeze the ride in between parties. I am tied of parties, ready to get into the bike commute routine. Last years totals were a lot less than the previous years, didn't quite get 4K. Still a fun year biking. Be safe this year folks and get peddling.

Happy New Year!

Charlie, no the rain wasn't a problem except for at the end of a ride that I didn't take pictures on--30th of December; the "How Green Was My Valley" century with the DC Randonneurs (again). It didn't rain hard, but it was enough to create the need to WD-40 all of the metal parts and re-lube the moving parts.

Happy Biking New Year, Maryland peeps!

My new bike (Trek 520) arrived on Saturday, 22 December. It was already near dark by the time I got home with it, and I couldn't resist, so I actually delayed my trip to PA to see the family so that I could ride it on Sunday. :) Just a short ride (20 miles -- my sitbones were definitely not happy with the stock saddle) but I enjoyed it, despite the misty damp (I did manage to finish before the real rain showed up.)

The new bike would have been perfect for a post-Christmas NCR Trail ride, but alas, my new saddle had not yet arrived. So I rode the Airborne at the airport, just 3 slow laps around -- over the Christmas holiday, I managed to catch a very sudden, very severe head cold, and breathing (without coughing) was a challenge.

But I'm feeling much better now (*very* weird how fast that cold came and went!), and my new saddle just arrived today, and I am so happy to be starting a new year of riding.

Best wishes to everyone for a healthy and happy new year, and lots of fun both on and off the bikes!

Nice touring bike, Maxine! I hope to see it sometime this year--perhaps on a BBC ride. (Or, maybe a DC Randonneur ride?)

It's a goal of mine this year to do at least one ride with both groups! :D I suspect the Airborne might be a better choice for those monster hilly rando rides, though -- it's about 3 pounds lighter.

Enjoy your new bike. I almost bought that model a few years back. My main ride is a touring bike. I chose comfort over weight. I can spin that thing all day and never get tired, tho' not very fast(I'll leave that to noracer). Are you ready for the hills of Catonsville. Your Trek probably has 3 front rings so the hills should be a piece of cake. I rode Gun last night after stopping by the 'new to me' bike shop on Rt 1, Avalon cycles. Seemed like a decent shop and it's near my train and had a freewheel remover I needed. Charlie

Thanks, Charlie. Yeah, I am all about comfort; if there's speed involved too, well, that's just icing on the cake. :) The Airborne is actually quite comfy, but the Trek felt *so* smooth and stable and quiet -- I was really itching to ride it a lot longer, but I just couldn't hack the saddle. It does have a triple in front, with an 11/32 cassette, so I should be able to crawl uphill nicely. :D When I want hills, I still head back up to Sparks, where I used to live; I really have to get the dirt from you on good Catonsville routes. It would be nice to just ride from the front door again.

Baltimore City here.

^^^^
Welcome!

Pomalift welcome!!!

Well it looks like my friend is backing out of the NCR ride, so if someone wants to do that Sunday with me I'm open and willing to cut back from going all the way to York (but would like to go to New Freedom at least.)

I will note that we will be riding out to Patapsco Park on Tuesday ~10 AM and people are welcome to join us for that.

Hi, I'm almost in Baltimore city. Missed by a few blocks.

I thought the ride was for last weekend! I was going to go to WVa to ski this wknd but rain might be in the forecast. I'll check and get back to you about Sunday. Will you ride "to" the NCR or drive. I've ridden from Catonsville to the NCR trail last year, then rode almost to york and back to Towson. I don't think there's enough light and enough leg to do this on Sunday. I can drive to NCR if needed, then bike to York. C

Me, too!

I *should* be able to come out Sunday morning (might not know until near the last minute, though) but I have to be in Parkville (clean and dry and in non-biking clothes, LOL!) by 6:00 p.m., so I may have to turn around early.

Happy New year locals.

Recently, I've been tweaking my commute route (Hampden-Owings Mills-Hampden) to try to get a bit more hill training in.
Here are the up and back routes:
http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path...ork-1204-climb
http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/1000-commute-home
Both are about 60'/mile of climbing. 1000' total. Are there any other good steep hills in this corridor that I'm missing?

GreaterB try this for the way to work: http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/95394
For an optional zigzag; take Lake to Falls and then Lakeside Dr/Woodbrook to Charles St. Note that this route has a bit of natural surface bike path and its a little hard to find the first time.
(Sort of thinking out loud on this route.)

On the way home I would stay on Smith and on the other side of Kelly take Sulgrave over to Greenspring. And take the roads behind (north of) the Zoo.


So about the NCR trail: I will be riding from my house to the trail. I'll leave around 8 AM to get to the Paper Mill Parking lot before 10 AM. So far they are predicting 30% chance of rain and a high of 51. In my book 30% chance of rain means it won't rain on me if I am out riding my bike (as opposed to it will rain if you stay home and wash the car. ;)) And 51 degrees is too good to pass up.

Let me know if there is any definites for the ride (before 8 AM on Sun) otherwise I'll probably do a BBC ride.