WJ13US

I too went tthrough the construction area at about 5:45. There was a rather attractive woman holding a big sign that said SLOW so when I passed I said "SLOW !?! are you making fun of me?" She just laughed and said "Of course not."

Funny how many of use ride the same area and I'm sure wave at each other all the time, but don't know who we are. Maybe we should all wear our screen names on our jersey's. Use electrical tape to make the letters, that should stand out.

Bill

The Human Car

LOL I totally agree that putting bike route sign info on a green signs against a green background of trees is not exactly the best way to get attention to those signs.

One of the things I am looking into is trying to get bike specific signage on the pavement in addition to those signs, much like what you see for a big bike ride.

The Human Car

Kudos also goes to the Department of Planning who loaned us Gary Letteron, to help with repair as well as Beth Wacks of Velocipede and lets not forget the Police department who helped get us the bikes in the first place. I only did two of the ten bikes so most of the credit goes to the other folks, I was too busy goofing off by giving camera men rides on the back of my bike. I hear channel 13's report (all while riding the loop) was real good.

I will also mention if anyone is interested on fixing up one of these beater bikes for use on the trail from the comfort of their own home PM me. The more bikes we have and the more often we can say they were all rented out the more attention to general bike issues we can generate in the city. And the more the city is into bikes the more the surrounding counties will be into bikes.

Also three of the ten beach cruiser bikes have been returned so far.

NoRacer

I thought about doing that, but I was afraid that if I pi$$ed someone local off on here, I could become an "accident".

Plinkey

Well, if any of you see a guy in a red jersey on a blue bike sweating his ass off and going about 5 miles per hour up hill....that's probably me.

WJ13US

As not to be confused with the guy on the gray bike in the white jersey doing the same speed.


Bill

The Human Car

I’m easy to spot, a bike with big honking panniers (Xtracycle) and I am tall and skinny, that description should narrow it down to me or my son. If you’re interested here is a recent pic https://www.flickr.com/photos/doug_re...7600470977852/

Plinkey: If you pass someone going up hill, it might be me.

rizz

Anyone ever do the informal Bike Doctor ride in Easton on Sunday mornings? Sounds like a fun 40'ish mile trip and it'd be even more fun to meet some forum folks in person.

gurana

I've not heard of that... got a link or something with info? I guess not if it's informal...

rizz

I don't believe it's posted anywhere. The guys in the shop said they start a double paceline ride around 8 AM on Sunday mornings until it gets pretty cold, which hopefully means they'll be doing it for quite a few more months. One said they had between 5-10 riders and went anywhere from their shop to Easton, St. Michaels and Trappe, generally riding until 11 AM'ish and doing 20-50 miles depending on how many want to keep rolling. Even said they did it no drop-style. He also said they were looking for more folks so they could do bigger rides

I just started riding a few months ago and it still takes me around 1:40 to do 30 miles solo, so I'm trying to decide if I should give it a go and just play slow-guy-at-the-back-of-the-pack. It'd definitely be more fun if I could meet some BF folks at the same time, hence my original post. 8)

New record for me today, though, and I'm darn proud of it: 32 minutes to go 10 miles, including a rear tire tube change. Man, my tire went KA-POW like it's never done before. I really hate having to ride on shoulders. 8(

gurana

On saturday I did that patapsco to BWI loop I was asking about last week. At the end, my numbers were:

34.15 mi
2:31:35 time of riding
13.5 mph avg. speed.

However, my avg speed and total time would've been a little better had I been alone (also the total mileage would've been a little lower too). My brother in law went with me, and he was on his wife's walmart-esque mountain bike with knobby tires. Essentially I was either riding slower to talk, or I rode on ahead to the next major turn, and then went back to grab him, riding slower until the next major turn. In fact, after we were about half done with the loop (by the observation park on the south side of the loop) we took a little snack break and he said that I should just ride up ahead and wait for him where we joined the trail. I did that and then rode back to him. By the time I met him again I had back-tracked about two miles.

I think next weekend, time allowing, I'm going to do the same route, possibly adding the B&A trail to the mix... not sure my legs are ready for that yet. But, just in case I do, can somebody tell me where the B&A meets up with the BWI loop?

maxine

The link between the two trails is kind of odd. If you start out at the Dixon Observation Area, and ride down the hill, through that curvy, tree-covered section that puts you right under the landing planes, and then when you emerge from the trees, you go up a very short, very shallow hill and continue on down to the traffic light that lets your cross Dorsey Road. Well, instead of going straight toward the light, at the top of that short shallow hill, make a very sharp, steep right turn, which puts you onto the sidewalk. (I think there are actually some trail signs right there, but as I recall, they're not very clear.) Follow the sidewalk over an overpass, down to the bottom of the small hill, where there's a crosswalk over . . . I think it's Stewart Road, but I'm not sure. I think there's another trail sign. Cross the road, and then (and this is kind of weird) you go through this little cul-de-sac of people's houses, and then you'll be back on the macadam trail again. It gets very curvy and woody again, and you'll pass by some ball fields and a senior citizen's center, and you'll emerge to find yourself riding alongside Dorsey Road again, right by the Fifth Regiment Armory. Right before you get to B&A Boulevard, the trail turns right, and it becomes the B&A Trail at that point.

If you've never ridden the extreme north end of the B&A, there is another, even more squirrelly section just before Crain Highway where it can be easy to lose where the "trail" is if you don't know . . . I can't remember if there are trail signs or not.

WJ13US

gurana:

Sure..here you go.

Per you map when you get onto the BWI trail head counterclockwise towards Observation Park (I think that is what its colled the one off Dorsey Rd).

Pass through the park and about 1 mile past the park you come out onto Stewart Ave. You would make a left to stay on the BWI trail but make a right to go over RT97. There is a sign but I know how you are about spotting signs. At the bottom of the overpass make a left onto the connecting trail. This is easy to miss but again there is a sign and I think a painted cross walk.

Follow that trail through a park, keep to the right as to not go into the park.

You will come out on to a sidewalk. Cross over Central Ave and go about 3/4 block. The trail head is on your right right across from the end of the light rail tracks. The trail was made out the unused tracks.

If you not sure about the distance you may want to drive to Observation park (get there early it fills up fast). Or go the Marley Station Mall and park behind JC Penny you can get on the trail there.

After you feel comfortable with the distance you next goal will be to go to Annapolis.

Bill

FatguyRacer

Having just a little bit of local knowledge goes along way. I used to live in Glen Burnie. I avoid the small connector trail thru Sawmill Creek Park like the plaugue.

Heres a quicker over the road link between the two trails.

Once you make the r/t to go over the I-97 overpass as described above, stay off the sidewalk and just get on the road. At the bottom of the hill (just past the crosswalk), brake hard and turn right on Thelma Ave. Stay on Thelma to cross over Donaldson Ave and a short distance to cross Crain Highway too. Road is now Aquahart Rd. Stay on Aquahart all the way to the B&A trail @ the Bill Batemans Bistro. Theres a Brewsters Ice Cream stand in the parking lot. Doing this avoids the sketchiest parts of the B&A.

There is another shortcut thru Olde Glen Burnie, but try this one first.

gurana

hey...

I'll have you know that when I did that route I did see the sign I previously missed... before I got out there on saturday, I assumed that the sign I missed was the one off of furnace ave. It turns out the one I missed was the one at the T intersection at the end of Race Rd, because as I was riding it on saturday, it all looked familiar. The sign at the end of Race Rd though WAS STRAIGHT AHEAD AND IN PLAIN SIGHT!!! I honestly don't know what I was on when I missed it that time in my car.

Many thanks though to you and everyone with the info. I'll map it out later this afternoon.

The Human Car

My ride to the BBC Corn Roast ride: https://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Balto-Westminster

maxine

I never minded the Sawmill Creek part so much (especially if it were early enough in the day), but I've always disliked that whole section around Crain Highway and the courthouse, so I too would often just stay on Stewart Avenue and take some back roads to get back to the trail -- I don't think I ever went quite the way you mention, and I can't even remember the road names now, but I think I used to end up getting back on at . . . what is that, 5th Avenue or something? I think that's it, just a bit north of Aquahart.

FatguyRacer

I almost never go the way i mention since i know the way thru Olde Glen Burnie. I just mentioned it since its easier to follow. There are also traffic lights at Donaldson and Crain where they intersect with Thelma. It's a little safer, but not by much. As always, YMMV.

I dont like the crossing at the light at Post 40 road either. It takes forever to go green even when you push the crosswalk button. When i cut thru Olde G.B. I cut across the next intesection over to the south. Theres a stop sign there and that road parallels the trail and bounds the plot of land with the trail where they do the annual GB Carnival. Oh, they were starting to set up for it yesterday BTW. I pick up the trail there where the roads come together to from a Y.

To get there my way - after the going down the overpass, stay on Stewart all the way to the end and make a r/t on 4th Ave, than a quick 100' or so to a l/t on C Street (if you time it right with traffic, you never have to hit the brakes). Follow C street a couple blocks to a r/t on 1st Ave. Then take 1st Ave across Crain Highway like i mention above.

I take this same route backward if im heading toward BWI from the B&A. Which lately is almost never.

Yesterday i did a little more than a metric from my house in Crownsville to Patapsco to the BWI to the B&A thru and to Annapolis and back to Crownsville. I stopped for lunch at the halfway point at the Subway on Avation Blvd.

I needed that Subway Club right about then.

gurana

FYI: Patapsco to BWI Loop to B&A Trail

I'm posting this so that others may have some sort of reference when looking at either the BWI Loop trail or the B&A trail. Certainly, it seems that I'm the only guy here that doesn't know the area that well. I did it on mapmyride.com because I thought it was more accurate than routeslip or bikely. However, I've come to learn that perhaps this is incorrect...

oh well... I guess if I always use mapmyride then I'll be able to guage a routes difficulty in a relative fashion... Although, looking at the elevation profile for this route, it says that the ascent is like 418ft. Maybe that's just the difference between the highest and lowest point of the ride, as opposed to the sum of all the ascents over the course of the route? I thought that it was giving me total climbing, like routeslip does.

gurana

Because I have no life, I did this same route on routeslip to see the elevation differences...

Few interesting notes on routslip:

First of all, the route I linked above is actually the second time I tried to make it (like I said, no life ). The first time it was unable to save, probably because I had like 3000+ points on it. Why so many points? Well, it seems that routeslip determines total climbing by examining each pair of adjacent points. When you go from one point to another, it simply adds the positive elevation change to the total. In fact, if you were to click on two separate points, paying no attention to whether or not they were on a road, and looked at the elevation profile, it would be a straight line. This tells me that routeslip doesn't take any sample data between the points you plot... so if you want an accurate elevation profile, you need as many points, and as close together, as possible. For instance, if you map out a long straight road over rolling terrain, and the starting/ending points are at the same elevation, you won't tally any climbing for that portion of the ride.

Does any of that make a difference? It seems to. Like I said, the first time I tried to map this, I put in as many points as I could... I was zoomed in pretty much all the way, and I was putting the points very very close together. I wasn't able to save it (there is an entry for it under my routeslip profile, but the map won't actually load) but the totals it gives me are: 57.59 mi, 3247.9 ft climbing. The second time I did this route, I used as few points as possible. The totals it returns are: 57.49 mi, 2441.5 ft climbing. That's a difference of 806 ft.

donhaller 

Your elavation gain for that route seems a bit high. I'll have to check my rides on MotionBased.com, as I log them with my Garmin. It's a good route for my weekday rides though.

The Human Car

PM me if you are intereseted in helping or taking a bike home to work on. TIA

-=Barry=-

Fwd:

WJ13US

If anyone is interested in the Illchester TT here's the link.

https://www.chesapeakewheelmen.org/HiwayToHeavenTT.pdf

donhaller 

I didn't ride for two weeks and I felt like a ton of bricks the other day when I went out. I rode two days in a row at a slow to moderate pace and then didn't ride at all yesterday. Today I went out after the rain passed and wound up doing 45 miles around the neighborhood. I felt much better today, and think I'll be fine up in Lancaster in two weeks.

Link to today's ride around Northern Anne Arundel County

NoRacer

Who's going to the Covered Bridge ride in Lancaster? Is this the one you're referring to, Don?