NoRacer

You can register here:

https://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=5023

If you do not have a "permanent" USAC license, you'll have to purchase one for the day at an added cost beyond the entry fee of $10.

bobby c

No Covered Bridge for me, but I'll be at the following:

Aug. 26: Blue Ridge Extreme - https://www.blueridgeextreme.com/
Sept. 1: Bay Country Century - https://www.teamsnowvalley.com/events/BCC/default.php
Sept. 8: Civil War Century - https://www.baltobikeclub.org/index.pl/cwc

FatguyRacer

Im out for the BRE now. My wife asked me to bail since that weekend is the first anniversery of her mothers death. She was going with me to Afton to support me, but she's worried about her father who's still struggling with it all. The reminds me, i'd better cancel my reservations at the Afton Inn.

I'll be working the BCC. I'll probably go back on Sunday and do it myself unsagged.

I'd love to do the Civil War Century but it's the day before the clubs recently added Church Creek TT.
I might come out and ride one of the shorter options that skip all the big hills. I really wanna do a good TT. Since my goal is a return to racing full time in 2008, a good result here will let me know if my training is on the right track.

All my training for the next two months will be TT. I wish to set a new PR at the Seagull this year.

donhaller 

Yep, I'll be there 8/17 through 8/19. We are staying at the Hampton Inn both Friday and Saturday night. I have some of my Team in Training Friends hooking up there too. Seems like this is going to be a huge ride. I'm really looking forward to it. I wish it was 100 miles, but still it should be a great day. Anyone else here should check out the thread here on Northeast forum if you haven't already.

donhaller 

NoRacer, you changed your Avatar! It will take me a few days but I'll get accustomed to it.

NoRacer

The new avatar is from the only race pic of me that I know of.

Hopefully, there will be more to choose from in the future.

Plinkey

I'll be there. Probably only showing up for the Sunday ride and not the Sat. social ride. I don't think that my gf would appreciate it if I bailed on her on Sat night when she is driving from Erie to see me for the weekend...ha.

gurana

i'm planning on doing the covered bridge ride. I'll know more certainly after I attempt a longer 57 mile ride this saturday.

BTW, where are some good places to stop and replenish water along the B&A trail and/or BWI loop? I'd prefer not to have to go into a store or anything... wouldn't know what to do with my bike, and the thought of waiting in line in my gear kinda freaks me out

WJ13US

There are two that I can think of on the B&A. The ranger station that is about 3 miles south of Marley Station Mall. There are also some outside vending machines across the street. They also have clean bathrooms. Then there is a water fountain at one of the intersections towards the end but I can't remember which one. Its easy to spot.

There is also a snow ball stand about half way in a parking lot right off the trail, they also sell water for $1 That too is easy to find because I'm sure there will be some cyclists there taking a break.

Bill

gurana

Thanks bill. As always, you've been a great help

Panic

I'm looking to move to Maryland (this will probably jinx that opportunity), but you guys have Sno ball stands? I live in CT and we have nothing like that (damn Yankees).

Just for clarification - have any of you had a Snoball in New Orleans and if so, is it similar?

Sorry to go OT - but I may have to expand my job search if you've got SnoWizard snoballs.

derath

Hey guys,

Critique my ride please. I am dropping the kiddies at my folks saturday/night and picking them back up sunday. I am good on the ride home sat. But sunday I will be going a different way.

https://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/63855

I am mostly interested in the section between 795 and the BWI trail. most of these roads I have never ridden so I don't know if I picked a decent route or a "Holy crap I hope I don't die" one.

-D

The Human Car

I think the only "Holy crap I hope I don't die" bit is on Washington Blvd. I would turn on South St (Patapsco Park Entrance but staying to the right) Rolling Rd, Cedar Ave. Or if you are into some hill climbing fun you can avoid Washington Blvd all together by going up Levering Ave, River Rd, Gun Rd.

rizz

Yeah, we have those stands all over the place. There's a place in Linthicum that used to have three of them within a few blocks of each other.

Me, personally, I like the Aquafina-flavored crushed ice treats.

derath

More like this?

https://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/63855

Keep in mind I will be heading south in this scenario. I think your directions were talking in the northernly direction.

-D

The Human Car

That should do it. And I did have the direction mixed up.

derath

Thanks,

Yea this is my ride home tomorrow

https://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Home-from-Parents

gurana

[edit: long post w/ pseudo ride report]

I did it! Patapsco valley to bwi loop to b&a trail and back (completing the bwi loop). My final numbers:

58.76 mi
15.6 mph avg
3h:45m:15s

This is my longest solo ride ever. I probably had no business attempting this, but having done so I feel a real sense of accomplishment. I also feel a lot better about doing the Lancaster Covered Bridges Metric Centruy this coming sunday.

All week long I had been planning on starting around 7ish and taking my time. My wife, however, decided to make a hair appt on that day so I needed to be back by 11:15 to take care of the kid. This was a pretty good motivator for me to keep my average speed up. If I had left at the original time I planned and rode 12 mph average, my calculations put me back pretty much exactly at 11:15. So I left about a half hour earlier and tried to push myself as much as I thought was possible to sustain.

A few notes, recollections about the ride:

- I'd done the first portion of this ride through patapsco state park a couple of times this season, and the portion leading up to the BWI loop one other time. I noticed that while there were some hills leading up to the loop, it did seem a lot flatter this time around. Also, I'm using the brakes less and less going down the Ilchester hill... got up to 47mph this time!

-To get to the B&A from the BWI loop I used FatguyRacer's first suggestion (stewart>old stage, becoming Thelma, becoming Aquahart to the trail) because it seemed the most direct and easy to understand. I will note that even though you essentially stay on the sidewalk if you are continuing on the loop, get onto the road if you are turning right at Stewart. I thought perhaps the sidewalk here was apart of the trail too, but I was apparently mistaken. There was a very indignant looking man along the sidewalk here walking two dogs giving me the evil eye as if to say "why the hell aren't you on the road?" He even did that shoulder-shrugh with palm facing upwards as I passed... I apologized when I got close. Though at the time I was thinking, "Screw you buddy. It was a mistake, but it's not like there isn't plenty of room." Now though, he was definitely right and I should have stopped and taken my bike off onto the road once I realised what I did was wrong.

- My first rest stop was the ranger station. I asked about water stops the other day, but once I got to the ranger station I realized that I had stopped there the one other time I did the B&A coming from the other direction. I hadn't gone through my water yet, so I just used the restroom and went on my way. Once I re-entered the trail, a guy in what looked like a BikeDoctor team kit passed. I caught up to him and asked if he minded if I grabbed his wheel for a little while. He said no problem. A little into it I realized that he was in his small ring and I was doing all I could to hang on in my big ring. It must've been his warm up. I was a little torn as to if I should offer to pull, figuring that I'd only slow him down if he was training. I offered anyways and he politely said it wasn't necessary (He didn't explicitly tell me not to, which was nice ) We were cruising along at about 18 to 20mph. I hung on to his wheel for the next 5 or so miles (it may not have even been that long) and he quietly changed to his big ring and went on a head. I said thanks and bye. Before that though we had passed another fellow that was a little back from me. He caught me and we did a kind of clumsy turn taking. Eventually though he passed me one last time, something slowed me down to the point where he dropped me and I just let him go. It was nice to draft, but the pulling was starting to get to me and I needed to conserve my energy for the return trip home.

-At the end of the trail I had a little snack and chatted it up with some guy apparently from my same area, although I forget if he said he rode from Ellicott City or not. He was a nice guy that I would've enjoyed chatting with longer and perhaps even riding a little bit on the way back, except I had to get back for my wifes' hair appointment... damn her! In anycase, I figured I was about half way through, and at 8:30 I was well ahead of the pace I had set for myself.

-The rest of the ride along the two trails went along more or less without incident. Nowhere along the way did I run into another cyclist I could have drafted or talked to or anything, so it was a lot of meditative riding... always keeping an eye on my average speed and the time.

-One thing did happen, possibly, on Aquahart on the way back to the BWI loop... I was coming up on some kind of large orange vehicle on the side of the road in the right hand lane. Just ahead of it was a couple of guys in orange jump suits I guess picking up trash. Just before I got to them, however, I thought I heard one of them say "***!!!"... this kind of thing doesn't phase me, but I did note that he was picking up trash on a saturday, while I was having a great time riding my bike. Besides, I wasn't sure I did actually hear that, and if I did it could also have been from a passing car on my left. It wouldn't have been the first time it happened to me while out on the road.

-The last 10 miles or so were pretty horrible. Like I said, there had been some hills, but pretty much once I got to the BWI loop it was all flat riding. Once off the loop, things started to get hairy. The hill up Stony Run Rd to Ridge rd wasn't bad... Hanover, after you pass race road heading up towards montgomery rd really hurt after 50 miles or so of riding. I did note that my average speed up to this point, just before the train tracks on hanover, was about 17.7 mph

-Finally, not once did I use my granny gear in the entire trip!!! Having accomplished that, it gives me reason to second guess my thoughts on changing to a double. Previously, I always told myself that if I did convert to a double I would go compact... now that I've done this the prospect of simply ditching my safety net doesn't seem so far-fetched.

FatguyRacer

A couple years ago a buddy and I would stop at the coffee shop off the trail @ the McKenzie Rd crossing on our Sunday morning rides.

Theres also another fountain on the trail just past the East-West Bypass overpass as you head toward the Earliegh Heights ranger station.

There is a 7-11 off the trail in Harundale and the Luckys at Jumpers Hole and Elvaton Rd is cyclist friendly and stocks Gatorade. Pretty cheap too at 1.65 for the quart bottle. They also make sammichs too! There is also a for use by B&A trail users PortaJohn on his parking lot. (unless they took it away)

NoRacer

Good job, gurana!

See you in Lancaster Sunday. I'll be the one wearing a pink Team BBC jersey (probably).

calhoun1

There is also the fire station right there after you cross Crain Highway heading toward BWI. They are pretty nice about not minding if you refill your bottles.

I ride from EastWest Blvd with a group up to BWI, around clockwise, out Stony Run, Right on Ridge Rd, left on Hanover Rd, Right on Race Rd, Right on Furnace Ave, then Right up Ridge road back to Stony Run and continuing the BWI loop.

The bit up Ridge Rd adds a nice little climb if you are looking for a little extra.

derath

Must have been the weekend of Lancaster prep. I probably just missed you Gurana. Since it was such a nice weekend I was determined to make up for an overall crappy riding year. My wife and I had a party saturday night so I took the kids to my parents for an overnight with the intention of biking home. I am not going to be too detailed 'cause I'm tired and need to get to sleep.

Anyhow, my ride home was great. I got started a bit later than I wanted, and there was more climbing than I expected, sorta. But the scenery was great.

Ride data here

Items of note:

1. I didn't bring enough water. I refilled at a Highs, but still ran out of water about an hour before the end.
2. I cramped up really bad about 8 miles from home. I literally kinda just had to fall over. Both quads tightened up to the point I couldn't walk. I just had to sit on the side of the road for 5-10 minutes and work them out. I attribute this mostly to #1.
3. College Ave is STEEP. After turning off Illchester it was like hitting a wall. I am not embarrassed to say I DID use my granny gear. Heck my front wheel was coming off the ground as I pedaled.

I got home, cleaned up and went out with my wife for a nice evening.

Sunday morning, I had to work in the Nursery at Church (every volunteers from time to time). So I biked to church

After that I continued on to pick the kiddies back up. Towards the end my dad called. He had just dropped his bike off at the shop and was a few minutes from where I was so he picked me up. I could have finished the ride but I also missed my kids.

Overall it was a great bunch of riding. Final stats

103 miles
6900 feet of climbing.

BEST WEEKEND EVAR!

-D

WJ13US

Hats off to you derath.

I live by Ilchester and ride around there a lot. I always see people going up and down Ilchester but I don't think I've ever seen anyone attempting to go up College Ave. I wonder what the stats are for that hill? I'm sure its steeper than 18%.

Bill

NoRacer

Whoohoo! Good job, -D!

I'll have to check out College Ave one of these days.

derath

It is steep. Also the worst part is I ran into a couple Kelly team riders right at that intersection so I missed the turn. I only figured it out halfway down the hill on Illchester.

You should. I mashed up in my granny gear and ended up walking the second half cause my heart exploded.

-D