I’m not going to lie, when the alarms went off at 5:30 this morning I would have been happy to turn them off and go straight back to sleep. But no, I dragged myself out of bed, put on yesterday’s damp riding costume, and headed downstairs to the easy carb loading offered by the Holiday Inn Express complimentary breakfast–thanks, Jackie, for putting it out early for us! We got on buses for a ride over the bridge before collecting our bikes, slathering on sunscreen, and putting air in our tires.
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Moveable Feast
Train Tracks Along Some Part of the NCR Trail
I got up super early today, choked down some coffee and oatmeal, and went outside to meet A. for a drive out to the beginning of the NCR Trail in Hunt Valley and the mission to ride the whole thing, up to York, PA. That’s 80 miles, and I was kind of terrified that I wouldn’t be able to do it. Long story short, I did, and along the way I saw a river, flowering trees against green backdrops, a zillion other cyclists, far fewer dogs than expected, and I crossed the Mason-Dixon Line and rode into Pennsylvania where I saw the green turn into the industrial wasteland that is every city everywhere, it seems. Continue reading
Trees and Trucks at Falls & Shawan in Cockeysville
It’s Saturday, which meant it was time for another long ride in preparation for the big ride coming up next month. J. was leading the same ride as last week, this time with an extra loop to get the mileage up. I woke up to sunny skies out my bedroom window, warm in the sun, so I put on not-enough-layers and sunscreen before heading up to the farmer’s market to meet today’s riders. Continue reading
Lunch Table at the Women’s Industrial Exchange Restaurant at Charles & Pleasant
Today’s ride was a quick one, just down the hill to meet J. for lunch and a chat about bicycling, one of my most favorite topics. I woke up to rain, but it was just a bare mist when I headed out, and besides, what am I going to do? Drive downtown and park? Please. I took Maryland Avenue, which is a speedy ride and takes me over the freeway. Continue reading
What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today 