NoRacer

• Holtwood PA Loop - Part 2
• Holtwood PA Loop - Part 1
• Cycle 05:17 am
• Cycle 03:28 pm
• ALERT - Shimano's Toyota?
• Cycle 03:31 pm
• Reaching 2,000 miles
• Esssex2Annapolis - Part 2
• Esssex2Annapolis - Part 1
• Snurricane (Snow Hurricane) Ride

Holtwood PA Loop - Part 2

Reaching the Royal Farm Store at the corner of RT 222 and Conowingo Rd, I stopped for lunch ordering a Bahama Mama hot dog with spicy mustard, ketchup, jalapeno cheese sauce, jalapeno slices, pickle relish, and onions. Also, I had a small order of western fries and a 16 ounce coffee. Man, did that hit the spot, but I was afraid that I didn't load up on enough carbs. To be determined, I guess. My lunch stop was about 45 minutes. I was starting to get sleepy and the legs felt like they were ready to quit for the day, too. Time to get going! This next part is always stressful. The Conowingo Dam has two lanes that get narrow at the end I was traveling to. Also, the dam's road is shaped like a bowl. It kick uphill on each end. Heading down the one side, I tried to maintain momentum across. Car traffic wasn't having any problems getting around me...yet. Wait until the other end. Making it to the other side, I was pleasantly surprised that no one was behind me. In fact, I was able to cross over to make my next left on to Shuresville Rd with ease. From Shuresville comes Stafford Rd, then Rock Run Rd. The next photo op was in the Conowingo part of Susquehanna State Park (there's actually a few of these parks along the river): From here, I climbed away from the river up Rock Run Rd to Darlington Rd, then Level Rd RT 155 following it to Havre de Grace on RT 40. I followed RT 40 back to Essex, but not after having to stop to address a flat tire nearing Riverside Business Park and one last stop at a BP gas station (/liquor store?) for some Coke-a-Cola and Gatorade. It really didn't seem like I was out all day, but I was. I guess that it means that I enjoyed the ride! I definitely enjoyed the warmer temperatures and the bright sunshine. Ride Summary (Click to view): Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 130 ft Location: Conowingo, MD, Elev. Gain: -200 ft Date: 03/06/10 Up/Downhill: [+2290/-2490] Time: 04:00 PM Difficulty: 4.2 / 5.0   Weather: Sunny   46 F temp; 31% humidity   46 F heat index; winds NW 8 mph Performance Distance: 44.99 miles Time: 2:41:39 Speed: 16.7 mph Pace: 3' 36 /mi Calories: 2066 Notes Flat at mile 25 and stopped for drinks at mile 33 of this half of the ride. Map   Elevation (ft)   Speed (mph)   Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 2' 51 -0' 44 21.0 +4.3 -184 ft 2 3' 36 +0' 00 16.6 -0.1 +78 ft 3 5' 15 +1' 39 11.4 -5.3 +128 ft 4 4' 24 +0' 48 13.6 -3.1 +13 ft 5 3' 12 -0' 23 18.7 +2.0 -109 ft 6 2' 12 -1' 23 27.1 +10.4 -207 ft 7 3' 19 -0' 16 18.0 +1.3 +6 ft 8 4' 54 +1' 18 12.2 -4.5 +72 ft 9 6' 36 +3' 00 9.1 -7.6 +187 ft 10 4' 57 +1' 21 12.1 -4.6 +101 ft 11 3' 50 +0' 14 15.6 -1.1 +3 ft 12 3' 22 -0' 13 17.8 +1.1 +33 ft 13 3' 32 -0' 03 17.0 +0.3 +13 ft 14 3' 07 -0' 28 19.2 +2.5 -26 ft 15 2' 39 -0' 56 22.6 +5.9 -98 ft 16 1' 51 -1' 44 32.4 +15.7 -246 ft 17 3' 42 +0' 06 16.2 -0.5 +19 ft 18 2' 49 -0' 46 21.2 +4.5 -26 ft 19 3' 16 -0' 19 18.3 +1.6 +6 ft 20 3' 08 -0' 27 19.1 +2.4 0 ft 21 3' 11 -0' 24 18.8 +2.1 +20 ft 22 2' 51 -0' 44 21.0 +4.3 -16 ft 23 2' 59 -0' 36 20.0 +3.3 -17 ft 24 3' 36 +0' 00 16.6 -0.1 +3 ft 25 5' 43 +2' 07 10.5 -6.2 -30 ft 26 3' 29 -0' 06 17.2 +0.5 +3 ft 27 3' 31 -0' 04 17.0 +0.3 +3 ft 28 4' 20 +0' 44 13.8 -2.9 +26 ft 29 3' 07 -0' 28 19.2 +2.6 -23 ft 30 3' 28 -0' 07 17.3 +0.6 -10 ft 31 4' 22 +0' 46 13.7 -3.0 +68 ft 32 4' 37 +1' 01 13.0 -3.7 +43 ft 33 7' 03 +3' 27 8.5 -8.2 -33 ft 34 3' 06 -0' 29 19.3 +2.6 -91 ft 35 3' 33 -0' 02 16.9 +0.2 +32 ft 36 4' 18 +0' 42 13.9 -2.8 +82 ft 37 3' 09 -0' 26 19.0 +2.3 -49 ft 38 2' 52 -0' 43 20.9 +4.2 -53 ft 39 3' 15 -0' 20 18.4 +1.7 +20 ft 40 4' 03 +0' 27 14.8 -1.9 +75 ft 41 2' 36 -0' 59 22.9 +6.2 -43 ft 42 3' 17 -0' 18 18.2 +1.5 -40 ft 43 3' 34 -0' 01 16.8 +0.1 -4 ft 44 3' 27 -0' 08 17.4 +0.7 +7 ft end 4' 40 +1' 04 12.8 -3.9 +56 ft Versus average of 16.7 mph:     Slower     Faster

Holtwood PA Loop - Part 1

Up at 5:30am--pressed the "snooze button" 4 times. Do I really want to do this? Coffee's on the brew, I'm having buttered toast, 2 slices for breakfast. Coffee's done--becomes cafe au lait. My mind is not quite clear, yet--disorganized. I get it together after some breakfast. Finally, I'm dressed, water bottles are full, and a small pack has room to store clothing as the day warms. I make my way to Pulaski Highway riding it to Edgewood where I pick up Mountain Rd RT 152. The climbing started just prior to Edgewood--much more to come as I ride up Mountain Rd, then turn north up RT 1 toward Bel Air MD. Passing west of Bel Air, RT 1 continues toward Conowingo, but I take a left on Smith Rd before then. Smith Rd leads into Castleton RT 623 which becomes RT 623 Flintville Rd. Approaching a bridge that intersects a tributary to the Susquehanna River, I come across this view (Click pictures for a larger version and caption): Further down the road is the sign for PA RT 74 Delta Rd, but first I have to negotiate Paper Mill Rd which was somewhat scary in that the road was loaded with potholes, frost lifts, and some ice in the shaded areas. I started to bomb down a hill that leads to a bridge at the bottom, but I had to slow way down due to the road hazards. At the bridge, I spotted these folks: The hardest climb of the entire ride was on this road leading away from the kayak stream. I was sure that I had slowed to walking speed coming up this section that had an 18-20 percent "kicker" on it. Finally, I make it to Delta Rd PA RT 74. It has a nice shoulder and is smooth and free of debris for the most part. You could tell that I was getting close to Lancaster--Amish buggy doody. I'm glad that the roads weren't wet. PA RT 372 Holtwood Rd was just ahead. There's a three-way stop light there and waiting on the opposite side of the road was a group of roadies--about 20 or so, in all. I make a right on to 372 before the bunch, but they catch up and pass me pretty quickly--good! I latch on to the group using the aero advantage of the peloton to stay with them all of the way to the Holtwood Bridge. In the meantime, I asked one of the riders where were they riding from--reply, Columbia PA: I nearly forgot that I wanted to take pictures from the bridge, not wanting to lose the group. I stopped anyway watching them ride off: Two views of the river from the Holtwood Bridge: After taking the pictures, I noticed that there were a few stragglers coming up behind me. Not wanting to miss a chance at "sucking wheel", I jumped behind one of the guys until he started to slow down. I continued to grind up the climb, away from the bridge, on my own, catching up with another straggler, sucking wheel again, then passing him. By this time, the other gent that I passed, earlier, caught back up and passed me. I jumped on his wheel and followed him all of the way to my turn at River Rd where I shouted, "See ya!" with no response back. Oh, well. On River Rd, I stopped to make a clothing adjustment, then I took these shots: I followed River Rd to RT 272, which then runs into RT 222. Most of this stretch is downhill, so I made really good time. Just in time, too. My stomach was feeling empty--I was feeling empty, running on fumes. I was so very thankful to arrive at the Royal Farm Store at the corner of RT 222 and Conowingo Rd. See Part 2. Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 345 ft Location: Essex, MD, Elev. Gain: +207 ft Date: 03/06/10 Up/Downhill: [+5679/-5472] Time: 12:00 PM Difficulty: 4.2 / 5.0   Weather: Sunny   44 F temp; 38% humidity   44 F heat index; winds NW 9 mph Performance Distance: 70.40 miles Time: 4:35:11 Speed: 15.4 mph Pace: 3' 54 /mi Calories: 3288 Map   Elevation (ft)   Speed (mph)   Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 4' 00 +0' 06 15.0 -0.4 -27 ft 2 3' 24 -0' 29 17.6 +2.2 -33 ft 3 3' 59 +0' 05 15.0 -0.4 +36 ft 4 4' 06 +0' 12 14.6 -0.8 +43 ft 5 2' 59 -0' 54 20.1 +4.7 -73 ft 6 3' 29 -0' 24 17.2 +1.8 -13 ft 7 3' 43 -0' 10 16.1 +0.7 +17 ft 8 4' 46 +0' 52 12.6 -2.8 +89 ft 9 2' 52 -1' 01 20.9 +5.5 -98 ft 10 3' 47 -0' 06 15.8 +0.4 -3 ft 11 4' 25 +0' 31 13.6 -1.8 +79 ft 12 3' 36 -0' 17 16.7 +1.3 +19 ft 13 4' 08 +0' 14 14.5 -0.9 +33 ft 14 4' 21 +0' 27 13.8 -1.6 +63 ft 15 5' 30 +1' 36 10.9 -4.5 +147 ft 16 3' 31 -0' 22 17.0 +1.6 -29 ft 17 4' 05 +0' 11 14.7 -0.7 +36 ft 18 4' 35 +0' 41 13.1 -2.3 +79 ft 19 2' 59 -0' 54 20.1 +4.7 -115 ft 20 2' 46 -1' 07 21.7 +6.3 -128 ft 21 6' 13 +2' 19 9.6 -5.8 +200 ft 22 3' 52 -0' 01 15.5 +0.1 -3 ft 23 3' 32 -0' 21 16.9 +1.5 +20 ft 24 4' 01 +0' 07 14.9 -0.5 +17 ft 25 3' 41 -0' 12 16.2 +0.8 +3 ft 26 3' 43 -0' 10 16.1 +0.7 +10 ft 27 3' 21 -0' 32 17.9 +2.5 -59 ft 28 2' 53 -1' 00 20.7 +5.3 -210 ft 29 5' 04 +1' 10 11.8 -3.6 +128 ft 30 4' 59 +1' 05 12.0 -3.4 +132 ft 31 3' 27 -0' 26 17.4 +2.0 -36 ft 32 3' 41 -0' 12 16.2 +0.8 +16 ft 33 3' 33 -0' 20 16.9 +1.5 -6 ft 34 3' 28 -0' 25 17.3 +1.9 -65 ft 35 3' 57 +0' 03 15.2 -0.2 -66 ft 36 5' 11 +1' 17 11.5 -3.9 +102 ft 37 2' 18 -1' 35 25.9 +10.5 -253 ft 38 6' 54 +3' 00 8.7 -6.7 +249 ft 39 4' 18 +0' 24 13.9 -1.5 +30 ft 40 3' 20 -0' 33 18.0 +2.6 -88 ft 41 5' 35 +1' 41 10.7 -4.7 +125 ft 42 3' 52 -0' 01 15.5 +0.1 -86 ft 43 5' 07 +1' 13 11.7 -3.7 +85 ft 44 3' 35 -0' 18 16.7 +1.3 -125 ft 45 7' 17 +3' 23 8.2 -7.2 +125 ft 46 4' 45 +0' 51 12.6 -2.8 +40 ft 47 5' 22 +1' 28 11.2 -4.2 +91 ft 48 4' 22 +0' 28 13.7 -1.7 -23 ft 49 2' 02 -1' 51 29.3 +13.9 -164 ft 50 1' 45 -2' 08 34.2 +18.8 -200 ft 51 4' 17 +0' 23 14.0 -1.4 +246 ft 52 5' 17 +1' 23 11.3 -4.1 +95 ft 53 3' 26 -0' 27 17.5 +2.1 -20 ft 54 3' 43 -0' 10 16.1 +0.7 +49 ft 55 3' 57 +0' 03 15.2 -0.2 +13 ft 56 4' 16 +0' 22 14.0 -1.4 +4 ft 57 3' 43 -0' 10 16.1 +0.7 -76 ft 58 5' 05 +1' 11 11.8 -3.6 +49 ft 59 4' 39 +0' 45 12.9 -2.5 +59 ft 60 2' 35 -1' 18 23.2 +7.8 -105 ft 61 2' 19 -1' 34 25.7 +10.3 -66 ft 62 2' 45 -1' 08 21.8 +6.3 -10 ft 63 2' 37 -1' 16 22.9 +7.5 -36 ft 64 2' 19 -1' 34 25.9 +10.5 -85 ft 65 3' 42 -0' 11 16.2 +0.8 +49 ft 66 3' 56 +0' 02 15.2 -0.2 +46 ft 67 3' 38 -0' 15 16.4 +1.0 +69 ft 68 3' 32 -0' 21 17.0 +1.6 -3 ft 69 2' 23 -1' 30 25.1 +9.7 -112 ft 70 3' 07 -0' 46 19.2 +3.8 +16 ft end 3' 05 -0' 48 19.4 +4.0 -85 ft Versus average of 15.4 mph:     Slower     Faster

Cycle 05:17 am

See Notes. Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 238 ft Location: Essex, MD, Elev. Gain: +387 ft Date: 03/04/10 Up/Downhill: [+1138/-751] Time: 06:33 AM Difficulty: 4.5 / 5.0   Weather: Partly Cloudy   35 F temp; 61% humidity   35 F heat index; winds NW 10 mph Notes Day 2 using new pair (front and back) Avid Shorty 6 "v"brakes (black). They were very noisy during yesterday's ride--squealed like a banshee with her hair caught in a shredder. The rear brakes were much better for some reason. I replaced the brake pads on the front with Kool Stop mountain bike pads. They are now completely silent and brake well. Map   Elevation (ft)

Cycle 03:28 pm

See Notes Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 224 ft Location: Towson, MD, Elev. Gain: -384 ft Date: 03/03/10 Up/Downhill: [+875/-1259] Time: 04:44 PM Difficulty: 3.5 / 5.0   Weather: Cloudy   42 F temp; 76% humidity   42 F heat index; winds NW 9 mph Notes I stopped at Performance Bike to trade in my Shimano CN-6700 chain with several cracks in side plates for a Wipperman chain--happy! Map   Elevation (ft)

ALERT - Shimano's Toyota?

When is Shimano going to realize that their chains are not providing quality to their customers? In fact, if it breaks while you are climbing, it could result in a rider falling.

The problem can be even greater for racers. Imagine hitting the gas in a sprint one moment and the next moment finding yourself on the ground.

This chain is 7 days old. It was purchased on 2/23/2010 from Performance Bike in Towson, MD. It was cleaned with WD-40 then treated with a teflon based lubricant during it's time on the bike.

Shimano needs to recall their CN-6700 chains (and perhaps their CN-7900 chains, as well). Notice the cracks in the side plates.






This chain was installed in the orientation described in the installation instructions, yet the side plates are cracked or broken.

More from other sources:

http://cozybeehive.blogspot.com/2010/02/shimano-ultegra-chain-failure.html

http://www.bv.com.au/forums/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=17935

Cycle 03:31 pm

See Notes. Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 193 ft Location: Towson, MD, Elev. Gain: -381 ft Date: 03/02/10 Up/Downhill: [+734/-1115] Time: 05:03 PM Difficulty: 3.9 / 5.0   Weather: Rain Shower   37 F temp; 89% humidity   37 F heat index; winds NE 2 mph Notes What a crappy commute--flat tire, new inner tube not seated correctly, and didn't check my bag after fixing inner tube seating dumping contents of one section all over the road while in a sprint across an intersection. Oh, and by the way, it's raining. Map   Elevation (ft)

Reaching 2,000 miles

I started with 1,938 miles needing another 62 miles to get to 2,000 miles for the first two months of this year. Got 67 miles. I could say that today's ride was fun, but I'd be lying. The 14 mph winds out of the northwest made many portions of the ride a slow grinding slog--even while in the drops. Rocky Point Park on February 15th Rocky Point Park today Month's end status Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 39 ft Location: Essex, MD, Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 02/28/10 Up/Downhill: [+2864/-2864] Time: 03:01 PM Difficulty: 4.4 / 5.0   Weather: Mostly Cloudy   45 F temp; 57% humidity   45 F heat index; winds WNW 14 mph Performance Distance: 67.14 miles Time: 4:30:15 Speed: 14.9 mph Pace: 4' 02 /mi Calories: 3339 Map   Elevation (ft)

Esssex2Annapolis - Part 2

This is the trip back from Annapolis. It includes a side-trip to the Edgemere peninsula which added another ten miles to the ride. I have to thank Fran for dragging my two SPP club jerseys out to me after holding on to them for about nine months. And, thanks to the rest of the group for a good ride and exposure to yet another great place to eat in Annapolis. Next time, I'll have breakfast there. It was a huge meal of bacon, link sausages, and two eggs--looked very tasty! Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 51 ft Location: Annapolis, MD, Elev. Gain: +86 ft Date: 02/27/10 Up/Downhill: [+2198/-2112] Time: 01:06 PM Difficulty: 4.2 / 5.0   Weather: Weather Report   42 F temp; 45% humidity   42 F heat index; winds WNW 9 mph Performance Distance: 49.53 miles Time: 3:27:00 Speed: 14.4 mph Pace: 4' 10 /mi Calories: 2490 Map   Elevation (ft)

Esssex2Annapolis - Part 1

Ugh! 5am in the morning is awfully early to be going for a bike ride, but here I am. I met some of the folks from my other club, the Severna Park Peloton, at the "rusty bridge" that crosses over East West Blvd, but not before having to scale over this hole in the Baltimore Annapolis (B&A) Trail. Another group of the SPP (led by Clint and Chip) set out earlier this morning, but we met up with four of them, sans Clint, on Route 2 south of Pasadena, MD. We numbered nine total, now. Not too far down the road we jumped back on to the B&A Trail following it most of the way to the Naval Academy bridge, then we headed into Annapolis stopping at the city dock where we had bagels and coffee. See Part 2 for the rest of this ride. Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 66 ft Location: Essex, MD, Elev. Gain: -86 ft Date: 02/27/10 Up/Downhill: [+2230/-2316] Time: 08:25 AM Difficulty: 5.0 / 5.0   Weather: Cloudy   33 F temp; 79% humidity   33 F heat index; winds W 8 mph Performance Distance: 39.23 miles Time: 2:53:16 Speed: 13.6 mph Pace: 4' 25 /mi Calories: 1933 Map   Elevation (ft)

Snurricane (Snow Hurricane) Ride

Today was the day to ride, unlike yesterday, if one wanted a snow ride. It was primarily windy (but I've ridden in high winds before) with blowing snow. The snow hadn't been treated, yet, which actually makes it easier to ride on. And, it wasn't too deep, either. I made it to work with only two minor incidents-- 1. caught the edge of the road hidden under the snow from riding too far right--it almost put me down 2. Some jackass blew through a stop sign about 10 feet in front of me as if he didn't bother to check if any traffic was coming. I couldn't see where he was looking, because he had dark tinted windows. Apparently, his windows stopped him from seeing my 1200 lumen headlights. I took two divergences from my nornal route: Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 222 ft Location: Essex, MD, Elev. Gain: +387 ft Date: 02/26/10 Up/Downhill: [+1148/-761] Time: 06:55 AM Difficulty: 5.0 / 5.0   Weather:   30 F temp; 75% humidity   30 F heat index; winds W 21 mph Performance Distance: 14.18 miles Time: 1:18:55 Speed: 10.8 mph Pace: 5' 33 /mi Calories: 668 Map   Elevation (ft)

Cycle 05:12 am

Commute to work: I got to try out my newly acquired Crud Catcher ZX Fender this morning. It definitely keeps my water bottles cleaner: Also, I installed new brake pads all around. Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 236 ft Location: Essex, MD, Elev. Gain: +381 ft Date: 02/25/10 Up/Downhill: [+1125/-744] Time: 06:26 AM Difficulty: 4.4 / 5.0   Weather: Winter Storm Watch until Fri Feb 26 2010 11:00 AM EST   36 F temp; 87% humidity   36 F heat index; winds WNW 10 mph Performance Distance: 13.28 miles Time: 1:03:51 Speed: 12.5 mph Pace: 4' 48 /mi Calories: 638 Map   Elevation (ft)   Speed (mph)   Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 4' 16 -0' 32 14.1 +1.6 -32 ft 2 3' 33 -1' 15 16.9 +4.4 -29 ft 3 5' 46 +0' 58 10.4 -2.1 +131 ft 4 3' 19 -1' 29 18.0 +5.5 -72 ft 5 5' 01 +0' 13 11.9 -0.6 +52 ft 6 6' 14 +1' 26 9.6 -2.9 +108 ft 7 5' 20 +0' 32 11.2 -1.3 +56 ft 8 4' 31 -0' 17 13.2 +0.7 -43 ft 9 5' 19 +0' 31 11.3 -1.2 +69 ft 10 4' 19 -0' 29 13.9 +1.4 +17 ft 11 4' 27 -0' 21 13.5 +1.0 +23 ft 12 5' 11 +0' 23 11.5 -1.0 +56 ft 13 4' 44 -0' 04 12.6 +0.1 +26 ft end 6' 11 +1' 23 9.7 -2.8 +19 ft Versus average of 12.5 mph:     Slower     Faster

Frederick Out and Back - Part 2

Murphy (i.e., Murphy's Law) was in action for this ride: On the way to the ride start I went over some bumpy railroad tracks on Rolling Mill Road and my Dinotte 800's mount broke and the light wound up in my spokes. Luckily, it got past the fork without getting trapped inside the spokes and causing me to endo. The connector for the light got chewed up pretty good and one of my carbon kevlar covered spokes on my Topolino wheel has some "hair" hanging off from scraping the light and connector, but structurally it's ok. I had a front brake issue nearing Frederick. The cable broke at the shifter, so I had no front brake. The rear brake was set up for modulating a stop, not for emergency stopping. I couldn't get it tight enough using the inline adjuster to get it to stop me on hills. Since I didn't bring a spare cable wire, I rode the bike this way glad that we weren't in the mountains. There were a couple of times where I couldn't stop, so I put a foot down to drag it while Bob looked on helplessly as I almost slid into intersections, and once, almost into the back of him when he had to stop suddenly for some jackass in a compact car that parallel parked with traffic approaching from his rear. Anyway, last night I fixed the brake with a spare cable that, in hindsight, I should have brought with me on the ride--won't forget a spare for any other future long ride. The light is repaired, too, so I had all lights available for my Monday bike commute to work. Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 363 ft Location: Frederick, MD, Elev. Gain: -193 ft Date: 02/21/10 Up/Downhill: [+4032/-4225] Time: 06:17 PM Difficulty: 4.8 / 5.0   Weather: Partly Cloudy   39 F temp; 65% humidity   39 F heat index; winds CALM calm mph Performance Distance: 61.19 miles Time: 4:18:41 Speed: 14.2 mph Pace: 4' 14 /mi Calories: 2934 Map   Elevation (ft)

Frederick Out and Back - Part 1

Click picture for larger version and a description. Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 396 ft Location: Essex, MD, Elev. Gain: +197 ft Date: 02/21/10 Up/Downhill: [+4458/-4261] Time: 11:39 AM Difficulty: 4.4 / 5.0   Weather: Sunny   45 F temp; 41% humidity   45 F heat index; winds W 16 mph Performance Distance: 56.88 miles Time: 4:19:53 Speed: 13.1 mph Pace: 4' 35 /mi Calories: 2725 Map   Elevation (ft)

Solo Valentine's Day Ride

I just wandered around the Essex peninsula checking out roads that I had not ridden on before and ones that I have or have and forgotten that I did until seeing them again. Baltimore County hasn't gotten to any of the local parks, yet. The two that I visited were not plowed. On both occasions, people wanted in, but found them not accessible. Click picture for a larger version and description By now I was hungry, so I took the chance that Island View Waterfront Cafe (2542 Island View Road) off of Barrison Point Road was open. As I closed in on the restaurant, I noticed the "Open" sign above the front entrance. Cool! The menu--prime rib?! Alright! While waiting for my food, I enjoyed a beer. The salad came first. I wolfed that down quickly. And here's the main course: With a full belly, I pushed on toward home. I wanted to get a few more miles in, so I resumed winding through neighborhoods on my way back. In general, a great ride, but I can't wait until I can ride with skinny road tires and in calmer warmer conditions. I'm longing to kick up the speed without worry of crashing from ice. Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 21 ft Location: Essex, MD, Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 02/14/10 Up/Downhill: [+833/-833] Time: 01:05 PM Difficulty: 4.5 / 5.0   Weather: Fair and Windy   39 F temp; 55% humidity   39 F heat index; winds W 21 mph Performance Distance: 30.95 miles Time: 2:13:02 Speed: 14.0 mph Pace: 4' 17 /mi Calories: 1575 Map

Havre de Grace Ride - Part 2

Leaving Tyding's Park, I rode back to Route 40. Half expecting a tailwind, you could guess I was disappointed to find that I had what seemed like a headwind in this direction, too. I decided to just accept fate and try to enjoy the ride. At the landfill on Route 40 road crews were still clearing the shoulder. They were half way up the hill with equipment sticking out into the right lane. There was no shoulder to use at all. I had to ride on the travel lane around their equipment and another quarter mile after that (nearly to the traffic light at Days Cove Road), because the shoulder was completely snow covered. I experienced no traffic incident from this maneuver, attributing it to the lights I run, front and back, day and night. The next high stress area, for me, is the Route 40/Route 43 interchange. Here, a rider needs to ride on the line between the 3/8ths of a mile right-turn-only lane going to White Marsh Mall and the right most straight going lane of Route 40. Again, I believe my lights helped keep me visible to other road users. Finally, I'm home with a total mileage of about 72 miles for the day. And, this time, my butt stayed dry, because of my handy-dandy DIY (do-it-yourself) milk bottle fender--lol--that I made this morning from a plastic half gallon milk bottle before heading out: Time to stick the bike back into the shower to get the road salts off (picture is from yesterday after work)--it's a man thing, that as an unattached gent, I can get away with, since no self-respecting wife would ever allow this! It falls in the same category as washing bike parts in the dishwasher! Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 55 ft Location: Havre de Grace, MD, Elev. Gain: +82 ft Date: 02/13/10 Up/Downhill: [+1246/-1164] Time: 02:33 PM Difficulty: 5.0 / 5.0   Weather: Mostly Cloudy   30 F temp; 54% humidity   30 F heat index; winds WNW 15 mph Performance Distance: 29.64 miles Time: 2:02:01 Speed: 14.6 mph Pace: 4' 07 /mi Calories: 1362 Map

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