I got an early start on the commute this morning, so I decided to try an alternate, longer route to get from Elkridge to UMBC on the bike:

• West on Montgomery Rd
• Right on Rockburn Dr
• Right on Montgomery Rd
• Right on Kerger Rd
• Right on Ilchester Rd
• Left on Beechwood Rd
• Left on Bonnie Branch Rd
• Right on Montgomery Rd
• Right on New Cut Rd
• Left on College Ave/St Paul St
• Right on Frederick Rd
• Left on Oella Ave
• Left onto Ellicott City Trolley Trail
• Straight onto Edmondson Ave
• Right on Melvin Ave
• Left on Frederick Rd
• Right on Mellor Ave
• Bear right onto Hilltop Rd
• Ride onto campus

Sort of a 1-hour tour of Elkridge, Ellicott City and Catonsville.  Total distance around 18 miles.

Almost all of my morning commutes take me through Patapsco State Park, so this was kind of a departure from the routine.  I’m looking for options for longer rides, and I wanted to see what the traffic was like on this route.  Turns out the traffic is not too bad, except for Ilchester Rd between Kerger and Landing, and Frederick Rd in Ellicott City.  But Ilchester is only busy on school days, and I’m only on Frederick Rd for about ¼ mile.  So all in all, I’d say this route is a winner.  Other observations:

• The route has some challenging hills, but not until more than halfway in, when I’m fully warmed up.  Also the descent into the river valley on New Cut Rd. is much nicer than my usual white-knuckled descent down Ilchester Rd.
• I swear I must have gone over at least 30 speed humps.  Next time I’m going to keep count just for kicks.  Maryland: Traffic Calming Capital of the World.
• Not sure I’ll be riding on the Ellicott City Trolley Trail again.  Parts of it are pretty torn up by roots.  Not too road-bike-friendly.  The alternative is to take Westchester Rd, which shouldn’t be bad.