You never know what kind of weather you’re going to get in winter, and this morning was a perfect example. We got a “surprise” light frosting of snow/sleet/rain overnight. No mention of it whatsoever in yesterday’s forecast. By the time I had to leave, the system had moved out, but the roads were still wet, so I switched to the fixed-gear bike (with fenders) for today’s ride.
I rode through the park today, and River Rd was almost completely coated with a light, slightly crunchy glaze. No traction problems though. There were bike tire tracks on the Grist Mill Trail, but none on River Rd until I came through.
The second half of my ride was through Oella and Catonsville. I exited the park at Ilchester Rd and took River Rd to Frederick Rd. This was the first time I had ridden River Rd for a while, and there were obvious signs of past flooding (lots of mud on the sides), but no problems getting through on the bike. In Catonsville, instead of taking Edmondson to Melvin Ave as I’ve always done in the past, I turned right on Smithwood, then left on Summit, then right on Beaumont. This brought me to Frederick Rd at a stop sign instead of a light, and I didn’t have to wait as long to make my left onto Frederick. The pavement on Summit and Beaumont is in bad shape in spots, but all in all I think this is a better route.