No sooner do I brag about a “perfect April,” when the dream is crushed. Had a late-afternoon emergency at work, coupled with a hard deadline of 5:30 to get home, so I had to call for a ride. Then the next day, I had to take the car so I could retrieve my bike. So not only is April now tarnished, now my ride log is saddled with a one-way ride, so I’ll have to go around saying “I rode to work 154½ times in 2010.” That’s the last time I’ll make the mistake of blogging about a perfect month until after the fact.
Took the road bike this morning, and rode through Catonsville for the first time in over a week. It looks like Thistle Rd. is going to be closed for awhile. There are semi-permanent-looking “road closed” and “Thistle Rd. detour” signs all over the general vicinity of Frederick, River and Ilchester Rds. Hopefully whatever they’re doing to it will involve resurfacing. After several years of cycling through eastern Howard and western Baltimore counties, it’s been my observation that the back roads in Howard are consistently in better shape. Howard’s not perfect (Bonnie Branch road is a bit rough in spots) but some of the roads in Catonsville are like minefields. On the other hand, Baltimore County’s busier roads seem more bike-friendly than Howard’s — Frederick Rd through Oella is a great ride, while Montgomery Rd through Elkridge feels like a suicide mission.
Enough rambling for one day. The weather looks nice for the ride home this afternoon…