Author: lpaulriddle

Sloppiest ride ever.

lpaulriddle

First things first.  Today I got out of the house around 7:45am, and took Montgomery Rd. west to Bonnie Branch Rd.  I did the same thing Monday, except I left 10 minutes later, at 7:55.  That 10 minutes makes a big difference.  At 7:55, there are tons of school buses on Montgomery Rd, leaving the middle school after drop-off.  I had at least 10 of them pass me on Monday.  It doesn’t make for a very pleasant ride, especially given how narrow Montgomery Rd. is between US 1 and Marshallee Dr.  Today was much nicer – just 1 bus.  Montgomery is never going to be my first choice of routes on school days, but I still like to take it once or twice a week to mix things up, and all the better to have it relatively free of school buses.

Today was the sloppiest day for riding that I’ve had in the 3 years I’ve been bike commuting year round.  I’ve ridden in some messy conditions before, but today took the cake.  Extra runoff from last night’s rain, combined with already muddy conditions in the park, combined with extremely warm and muggy weather, all added up to a sort of perfect storm of slop.  There was a little bit of everything:  wet, dirty leaves; damp, oil-slicked roads; mud puddles; wet mud; dry, gritty patches of dirt; you name it.  In the park, I made the mistake of riding through the runoff water in the roadway in the Glen Artney area (near Lost Lake), thinking it would help clean off the bike.  Instead, it ended up splattering mud on my shoes, socks, and bike.  I spent an hour last weekend cleaning the bike off, and looks like I’ll be doing it again this weekend.  Yeah, I’ll be happy when this September is over.  Bring on some nice, cool, crisp Fall weather.

This and that

lpaulriddle

A bunch of random bike-related stuff today.

I rode through Catonsville again this morning, and tried out one of my route modifications I mentioned in my previous post, for avoiding the Mellor Ave. / Bloomsbury Ave. intersection.  Coming down Mellor, I detoured right onto Montemar Ave., and followed that around to Bloomsbury.  I then turned left onto Bloomsbury and rode out to Asylum La. to cut through Spring Grove.  Montemar is an infinitely better spot to make a left onto Bloomsbury.  I was able to see adequately in both directions, and make my turn without worrying about getting creamed by some unseen, speeding car.  Coincidentally, there was some kind of road work going on at the Mellor and Bloomsbury intersection.  Not sure what they’re doing or how long it’s going to take.  We’ll see.

A couple weeks ago, I picked up a couple of Planet Bike “Blaze” headlights, a 1-watt and a 2-watt.  I was looking for a replacement for my old NiteRider Sol, which has a cord that’s going bad.  From a convenience standpoint, the Blaze is fantastic.  I put mounting brackets on all 3 of my bikes, and moving the lights from bike to bike is a snap.  Both lights use the same bracket.  I’m going to look into getting a helmet mount, so I can ride with one light on the bars and another on my helmet.  I’ve used the flash mode on both lights several times on overcast days.  The true test for the lights will come in November, when I ride home in the dark.  Both lights put out a similar amount of light, and ironically, the beam on the 1-watt seems a little brighter than the 2-watt.  I compared them in a darkened room, and I may need to actually ride with them at night to see the true difference between the two.  We’ll see come November.  Compared to the NiteRider Sol, the Blaze is roughly the same brightness, but the beam is slightly narrower and more focused.  The big win: the Blaze takes two AA batteries, and is self contained, unlike the Sol, which uses a proprietary battery pack that attaches to a cord (and the cord seems to be a weak link).

The chain on my fixed-gear bike is already getting close to needing replacement.  It’s a SRAM PC-1, and it has probably 750 miles on it.  I’m hoping to get 1000 out of it.  I somewhat expected shorter chain life with fixed gear, as the chain takes much more abuse than it would on a bike with a freewheel.  I guess I should plan on replacing the chain every year or so.  Fortunately, the PC-1 is pretty cheap.  It’s certainly a lot cheaper than replacing tires.

Catonsville Route Tweak, Revisited

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Unexpectedly summer-like weather for the ride in this morning.  It wasn’t hot, but the humidity was out in full force, and I worked up a good sweat.  A front is supposed to sweep through today and drop the temperatures.  I brought a rain jacket because there’s a 50% chance of showers later, but now I’m wondering if I’ll need it more to keep warm than to keep dry.

For the past several months, Bloomsbury Ave. in Catonsville has been closed off between Frederick Rd. and Mellor Ave., open to local traffic only.  This has been great for me, because I could ride past the barrier and get from Mellor Ave. to Asylum La. pretty easily.  Bloomsbury Ave. is normally wall-to-wall cars in the morning, and the closure has cut down on 99% of the car traffic.  Well, it seems that the inevitable has happened, and the road is now open again, meaning, I once again feel like I’m risking my life making a left onto Bloomsbury from Mellor, due to the limited sight distances in both directions.  So, the next couple times I come through here, I’m going to evaluate a couple of alternate routes that avoid this intersection:

Alternative 1.  From Mellor, make a right onto Montemar Ave.  Follow Montemar to Bloomsbury, and turn left.  Hopefully this intersection will have better visibility, allowing for a safer left turn.  I’ll then have to proceed straight through the Mellor/Bloomsbury intersection, but I’ll have the right-of-way.

Alternative 2.  Avoid Mellor Ave. altogether.  Take Magruder Ave. all the way through to Bloomsbury, turn right, and then make a left onto Asylum.  I’ll have to ride in traffic for a bit on Bloomsbury, but I think that’s preferable to crossing against the same traffic with an inadequate line of sight.

I’m hoping that one of these two alternatives will work out, particularly on school days, when traffic on Bloomsbury is heaviest.  The real solution to the problem is to redo the Mellor/Bloomsbury/Hilltop Rd. intersection, with either a traffic circle, stop light or 4-way stop.  But I’m not holding my breath.

Improving Conditions

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Conditions in Patapsco State Park continue to improve after last week’s monsoon.  All of the mudslides have been cleared off the Grist Mill Trail, so I can now get through on my road bike without having to stop and walk through any mud.  It’s still quite muddy, particularly on the River Rd. entrance on the Howard County side, but it’s getting better.  Unless your bike has fenders, you’ll still get dirty.  My single speed bike has the dubious distinction of being my “mud bike” this month.  It’s getting quite dirty, but there’s not much point in cleaning it off, because it’ll just get dirty again on the next ride.  I’m happy they cleared the trail, because if they hadn’t, I probably would have switched to my mountain bike for the rest of the week.  That would have left me with two dirty bikes instead of one, and the mountain bike will have plenty of opportunities to get dirty this winter (road salt — uggh).

This time last week, we were just starting to see effects from Tropical Storm Lee.  Things have quieted down quite a bit since then.  We’re now finally starting to get some nice late-summer Maryland weather.  Of course, the ragweed and mosquitoes are out in force, but you gotta take the bad with the good.

Sneezy

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Wow, my hay fever is really kicking in.  My allergies used to be worst during the first half of June.  That seems to have changed over the past few years.  They’re now OK in June and bad in September.  I guess I’m getting less sensitive to grass and more sensitive to ragweed.

Today I rode into Patapsco State Park again, and checked out the section of the Grist Mill Trail between Ilchester Rd. and the Orange Grove Swinging Bridge.  This section was open again after being closed last week due to mudslide danger.  There were a couple of spots where previous mudslides hadn’t been cleared yet.  A mountain bike would have no problem getting through.  I elected to walk my road bike, and had no problem.  Past the bridge, there was a crew working with a backhoe to clear another mudslide.  Hopefully over the next day or so, they’ll work on getting the rest of the trail fully cleared.  The entrance road was a bit less muddy than Friday.  The river was a bit tamer than Friday, but still higher than usual.  I think I’ll be switching to my mountain bike for my next few rides through the park, until all of the washout has been cleared off the trail.  But in any case, at least it’s passable now.

Muddy Adventure

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I’ll say one thing about the weather this year:  There’s never been a dull day.  An earthquake, followed by a hurricane, followed by what was likely a hundred-year storm this past Wednesday, courtesy of another tropical system.  Massive flooding kept me off my bike Wednesday and Thursday (yesterday).  The flooding didn’t start until around noon on Wednesday, and there’s a good chance I might have biked in on Wednesday morning, but we had a contractor at the house in the morning, and I took the car to avoid getting to the office too late.  I got to UMBC around 9:45, and I forgot how bad parking has gotten on campus since last year.  I drove around for 20 minutes, and ended up parking around a mile from my office.  The whole time, I was thinking that I might as well have biked, because I would have gotten to the office just as fast.  But the decision to drive turned out to be fortuitous.  If I had biked, I would have been stuck.  By afternoon, every bikeable route home was flooded out.  Route 1 was closed at the Howard County line, and Ellicott City’s Main St. was a raging torrent.  I got home via I-95, which has a very high crossing over the Patapsco River.

Conditions had improved significantly by this morning, so I hopped on the bike and rode down into Patapsco State Park.  Now, I ride through the park year-round in all sorts of conditions, and I’ve seen it pretty washed out before.  But nothing compared to today.  River Rd. was bikeable out to the swinging bridge, albeit a bit muddy and debris-strewn in spots.  The upper Grist Mill Trail (between the bridge and Ilchester Rd.) was closed off with a sign warning of “landslide danger.”  I started down the lower Grist Mill, but I soon came to a spot blocked by a fallen tree and a massive landslide.  The debris was around a foot thick.  With hiking boots, I could have slogged through it, but road bike shoes and cleats weren’t going to cut it.  I turned around and doubled back on River Rd. to the Avalon day use area.  The river itself was impressively swollen, raging, and muddy, and while the water level was as high as I’ve ever seen it, it was no longer overflowing its banks.  The entrance road was muddy and had standing water in a few spots, but was otherwise OK.  The slippery mud was the biggest hazard in the park.  I had meant to bring my camera to take a few pictures, but I forgot it, and I doubt it would have done justice to the mess anyhow.

Wow.  Will we ever have normal weather again?

Troptember

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Once again we find ourselves in the month of September.  September is one of those months that’s neither here nor there.  It doesn’t really feel like summer any more, but it’s not autumn yet either.  It’s still humid and muggy all the time, and I work up a good sweat every time I ride my bike, but it’s too cold to use the pool most of the time.  The tropics are cranking out a new hurricane every week.  I think September should be declared a separate season.  We’ll have Winter, Spring, Summer, Troptember, and Autumn.

This week, we’ve got endless rain on deck from the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee.  It was drizzling when I rode to work, but not enough to make me want to wear rain gear.  I did pack it along, though, for the first time since last spring.  I suspect I’ll need the rain gear for the ride home this afternoon.

All this rain is a good thing, though, because it’s keeping a big category 3 hurricane out at sea, which otherwise might have threatened the east coast.  Yep, it’s that time of year.

Won’t be long ’til October…

First Day of Classes

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So today, I rode the upper Grist Mill Trail through Patapsco State Park, took River Rd. to Ellicott City, then rode up Oella Ave. and into Catonsville via the No. 9 Trolley Trail.  No issues at all until I went to turn from Bloomsbury Ave. onto Asylum La. to cut through Spring Grove.  Asylum was blocked by a large fallen tree, and apparently they’re not in a big hurry to clear it out.  No way around it on either side, so I had to drag the bike through a bit of foliage, but it was passable.  There was a small section that looked more beaten-down than the rest, no doubt from other riders doing the same thing, so I did my part and helped tamp it down some more.

Other than the tree, there was not much to report.  There was a big fallen power line on Oella Ave. right near the Oella Mill complex.  I’m guessing some people there are still without power.  River Rd. was clear and dry, with no mud, and only one little area with a bit of runoff.  Lots of friendly riders, walkers and joggers out in the park.

Today is the first day of fall classes at UMBC.  Traditionally during this week, I’ve always come onto campus via Poplar Ave.  However, ever since they started the new zoned parking plan last year, the traffic on Hilltop Circle has increased quite a bit, particularly early in the semester.  Today I decided to try coming in via Walker Ave. instead, and it wasn’t too bad.  There was a bit more traffic on Wilkens Ave. than in the summer, but the traffic light at Wilkens and Valley Rd. does a good job of metering the traffic.  When I come in this way, I don’t have to ride on Hilltop at all.  I just cross it, then take the access road behind the library parking garage, and follow the trail over to the Engineering/Fine Arts building area.  It looks like Walker will be a viable way to come onto campus, so the only route I’ll need to avoid is Hilltop Rd., which I’ve been riding less and less anyway.

Outfitting for Winter

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Labor Day is less than a week away, summer is mostly behind us, and thoughts are turning towards the coming fall and winter.  To avoid the rush, I’m getting my shopping done early for the cold-weather biking season.  After a bit too much excitement with icy roads last winter, I took the plunge a few weeks ago and bought a set of studded tires.  After careful consideration, I went with the “Marathon Winter” tire by Schwalbe.  These tires have been well reviewed, and seem to be best suited to the type of riding I’ll be doing:  mainly paved roads, with occasional icy patches.  I got the 26″ size and will put them on my mountain bike.  I plan on putting the tires on in early to mid November, and riding them all winter.  I’ll be sure to post my experiences.  If they work out well, it’d be nice to get a set for my single speed, which should be able to take 700cx32 tires with studs.  However, there wouldn’t be enough room for fenders.

For the past 3 winters, I’ve been using a NiteRider “Sol” headlight.  It’s not super bright, but good enough for commuting.  Unfortunately, the cable that plugs the light into the battery pack died recently.  I can make the light come on if I flex the cable just so, but as soon as I let go, the light goes out.  I’m a bit disappointed that the light didn’t last longer.  I’m now in the market for a new light.  Quality issues notwithstanding, I was thinking about going in a different direction for my next headlight anyhow.  The NiteRider, while functional, isn’t the best for commuting.  It has a proprietary battery pack that’s expensive to replace, and the o-ring handlebar mount is difficult to deal with when you want to move the light from one bike to another.  After 3 years of night commuting, I have a very clear list of things I want in a light:

  • It must use non-proprietary batteries, preferably NiMH rechargeable AA or AAA cells.
  • It should be as bright, or slightly brighter, than the Sol.
  • It should include a daytime flashing mode for visibility, something the Sol lacked (though most of NiteRider’s newer lights include this feature).
  • It should be easy to transfer between multiple bikes.

I researched lights, and quickly turned up the Planet Bike “Blaze”.  On paper, this looks like the headlight of my dreams.  Self contained, takes regular batteries, has a flash mode, has a quick-release mounting bracket, extra brackets available for other bikes, and best of all, ridiculously inexpensive.  I actually ordered 2 of them, a 2-watt and a 1-watt model, plus 2 extra mounting brackets, all for less than I paid for my NiteRider back in 2008.  I’m already a fan of Planet Bike, but I’ll be an even bigger fan if all this gear works out for me this winter.  Stay tuned.

That time of year

lpaulriddle

So, in the past week, central Maryland has weathered an earthquake and a hurricane.  Now we get to weather the first week of fall classes at UMBC, which is always exciting, and almost never in a good way.  We’ll see what this year has in store for us.

Took my first post-Irene bike ride to work today.  The goal was to scout out Patapsco State Park, to see if there were any downed trees or debris to block my passage.  Today I rode into the park on the Howard County side via River Rd., past the Avalon day use area, out to the swinging bridge, and back via the Grist Mill Trail.  Figuring there’d be lots of debris to negotiate, I took my mountain bike.  This part of the park turned out to be in great shape.  There was definitely evidence of recent trail maintenance, which must have taken place yesterday or Sunday.  There were no fallen trees blocking the road or trail, and no more debris than you’d expect after any average summer storm.  Tomorrow, I’ll ride the upper section of the Grist Mill Trail out to Ilchester Rd., and check out how River Rd. fared in the storm.

Howard County schools are back in session starting today (one day late, again thanks to Irene) which means that for the next couple of weeks, I’m going to avoid riding on Montgomery Rd. in the mornings.  I’ll start my rides by going down Lawyers Hill Rd., and then vary the routes from there.  If I’m feeling adventurous, maybe I’ll even attempt a few climbs up the notorious Ilchester Rd.

It seems like the biggest fallout from Hurricane Irene has been the power outages.  Apparently it’s going to take until the weekend to get power restored to everybody.  Irene’s track was very similar to Hurricane Floyd back in 1999, and I remember Floyd causing a lot of power outages.  It seems worse this time around.  It might just be because the area has gotten so much denser and built out in the 12 years since Floyd.  The more electrical infrastructure you build, the more you have to support, and the more vulnerable it is to storms like Floyd and Irene.