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Faster with Fenders?
Today I took my first ride with Planet Bike “SpeedEZ” clip-on fenders. It took me about 1/2 hour to put them on for the first time, and most of that was spent adjusting the struts. Now that the struts are properly adjusted, it should be pretty quick to put them on and take them off.…
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Spring Break (from traffic)
This week is Spring Break for Baltimore County schools, and next week is Howard County’s Spring Break. Spring Break always means less traffic in the morning, so I’m planning my rides accordingly. This week I’m doing some rides through Catonsville, and next week I’ll extend my rides on the Howard County side, maybe riding out…
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Winds of March
Winds of March.. an awesome old song by Journey, and a massive annoyance on a bike. I rode in today in a stiff 15-20mph west wind that didn’t let up for a single second. The good news is, although I wouldn’t call myself 100%, I wasn’t nearly as draggy as yesterday, and didn’t struggle as…
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Wind, Rain and Benadryl
It’s been a dreary couple of days here in B’more, though there’s hope of some improvement later today. I’ve been taking Benadryl the past couple of nights at bedtime, to help with a lingering post-nasal drip that tends to wake me up at night if I don’t drug it into submission. The Benadryl helps me…
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Draggage
Still battling the virus I came down with this past weekend, which has now moved into my throat. The good news is, it hasn’t kept me off the bike, though it is detracting somewhat from the overall excellence of the riding experience. I switched to the fixed-gear this morning because there’s a threat of rain…
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Beam Rack
A while back, I bought a Topeak “Beam Rack” seat post rack to use with my fixed-gear bike, which lacks rear eyelets for mounting a standard rack. I also bought an optional accessory that allows me to use it with panniers. This setup works really well, but it’s a bit of a pain moving the…
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Back in the Saddle
Back on the bike this morning after an extremely unhealthy, but fun, weekend in Buffalo watching NCAA tournament games. I brought home a sore throat and slightly runny nose, and was dragging a bit this morning. I have a standing rule: if I’m too sick to bike to work, I stay home. Faced with a…
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Tale of Two Rides
No work for me this week, but I took advantage of the good weather and rode yesterday and today. Yesterday I took the fixed-gear out for a 30 mile ride around the BWI trail and Patapsco State Park. It was the longest ride I’ve taken in quite a while.. my maximum one-way commute is around…
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Rain
It’s March, which means it must be raining. The big rain isn’t supposed to hit till overnight, so this morning, despite a steady drizzle, I was able to squeeze in one last ride before Spring Break. I wore rain gear over a long sleeve jersey and cycling pants. At long last, I was able to…
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March
What a difference a month makes. Today marked my 8th ride of March, eclipsing my total for the entire month of February. Amazing how quickly the conditions improve as Spring approaches. Now if we could just get rid of the pesky snow on the park access road, I could finally ditch the hiking boots and…