Fruddled Gruntbugglies

Category: Biking

  • Bike Commuting from UMBC to West Catonsville

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    Once every year or so, I have occasion to bike commute from UMBC to the western part of Catonsville, MD, during afternoon rush hour.  I’m still trying to find a route I like, that doesn’t require dealing with really heavy traffic.

    The first time I did this, I took this route:

    • Exit UMBC via Hilltop Rd to traffic circle
    • Proceed through circle and follow Hilltop straight through to Bloomsbury Ave intersection
    • Proceed through Bloomsbury intersection onto Mellor Ave.
    • Follow Mellor to Frederick Rd. light and turn left
    • Turn right onto Winters La. and follow to Edmondson Ave. light.
    • Turn left onto Edmondson Ave.
    • Follow Edmondson to end.

    This was OK, but there’s a lot of hill climbing at the beginning of the ride.  Traffic is really bad at the Hilltop Rd./Wilkens Ave. traffic circle leaving UMBC, and at the intersection of Edmondson Ave. and Rolling Rd.  Traffic backs way up at the light, and due to the lane configuration, there’s no way to “filter” past it.  You just have to sit in it, and it’s an uphill grade to boot.

    This year I tried the following alternate:

    • Exit UMBC via Walker Ave. and turn left onto Wilkens Ave.
    • Turn right onto Rolling Rd., then make an immediate left onto Collegiate Dr.
    • Go about ½ mile and turn right onto Campus Dr.  then make another left to stay on Campus Dr.
    • Turn right towards McCurley Ave.  There’s a paved path here that leads from the CCBC campus to the end of McCurley Ave. in Catonsville.
    • Follow McCurley to end and turn right onto Hilton Ave.
    • Ride through Oak Forest community to Montrose Ave.  Follow Montrose to Frederick Rd.
    • Cross Frederick and turn onto the No. 8 Streetcar Path.
    • Follow the trail until it ends at Dutton Ave.  Turn right onto Dutton.
    • Turn left onto Edmondson Ave.  and follow Edmondson to end.

    This route seemed OK on paper, but was a net loss.  Leaving UMBC via Walker is better than taking Hilltop, because it avoids all the traffic queued up at the circle.  However, you still have to cross the circle from Wilkens, which is a pain.  A better alternative might be to turn right onto Wilkens and then left onto Valley.  Westbound traffic on Rolling Rd. is just horrible, even for the minuscule distance I’m on it.  Taking the lane here is mandatory, or you’ll be sitting forever waiting to cross.  I was hoping cutting through CCBC would avoid some of the up-and-down hills on Hilltop Rd., but Collegiate Dr. is just as hilly, if not more so.  The trail out of CCBC also has a steep grade.  The traffic at the Frederick Rd. crossing at Montrose is really bad too.  And to top it off, the route doesn’t avoid the Edmondson Ave/Rolling Rd intersection either.  The route does have a couple bright spots:  the stretch from Hilton Ave. to Montrose Ave. is a nice ride, and the Streetcar Path, though a bit bumpy, is pleasant and bucolic.  Unfortunately, these aren’t enough to overcome the negatives.

    Rolling Rd. and Frederick Rd. are the two big trouble spots on both of these routes, and there’s no way to get through Catonsville without riding on them or crossing them.  Next time I do this (likely in another year) I’m going to try the long way, and ride through Patapsco State Park to Ilchester/River Rd., and then up through Oella.  This takes me 5 or 6 miles out of the way, but I think it’ll be a much better ride.

  • Two Fish Bikeblocks

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    I’m finishing up October with 14 rides, tying with July and April.  In keeping with this somewhat off-year of riding, it’s fewer rides in October than I had in 2008, 2009 or 2010.  I’m at 130 rides on the year.  My goal for the year is 150, which should be doable.

    A couple weeks ago, I picked up a couple of Two Fish BikeBlocks.  These are rubber blocks with velcro straps, meant for securing a frame pump to your frame.  The Bikeblocks do a decent job.  They’re a bit pricey at around $7 each, and unless your pump is  6″ long or shorter, you’re going to need two of them.  They do a good job of keeping the pump in one place; my commute has some bumpy stretches, and I didn’t have any problem with the pump sliding or moving around.  The blocks stand the pump off around 1″ away from the frame, which could be problematic with certain frames.  On my single speed, the most logical place to mount the pump would be on the underside of the top tube; however, while it did fit, the rear brake cable rubbed against the Bikeblocks, which would have worn them down over time.  My next try was the seat tube, where I have a water bottle cage, so I had to mount the pump so it stuck out to the side.  This put it too close to my legs, to where I kept brushing against it.  The lower part of the downtube was a no-go too; the pump didn’t clear the crank arm.  I ended up putting the pump on the side of the downtube, above the bottle cage.  I had to tilt it slightly towards the front to keep my knee from brushing it during standing climbs; and in this position, there’s only about ½” clearance between the pump and the pedal, and the top of the pump is ½” or so from the front fender.  It’s a tight squeeze, but it fits, and it gets the pump out of my side pannier, which was my goal.  I’ll ride with it like this for awhile and see how it works out long-term.

  • Sub 40

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    Today was my first sub-40° ride of the season, and my first ride since last spring where I had to wear something to keep my head warm.  Usually I’m good without anything extra on my head (other than my helmet) down to around 45°, give or take a couple of degrees depending on wind, precipitation, and other weather factors.  This morning was a crisp 38°, and it was the first morning in awhile that actually felt cold.

    I gave my new helmet-mounted rear flasher a spin today.  It’s a Planet Bike Blinky 3H.  It fits on my Bell Sweep helmet just fine, and stayed put through the entire 11.5 mile ride to work.  Other than occasionally hearing it pivot on its bracket, I didn’t really notice it was there.  It gives me extra visibility up high, which I think will help with safety while riding at night.  There’s a bit of a dork factor to it, but you gotta take the bad with the good.  🙂

  • New Bike Swag for Winter

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    Normally, I’m all about getting rid of “stuff.”  However, my one weakness is stuff for my bikes.  I get a strange thrill out of buying stuff that promises to make my year-round, all-weather bike rides safer and more enjoyable.  I’m sure it secretly drives my wife nuts.

    Just over a week to go before “dark season” is upon us, and with it, cold and icy winter weather.  This year, I have a whole slew of new gear that will be put to the test in the coming months:

    • Schwalbe Marathon Winter studded tires.  I bought these for commuting in icy conditions, in hopes that they’ll keep me upright and prevent things like, oh, falling down and getting concussions and multiple rib fractures.  Not that I have any experience with that.
    • New headlights.  I bought 3 Planet Bike “Blaze” lights:  a 2-watt, a 1-watt, and a ½-watt.  The 2- and 1-watt lights will go on the bars, and the ½-watt will go on my helmet.  I had initially intended to mount the 1-watt on my helmet, but it’s a little too bulky and doesn’t fit well in the helmet mount.  So I went ahead and got the ½-watt, and I figure 3 headlights are better than 2.  The lights have seen plenty of use in flash mode during daylight, but have yet to be tested in the dark.
    • Helmet mounted taillight.  After reading several articles about how a helmet flasher really helps with visibility, I picked up a Planet Bike Blinky 3H.  I was initially concerned that it wouldn’t fit properly on my Bell “Sweep” helmet, but happily, it fits perfectly.  I haven’t ridden with it yet, and may wait until it’s dark.
    • Ergon GR2 grips for my mountain bike.  The mountain bike is going to see a lot of action this winter, and it desperately needed new grips.  The Ergons have been widely praised, and I’m hoping they’ll be more comfortable than what I had on there.  The GR2 also comes with a short bar end.  It was at a good price point relative to their other models.  The bar ends are a little shorter than the old bar ends I used to have on the bike, but I don’t think I’ll miss the extra length.  After much deliberating, I went with the small size grip.  There’s not too much perceptible difference between the small and large sizes, but I’m guessing the small will be more comfortable with gloves.  We’ll see.
    • Kool Stop replacement brake shoes and pads for my single speed.  This bike came with Dia Compe BRS101 brakes, with cheap one-piece shoe/pads.  They squealed a lot on the rims, and now one of them is worn down, so I’m replacing all 4 shoes.  The Kool Stop pads are much better made, and the shoes and pads are separate, so the shoes can be reused when the pads wear out.  I’ve been really happy with the Kool Stop cantilever pads on my mountain bike, so I’m hoping they’ll perform well on my caliper brakes too.

    Stay tuned for raving and/or whining about each of these products (whichever is warranted), as I start to use them!

  • Rain Gear

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    First ride in full rain gear in awhile this morning.  It was nice and mild, so I took the opportunity to ride for 11.5 miles, including a loop through Patapsco State Park.  Most of my rain gear is the same as last year, including Novara rain pants (REI house brand), Patagonia TorrentShell rain jacket, and neoprene shoe covers from Performance.  New for this season is a pair of Seirus Hyperlite All Weather gloves.  I bought these because I wanted a pair of lightweight, reasonably weatherproof gloves.  I already have some cheap light gloves, but they aren’t waterproof, and I wanted something I could wear in the rain.  The Hyperlites did the job pretty well.  They breathe OK and do a decent job of repelling water.  They’re not as good as Gore-Tex, but they’re not as expensive as Gore-Tex either.

    The Performance shoe covers are still as good as ever.  My shoes and feet stayed bone dry for the entire ride.  Out of all body parts, the feet are the most important to keep dry during a rainy ride.  If your feet get wet, a rainy ride can go from enjoyable to miserable in no time flat.  I keep telling myself I need to go to Performance and pick up another pair or two of these, in case they do something stupid like discontinue them or cut back on the quality.

    Lately, my cyclometer, a Cateye Velo 5, has been getting really flaky.  It keeps losing connectivity between the unit and the base.  If I press down on it and fiddle with it a bit, it will pick back up.  However today, I couldn’t get it to work at all in the rain.  I’m not sure if this is the result of oxidation on the terminals, loose connection due to general degradation, or a combination of both.  Regardless, it’s getting annoying.  I may try coating the terminals with some anti-oxidation gel, and see if that helps at all.  Stay tuned.

  • Cage Rocket

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    I was in the bike section of my local REI the other day and noticed they were stocking a gadget called a Cage Rocket.  The Cage Rocket is a water bottle-sized pod with a hinged opening, meant for carrying gear and designed to fit in a bottle cage.  There’s a standard version and a slightly-more-expensive waterproof version, which includes a foam seal on the opening.  I had read about these before on a couple of different bike blogs, and was considering trying one out, so I bought one of the waterproof ones.

    I’m still working on an ideal system for hauling gear around on the 3 different bikes I use for commuting.  Each bike has certain gear that is specific to that bike (for example, each bike uses a different size spare inner tube).  Then there’s the stuff that comes with me on all the bikes, like my wallet, patch kit, and multi-tool.  My goal is to make it as easy as possible to switch from one bike to another, without having to shuffle a lot of gear around.  I wanted to see if the Cage Rocket could help me out.

    Initially, I’m trying the Cage Rocket out on my fixed-gear road bike.  This bike has an extra tool (a Pedro’s “Trixie”) which I originally had bolted to the bottle cage braze-ons on the seat tube.  However, that left it exposed to the elements, and I quickly learned that the Trixie is not weatherproof, as it’s getting some rust on it.  Also, I’m storing a frame pump, spare tube and a couple of tire bead jack tools in my rear panniers, where they take up a lot of space, because there’s currently nowhere else to put them.  I figured for starters, I’d see which of these I could fit into the Cage Rocket.

    The Cage Rocket, while useful, his its shortcomings.  There’s only so much you can fit in a rigid pod that’s the size of a water bottle.  You’re limited to relatively narrow items that are 7-8 inches long or less.  My Topeak “Alien” multi-tool is too wide to fit, but the Trixie fits fine.  My Kool Stop “Bead Jack” tire tool is too long.  No chance of fitting a frame pump inside it, but it would probably accommodate a CO₂ inflater and a couple of cartridges.  It fits a spare tube, but you have to roll the tube up into an oblong shape or it’ll be too wide.

    For starters, I’m using the Cage Rocket to hold the Trixie and a spare tube.  It keeps the Trixie out of the elements, and the spare tube out of my pannier.  The tube takes up most of the room inside, but there’s still a bit of room for something else.  So while it’s not the ultimate answer to all of my on-bike storage problems, the Cage Rocket is a step in the right direction.  We’ll see how my use of it evolves over time.

  • Montgomery Road Jukeage

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    When I originally started bike commuting, I’m glad the weather was better than it has been for the past couple of weeks.  I might not have kept riding.  Not only has the weather been bad, but traffic also seems to be on the uptick on some of the back roads in Howard.  I’m hoping it’s just a statistical aberration.  I will say that things seemed a little better today than on Monday or Tuesday.  But suffice it to say that it’s been hard to stay motivated to ride recently.  The weather is finally supposed to improve by Friday, so I hope to get one nice-weather ride in before I leave on a 4-day business trip Monday.  Maybe when I get back, it’ll finally be Fall.

    One great development has come out of my riding this week.  I found a way to avoid my least favorite part of my afternoon ride home, namely, the very end, where I have to cross Montgomery Rd. twice.  Normally, I come up Lawyers Hill Rd., make a left onto Montgomery at the light, and then another left into my driveway.  On most roads, this wouldn’t be a big deal, but Montgomery at rush hour is just a clusterf***, and it seems to be getting worse over time.  There’s also a bend just past where I need to turn into my driveway, leaving me with a short sight distance.  Put all that together, and you can see why I dread the last little bit of my ride home.  Some days it’s not bad, but on others I feel like I’m playing a real-life game of Frogger.

    Anyhow, yesterday I found an alternate route.  I’ll prefix this by saying that this route is not going to be useful for 99% of riders.  Most people are going to want to take Lawyers Hill to Montgomery and then turn left or right at the light.  It’s not too bad making a left here.  My alternate is really only useful if you need to make another left off Montgomery (across traffic) before you get to the Elementary School.  That’s what I do every day, and that’s the part that sucks.  The route also requires you to cut through school property, which may be frowned upon in certain circles.  All that being said, here’s the route:

    Coming up Lawyers Hill Rd., make a left onto Summer Home Terrace.  Ride up the hill and take the second right onto Latchlift Ct.  Follow this for a couple hundred feet, and look for a narrow paved trail on the right heading into the woods.  Turn right onto this trail.  Follow the trail through the woods and onto school property.  Proceed straight on the trail up a short, steep hill, towards the playground equipment.  Ride past the playground and bear left onto the access road behind the elementary school building.  Follow the access road around the building, and exit onto the parking lot.  Ride through the lot and out the school entrance road (Timberlee Rd.) to Montgomery Rd.  Turn right onto Montgomery.

    This is an extremely nice shortcut for me, because it turns my two left turns on Montgomery into right turns.  I no longer have to cross traffic, and I have a better view of oncoming traffic while turning onto Montgomery.  I’m sure I’ll be coming this way whenever possible.

  • Sloppiest ride ever.

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    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

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    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.