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Sneezy
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…
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Muddy Adventure
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…
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Troptember
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…
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First Day of Classes
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…
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Outfitting for Winter
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…
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That time of year
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…
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Humps
A few weeks ago, Westchester Ave., which runs between Ellicott City, MD, through the town of Oella, and ends in Catonsville, was re-paved. As recently as a month or so ago, I remember riding my bike up it and being kind of surprised that they hadn’t added speed humps, as they seem to be ubiquitous…
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Grout Removal
Nothing much exciting to write about on the biking front lately. I was off work last week, and didn’t do much biking, but this week I’m back at it again. August has brought some slightly more pleasant weather so far, but still not much in the way of rain, other than the occasional torrential downpour. …
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Disabled List
2011 has been a bad year for me in the injury department. A couple of Saturdays ago, I messed up my ankle during a home improvement project (I should know better by now — it’s physically impossible for me to get through any home improvement project without some kind of injury. Maybe that’s why I’m…
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Today’s temperature: 60°F
OK.. Wishful thinking. This is summer in Maryland, so 60°C is probably more like it. But I keep a log of all my bike commutes, and as part of that, I always record the ride-time temperature. After this past Friday’s ride, my average ride-time temperature topped 60°F for the first time in 2011. It seems…