Ride Round the Severn

Saturday morning we met up at Steve's for breakfast and a casual spin up to BWI followed by the length of the B&A trail. We headed into Annapolis for lunch (mmm peanut butter smoothie) then circled back to Steve's.

This was our first ride in the new kits Aesha acquired for us. It was great fun rolling along in a paceline decked out like a team - definitely turned a few heads. This was also my first ride wearing bib shorts and I'm sold - won't be doing long days without them again.

Many more pics HERE by Aesha (merci)

50 Miles
2090 YTD

Fabian Cancellara I am not...

Photo by Flickr user Will Rose

Yesterday Steve, Vinnie, and I went to Cambridge, MD for the Church Creek Time Trial. 40 kilometers against the clock. It was an interesting adventure - I'd never before gone all out like that over any distance. I finished 28th out of 33 participants in my group (Cat 5) and learned many lessons - like the value of aero bars, remembering your heart monitor, and perhaps training for such an endeavor.

Beforehand, Steve and I joked that we figured we would need to average better than 21 mph to be reasonably competitive and dubbed this the threshold of embarrassment. I fell just shy at an average of 20.8 and Steve clocked in at 21.8 - five places higher.

24.8 miles in 1 hour 11 minutes 41 seconds
(plus 10 miles getting to and from the course)
1858 YTD

C & O Canal Towpath

30 June - 2 July 2008 Steve and I decided it was time to try out hands at a bit of bike touring/camping/trail riding - which we thought could all be neatly wrapped up by a trip along the C&O Canal Towpath. It seemed the wise choice for a first attempt at such an adventure - close to home, many camping options (sites every 5 miles or so), plenty of towns along the way for resupply and meals - and now that this trail connects to the Great Allegheny Passage it could act as the shakedown for a much longer 350 mile tour from DC to Pittsburgh one day in the future.

The original plan was to set out early from Bethesda and ride out to a campsite shortly past Harpers Ferry the first day. On Day Two we would ride out and back to somewhere beyond Shepherdstown. Then on Day Three we would ride back to Bethesda. We mostly managed stick to our plan...

After sitting in a traffic back up for an hour or so (ah the joys of the capital beltway) we arrived in Bethesda almost on schedule... We parked Steve's truck at a friends house (thanks Astrid) and headed down to the towpath.
Our first challenge appeared to be getting down to and over the canal - first a dirt trail with a steep staircase of switchbacks and then the bridge pictured above - the trickiest part was a rather steep staircase down from the bridge and onto the towpath. Once we were off and rolling I was amazed at how quiet empty the trail was even though we were still well within the beltway. While there was the occasional walker/jogger/biker we mostly had the trail to ourselves.

We quickly came up on the first of many locks we'd pass in the next few days - in this lower section not only has the park service managed to keep the canal watered, but many of the locks are still functioning and they offer rides on a canal boat up near Great Falls.

I was quite pleasantly surprised at the condition of the towpath throughout the trip - especially the first 20 miles or so when it was a hard packed stone/dirt surface. We found that even loaded down as we were we could keep a reasonable pace of 10-14 miles and hour and for the most part we able to ride side by side and pass the time chewing the fat.

One of my favorite stretches on this first day was around Great Falls when the canal widened up with sheer rock faces lining the opposite shore. Another striking feature of these watered sections of the canal was the freakishly bright green algae that covered the surface in some parts - there didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason about which parts had it and which didn't - sometimes in very still sections and sometimes when the water seemed to be moving, sometimes in open sunny sections and sometimes in forested shady stretches....

After a couple hours we reached Whites Ferry - the last regular ferry service still operating across the Potomac - we had lunch at the general store here - I went with a grilled cheese and Steve went with the "Barge Burger" (which was just a hamburger) and we split the "Ferry Fries" which had to be the greasiest fries I've ever eaten. My favorite tidbit from this pitstop was the sign for canoe rentals explaining that you had to be 36 years old to rent a canoe - I was dying to ask how they came up with 36 as the cutoff point, but the kid behind the counter had already informed us that it was his first week there when I asked another random question.

After lunch we passed across the Monocacy Aqueduct, the largest of the many large structures built to carry the canal and towpath over the many rivers and streams that feed into the Potomac. It must have been an amazing site to see a barge carrying 100 tons of coal floating across this structure over the Monacacy River. There were two new treats beyond the Monacacy - things got a bit muddier and the canal began to parallel the old B&O (now CSX/MARC train tracks) - the first train to pass announced itself with an astonishingly loud horn that nearly threw both Steve and I off our bikes... we would eventually become quite accustomed to this sound more on that later.

As we passed Brunswick we met a backpacker, surprisingly one of the only ones we saw on the towpath, he was attempting to put on his poncho, but needed a hand getting it over his backpack. He more than returned the favor by giving us a tip on a restaurant to check out in Brunswick on the ride back.

It had been raining on and off throughout the day, but luckily the towpath was fairly tree covered. As we left Brunswick and got closer to Harpers Ferry the tree cover began to thin and we started to get a little bit wetter with each passing shower. This coupled with a desire for dinner and a hope to set up camp before sundown led us to pick up the pace a bit. For a while we were hammering along at a pretty good clip (>15mph), and then about a half mile out from Harpers Ferry, Steve got a rather loud flat tire. We quickly changed the tube and got rolling again - hoping to set up camp and then double back to Harpers Ferry for dinner. We got about a half mile north of Harpers Ferry when the same tire blew again - this time blowing apart the dollar Steve had inserted as a boot to cover the slit in the tire. At this point we decided that a new tire was perhaps in order - so we headed back to Harpers Ferry hoping the bike shop would still be open, but we missed it by about half hour. Dinner seemed the best plan and we set of in search of a restaurant. Over dinner we regrouped and made a plan to stay somewhere in town so we could hit the bike shop when it reopened. We found a hostel just around the corner - the Town's Inn.

We had breakfast with a two guys from the hostel - one a retiree from Massachusetts who was thru hiking the Appalachian Trail to raise money for the Lion's Club charity for sight, a very nice guy who it seems had never really done any back packing before he set out. The other guy was bike touring on a trike - he had started out from Florida and seemed to be one of those people who has done nearly everything. It was a lively breakfast conversation of tales from the road and trails.

Once back in town we eventually got into the bike shop to acquire the new tire and some more spare tubes - managed to get back on the trail by 11 or so. We started out with a jaunt north about 10 miles or so to Shepherdstown where we had a great lunch at a quite unexpected middle eastern place - Shaharazade's. Then Steve and I both went off in search of a treat to celebrate before beginning the journey back to Bethesda - for Steve a slice of chocolate cake and for me a peanut butter smoothie. Then it was back on the road - the climb up from the trail to town had been a bit grueling with our loaded panniers - the descent back proved to be a little terrifying all that weight and cross winds across the bridge really tested my bike handling...

The rain kept threatening, but never really got to bad and we made good time as we headed for our next goal - dinner in Brunswick at Beans in the Belfry - the place the hiker tipped us off about the day before.

This was a great little cafe in an old church - that seemed to be a real diamond in the rough based on the little bit of riding around town we did trying to find the place. We had a very tasty dinner and some more treats from the bakery case... then it was back onto the trail to find a campsite to bed down for the night. We both feared that there wasn't enough daylight left to get far enough down the trail to find a site past where the train tracks split away from the trail - and indeed we did wind up camping quite close to the tracks. Now I've camped near train tracks many times - as a kid I always assumed that KOA was owned by the railroads as the always seemed to be close to the tracks. However this was closer than I ever remember being - I could swear I could feel the ground shake as the trains approached and we seemed to be near some kind of intersection as they seemed committed to laying on their horns just as they passed our site. I've definitely slept better - but did manage to sleep some. Sharing our site was one guy traveling alone and another guy traveling with his two daughters (college age?) both seemed to be working at traveling a different section each summer to the end of seeing all of over time.

In the morning we set out early - probably packed up and back on the trail by 7 or so and made good time back to White's ferry for a late breakfast. This left us with 20 or so miles to get back to Bethesda. It was a gorgeous day and those really pretty stretches around Great Falls were all the more scenic with bright sunshine and blue skies.

Wildlife Highlights included: A gaggle of Canada Geese that scarcely moved as we passed them on the towpath, many large turtles swimming an sunning themselves in the canal and one small one that I nearly ran over on the towpath, several Great Blue Herons - including one on the towpath that allowed us to get quite close and then flew beside us on the canal, a dozen or so Turkey Vultures blocking the path that eventually shuffled out of the way once we rang our bike bells, a doe grazing at dawn in Harpers Ferry, and one large black snake that Steve tells me we nearly ran over in the towpath - I have no idea how I missed that one... More trip photos HERE, or as a SLIDESHOW, and organized on a MAP 150 miles over three days
1598 YTD

Tour Dem Parks

Today Kelly, Lindsay, and myself were joined by Steve for a ride around Baltimore city to celebrate the parks and raise money for the various non-profits whose work support, restore, use, and advocate for the city's parks. Kelly, Lindsay, and I started out from home and rode to the start of the ride in Carrol Park. It was great fun to ride through the city at 7 in the morning - so quiet and virtually no traffic. After a very peaceful journey we were pleasantly surprise to discover a large crowd had gathered in the park to participate in the event. We quickly found Steve and got signed in...

The ride included 4 routes - 20, 30, 40 and 60 mile options - the three longer options mostly paralleled each other, but at times it was more than a little confusing keeping track of the cue sheets and markings on the road. We headed from the park towards the stadiums and immediately missed our first spur down to Middle Branch Park. Once we passed the stadiums we headed up Federal Hill and then down around the inner harbor - it was here that we had the first of several interactions with a running event that was also happening around the harbor. For the next few miles we either paralleled or criss crossed the running route - which was more than a little clumsy. Thankfully when we reached Canton we headed away from the water and the runners. Our first rest stop was at Patterson Park at the Pagoda providing us with a nice view out to the marine terminals and beyond. A history of the Pagoda is HERE and a nice article about the 2002 renovation is HERE. After the rest stop we headed up Washington Blvd. past Hopkins Hospital - then at Gay Street, Kelly and I realized the we were going right by the 1887 American Brewery building and decided we had to take a detour to show it to Steve and see how the renovations were going. A little bit of info can be found at Urban Atrophy. From here we headed up past the old Clifton Park Valve House. Then past Clifton Mansion - the former Hopkins estate.

From here we passed through Clifton Park golf course, Herring Run Park, Lake Montebello, the old Memorial Stadium site, Sherwood Gardens, San Marten Drive, Druid Hill Park, Jones Falls Trail, and eventually to the Gwynns Falls Trail which led us back to Carrol Park.

In Carrol Park we joined in on the post-ride BBQ and hung out a chatted for a while with other riders. We met the guy behind Baltimore Spokes - also known as Human Car and chatted about recent successes at the city and state level for better access and facilities for cycling.

All and all it was a grand day out.

50 miles total for the day
1237 miles YTD

Badminton & Alpacas

Steve, Kelly, Vinnie, and I got together for a 35 mile ride out of Oregon Ridge today. We were following a cue sheet from the Baltimore Bicycling Club, but missed a turn and wound up making things up for a bit before finding our way back onto the route - only cut off 2 miles.

A map of where we rode is here

While riding you notice that people lose a lot of stuff in the road - I suggested to Steve at some point that I thought we could start a good business reselling rubber tie down straps as it seems like I see one on every ride. Steve responded that we could also sell single gloves and shoes... just as he said this we passed a badminton racket laying in the road - not something we see everyday.

Just as we started up the final climb back over Cuba Rd it started to rain...

and then I got my second flat tire in as many days....

Soundtrack - a medley from the Talking Heads 1985 album - Little Creatures inspired by hearing 'Stay Up Late' on the radio as we got to Oregon Ridge - then kept alive by Kelly who kept singing the refrain throughout the ride. Somehow this also prompted 'And She Was', 'Give Me Back My Name','Walk it Down', and 'Road to Nowhere' all from that album.

Wildlife Highlights -a Baltimore Oriole, a black snake in the road, and a small herd of Alpacas that Kelly mistook for deer...

33 miles on the day
1056 miles YTD

The Train to Chesapeake Beach

Saturday 24 May 2008

Caught up with Steve for a ride with the Potomac Pedalers Touring Club - a great DC area bike club that seems to pull together lots of riders.

The ride started out at Southern HS in Harwood south of Annapolis. We headed out with the A riders at a blistering pace, but somehow managed to hold on for several miles. I think Steve and I were both relieved when we reached our turn off for the 47 mile route as that meant we split off from the A riders who were continuing on for the 61 mile route. That said we maintained a strong pace and averaged around 20 mph for the first half of the ride. After a quick lunch in North Beach we began our way back - the return route featured a few long-ish climbs, but we still managed to finish up around an average speed 18 mph for the day. For my sake it was a good thing Steve was suffering from a bad cold or I'd of never kept up.

A stunning day - loads of sailboats out on the water...

Wildlife highlights - two huge draught horses

47 miles on the day, plus
8.5 miles on Sunday (Walther & Montebello)
14 miles on Monday(Walther & a few laps around Montebello)
972 miles to date

A Rainy Ride

RIDE FOR THE FEAST 2008 - DAY 2

In the morning we rode a bus across the bridge to start our ride from a bike shop near Sandy Point State Park. Today's ride would take us back to Baltimore mostly via the B&A Trail. Once of the trail we wind our way to Carrol Park. The original plan was to regroup there and then have a police escort across the city to the Moveable Feast headquarters. Unfortunately the police backed out - so we transfered from Carrol Park to Paterson Park on a bus and then rode the final 10 blocks or so.

Steve, Matt, and myself were riding sweep - meaning that we would ride at the end of the group to make sure that everyone made their way to Carrol Park. We waited a while to let everyone get a ways down the road before heading out and managed to get almost to the first pit before encountering another rider. We then lingered a bit longer than we needed to at that pit as discovered that everyone was doing quite well and at one point we began to fear we'd be holding things up at Carrol Park. After picking up the pace for a couple miles we finally reached a small group of riders and rode with them into the second pit.

Shortly after heading out from the pit stop it began to rain... at the same time we started to hit the biggest hills of the ride and started to catch up with more riders. At the top of a long hill we pulled of to help with tire change. As we started to get back on the road we discovered that three more riders also had flats. To make things even more exciting a nearby power line began to shower sparks into the street as the wind and rain tangled it up in a tree. Eventually we got back on the road and caught up with the other riders at Carrol Park for the transfer to Patterson Park.

In the rush to get rolling again in the rain a few of us didn't leave with the group - so Steve, Matt, little Steve, and myself had our own little trip through East Baltimore. We arrive not longer after the group for the post-ride celebration.

All told we raised over $200,000 for Moveable Feast - not bad for a bunch of knuckleheads on their bikes.

30 miles on the day
899 miles to date

A tale of three Steves...

A Kelly, a Matt, a Kristin, and 80 or so others who spent their weekend riding in the wind and the rain to support the Moveable Feast.
RIDE FOR THE FEAST 2008 - Day 1 - Rehoboth to Easton
Above is the gang of seven, mostly Steves, who I spent the bulk of the ride taking turns in the wind with [Kristin is the 7th - see here - for another version minus one Steve plus Kristin]. To get to the sofa you have to rewind 95 or so miles to Rehoboth.

As usual the ride rolled out in one large group headed up the coastal highway and I must admit that my recent spill made me want to get out of the pack ASAP. After our first turn onto rt. 24 things start to string out and I began to make my way to the front in search of a less congested spot in the group. By the time we reached the first pit at mile 20 much of this group had taken shape - Kelly, little Steve, Florida Steve, and myself... after that pit we got a bit more organized and began a paceline. About half way to the second pit we passed Joanne (who was volunteering as a sag driver) I broke off to say high and shed my arm warmers - then got a nice workout trying to sprint back onto the group. I reached them just in time for the second pit stop.

After the second pit the brothers eschmacher joined on and we started to get our paceline a little more organized with everyone taking fairly regular pulls on the front - though it did seem for a while that a certain Steve's turn at the front kept coinciding with the towns rather than the windy farms...

Somewhere between the third pit (lunch) and the fourth we picked up Kristin, who Bart, Steve, and I met last year on this ride. Between the third and fifth pit we mostly kept together making a great team effort of covering the miles, sharing the wind, and encouraging each other.

A few miles after the fifth pit Kelly was taking a turn on the front when the rest of us splintered and she opened up a pretty good gap. After a bit I decided this was a good chance to get out of the saddle and sprint to catch up with Kelly. When I reached her we tried to pick up the pace and quickly learned why two person break aways rarely work. We did OK for a mile or so, but it didn't take long to exhaust ourselves - as a two person paceline offers only brief shelter from the wind. Which is when the sofa came into view - remember the sofa...

There on the on the side of the road was the most remarkable orange velvet sofa basking in the sun atop a manicured lawn with a hand lettered sign "FREE" - It seemed obvious to Kelly and I that this would make the perfect pit stop to chill out and regroup. We had just begun to sit down when the gang began to come into view... naturally it also seemed a great photo opportunity...

We made short work of the few miles we had left - finishing roughly 8 hours after leaving Rehoboth - minus the lunch and pits we pedaled for a little over 6 hours.

Today's soundtrack included - Lollipop (thanks to Lolly Pop Lane) and Victoria (thanks to first person I rode this route with two years ago)

Wildlife Highlights included - numerous turkey vultures including one group working over a deer carcass on the side of the road, a pair of shaggy donkeys. a beautiful Clydesdale, and a groundhog

[I'll try to take a stab at day two tomorrow]

100 miles on the day
869 miles to date

A Weekend in Easton

Sat/Sun 3 & 4 May 08

Saturday was supposed to be my third year doing a 75 mile training ride out of Easton, but I didn't quite finish it. Contrary to weather reports from earlier in the week it was a gorgeous day. We had a huge group of folks training for the Ride for the Feast, as well as a large contingent loosely affiliated to Team JA - who I spent most weekends last summer riding with...

We headed out of the parking lot and made our way towards Oxford. It is hard to believe how much this area has changed in just three years - new shopping centers and tons of houses dot the landscape...

our first major highlight is the Oxford-Bellevue Ferry; This tiny craft holds about three cars plus this day 20 bikes for a short trip across the Tred Avon River - and claims to be the oldest privately operated ferry service in the country. It always makes a fun break and distraction from the ride.

From there we headed into St. Michaels for a quick break at a coffee shop before riding out to the tip of Tilghman Island. We fought a strong head wind along this stretch by forming a nice paceline of 9 or so riders... we then circled back to town for lunch before starting the final leg of our trip back to Easton.

About 8 miles out of town we turned onto some tiny farm roads - giving us our first real break from the traffic... this was also our first chance to stop riding single file and be a bit more social - which may have proved to by my undoing.

Somewhere around mile 64 or so a moment of inattention on my part caused me to touch wheels with the rider in front of me. Before I new it I was lying in the road with a half a dozen riders trying desperately not to run me over. Thankfully they were paying attention and managed to avoid me. In the end I think perhaps three of us wound up in the road, but I seemed to be the worst for the wear.

The gang was quick to settle me down and keep me from trying to get back up. It was clear immediately that my ride for the day was over - and after a few minutes it also became clear that I might be well served by a visit to the ER.

The highlights (and low-lights) from here included;

- Aesha taking control and taking my hand when I hit the deck - I won't soon forget her calm voice telling me to keep still and making sure I was well enough to get up off the ground - then discovering she had suffered her own fair share of road rash.

- Discovering the long tear in Steve's wheel that resulted from his heroic braking effort that surely saved my ribcage...

- The ER doc (who used to ride)asking me when my last big fall was (at least 5000 miles ago) to which he responded - "so you were due"

- Kelly and Bart pushing their faces into the window while the ER doc was telling me he thought I needed a Cat scan - and then Bart promising to make me carrot cake muffins.

- the ER nurse asking us if we were all from the 'Western Shore' - a phrase I rarely hear, but that never fails to conjure up that New Yorker cartoon of the US - only in this case all of the US would be depicted at the 'Western Shore' except of course Delmarva

- Kelly and Steve breaking the news about my bike to me gently... there's still hope but it seems like it may have faired worse than I did.

- the first of my two CAT scans - they tell you to sit still then the little table jumps around like one of those quarter rides in front of the grocery store.

- defnite low-light- having the ER doc tell me there was something questionable on the CAT scan and they wanted me to admit me for observation.

- The third attempt at putting in my IV that resulted in my greatest blood loss of the whole experience as I bled out all over the towel, TV remote and who know what else...

- The ER nurse who eventually secured permission to give me water and brought me this 32 oz container (pictured below) and said "don't ask what we measure in this, but I figured giving you an 8 oz cup would be a bit of a joke. - the mixture of frustration and excitement when it was suggested that I might have to be medi-vac-d to another hospital for the lack of a doctor who was willing to admit me - I've always loved a helicopter ride.

- the excellent Strawberry shake that Steve brought me from the DQ

- having the admitting doc mistake Steve for my dad - subsequent experience with him leads me to believe that was a comment on the child that fell off his bike and not on how old Steve may have looked...

- The excellent Pad Thai that Joanne showed up with... from Easton - who knew

- Kelly txt-ing me to let me know how much fun my car is to drive - and to ask how I was doing.

- the nurse tech how woke me abruptly at 6 am by rolling me over and sticking a thermometer in my mouth in one motion all while screaming 'mr pearl' - she then scolded me not to roll out of bed while she stormed out of the door.

- the diabolical contraption posing as a chair that Joanne had to spend the night in

- watching Tour De Georgia coverage from my hospital bed

- having the Neurologist tell me how crazy he thought cyclists were for riding through St. Michaels.

- over-hearing the nurse receiving the results of my second CAT scan and repeating "It's negative" - and interpreting that to mean there was nothing in my head - less funny was waiting four more hours to have the doctor release me...

- my co-workers who were shocked to see me alive today, because I was so sparse in my description to my assistant that she told them I was hit by a car and therefore wouldn't be in on Monday.

- The Strawberry Rhubarb crumble that Joanne made me on Monday night which I'm having leftovers of while I type this...

60+ miles on the day
675 to date

Kent Island Loop

Sunday 13 April 08

Met up for another Ride for the Feast training ride - this time around with a much bigger group - maybe 10 or 12 of us. We started off on the eastern shore side of the old Kent Narrows draw bridge - actually under the new route 50 bridge. The first few miles were on a trail that took us across the old bridge and then paralleled Route 50 for a while before dropping back into the marsh for a couple of miles - here is a pic from the Queen Anne's county website
It started off as a lovely day - albeit a little breezy as always for the eastern shore. As the day progressed clouds rolled in and it got a bit colder, but at least we never got wet. At the end of the trail we missed a turn or two and wound up south of 50 a little earlier than intended which was just as well. The rest of the route basically followed route 8 south along the center of the Island. Every few miles or so we dipped into one of the many housing developments that do the island and looped in and out of the rodes that follow the coves and creeks along the bay - as Steve described - much like the petals of a flower. Below is a nice map of the trail and a bit of the island from the bikewashington website (it is a more clear on their site) Shortly after leaving the trail Steve and I split off from the group and alternated between a decent 20+mph paceline mostly on rt. 8 and then more leisurely pace in the neighborhoods. This was my first real effort of the year and I'm happy to report that I mostly was able to stay on Steve's wheel - though I did let him take longer turns in the front out in the wind. At one point we got to hammering along and missed a turn - adding a few bonus miles. This worked nicely as we were able to rejoin the group a little later after we went back and looped through the neighborhood we had skipped.
45 miles for the day
544 miles to date

Steve's to BWI loop and back

Saturday 12 April 08

Met up at Steve's house in Crownsville for nice loop out to BWI then around the loop trail and back. Wound up being a pretty wet ride with alternating drizzle, some fairly heavy rain, and a little bit of sun now and then. This was a group training ride for the Ride for the Feast - though it just wound up being three of us.

Got my first flat of the season - luckily while the sun was out.

Here is a nice map of the BWI loop from the airport website


35 miles total for the day
499 miles to date

First Providence

Sunday 3 February 2008 Providence Road 33 Steve and I met up on a lovely February Sunday afternoon for my first ride out of the Providence Road Park and Ride for 2008. This is where Bart, Kelly, and I usually meet up to drive to other rides an hour or more away - so it's always a treat actually start a ride from here... A nice little 33 mile loop out past the reservoir, Dulaney to Manor, Carrol Manor to Sweet Air - out and back on Green Road one of my favorites - then back through Long Green Valley where it always seems to be windy. A fun little ride that I did a couple times last year with Bart and Kelly. 33 Miles - 195 miles total to date

Lunch in Annapolis

Rode the B&A trail into Annapolis with Bart and Kelly today. We met up at Marley Station - Steve showed up to see us off and then joined us for lunch in Annapolis - he's been dogging a bad cold so he didn't join us for the ride... It was a fairly nice day - cold, but little wind. Got to try out my new wheels and tires - so far I'm very happy with them -- can't wait to get them out on the open road - they feel like they'll be quite fast... (thanks for the tip steve) The B&A is a nice ride for the winter - relatively flat and little stopping and starting - which I find is nice to keep from overheating/getting damp and from getting cold waiting at lights... We kept a pretty relaxed pace on the way into town, but as usual Kelly and I picked it up a bit on the way home - sorry Bart. All in all it was good ride - really nice to be back out with the gang for some miles.