Can't Win

So yesterday on my ride home from work I was stopped at Calvert and North Avenue when I noticed that the car behind me in the far right lane wanted to turn so I moved into the right/center lane on the crosswalk. That car and several others then proceeded to make the right on red - even though the sign would suggest that the authorities frown on doing so at this particular intersection. Then the 7th of 8 cars making said illegal turn yells out to me - " hey buddy you're not a car" - which of course wasn't news to me, but apparently he felt I didn't belong on the street...

21.5 miles last Thursday - which included a lovely mid-day ride through Druid Hill/Hampden and back
7.5 miles home on Monday
22 miles today commuting
2342 YTD

Another commute

Rode to work on Thursday - finally admitting that the pain in my knees is coming from the fixed gear that I've suspected was a little over geared for my commute from the start...

22 miles
1902 YTD

A lovely day to ride to work

A nice summer day - not too humid.

A fairly uneventful roll into work and back.

Wildlife - a grey cat bathing in a driveway on White Ave.

Soundtrack - inbound - a medley of Social Distortion tunes, mostly 'Ball and Chain' & 'Ring of Fire' - outbound - thanks to a Rastafarian in a mini-van that I passed on Woodbourne - Bob Marley's 'Stir it up'

22 Miles
1880 YTD

And back to the bike riding

Two commutes last week, Davidsonville this past Sunday, and two more commutes this week.

1823 Miles YTD

Half commute

Only made the ride into work today - Joanne retrieved me and we did a little shopping for her trip.

Soundtrack - Bob Marley's Could you be Loved and Redemption Song

10+ Miles
1635 YTD

Dead Star Creates Celestial Havoc

Crab Nebula: a Dead Star Creates Celestial Havoc

Just the long version of my commute plus a 5 mile loop to have lunch with Joanne at the Space Telescope Science Institute (Hubble & others)- which is just a few buildings away from her department at Hopkins. This is where they translate the data collected by the Hubble Space Telescope into "scientifically meaningful units" (what a great phrase).

The drawing below illustrates how starlight turns into pretty pictures...
As it turns out in addition to taking amazing pictures of far away things they also make good sandwiches.

Good to be back to commuting after a bit of a break - definitely more productive at the office when I start the day with a little exercise.

Today's Soundtrack - Simon & Garfunkel's El Condor Pasa - which as it turns out is a cover of a 1913 Peruvian folk song or at least the melody is - they made up new lyrics - "I'd rather be a hammer than a nail..." etc... - this brought to my subconscious by David Sedaris' new book - When You are Engulfed in Flames - in which he refers to the ubiquitous Andean Street Musicians that seem to be found busking in every major city of the world. I made this same observation in 1994 while backpacking around Europe - when I could have sworn we saw the same 5 guys playing in Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Budapest, Rome, Paris, Edinburgh...
27 plus miles on the day
1625 YTD

Commutus Interuptus

Yesterday's ride home was brought to an abrupt halt by a staple in the road - to add insult to injury I had neglected to return my tire levers to my bag after using them on a rebuild for a friend that I finally finished last night. Luckily my dad was home and came to the rescue.
Soundtrack for the week - various tracks of the Clash's 1980 release Sandinista - especially "Ivan meets G.I. Joe.

14 - Tuesday's Shortest Distance Commute
22 - Thursday's Commute out and back the longer way
1377 - 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

A Happy Tax Payer

This week the City of Baltimore made me very happy by re-paving what was the roughest section of my commute - the first block of White Avenue west of Belair Road. This morning on my way to work I was greeted by a beautiful, buttery smooth stretch of asphalt. It was even more exciting on the ride home when it came into view and I realized for once I wouldn't have to fear that the potholes would send me bouncing into Belair Road. Hopefully it won't take too many weeks for them to repaint the centerline...

Also of note - I spent about half my morning commute riding with a guy I met who has been commuting by bike since 1946 as a school boy - now a retiree he still rides over 4000 miles a year.

22 mile on the day
1137 miles YTD

Coupla Commutes

Not much to report - commuted in on Monday and Tuesday...

Took the longer way home on Monday.

and the shorter way home on Tuesday.

22 Miles Monday.
17.5 Miles Tuesday.
1104 Miles YTD.

Meandering Commute

Woke to find a flat front tire... which considering what I ride through on the way to work should be a much more frequent occurrence - Luckily I was up a little early and still managed to leave the house a little earlier than I usually do.

Another lovely day and I decided to take advantage and wander a bit from my route.

Wildlife Sighting in Guilford - a pair of Golden Retrievers, a big black russian terrier? & a corgi? the smaller of which was walking circles under the larger, and a pack of stone masons.

When I got to my turn off to Falls Road I kept going straight thinking I would take in a couple of laps around the reservoir, but then spun off to see how the new portion of the Jones Falls trail was progressing. On the north side of the park they have created a series of switchbacks to take the trail down to TV hill. Since my last trip they've finished all the railings and landscaping - it looks great - not sure where they are taking the trail from here... at the bottom of the switchbacks I turned around and headed back to the reservoir. Instead of doubling back and heading down to Falls Road I decided to cut through the Reservoir Hill and Druid Hill neighborhoods.

I picked up Madison at the edge of the park and passed under the gate that once marked the entrance to the park I stayed on Madison past North Avenue which allowed me to stumble upon the Madison Street Synagogue - which was the home to the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation from 1891 to 1951 and is now a 7th Day Adventist church. According to the historical marker this was the third home of the first Jewish congregation in Maryland. A few blocks south of the old synagogue I switched over to Druid Hill Drive and realized that I had intended to be a few blocks over on Eutaw Place for this journey as I had wandered into the location for much of the first season of The Wire - The McCullough homes were the backdrop for the pit. Shortly after crossing MLK, Druid Park Drive turned into Centre which I followed all the way to Calvert - which was a nice long down hill and I got up a pretty good head of steam - Unfortunately just before the turn onto Calvert Street my chain came off - which is a great deal more alarming on a fixed gear... luckily I noticed early enough to brake and turn onto the sidewalk as the light changed.

A map of this trip is here

All told nearly a 20 mile ride to work - basically reversed my usual morning commute for the ride home...
30.5 Miles on the day
1023 Miles total to date for the year

Back to Commutting

A lovely day for a ride to work - fairly uneventful. Took the slightly longer way home...

Today's Soundtrack in my head... Inbound - Rio by Duran Duran 1982 - something reminded me of my ride in Ipanema
Outbound - Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash 1956 - perfect for slow hill climbing 20.5 miles on the day
992 miles to date

...one way commute

Just riding in to work today - have to take the director and designers to dinner tonight before our first preview of These Shining Lives. A very lovely new play about the women who painted radium watch dials in the 1920-30s and the landmark workers compensation suit they eventually won over illnesses resulting from being exposed to radium.

Squeezed in two laps around the lake in Druid Hill on the ride in...

Wildlife Highlights - Red Winged Black Birds in Druid Hill and a great Siberian Husky in Mt. Vernon
Soundtrack - Head Over Heels - The GoGo's from 1984
14+miles
652 total to date

Yet another commute & more tulips

Took the above photo at Sherwood Gardens this morning - not too bad for my phone...

Added a lap around Druid Hill Park Reservoir to get in some miles and take in the view of the city.

This mornings soundtrack - Always Something There To Remind Me - which is apparently a Burt Bacharach song from the 60's, but of course is burned into my brain thanks to Naked Eyes' 1983 top 10 version.

Then it was a quick trip home on the dinner break - with two laps of lake montebello thrown in for good measure.

Weed on 33rd - 0
Wildlife Highlights - Pair of Scotty Dogs

23+ miles on the day
637+ to date

Another commute in tech

Got to come in a little later this morning - so nice to avoid the rush hour traffic...

Then spun home on the dinner break for a little Chinese food before driving back to work...

Pot on 33rd count - 0

17.5 miles for the day
614 miles to date

Bagels & Daffodils

Made a detour on this morning's commute to join Joanne for bagels at Greg's - home to the largest selection of smoked fish in the free world... this detour also allowed me to take a quick dash past 'the lakes' in Homeland to see the fading daffodils - (picture from Homeland's website) These daffodils are another spring tradition and I always try to catch them. The Homeland neighborhood is one of a few in town laid out by the Olmsted Brothers. The Homeland estate that once occupied the site is apparently responsible for the lakes that were created in 1843 and were fed by a spring until it dried up in the 1950s at which point the lakes were hooked up to city water. The houses are a great collection of architectural styles and are built at a more modest scale than nearby Guilford - leading the whole neighborhood to have a very storybook feel.

And a new feature of my commute reporting - # of times I smelled pot on E. 33rd St - 2

All told including yesterday's commute - 35.3 miles
597 miles to date

Commuting in Springtime

Tuesday 15 April 08 Did my usual commute today - but with the added benefit that the tulips have started to bloom in Sherwood Gardens - which is one of my favorite things about Baltimore - this park which is actually called Stratford Green is located in the Guilford neighborhood. The park was laid out by the Olmstead Brothers - the tulips started as a hobby of John Sherwood in 1927 and over the years has become something of a rite of spring in Baltimore - a more complete history is available here...

When I began commuting in earnest two years ago to train for the Ride for the Feast - I made sure to create route that would take me past Sherwood Gardens each day thinking that it would be fun to watch the tulips grow - and it is indeed always a highlight of the ride. In winter the park is often blanketed in fog and the low angled morning light is stunning piercing through the trees. Now that spring has arrived the real show begins as the beds of tulips come to life - I'll try to post more pictures in coming weeks.

On the ride home I was also treated to this lovely sunset at Lake Montebello 17.5 miles on the day
562 miles to date

Recent Ride Roundup

A quick roundup of recent rides to get me caught back up...
27 March 08 - Commute - 17.5 miles
29 March 08 - Boordy Jericho - 50
30 March 08 - Walther/Lake - 8.5
02 April 08 - Commute - 17.5
03 April 08 - Commute to work - 10.5
07 April 08 - Commute from work - 7
08 April 08 - Commute - 17.5
09 April 08 - Commute to work - 10.5
10 April 08 - Commute from work - 7
464 miles to date...

On the Road Again

Managed to pop out for two rides this weekend;
17.5 Miles of commuting on the Fixed Gear on Saturday
33 Miles on the Providence Loop with Kelly on Sunday
299 miles so far this year...

March Meander

1 March 08 hard to believe I somehow managed to let weather, illness, work, and laziness keep me off the road for nearly a month - finally got back out there today with Kelly for a spin around the city on the old Peugeot fixed gear that I bought from her.