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Please excuse the absence. Trust that it involved BABIES, both future and present Babies. For instance, Johnny and ElRo found out the sex of their/our half-way-cooked Baby this morning.
But fun cycling things are in the works! Okay. Dan and I (Johnny) are meeting tonight for coffee to go over some details for a spirited ride through Charm City next month, complete with LED Xmas lights on our bikes. Lots of people and lots of lights. Last time we tried to plan it, we literally drank too much PBR on a Sunday afternoon and lost track of what the hell we were talking about.
Anyway, next month. Big fun. Oh, yes. Stay tuned.
With apologies for the bad camera phone pic. I spotted these folks on my way out of UB’s student center this morning, heading East on Mount Royal. Must have been 15-20 police cyclists, in different levels of kit, on different kinds of bikes. I wonder what they were doing together? Training? Are we getting more bike cops?
Terrible news, from the Mailbox:
I passed a terrible sight this morning from the bus: a biker rider down in the middle of Eutaw St, just north of Druid Hill, around 8:45. I didn’t want to look too closely, but it looked like a white man with gray and brown hair, no helmet. He wasn’t moving. People were just starting towards him and I heard sirens a few minutes later. It upset me and I hope to hear some followup on what happened and whether he pulled through. Please post something publicly if you want, but could you also shoot me an email if you hear anything?
Does anyone have any info?
Congratulations to Josh and Meredith of my personal favorite bike shop, Baltimore Bicycle Works! They are getting married today!
Baltimore bike bloggers (left to right): Barry, Johnny, Zack, Dan, Dave. I feel like I should write something about the relationship between coffee and cycling, given the “You’re going for COFFEE?!” that ensued when ElRo went to get us some brews. But I’m tired, and it’s Friday, and this weather is driving me toward the coffee itself. I just like this picture.
[Photo courtesy of GHCC.]
I didn’t get a chance to take a lot of photos because I was enjoying meeting everyone on the plaza. Then, as you probably know, my MFin drive-side rear spoke blew in Waverly, and I had to bail like 2 miles into the ride when my tire and frame were getting too friendly. (Only after that did I learn about those awesome fiber spokes.) My wheels have been nothing but trouble since I got my bike this summer. I have to see if the good folks at the shot can do a warranty wheel replacement for me. Anyway, here are the first half of the share-ables I do have.
ElRo has four times as many as I do, so stay tuned.
The Baltimore Sun, whose photographer stayed the entire time.
Kali Durga, with excellent photos.
Bikes N Coffee (two of my favorite things).
Photos in the Baltimore Bikes Flickr group (to which ya’ll are encouraged to add photos of all Baltimore bike activity, to highlight the awesomeness in our awesome city).
Greater Homewood Community Corporation.
Stayed tuned for more!
This is the second Tour de Greater Homewood, a ride around North-Central Baltimore celebrating the good work that The Greater Homewood Community Corporation does to help build strong and healthy neighborhoods. This year, the ride honors the late Jack Yates, a former GHCC board member. The University of Baltimore is donating the space as part of the UB Green efforts, as Jack was not only a UB alum but was also a graduate student at UB.
If possible, please RSVP to the event on Facebook here.
Sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY!
1:00pm-4:oopm
Gordon Plaza at the University of Baltimore: Corner of Mount Royal Avenue and Maryland Avenue.
Participants will be required to sign a waiver (so that you can’t sue UB or GHCC if something happens to you or your bike).
Participants will be encouraged to make the suggested donation of $10, which will go to youth programming at Greater Homewood Community Corporation, to programs similar to those to which Jack Yates was dedicated.
Participants will get a sweet spokecard, designed by artist Christina Ralls (you can see the images in this post).
Members of Jack’s family will be on in attendance! We will have a few speakers before the ride.
There are two routes, both of which will begin and end at the same place at UB. There will be ride leaders (including several Eagle Scouts and one EMS — no kidding) to help with any mechanical difficulties and to help folks find their way. Also, all participants will be given a set of directions on paper, which should be easy to follow. The longer ride is the proper Tour de Greater Homewood. You can view an interactive map of this route here. The shorter ride is the Tour de Central Baltimore, for which you can find the map here.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment. If we don’t have the answer, we’ll get it for you.
And many thanks go out to everyone who’s volunteering and everyone who’s worked to get the word out.
Leave a comment with your email address (no one sees it) if you’d like a PDF of this flier you can print! This image will also be on the front of the spokecard participants will get. This was excellently and graciously created by artist and NBBB member Christina Ralls, who is available for graphics work I am told.
With the Jack Yates Memorial Ride and Tour de Greater Homewood only six days away, it’s time to call upon experienced cyclists to serve as ride leaders! What do we need ride leaders to do? Study the route and help folks along the way. That is, RIDE, and then help folks find their way. We probably all do this regularly, but now it might be dozens of people asking for your help.
This is a link to the route on Google Maps (CLICK!) if you’d curious about the venue. It amounts to about 14.5 miles all told. There will be a shorter (@4-5 miles) ride that we also need a volunteer or two to lead.
We could also use help with registration (getting waivers signed; handing out spokecards; collecting donations). You’d still get to ride; you just might be behind everyone else.
We have two ride leaders and two volunteers for registration. We need more! If you’d like to help out, please leave a comment — or email us (northbaltimorebikebrigadeATyahooDOTcom).
Stay tuned to more ride details.
I don’t know how I feel about this video. On one hand, I’d want to do the same thing but with my U-lock. Had I caught the person who stole my bike three years ago, I might have lost my temper, too. On the other, it seems like assault since they don’t turn him in but just vent; it’s all after the crime (theft) has been stopped — maybe?
On both hands, is he just going to do it again? Did they accomplish nothing but venting (for which they might have a right I guess), or did they scare this guy out of trying to steal bikes (and maybe getting that drill in his forehead) in the future?
A [terrible cell phone] picture of me with my sweet fanny pack. Read about former Baltimore resident Rantwick’s fanny pack. You know, it beat a messenger bag for not sliding all over the place or hurting my shoulder or both. And it beat a backpack for not making me sweat. I caught a lot of guff for it, though, which I think is funny. It smelled like campfire for a while, but it’s largely gone away. I used it to carry my camera (etc.) to Sunday Streets this weekend, on foot. Now that makes me a geek, probably. I’m too tired to wax philosophical about this blue nylon tonight.
As I recall, the bike lanes on University Parkway right below Roland Avenue, heading South, were the first ones in the City — or, at least, the first ones I ever saw. It was early fall 2007, and I was stoked. This was the sharrow right before the official bike lane, the first modern Baltimore sharrow I ever saw. I was sad to see it go today, so Dan and I got a little video of it.
I am extremely excited to see what replaces what’s gone, though. Parts of the bike lanes here have always been a little rough, and lately, they’ve been downright dangerous. Nate Evans told us there’d be smooth lanes soon, and he wasn’t fooling. I repeat that I am excited to see what’s next.
Roland Avenue is torn up between University and Coldspring Lane, too, so be careful. Those parts were always full of craters anyway. I’m glad that the City is maintaining the bike lanes a lot of folks use. I read an article somewhere wherein someone complained that the University Parkway and Roland Avenue lanes were for “Roland Parkers”. In my experience, not so. Lots of people pass through, from the county, and heading to the county. And, living in Roland Park, I see lots of $5,000 bikes ridden by folks wearing $200 outfits around here sometimes. But, brother, they ain’t goin to work. This route benefits more than Roland Parkers, that’s for sure. Hell, I know some people who don’t like the lanes being here.
They are being resurfaced, i.e., only kinda half exist now. Dan and I scored a lot of photos and a video, which we’ll get up later.
But you might wanna take another route home today and to work tomorrow!
These are great photos of the ride two weeks ago, courtesy of Kali Durga (used with permission), with Kali’s captions.
One of the coolest dudes on the ride.
Tour du Port hits Federal Hill.
View from the rest stop at North Point State Park.
The line for free Chipotle tacos at the end of the ride.
Thanks, Kali!
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