Heading South Down the B&A

I wanted to check out my replaced tubes on my road bike so I took off down to the Naval Academy bridge and back. Tack on 27 miles (15 for the July 150 challenge. Just a few miles short of halfway at the halfway point of the month.

Average speed of 15.4 mph

The "start" of the B&A, just outside of Annapolis. The rest are either on the bridge or right before the bridge on the WW2 Memorial.








And I just like this picture. Kinda wish I didn't snap it while trash was right ahead of me.

Let's talk GPS

First off, on a cool note, we had an earthquake in Maryland this morning. I woke up at 5am and was brushing my teeth when I heard a low rumble and the house started moving. I ignored it, figuring the furnace had just kicked on. Until I realized we don't have a furnace... It wasn't a large earthquake by a Californian, but nonetheless it was pretty awesome.

To the topic at hand...

Do any of you use a GPS device while biking? I know that at least Chesapeake Sailor uses a Garmin Edge 705, which is the top of the line Garmin (and well out of my price range).

I've been doing a bit of research on them...

The Edge 205 is the very entry level Garmin device. It shows basically what a $10 bike computer shows, but it does track your gps coordinates. This is $250.

The Edge 500 does everything the 205 can do, but adds an altimeter and, for extra, you can add a cadence and heart rate monitor. It is the same price of the 205, so I doubt there is any reason to even look at the 205.

The Edge 305 is the predecessor to the 500 and comes standard with either a cadence -or- heart rate monitor. You can purchase the other and use it as well. Price hike to $350 though and since you can get the Cadence and heart rate monitor on the 500 for $350, there really isn't a point in spending more money for an older product.

The Edge 605 is the first one to offer an on-screen (and colour) map. It will show you where to go and has the functionality of the edge 205 (speed, distance, gps). Unfortunately, and in a move I don't understand, it is not compatible with any cadence or heart rate monitors. So basically you are paying $400 for a $250 product (the 205) with maps. It doesn't even have an altimeter! I'll pass.

And finally, the king of the Garmin series, the Edge 705. It does all the neat things of all of these, including an on-screen map, cadence and heart rate, speed, etc. The issue is the $550 price, which is more than my bike is worth.

And to toss in my final cheap-ass options are getting the non-bike specific gps's. The Forerunner 205 for $150, which is a running watch, the Etrex H, which is a mountable handheld, and the Foretrex 401, which is similar to the Forerunner 205, but also has an altimeter (a great review of the 401 is located here.

So anyways, do you have a gps? What do you like about it? Do you even care about your data? For me, I don't really see a point in monitoring my heart rate nor cadence. While it would make for a cool data set, I'm not training for any races. I just like the idea of knowing exactly where I go with higher accuracy than ridewithgps.com can give (along with knowing what speeds I am going throughout the ride).

Don't Forget the Lights!

The wife worked late and I was busy this afternoon, so after dinner I decided to head out for a little ride. I thought I had left at 8... but I guess by the time I changed, got my bike out, and started pedaling, it was a bit later.



Meh, plenty of sunlight to do my normal 7 mile loop. I decided, once again, to take the mountain bike since I still haven't fixed the flat on the road bike. And damn, it was a beautiful night! Nice cool breeze right after a day long rain.





When I got to East West, the sun was just setting and I figured I'd have enough time to make it down to the main entrance to Kinder Farms like I had on the previous ride, so I stayed on the B&A. After about a half mile, I started getting nervous. I had based my daylight decision while standing on top of the East/West Bridge, which rises about 20 feet in the air... by the time I got back down the sun had well set and it was really starting to get dark.



I recalled that there was a side entrance to Kinder Farms from a cul-de-sac that also connected to the B&A, so when I saw a small side path I took it which opened into a neighborhood I had never been on before. Figuring this was part of the neighborhood that shared a side with Kinder Farms, I kept on riding. And riding. And riding.

And nothing ever came up. I saw a lady walking her dog, so I stopped and asked for directions to the park. "Up ahead, down the path and on the right."

Alright, so I raced on ahead, now nearing complete darkness. I spotted a small side path and took it. Unfortunately, it was for a small community pond.

Long story short, the "down the path" was actually the major road at the end of the neighborhood which I recognized and went down into Kinder Farms.

Not wanting to waste too much time, I took the main bike path around and found my side trail that I love to take.



Granted it was pitch black. I had no lights. But I just wanted to take it.


And damn was it fun! I couldn't see a damn thing except the white dirt/sand mixture of the single track. I was scaring all sorts of wildlife around and almost had a heart attack when I came within 10 feet of some bunny or something that ran across the track.

And then... when I thought I was in the clear... I get to the park exit back onto East West.

The closed the damned gate on me!


And mind you, that really is a tall fence. I had no idea what time it was, but I figure it was just after 8:45. There was simply no way around it and I had zero interest in backtracking out the main entrance, back through that neighborhood, down the B&A to East West.

So I threw my bike over and hopped the thing.


At which point I took off down the road and back on home.

All in all it was only 10.7 miles though it felt much much longer.

Wanna see fast?

Well here it is. (This is NOT me)


This was during the Death Ride which includes over 15,000 feet of climbing. here is his Garmin Stats. Also, he is using the GoPro HD camera which I am seriously wanting to get. Shoots in 780p with 30 or 60 fps and even in 1080p at 30 fps.

Why I don't go up the B&A

I headed out at 7pm this afternoon for a nice little bike ride. I opted to take my mountain bike again due to a semi-flat on my road bike and lack of motivation to change the tire... seriously... I really need to.

Anyways, I opted to head up northward of the B&A tonight. Where I get on the B&A at Elvaton is pretty much the socio-economic middle point. Northward is the... ghetto/industrial side and south is the pretty side. Not that the north is really that bad, but it is definitely not the route to take for the enjoyment of sights.

Shortly after heading northward you cross route 100.



And then you are at Marley Station Mall. There is really zero reason to ever step foot in this mall, except they have two Gamestops.


I passed three groups of teenagers hanging out along the B&A... all three groups passing around a pipe of pot. But hey, at least they were nice enough to get off the path as I came barreling through.

At the very end of the B&A is a pretty neat little abstract art sculpture. Not that I really understand abstract art, but its all good.


I was also sad to see they are officially ripping down the cheapo movie theater, the last place I know of that you could see a movie for $1.99.



I went back down the B&A past Elvaton and even further past East West. For the first time I wanted to take the main entrance to Kinder Farms. I rode around on the dirt paths in there for a little bit and as I turned a corner I was surprised to see a rather large buck standing along the path. I jumped off my bike and took a few terrible pictures before he headed into the nearby brush where there were two more bucks! I laughed wondering if they were gay, cuz seriously, where the women at?!?




I eventually got too close and they hopped away.


Anyways, I mentioned I got that jersey the other day so here it is.





I took off as the storm clouds started coming in and made it home by 8:30.
Tack on 19.8 miles for the July 150 challenge!

Damn it is hot!

Well, in accordance with my plan to do the July 150 challenge, I decided to go on some bike rides today. The first was to do something I have never done. I figured, considering I now have a mountain bike, I could actually carry some stuff on it. So I went out to the store to pick up some necessities. It was actually amazing. I got some bread, some meat, some lettuce, sauces, pickles, etc and brought in on home. I give the mountain bike a 10/10 for the ability to carry said groceries home.



So after that delightfully healthy meal, I went out for the bike ride I normally did on my road bike, the 7 mile loop + 3 mile Kinder Farms loop. But, since I didn't actually have to stay on a road, I jumped off into the local baseball park and did some loops through dugouts, trees, and what not before getting onto Elvaton.



I was surprised to see they built a rather large chain link fence around the broken B&A I've mentioned before...


though I was still able to climb around the fence and take a look at the work they've done... which, to be honest, doesn't look like anything.


To be fair though, I'm not sure I want them to rebuild it. Put a bridge over it or something... but with the water drained out of the marshland on the right hand side, that area has been flourishing! Just check out all the greenery!



I got to the Kinder Farms park side entrance and was amazed to see the pond at the entrance completely dried up. Just a testament to how damn hot it's been here!





Normally my bike would be completely underwater!

I did about a half hour of riding around in Kinder Farms... it was starting to get dark by the time I left. And those bamboo trees that popped my tire on my first trek out were looking pretty intimidating.



The lake surface was so completely calm I got a perfect mirror image of the trees on the other side.



And I made it home just as the sun was setting over the tree line.\



I did love how absolutely beautifully green everything was this time of year. And I can tell my running has upped my endurance crazy.

16 miles for today, or there-abouts. I know I did 13 on the road... and 3 is probably a low estimate for inside Kinder Farms, but I'd rather low-ball.

July 150

Following suit of most of you others, I signed up for the July150 challenge organized by Phill Connell. Even with Joby of Biking2Work completing the challenge in less than a freaking week (and almost entirely on one ride!), I think this is a good way for me to get back on the bike.

Of course, it is 101 degrees out (thats 38 degrees C) right now with the heat index pushing it over 110, I think I might be able to get out for a ride at night.

On a cool note, I bought my first real bike jersey from Black Dog down in Annapolis over the weekend.



Either way, let's do this!