45 Miles on Day 30

Here is the link to the ride Andrew and I did on our 30th and final day of riding our bikes this month. It was a great route (even with the long out and back section on Patuxent River Rd). The weather cooperated for us and it was a fantastic way to end our daily-ride challenge.

Challenge: 30 Days of April

I'm taking part in a challenge between a few of us at the shop. Sometime in March we decided we were going to ride for at least 45 minutes on every day in April. We're now 25 days in; Andrew, Scott, and myself have all managed to ride on each of the last 25 days. I've been trying to take a camera on each ride, or at least take a before- or after-ride picture. The link to the Flickr page with my photoset is here.

The whole endeavor has changed my view on riding a little bit; on group rides I find myself much more content to let people break away, figuring I'll eventually catch back up. I've been spending a lot of time in the little ring so as to rest my leg muscles as much as possible. It's also been a new experience going for short rides every day, instead of long rides a couple times a week with plenty of time in between to recover. It's been a lot of fun and a neat accomplishment... but I'm really looking forward to day 31.

35 miles Park & Ride Loop

Here is a link to tomorrow afternoon's ride around Anne Arundel County.

50 miles: Shop to Harwood Loops

Here is a link to a route from the shop through Davidsonville to a loop used by one of the local cycling teams as a weekly ride. All these roads are a lot of fun and I've ridden them many times.

62 miles: Columbia Triathlon + 37

Here is a Google Maps link to a route that starts at Centennial Park in Columbia and covers the whole route of the Columbia triathlon. It branches off, however, to add another long loop out through the rolling terrain up toward Woodbine and through Patuxent River State Park. I will post an update once I get the chance to ride the whole loop to verify road conditions etc.

75 mile Glen Burnie to Sykesville Loop

Here is a link to a route from my Glen Burnie neighborhood out through Patapsco Valley State Park and past Columbia. It loops around out in the countryside near Sykesville on US-32 and comes back, avoiding major highways. A section of the BWI bike trail can be easily substituted for Dorsey Rd. south of the airport.

Old Rag 70 Miles - Culpeper, VA

Here is a Google Maps link to a ride I mapped based off of available cue sheets. It is a nice 70 mile ride through the foothills of the Blue Ridge in Virginia. It takes roads that pass by trailheads leading to Old Rag Mountain and Shenandoah National Park. I've hiked all through that area but haven't ridden there; I'm looking forward to trying this route out in the spring.