Category: Biking in Baltimore

100 Mile Bike Ride Article:
17 Cycling Safety Tips to Keep You Alive as a London Push Bike Messenger

And The 1000 mile summer – Bicycle Commuting in Baltimore…Ten Miles at a Time

Boson Au commutes from his Charles Village home to his downtown office by bicycle. He rides his bike to the grocery store and, with a group of cycling friends, to bars on weekends.

Traveling by bike allows Au a more immediate and intimate experience of Baltimore than driving a car. "It makes the city seem smaller and closer," said the 32-year-old Web developer. "I’m seeing the streets. I’m feeling the bumps. It’s made me more involved in the city."

But Baltimore’s congested and pothole-ridden streets pose many hazards to cyclists. Au has been hit by cars twice – once while waiting at a stop light in Mount Vernon and once while riding in Harbor East during his lunch break – although he was not seriously hurt in either accident.

"I’m one of the lucky ones," he said, showing a mangled red rim – a memento from one of his crashes – that hangs from the ceiling at Velocipede, the Station North bike shop, where he is a collective member.

A passel of laws proposed recently by City Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke is aimed at encouraging more people to travel by bike while making streets safer for riders.
Continue reading “Proposals seek to encourage more cyclists and to make Baltimore streets safer for them”

Another late-October traffic fatality took the life of a University of Maryland junior who was apparently the victim of a hit-and-run pedestrian accident. Having represented victims of pedestrian injury accidents, I can understand the pain and grief of such a loss, not only to the family but to the friends and schoolmates of this young woman. When it comes to car and truck accidents, the occupants in the vehicles have a much better survival rate than the persons on foot.

According to news reports, the Baltimore Police were investigating this particular hit-and-run accident, which claimed the life of Miriam Frankl just before 3:30pm on a Friday afternoon in October. Reportedly, police investigators had apparently questioned the owner of the white Ford F-250 truck that fatally injured Frankl while making an illegal left turn onto E. University Parkway from St. Paul St that day. Frankl died the following morning the University of Maryland Shock Trauma unit.
Continue reading “Maryland College Student Dies in Fatal Hit-and-Run Pedestrian Accident”

In this report funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation touches on lots of issues relevant to Baltimore area. It compares us to Sacramento, California.

A lot of the states bike/ped issues boils down if you look at the State as a whole you see a lot of cool stuff but if you look at counties with high bike/ped crash rates a completely different picture emerges and this report is one of the clearest picture by an independent third party to date.
Continue reading “Can’t see the trees for the forest”

Please note that I am making plans to leave. I apologize but things just did not workout for me staying.

This site will still be around even though I will not be posting that much in the future so I strongly encourage other to step up to the plate and help keep other cyclists informed.

Wishing you all the best this holiday season and stay involved.

A meeting this week at Baltimore’s City Hall worked to ease tensions between city officials and bicyclists over trail restrictions around Loch Raven Reservoir.

“It was a productive meeting,” said Penny Troutner, owner of Light Street Cycles in Federal Hill and a cycling enthusiast at Loch Raven.

Troutner and other representatives of the biking community met with Mayor Sheila Dixon and other officials Dec. 14 and vowed to work toward revamping a 1998 agreement on trail usage — which bikers say only recently has been enforced.

“The problem is … that there is a sudden enforcement of a policy from 10 years ago,” said Jim Miller, of Anneslie, noting that the city has been more insistent in recent weeks that bikers stick to “two-track” fire roads — those trails large enough for four-wheel vehicles.
…
Continue reading “Loch Raven biking debate shifts into high gear”

Continue reading “City press release: Mountain Biking at City Reservoirs”

By Candus Thomson – Baltimore Sun

Ribbons of hard-packed dirt with nicknames like Sam’s Grave, Seminary Loop and Ewok stitch the woods around Loch Raven Reservoir, a training ground for world-champion mountain bikers and urban warriors for more than a decade.

But city officials want to halt off-road use by bikers and others trying to reach the water’s edge, saying the activity increases erosion and runoff into the reservoir and makes water treatment more expensive.

Six watershed rangers have been hired this year with seven more on the way whose duties include enforcing a 10-year-old policy that requires bikers to stay on maintained fire roads. Rangers have issued several $100 tickets for late-night riding as well as countless warnings, which, in turn, have generated hundreds of protest e-mails to City Hall.

"It’s an outdated management plan that they’re trying to enforce," said Eric Crawford, a spokesman for the 600-member Mid Atlantic Off-Road Enthusiasts (MORE). "It’s a little obsessive and a little bit off the mark. They’ve never revisited it, and they should."

Today, 10 City Council members will request a public hearing for early next year to start talks between officials, members of MORE and the International Mountain Biking Association that could lead to a compromise on access. Meanwhile, preliminary discussions between the riders and city officials have been scheduled for Monday.
…
Continue reading “Off-road bikers have rangers on watch”

In making Baltimore a more livable community, the City Council is introducing 8 bike-related laws tomorrow at City Hall

https://www.baltimorecitycouncil.com/AGENDA/la_agenda_draft_20091210.html

Attendance is encouraged!

the baltimore bicycling manual is full of easy-to-read practical advice intended for new bicyclists in charm city, or those who are considering the bicycle as a hobby, occasional ride, commute, or regular mode of transportation.

included is advice on best practices during inclement weather and night-time riding, suggested equipment, types of bikes you might consider, and even suggestions on taking long-distance bike rides.

all that, and it’s a brief and accessible read…not to mention free.

you can download the baltimore bicycling manual here.

Continue reading “the baltimore bicycling manual”