My route is to take either Falls Rd or Thornton Rd north
Take Seminary east
The tricky bit is getting to Greenspring Dr
On this page on the second map zoom in on Lutherville
http://www.baltimorespokes.org/staticpages/index.php?page=20070815081612328
and you will see two routes that converge. The east one cuts through a park in back of the neighborhood and the west one initially uses the sidewalk to get to where the road goes two way,
I hope this helps
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Thanks! That east route to greenspring looks like the way to go.
Do you find Falls Rd. to be usable during rush hour? I've ridden a good portion of it on the weekends and it was fine, but it seemed like rush hour might be difficult. I'm a well seasoned rider, and feel confident with most roads, but I'm not trying to expose myself to an especially dangerous route for a daily commute.
arischenck
For the most part motorists are used to cyclists on Falls Rd but rush hour can be a bit of a hit or miss as far as aggressive traffic goes (In short for Falls Rd: light traffic=good, heavy traffic=OK, in-between is where it gets sketchy). In aggressive traffic a cyclist needs to be assertive and one trick I use if I am getting squeezed out on the narrow shoulder is I put my left hand out diagonally down, motorists seem to take great care on avoiding a hand but not a whole person, go figure.
You can also bail out on Ruxton Rd if it becomes too much on Falls and head to Thornton via the side streets (not Old Court.) I will note that just north of Old Court there is a pinch point on Falls heading north and it can be less then fun trying to claim the lane there during rush hour when the rest of Falls Rd there is more width. If you play the light right and go after queued cars is doable but if a long line of cars are queued up I would take Ruxton.
Thank you kindly. This is great advice. I'm going to give it a try this week and see how it goes.
Funny thing about the hand motions. I've developed a similar diagonal-down motion to push cars away as well. The more official it looks --tight elbow and fingers-- the more people seem to respect it and pull back or across. Maybe some sort of prosthetic limb attached to the shoulder would repel 4-wheelers perpetually!
arischenck
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Anyone going or have experience going between West/Northwest Baltimore and Hunt Valley during the morning & afternoon rush hours?
I'm currently avoiding the insanity of Charles/Bellona by taking the LRT, but would really like to find a reasonably safe route. Any suggestions or interest in grouping up for safety in numbers --even if there's just two of us?
This is my first post, so excuse me if I'm in the wrong place.
Thanks!
Ari Schenck