Can the braintrust help with a move to Baltimore?

[OtayBW]

Originally Posted by Mr. Pink

One of the coolest bike shops is here: http://www.veloccinocoffee.com/welcome.html which is still Baltimore county. Awesome spot, right in the center of great riding. Sells Wilier frames and bikes. Support him, nice guy

Yes - great point! It's a great place and right in the heart of some very good riding.

[DaveS]

Originally Posted by avalonracing

Glad you like it, Dave! I was thinking about you when I saw the original post. We still have to hook up to ride sometime!

Definitely need to hook up to ride sometime! Thanks again for your help with the house hunting - we've been really happy with where we ended up.

[echappist]

Originally Posted by rounder

If you want to commute to Towson U, you should probably consider living in Towson or Lutherville. Northern Baltimore County is probably too far to commute by bike but has beautiful bike riding.

I lived in Towson a long time ago but now live in Bel Air, Harford County. It is not too far from Towson to commute by car but is too far to commute by bike. It is another place with beautiful bike riding.

The Lutherville Bike Shop is another good, small shop and has been around for a long time.

Good luck.

possibly the single worst place I've ever lived (and that includes Kearny, NJ). Of course, it may be the perfect place if one were petit bourgeois and Catholic. Middle class conformity and consumerism ran amok (think Chavs, only American). The Catholic part notwithstanding, it probably has a lot more in common with suburban Charlotte, NC, than it does with similar locales in the Mid-Atlantic.

Yes, there are some beautiful countryside riding, but the same could be said for many other parts of suburban MD.

[CPP]

Originally Posted by OtayBW

And the riding will still always be better in Switzerland!...at least where I lived......

Can't argue with you about that!

[b33]

Spoke with Avalonracing . . . what a great guy and an example of how paceline rocks. Thank you mods.

At this point it looks like we will be going more towards Towson. My wife is going to call avalonracing. #happywifehappylife

Any group rides and shops are appreciated.

[mass_biker]

Great riding in points north of the city...some of the more interesting and challenging rides I have done. Think up and down, up and down, up and down. Once you get north of Oregon Ridge Park (where the roads get really lovely) I find you gain 1,000 feet for every 10 mi. ridden - the 36x28 comes in handy.
The loop around the Prettyboy Reservoir is particularly fun.

There is a pretty good Saturday AM ride from Joe's Bike Shop in Mt. Washington in spring/summer/fall, and I know there are some fast paced group rides that meet up at Veloccino in Bulter (smack dab in the middle of great riding).

Towson is also quite close to the Loch Raven Reservoir; there are some great road loops that go in/out of the Reservoir. Towson is also reasonably close to the NCR trail, a rail trail (gravel) that goes up to the PA state line and back.

I moved from New England about 10 years ago...I love the riding north of Baltimore.

[Mr. Pink]

Originally Posted by echappist

possibly the single worst place I've ever lived (and that includes Kearny, NJ). Of course, it may be the perfect place if one were petit bourgeois and Catholic. Middle class conformity and consumerism ran amok (think Chavs, only American). The Catholic part notwithstanding, it probably has a lot more in common with suburban Charlotte, NC, than it does with similar locales in the Mid-Atlantic.

Yes, there are some beautiful countryside riding, but the same could be said for many other parts of suburban MD.

Jeez, Baltimore/DC is a very diverse place, if you drive fifteen minutes. Compact, too. Said awesome farm riding north of Cockeysville is only 30 minutes to the Harbor and Camden Yards, with a lot in between.

[echappist]

Originally Posted by Mr. Pink

Jeez, Baltimore/DC is a very diverse place, if you drive fifteen minutes. Compact, too. Said awesome farm riding north of Cickeysville is only 30 minutes to the Harbor and Camden Yards, with a lot in between.

City proper, yes. Immediate suburb, also yes (I lived in Pentagon City for four years). Not so much for the exurbs, which is the correct designation of places such as Harford County

The milieu of Harford County is much more comparable to that of Carroll and Frederick counties, cf. Howard and Montgomery.

Also, i rode out toward Poolesville often when I lived in NoVA. Doesnt mean i’d want to live there...

[Mr. Pink]

Well, yeah, story of America, but, as I said, easy to get to more diverse places, much more than in high end suburban CT., Where I live. And, much, much cheaper. Great airports, and on the I95 and Acela corridor. Awesome crab culture, too.

[Mr. Pink]

You may be thinking I would like to move there. Know it well. Oriole tickets are really cheap, too.

[sailorboy]

Originally Posted by weiwentg

Darn, that is really sad to hear. They were a good shop. Another shop I'd recommend is Baltimore Bicycle Works.




I don't want to say it's impossible to commute safely from downtown to Towson, but I haven't done it. I did used to commute from downtown to UMBC, and it took me through some rough spots but it was doable. Someone could get to Roland Avenue heading north past Loyola University. From there, Google Maps shows some bike friendly streets that you could theoretically use to get to Towson University.

The issue is that I believe Maryland DOT is designating those streets, and I'm not certain how good their designations are. Wilkens Avenue out by UMBC is designated as bike friendly for a good part of its length, and that was also the case in 2012-2014 when I lived there. I haven't been back, but at the time it was in no way bike friendly. Too much traffic. I don't recall a sufficient shoulder. There was and is still no bike lane there.

The other issue is that it looks like a long ride, like 10 miles each way. This may be more than you want to take on.

I think if the OP is going to work at Towson U, I'd also consider living in Towson rather than in Baltimore City. It may be possible to commute by bike. I'm not sure I'd strongly recommend it.

Originally Posted by OtayBW

Search forum member 'bicimechanic' (Jason) or at his shop (http://www.servicecoursecycle.com/). Good guy and the best mechanic around, IMO. He gets Campy.....

I'm biased but check out Tommy Barse at cutlassvelo.com. The guys from the former 20-20 are mostly recommending Tommy if you want work done out of his small shop. He reps a couple minor brands and also builds all or most of Chris Bishop's customer bikes now so he's solid. Besides that he, like Chris, is an ex-messenger from Baltimess and can tell you pretty much where you should and shouldn't ride your bike in town. I lived and worked there for about 6 months and got slightly familiar with it but not enough to help you with your inquiry. The town has a lot of character and history but there are some places where you might find there isn't really much in the way of policing going on, and i wouldn't ride my bike just anywhere. As others have mentioned, the northern outskirts have some of the best roads around if you pick your times to ride.

[Mr. Pink]

Like, not mid day in summer. Hot place, farm country, so, no shade.

[OtayBW]

Originally Posted by mass_biker

Great riding in points north of the city...some of the more interesting and challenging rides I have done. Think up and down, up and down, up and down. Once you get north of Oregon Ridge Park (where the roads get really lovely) I find you gain 1,000 feet for every 10 mi. ridden - the 36x28 comes in handy.

I live ON TOP OF Oregon Ridge, abutting the park. My road has a nice 20-21% grade for a short time...

[rounder]

Originally Posted by echappist

possibly the single worst place I've ever lived (and that includes Kearny, NJ). Of course, it may be the perfect place if one were petit bourgeois and Catholic. Middle class conformity and consumerism ran amok (think Chavs, only American). The Catholic part notwithstanding, it probably has a lot more in common with suburban Charlotte, NC, than it does with similar locales in the Mid-Atlantic.

Yes, there are some beautiful countryside riding, but the same could be said for many other parts of suburban MD.

Sorry you had such a bad time in Bel Air ( I like it here). I have a nephew who grew up in Towson who now lives in Madison. He said it is kind of cold but he likes it there.

Each to his own.

[Mr. Pink]

I spent a long week one night in Kearny N.J.. Man, did it smell.