Posts Categorized in 'People'

Poly Students Collect Bikes For the World

For the second year, students at Poly Western High School held a used bike drive for Bikes for the World.  Headed up locally by Joshua Spokes and Bob Armenti, last year the group collected 75 bikes in a few short hours.    Operations Manager Nick Colombo was on had to take the collected bikes to the Rockville warehouse.  In 2012, 25 shipping containers were sent oversees to non-governmental organizations to distribute the bikes, enabling others to use the bikes for transportation.  Thanks to Josh, Bob & Nick for helping old bikes find a new home.

Anti-Gun Violence Ride Rolls Thru B’more

Team 26 parks outside City Hall while rider Monte Frank (background) talks with local reporters

Team 26, on a ride from Newtown, Connecticut to Washington, DC stopped at Baltimore’s City Hall yesterday.  They were joined by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake who presented the team with a proclamation in support of their efforts.

Service Course Adds to B’more Bike Economy

Baltimore’s bicycle economy continues to grow with the addition of Service Course Cycle Studio.  Owner/mechanic Jason Wright opened Service Course last July at the corner of Belair Road and Taylor Avenue in the Overlea/Fullerton area of Baltimore.   Jason specializes in bike repairs and supplies and hopes to expand to sales in the future.  Having worked at several bike shops around Baltimore, Jason is also an emergency medical technician for Baltimore City’s Fire Department.

For hours or service, call 410-870-6301 or email servicecoursebmore@gmail.com
Also on Facebook

Sandy Hook Ride on Washington Coming Thru B’more

Team 26 is biking from Newton, CT to DC to push for stricter gun control measures in wake of the Sandy Hook School Shooting.  On March 9th, the team of 26 cyclists will ride from Sandy Hook Elementary School to Washington arriving on March 12th.

Team 26 is a mix of professional, top amateur, and masters cyclists from the Northeast including a former US National Team member, Canadian National Team member, Masters National Champion, and State and Regional Champions.  Two of the riders have children who went to the Sandy Hook School. They will stop by City Hall and receive a presentation from the Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake this Monday, March 11th.  The next morning, the ride concludes in DC.

Team 26 is scheduled to arrive Monday at 3:30 pm and the presentation will be held  in the Ceremonial Room, 2^nd floor, City Hall.   Local cyclists are welcome to stop to offer support!  (Remember to have photo ID to enter City Hall.)

Visit the website and Facebook  for more information

Stop Rogue Trails at Loch Raven

Contributed by Dave Blum

Pot Spring area of Loch Raven where new trail construction needs to stop now!

I just attended the latest quarterly Reservoir Coalition Meeting hosted by the GVC. While the meeting proceeded as it typically does, there was direct reference to mountain bikers building trails at Merrymans, including two eye witnesses to the work off the fire road coming from Pot Spring Road. Needless to say, this presents a rather significant concern for mountain bike access at Loch Raven.

The ranger at this meeting said they will look into the new trails and that they are looking to catch those responsible for trail proliferation. They are looking to make an example of those responsible, and there was reference to violations of both state and federal law for those who willfully damage the forest buffer. They have been using hunting cameras to track various violations throughout the reservoir, and made a vague reference to using them to identify trail builders on site and at local access points (such as Pot Spring Rd.).

Access to Loch Raven in general are threatened by the construction of these new trails and log obstacles/bridges. This activity will be used to completely remove mountain biking from Loch Raven.

• We need to put an end to the trail proliferation. It will be the end of mountain biking at Loch Raven, especially given the addition of greater than 5 miles of new trails on the south side of Merrymens alone.

• We also need to have the new bridge and other obstacles removed, and the new trails closed.

There are many of us that do not want to lose our access to Loch Raven trails. Please don’t ruin it for the rest of us. There isn’t a square inch of land that they don’t monitor annually, it is not the place to build new trails.  Likewise, we have numerous parks, like Patapsco, etc., that are always looking for help building new trail, and welcome our assistance.

Please help us keep access at Loch Raven. Thanks again, for your support!

Bike Party Poster Available This Friday

A limited run of XLVII (47) high quality prints has been printed for this month’s “Ravens Championship” Bike Party.” Created by Ryan Dupre, the posters will be available at the Little Havana after-party for $20 each.

Printed on 90# cotton stock, each is numbered and stored in a protective print sleeve. There will also be shipping tubes available so that you can get your poster home safely. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Baltimore Bike Party.

Check out the event page on Facebook 

Twenty20 Cycling Hiring Bike Mechanic

Twenty20 Cycling is currently accepting applications for an experienced bicycle mechanic for potentially full-time employment at our Hampden location. Given the popularity of this neighborhood in Baltimore and the layout of the shop, the position is especially customer-service oriented.

Potential candidates should submit a resume indicating at least one year of mechanical experience in a professional bicycle shop setting. This mechanic position will be responsible for assisting customers on the sales floor, checking in and performing repairs, as well as bicycle assembly, cleaning and maintaining an organized workspace.

Potential candidates will possess:
• time management skills
• attention to detail
• ability to work independently on projects
• be a self-starter
• friendly attitude
• computer literacy

Please submit a resume and cover letter.
to theshop@twenty20cycling.com

Marks Awarded MORE’s ‘Legislator of Year’

At the 2013 MORE  (Mid-Atlantic Off Road Enthusiasts) Winter Party, David Marks was recognized as the “Legislator of The Year’ for his work with the mountain bike community.   Marks not only participates in Project Clean Stream, but is active in improving trail access at Loch Raven, and is now working on trail access in neighboring Cromwell Valley Park.

Off the trails, Marks has been promoting a bikeable and walkable Towson and Perry Hall.  Forming the 5th District Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Group, he draws on local knowledge from volunteers to make Baltimore County more livable.

(Left:  David Marks receives the “Legislator of The Year” award from MORE President Dave Ferraro)

Pedaling Christmas Cheer Thru Baltimore

Phil Kennedy’s Christmas Eve urban mountain biking ride features little known stops like Graffiti Alley (above)

Contributed by Nate Evans
Bob invited me on this ride just the week before.  Pending looming weather or recent illness, I needed to get out for a good old fashioned urban mountain bike ride.  Christmas Eve morning it was, so I needed to get everything else for the next day taken care of before I clipped in.   I never got a sense for how long this annual ride had been going on, maybe 10 years or so, but I liked the idea.  Organizer Phil Kennedy greeted riders as they parked along Bellona and unloaded their mountain bikes.  Phil started this ride as a way of spreading good Christmas cheer to the citizens of Baltimore while touring the city by mountain bike.  “It’s so much easier to say ‘Merry Christmas’  to someone when you’re riding a bike.  Kinda hard to do while sitting in a car.”  Phil also used this ride to show suburban mountain bikers some great parts of the city, while hitting some fun mtb spots along the way.”

It was just above 30 degrees when we left Rodgers Forge heading south under a crisp sunrise.  The pack of 11 riders past the beautiful homes of Bellona-Gittings, through The (very quiet) Orchards and over towards Bryn Mawr.   There was next to no one driving on the roads this Christmas Eve morning which allowed for some aggressive flexibility with the pace of our ride.   Being that we were all on fat tires allowed for even more flexibility!  With knobby tires in the city, the range of riding increases exponentially.  Don’t have to worry about curbs, potholes, cobbles, tree trips, gulleys, roots, rocks or bricks.  Applying trail techniques definitely made crossing the footbridge over the old Ma & Pa Railroad line a lot more fun, with jumps at both ends…once you’re through the bollards.  We cut through Gilman and hit the single track gem of north Baltimore – the Stony Run Trail.  This is also part of the former Ma & Pa Railroad which rolled through here until 1963.  Through JHU and across to see the new Druid tree sculptures at the lake.

Other ride stops included Union Square (above) and the promenade at Morgan Stanley

Criss-crossing through Reservoir Hill, we took a group shot on a boat at Eutaw & Lanvale, then headed across Presstman to Sandtown-Winchester.  There were no shortages of “Merry Christmases and “Good Mornings” exchanged as we rode.  “I’ve never had anyone give me a hard time on these rides,” Phil shared.  ”Everyone is so friendly!  99% of the people as quick to strike up a conversation, and the other 1% just ignores ya.”   West Baltimore has a stereotype to overcome, and bike rides help erode that stereotype.  As I’ve been biking west of MLK more lately with upcoming projects,  I’ve come to really appreciate this side of town.  Not only are residents incredibly friendly, but among  the gridded streets and parks, are some beautiful houses and just really cool places.  We spun to one of those spots, Union Square, for our next stop, then across SoWeBo to Pigtown via Carey Street. Heading across downtown, traffic was not an issue this morning.  We were keeping speed with the limited auto traffic on Pratt, then caught the morning sun on the water at Morgan Stanley.  This spot has a lot of cool urban obstacles to ride for all ages.  Typically, this place would be busy with pedestrian traffic, but today the ramps, stairs and tight turns were all ours for the riding & jumping in both directions.

From here, we headed up Caroline Street to the ‘crib’, ‘rendezvous’ …I never figured out what ‘the Big Stop’ at the end was all about.  Stories of Christmas Eve Rides’ Past all centered on the Festivus Maximus end of the ride (well, until home).  We rolled up to the northwest corner of Greenmount & Chase.  As legend has it, years ago, this annual ride swung by this quiet little pocket park to find a party already in progress.  Riders hung with the locals and called in gin reinforcements from across the street at Sunrise Grocery Store.  It was such a good time that this tradition repeated annually on Christmas Eve morning.  Such was not the case this year.  The Homewood Village Elders Garden is a classic urban social space complete with veranda, assorted grills, picnic tables and spot a pot –  a low-budget space with all the amenities.  I can see why the ride stops here. This would be a great place to end any bike party.

The local bike economy has thrived over the past few years in Baltimore.  In four short years, several new bike shops and bike unique businesses have sprung up.   This doesn’t account for all the unpublicized bike businesses around the city.  Here on the 800 block of East Chase Street, you can find all kinds of bikes.  This rowhome has it all.      From Johnston Square to Charles North, we stopped by Graffiti Alley to between Maryland & Howard  (Watch the glass!) and one last stop at Round Falls before we headed back to Bellona.  Merry Christmas Everyone!

County Seeks Ped/Bike Committee Rep

Councilwoman Cathy Bevins is looking for a district representative for the Baltimore County Pedestrian & Bicycle Advisory Committee.  This committee was created by the County Council in February 2011, in recognition of the need to develop dialogue on a variety of transportation-related issues affecting the County.  The Commission consists of 11 voluntary members, one from each council district, appointed by their respective Council Member, and four at-large members appointed by the County Executive. 

The current 6th district position is vacant, and Councilwoman Bevins is looking to appoint another qualified representative who lives in the sixth district (from Parkville, Overlea, Linover, White Marsh, Middle River, Essex) to fill the vacancy.  Committee members serve three year terms and the Committee meets quarterly and as needed throughout the year. 

If you live in the 6th district and are interested, please contact JB Osbourne at 410-887-3388

More information on the Pedestrian Bicycle Advisory Committe, click here