Moutain biking one day next week after work?

Alright…..

Shame you cannot make it. The trails and weather sound like they might be great. Hopefully you can make the weekend.

Sailor Ripley, you still going tomorrow?

Damn, birthday party this wednesday, but which Patapsco park area do you ride, Avalon, McKeldin or some of the less known areas. That is all in my backyard (well 5 minutes from it).

Up for Gambrills this weekend. Funny story there, was biking with a friend there once, and going up a hill I heard a swarm of flies ahead. Huffing, puffing up the hill I come across a dead fawn. Well the back half of one. We wondered what had eaten the front half, and hopefully it was sated.

If anyone needs to borrow a bike for a ride, I have a spare 18" one, not the greatest, but it does still work last time I rode it.

I have never been to Patapsco, so I have no idea about the ride. I just know they leave from the Park and Ride at 6pm.

Yes, I'm still going (unless we get significant rain). MORE has asked me to lead this as one of their regular weekly rides, so I said "what the hell". Here are the details I forwarded to them for their ride calendar.

———————-

Pace: moderate â?? steady ride with stops primarily to allow riders to regroup at trail intersections (catch up ride)

Terrain: intermediate to advanced, trail selection will be determined by conditions.

Time: Meet by 6:00, on the trail by 6:15pm sharp. Ride until dusk.

Location: Rolling Rd. Park and Ride Parking lot.

—————

FYI - I personally consider Avalon to be "intermediate" terrain and places like Frederick Watershed and Eliz. Furnace to be "advanced", but that doesn't seem to be the general consensus. Take it for what it's worth and use your own judgement.

That is the problem, saying Patapsco to me is covering about a 20 mile range (by car) from the commuter lot by UMBC to McKeldin area off Marriottsville Road (I probably have misspelled half those names). As a local that has been riding these trails for 12 years, there are a lot of cool places to ride, some really tricky spots too.

Parts of Patapsco are advanced, some that is sort of hike only like the Pigs Run trail (part of the Sawmill stuff on the b-more county side) and the furthest west part of Avalon in Ho Co down the hill to the road. Most of the rest I agree is pretty straight forward, and they keep making a lot of it easier to ride by putting up bridges over the water, and giant log formations over the downed logs.

Originally posted by Sir HC:
That is the problem, saying Patapsco to me is covering about a 20 mile range (by car) from the commuter lot by UMBC to McKeldin area off Marriottsville Road (I probably have misspelled half those names). As a local that has been riding these trails for 12 years, there are a lot of cool places to ride, some really tricky spots too.

Realistically, there are some "advanced spots", but overall the difficulty of terrain never approaches the other areas I've mentioned.

The Wed. ride takes place in the Avalon area, both sides of the river.

However, if you want a true Patapsco advanced ride, I have a 50 mile round-trip route from Avalon to Marriotesville and back, at least 85% off-road.

Including the otherwise ignored area by the Mulch Factory? We used to ride that all the time, wade across the Patapsco and ride the little used Daniels area. Cool train tunnel you have to go through. The hardest trail I ever rode was Whitetail down hill through a rock garden where falling off meant that you couldn't get back on for quite a while as the trail was too technical to stop. Gambrills is just more vertical than Avalon, not harder in my opinion.

Originally posted by Sir HC:
Including the otherwise ignored area by the Mulch Factory?

Yes, some fun stuff on the Balto. Co. side of that in the Woodstock area, above the train tunnel.

Originally posted by Sir HC:
Gambrills is just more vertical than Avalon, not harder in my opinion.

True. More rocks in the Watershed though. Eliz. Furnace is so rocky it makes the Watershed look like Schaffer.

Originally posted by Sailor Ripley:
FYI - I personally consider Avalon to be "intermediate" terrain and places like Frederick Watershed and Eliz. Furnace to be "advanced", but that doesn't seem to be the general consensus. Take it for what it's worth and use your own judgement.

I have to agree there. Try telling my surgeried, three-year-old-but-permanent-scar, rock-stuck-in-leg gash on my shin that Elizabeth's Furnace isn't advanced and it will kick your ass.