Riding in Maryland

I finally found an opportunity to do a ride I've been wanting to do for a while now.  Last Saturday I rode from Clarksville, Md to Mt. Airy to visit one of my favorite bike shops, Mt. Airy Bikes.  It was about 29 miles through central Maryland (Howard County to Carroll County), and it was very enjoyable.  The roads are wide.  The drivers were considerate.  The day was sunny and warm with a cool breeze.  I forgot sunscreen though, but did not get burned thankfully.  My pannier was shaken off of the rack and fell in between my rear wheel and the rack pushing and bending the plastic planet bike fender forward.  But it was easy to get out and put the fender back.  I bungied the pannier against the rack, and that did the job.  Don't underestimate the  power of a bungie cord.  It's a good idea to have one with you on a long ride.  When I got to the shop I test rode a fuji obey track bike, and also saw a bike I didn't realize existed.  It was a kidztandem.  The child sits in front of the adult.  I'm looking forward to test riding that one with my almost 3 year old daughter when she's a bit older.  It seems it might be a great transportation solution for me now that I have two children.  I can pull my youngest behind in a trailer when she's old enough, and all of us can get places on one bike!  I'm very excited about that.  Since the last long ride I did was over 2 months ago, I asked my wife to pick me up.  I'm out of shape, and my left leg was sore around my knee.  I think it was the same problem I had before with a tight illliotibial band.  A bit of ice and massaging helped it.  Hopefully I will get on a few more rides of this length before August 8th when I ride the Gran Fondo  in Philadelphia.

My Route:

Guilford Rd/rt. on 108/left on Ten Oaks Rd/left on Burntwoods Rd/rt. on Hobbs Rd/left on McKendree Rd/becomes Carrs Mill Rd/left on 144/Mt. Airy Bikes on the right.