In the loopy world of blogs, this is the first post you'll see. For us, it's the last.

From the time this blog launched with several contributors, it has always been in a bit of a gerrymandered space between the sports and health worlds, with some transportation and food thrown in.

We've lost some voices in the year since then, so it's with some relief that those of us still active move to Picture of Health this month. We hope you'll come with us so we won't have to miss you.

It's been fun. Thanks for all the comments!

Photo credit: Getty Images

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 6:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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You bicycle? In Annapolis?

A proposed master plan lays out the creation of 30-plus miles of linked, marked trails and routes for getting around the city on two wheels.

The City Council will soon be asked to adopt the document for planning purposes.
The idea is promote bicycling for transportation and fun. Click here for our article.

Posted by Andrea Siegel at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Bicycling, Safety, Traffic
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If you’ve been thinking of combining exercise with getting to work by bicycle, an "A Smarter Way to Get There" workshop this month may be for you.

A free primer on bicycle commuting, Smarter Way part of an initiative to promote transportation options for Harbor East and other waterfront locales in Baltimore.

The 2-hour workshop will start at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, June 30 at 650 S. Exeter St., Seventh floor courtyard.

Topics include good-to-know-info: choosing equipment, routes and safety. Another good reason to go is that everyone who does will be entered to win a TREK 700 hybrid bike.

Registration is required. Email beth@waterfrontpartnership.org or call (443) 743-3308.

Sponsors: Waterfront Partnership and Bike Maryland.

Posted by Andrea Siegel at 6:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Bicycling, City of Baltimore, Events, Newbies, Traffic
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If you bicycle around Annapolis and you haven't already put your two-cents in for the master bicycle plan, do it online this weekend.

The city of Annapolis is working on a creating a long-term bicycle transportation blueprint. Traffic, safety and signs are among things you can point out.

Go to the interactive map here

To sign on: username is “Annapolis” and the Password is “bikeplan” -- you can put in a route as well as your comments. Input will be accepted until June 13.

Posted by Andrea Siegel at 12:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Bicycling, Traffic
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The Rails to Trails Conservancy sent out an e-mail blast to supporters this morning in hopes of giving Sen. Ben Cardin an earful from walkers, runners and cyclists.

Here's a piece of the missive:

Continue reading "Conservancy to Cardin: Don't defund us, bro" »

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 12:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Bicycling, Outdoors, Politics, Running, Safety, Traffic, Walking, Washington
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Walking and cycling are struggled to grow as transportation options in America over the last 10 years, according to a Reuters article published this morning, with most of the growth occuring among men.

Some other groups have even reported losses, with a Rutgers researcher bemoaning the lack of participation among non-males and those without means.

From today's article:

Continue reading "Win a free towel: Tell us why Biking is so darned manly" »

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 10:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Bicycling, Outdoors, Safety, Traffic, Walking
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Baltimore lagged a bit behind its neighbors in the Zipcar department -- we finally got them last summer, long after Washington and Philadelphia -- but it looks like we might not be so poky when it comes to an organized system of public bikes for pay.

Continue reading "Coming soon: Bike sharing in Baltimore" »

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 11:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Bicycling, City of Baltimore, Newbies, Outdoors, Traffic, Washington
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A WTOP article this morning about Metro being a non-option for athletes at tomorrow's National Marathon left me wondering: How frequently does this kind of logjam occur?

(For what it's worth, spectators can still use the system.)

Continue reading "Comparing marathon start times" »

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Baltimore Running Festival, Marine Corps Marathon, National Marathon, Philadelphia, Running, Traffic, Washington
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A couple weekends ago, my wife and I packed up our dog and headed to Philadelphia. I ran a race, but we also spent some time checking out the tunnel system under the city, known as the Philadelphia Concourse. I was reminded of that yesterday evening on my way home, as I wished for a tunnel that would take me under certain still-icy stretches of Baltimore's street grid.

I won't get that wish anytime soon, but I can at least write about what I learned in the concourse.

When walking in the tunnels on our Philly trip, I initially posited that they might form an interesting route for people seeking winter exercise -- sort of like mall walking. Here's a map of some key spots where we stopped on our walk (with direction of travel roughly clockwise, starting in the south -- you might have to zoom in):

Continue reading "Enclosed walkways for working out: Hit and miss" »

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 1:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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As a bit of a companion to last week's post about trail/road intersections, here's some new information: In Virginia, a test of lines on the road -- some a bit bizarre -- at trail intersections appears to be a success.

Continue reading "Report: Strange lines help at trail crossings" »

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 4:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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There's a fantastic little debate going on right now over at Wash Cycle about whether right-of-way is sometimes a curse for cyclists and pedestrians. To briefly paraphrase the author's point: Signage at certain trail crossings breed ambiguity and danger, so it's worth arguing that planners removing white crosswalk lines from some mid-block crossings might actually be doing cyclists a favor in terms of safety, regardless of whether it's legal or bike-friendly to do so.

To be honest, the conversation has way too many subtleties to re-voice here without simply duplicating most of the source post. I strongly suggest a look at Wash Cycle's version. It's quite interesting.

Posted by baltimoresun.com at 11:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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While browsing through an NYC bike education flier -- part of the city's "don't be a jerk" program, via a weekend post on Greater Greater Washington -- I noticed something intriguing. From the pamphlet:

Using a Bike Box

Bike boxes increase the visibility of cyclists stopped at red lights. Only use a bike box when you approach the intersection at a red light.

You can also use bike boxes when making right turns; position yourself in front of the cars. Make the turn when the light turns green.

View the source material here >>

I don't necessarily agree with the tone of NYC's "don't be a jerk" campaign as a whole -- as one GGW commenter put it, chastising the masses in hopes of educating a few out-of-line cyclists can be "as pointless as complaining about violent pedestrians because somebody once mugged you and he was on foot" -- but I definitely like what I see in the this particular flier.

(Edit: Jerry Jackson has an interesting take on my sentiment about the campaign here)

Continue reading "NYC's bike boxes" »

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 11:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Bicycling, Safety, Traffic
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As cyclists gain clout, one commenter notes that new laws go both ways. (2009 Baltimore Sun photo by Lloyd Fox)

Today's paper had a nice Mike Dresser piece on bad bike behavior. It described the usual standouts -- ignoring signs/lights, hopping up on sidewalks, etc.,. -- but what really caught my eye was an interesting entry in the comments section. Here's what it said:

I have checked with the county police on the 3 foot buffer law and - as all traffic lasw do - it applies to the cyclists as well. How many of you cyclists have squeezed yourselves along a row of cars to be first in a line? That is a violation of the law. How many of you have skirted through red lights? Ran stop signs? turned right on red? I think Mr. Dresser is kidding himself if he thinks only a handful of cyclists are bad eggs. (Bold was swapped for caps -PM)

Continue reading "An interesting corollary to the 3-foot rule" »

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Daylight savings is just around the corner pushing the evening commute into the dark. If you are on a bike and not blinking, you should be. Maryland has passed several new laws making the roads safer for biking, but a cyclist has a responsibility to be visible.

On my ride home in the dark a couple of nights ago I saw six other cyclists. Only two had tail lights and neither of those was obvious from more than fifty feet. The five dollar tail light may be fine around your neighborhood but it just gets lost in the sea of light in on city streets.

An effective tail light needs to command attention. With that in mind, I put tail lights to the test. Here are six worth considering.

Reply to this post. I will give one random commenter their choice of one of these lights next weekend when daylight savings ends.

**** Update ****

And the winner is ..... Becky from Odenton. Congratulations! The Lights & Motion Vis180 is on the way.

Continue reading "Seeing Red: Time to Get Your Blink On" »

Posted by Jerry Jackson at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (14)
Categories: Bicycling, Safety, Traffic
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Several lengths of street that had parking restrictions for today's run are scheduled to come back shortly. Among them are pieces of Eastern Avenue, Linwood Avenue, Boston Street and Lancaster street.

View a full list of race-day restrictions at Getting There >>

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 1:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Baltimore Running Festival, Running, Stride by Stride, Traffic
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While the Under Armour Baltimore Running Festival* brings intense concentrations of cash and positive attention to the area, I can see why specific residents might choose to get out of town for the weekend of the event.

Continue reading "A sense of event" »

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 7:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Baltimore Running Festival, Running, Stride by Stride, Traffic
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