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Hi c, hey that’s a good music pun. Sorry..

As to trails, another good one for novices is the Northern Central Rail Trail. It runs from just north of Cockeysville all the way up to Pennyslvania. It follows an old railroad bed (hence the name) and goes through some pretty countryside. I wouldn’t suggest trying the whole thing when you are just starting out, but even the stretch from the trail head up to Monkton is pretty easy to do for beginners (about 7 miles one way, I think). At Monkton there is a pit stop of sorts with a little store that sells drinks, sandwiches, and stuff like that. They even rent innertubes so you can go tubing on the nearby river. Most of the trail is flat packed dirt and/or gravel, with the occasional divot or puddle. During the summer it can get pretty crowded on the low end, but usually starts to thin out above Monkton and especially as you get close to PA. The trail does have some ‘false flats’ but no big slopes.

Happy trails and enjoy!

If you and your bf are game, the Jones Falls Trail in Baltimore extends from Penn Station to the Woodberry light rail station. Eventually, the trail is to connect more than 25 city neighborhoods and extend 12 miles from the Mount Washington light rail station to the Inner Harbor. Good way to see the city. As far as bike shops, Mt. Washington Bike Shop at 5813 Falls Road in Baltimore is my favorite — they can give you good advice on a starter bike.

As you know, Glen Ellen at Loch Raven and Avalon at Patapsco are the two most popular spots locally. Supposedly Avalon is some of the best mountain biking in the eastern US. The piedmont offers a lot of great rolling hills and thick forests that are perfect for the sport.

Prettyboy has some of the best hiking around in my opinion and every AT trailhead in Maryland is about 1hr and 15 min from downtown.

I was in Marin County, Ca last week mountain biking in the foothills of Mt Tam… that was amazing.

I’m ready when you are…

Another good one is the McKeldin Area of Patapsco Valley State Park, off of Marriottsville Road. Sort of in the Howard County/Baltimore County nexus. In my earlier riding days, I used to live off of Route 40 in Howard County, a few miles from McKeldin. Close enough that I could bike there, ride the trail, and (assuming no mishaps!) ride back home to clean up and wipe off the blood. Great stuff! There were some technically very challenging spots: steep inclines, lots of rocks, streams, etc. One time I almost ran into a horse heading the other direction. Good thing I ran into the trees instead.

I think my epiphany came the day I was heading full tilt down a slope, on a trail covered with rocks the size of loaves of bread, and I bottomed out my front shocks: it left me seeing stars, but I recall skidding into a muddy turn just after and thinking “Man, this is LIVING!” I’ll have to get the old Trek 480 out of mothballs and get back on the trail. Maybe when my daughter can stay home unattended…

Happy trails! Thanks for the inspiration, and good luck with the search.