[zeytin]

The weather in MD was awesome today; perfect for a ride! So, I took a nice long (well not by MB1 standards) ride today on the NCR. It was a great ride and I took some pictures to share with you all.
Started in Ashland near the southern end of the trail.
#1 Apparently there was so much debris piled up on the upriver side of the bridge that it was changing the river flow so they were using a crane to pull the logs up out of the river.
#2 On the downstream side dirt had piled up and a little lagoon of really nasty water had built up behind it.

 

[zeytin]

#1 There is a bike shop with rentals across the street from the Ashland parking area.

I've been having problems with the white balance in my photos. I was talking to Arby last weekend and he suggested that I look at a light spot and focus the camera then while still holding the button take pictures of whatever I intended to. I tried this method today; I already see a difference but I have to keep working at it.

#2,3,4 were me trying out the method on the trail.

 

[zeytin]

#1 Some of you have seen this picture before but not with this bike. I usually take the SS but today I decided to try the Postal. It was a nice ride, and the tires didn't seem to have a problem handling the trail.

#2 I wish I had a better lense on the camera. The arrow is pointing at a nice looking fish below the bridge.

#3 Stopped for a quick snack. Pistachio and coffee mixed! Did you know that Newman did raisins too?

 

[zeytin]

#1 I guess wild rasberries are in season. This is the second trail in a week next to which I've seen them. There was an industrious lady who was taking this bucket home to make jelly. She said her brother used them for wine but she didn't hold with that.

#2 I tried a Bento Box for holding the camera today and I really like it. Much easier than zipping and unzipping the camera case.

#3 My bandana was dirty so I wore my old team cycling cap. I don't like the seam along my forehead so I'll go back to the bandana for next ride.

 

[zeytin]

#1 Um I don't think my skinny tires could handle that.
#2 I am really glad they decided to rebuild the bridges along the trail.

 

[zeytin]

Snacks and Gnome Hangout

There was a house on the trail and he had set up a small snack stand along the trail just south of Parkton.

#1 Gnome garden!
#2 Make sure you pay for your snacks or he may come after you.
#3, 4 Snacks (didn't actually buy anything until the return trip. The drinks were even cold.:thumbsup:
#5 I agree with him on this one, the place was awesome

 

[zeytin]

There was a beautiful little gorge around mile 12. I stopped to take a look but was warned not to go closer by the sign.
Upstream from the gorge I caught sight of this guy fishing

 

[zeytin]

At Parkton the crossroad is blocked for through car traffic. I pulled off for a minute just to see what was around. I saw this old bank turned into a house. Check out the window over the front door.
There was another house closer to the trail and the debris from their remodeling decorated the edge of the trail.

 

[zeytin]

#1 and #2 This is why I don't like port-o-potties! I didn't see the sneaky bastard until after I got up!

#3 Someone lost their boat, it had drifted against a little damn.

#4 A little friend in the trail, he actually turned and ran parallel to me but I couldn't get the shot.

I sae a number of little friends along the trail but frequently couldn't get close enough for a clear shot, spotted fawn, chipmunk, and some sort of hawk.

 

[llama31]

Nice pics. Gotta love a nice ride on the NCR. It's even better when it's not crowded.

Try it at night one of these days--we did it again this past weekend and it was fun. Full moon this weekend, i think.

 

[zeytin]

Nice pics. Gotta love a nice ride on the NCR. It's even better when it's not crowded.

Try it at night one of these days--we did it again this past weekend and it was fun. Full moon this weekend, i think.

I loved your pics of that ride. I leave for Puerto Rico on Friday but I'm hoping to do a ride like yours in Sept.

 

[MB1]

Fetid.

Another great word that is underutilized now days.

BTW great report, you got a nice style.

 

[MarkS]

A note for the history buffs.

The NCR trail goes over the right of way of the North Central railroad, which went from Baltimore to York, Pa. This is the same route that Abraham Lincoln took when he traveled from Springfield to Washington in 1861 and from Washington to Gettysburg in November 1863 to deliver his now-famous Address. It also was part of the route of Lincoln's funeral train in 1865.

The NCR trail is great for people like Zeytin who can ride on a beautiful Monday. However, it is a zoo on nice, summer weekends. Maybe one day I will play hookey from work and ride the trail. Although several of my rides intersect the trail, I have not ridden on it in years.

 

[Arby]

Gnomes!

Z:

Nice job (again!). I have to say I love the gnomes. Was the Travelocity gnome shooting his mouth off while you were there? Secondly I have to say that I love that people leave snacks out and depend upon the honor system. ... muhahahahaaa... seriously.

Great post and lovin' the photos! Keep it up!

Arby.

 

[zeytin]

A note for the history buffs. Although several of my rides intersect the trail, I have not ridden on it in years.

Mark, thanks for the background I didn't know that. Welcome back we've missed you on recent posts.

S

 

[MarkS]

Mark, thanks for the background I didn't know that. Welcome back we've missed you on recent posts.

S

I was on the other side of the pond for two weeks at the beginning of the month and it took a few days for me to recover from my the trip home, which took 43 hours from the time I was supposed to leave Paris last Wednesday to the time I arrived back at BWI. WIthout giving all of the gory details, my Icelandair flight from Paris to Iceland was delayed by 10 hours, which caused me to miss my connection to BWI. Iceland is a God forsaken waste. The natives are the most unfriendly people I ever have met and what I saw of the country (i.e., the area between the airport and Reykjavic) isn't much better.

 

[zeytin]

I was on the other side of the pond for two weeks at the beginning of the month and it took a few days for me to recover from my the trip home, which took 43 hours from the time I was supposed to leave Paris last Wednesday to the time I arrived back at BWI. WIthout giving all of the gory details, my Icelandair flight from Paris to Iceland was delayed by 10 hours, which caused me to miss my connection to BWI. Iceland is a God forsaken waste. The natives are the most unfriendly people I ever have met and what I saw of the country (i.e., the area between the airport and Reykjavic) isn't much better.

Glad you made it home safe sorry to hear about the PITA traveling. Looking foward to hear about the trip itself cheers,
S