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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><span style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>When
Yodazone and M.E. told me Sergio would be at the Baltimore Comic Convention on
September 8<sup>th</sup> and 9<sup>th</sup> I got excited, but maybe after I
tell you guys what I did you will say I got over enthusiastic. </span></font><font
size=2 face=Wingdings><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Wingdings;
mso-ascii-font-family:Arial;mso-hansi-font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:
Arial;mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings'><span
style='mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings'>J</span></span></font><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><span style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>Before
I was informed of Sergio’s upcoming appearance in </span></font><st1:City><st1:place><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Baltimore</span></font></st1:place></st1:City><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> I had known
there was a Rail-to-Trails bike-way starting in my city of </span></font><st1:City><st1:place><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>York</span></font></st1:place></st1:City><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>, PA and
ending somewhere south of the </span></font><st1:State><st1:place><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Maryland</span></font></st1:place></st1:State><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> border, and
I had been thinking about doing a ride on it, but I just never looked into it. When
I heard about Sergio’s visit there in a couple of weeks though, that obviously
gave me quite an incentive to do some more research.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><span style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>I
printed out a couple maps of the rail trails I found on the web, and typed out
directions for the rest of the path to the </span></font><st1:place><st1:PlaceName><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Baltimore</span></font></st1:PlaceName><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> </span></font><st1:PlaceType><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Convention
Center</span></font></st1:PlaceType></st1:place><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> by using Google Earth as a guide. The
route seemed pretty straight forward, but it is 58 miles one-way and I have not
been riding as much as I use to before ending my job as bike messenger in NYC
back in December. I presumed I was a bit out of shape and did not know how long
it would take to bike down to </span></font><st1:City><st1:place><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Baltimore</span></font></st1:place></st1:City><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>, so I
wanted to do a reconnaissance ride before the day of the convention to see how
realistic it would be for me to bike down there.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><span style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>Well,
yesterday I did just that. In fact I did double the 58 mile length because after
getting to the convention center I biked back. Apart from finding out how
practical it would be for me to ride down to the convention center, I also used
the possibility of buying tickets in advance directly from the box office as an
excuse to do the ride. Of course advanced tickets can be bought through Ticket
Master, but they charge a fee of about $5.00, so I wanted to see if I could save
a couple extra bucks. </span></font><font size=2 face=Wingdings><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Wingdings;mso-ascii-font-family:Arial;
mso-hansi-font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;mso-char-type:symbol;
mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings'><span style='mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:
Wingdings'>J</span></span></font><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> Naturally with the luck of Groo on
my side, when I got there I found out the convention center does not handle the
sale of advance tickets for public events, but they do have a box office on
site for the sale of any remaining tickets on the day of an event.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><span style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>By
the way, for those of you, who can not imagine what it is like to bike 116
miles, do not even bother! </span></font><font size=2 face=Wingdings><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Wingdings;mso-ascii-font-family:Arial;
mso-hansi-font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;mso-char-type:symbol;
mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings'><span style='mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:
Wingdings'>J</span></span></font><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> I will tell you I left my place at </span></font><st1:time
Hour="6" Minute="23"><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>6:23am</span></font></st1:time><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>, and I arrived at the convention
center in </span></font><st1:City><st1:place><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Baltimore</span></font></st1:place></st1:City><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> shortly
after </span></font><st1:time Hour="13" Minute="0"><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>1pm</span></font></st1:time><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>, then I finally
got back home right around </span></font><st1:time Hour="20" Minute="15"><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>8:15pm</span></font></st1:time><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>. I figured
out each way probably took me approximately seven hours with roughly a half-hour’s
worth of breaks included. If that was not rough enough though, 1/3<sup>rd</sup>
of the time it was raining, another 1/3<sup>rd</sup> the time it was drizzling,
and the rest of the time there was either spotty mist or dry clouds. How is
that for more Groo luck? At least I have a cargo bike, so I was able to carry a
bunch of extra rain gear and supplies. However, my big-assed cargo bike is a
single-speed, so I had even more Groo luck when going up and down the hills in </span></font><st1:State><st1:place><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Maryland</span></font></st1:place></st1:State><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><span style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>Yesterday
by the time I got home, I was telling myself there was no way I would do a bike
ride down to </span></font><st1:City><st1:place><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Baltimore</span></font></st1:place></st1:City><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> and back in
a day. Last night I was wet, my toes felt numb, my legs were like Jell-O, one
of my knees hurt significantly, my thighs were aching, my butt felt bruised, my
back & neck felt sore, and my palms felt beaten to a pulp from all the
bumps in the road. While eating dinner I was telling my wife I thought it was
more realistic for me to only ride the 58 miles to the convention, then have
her drive down in our minivan to pick me up along with my bike and any/all of
the Groo stuff I might want to buy. That way I could spend as much time as I
wanted at the convention without worrying about what time I would be getting
back home, then my wife and I could most likely go out to eat a nice meal
somewhere in </span></font><st1:City><st1:place><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Baltimore</span></font></st1:place></st1:City><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> or along
the way back home.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><span style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>Now
it is </span></font><st1:time Hour="18" Minute="0"><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>6:00pm</span></font></st1:time><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> the next
day. I have had two good warm meals, a nice long hot shower with dual shower
heads both using their massage settings, and a long pleasant night of sleep. On
top of that my wife massaged my hands, arms, shoulders, and back, then I also used
a heavy-duty vibrating heated massager on my thigh muscles. Right now my palms
still feel a bit tender, my butt feels slightly bruised, my thighs still ache a
bit, and that one knee only hurts a little… yet I find myself wondering whether
wrapping some kind of padding on my handle bars and attaching my removable extra
gel-padded seat cushion would make a big difference on my next trip to Baltimore.
I even find myself asking whether the difference would enable me to do the
complete 116 mile two-way ride. Does simply thinking about doing something
foolish warrant the phrase, “Did I err?”<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span></span></font><font size=2
face=Wingdings><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Wingdings;mso-ascii-font-family:
Arial;mso-hansi-font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;mso-char-type:
symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings'><span style='mso-char-type:symbol;
mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings'>J</span></span></font><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> I guess I will
tell you if I go through with another attempt. ;)<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><span style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>Ride
safe,<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>_<i><span style='font-style:italic'>TONE</span></i>_<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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