The Bataan Death March or the Baltimore Annapolis Trail

Yesterday was October 7^th 2007, and it was over 90 degrees F. with no breeze; yet we all know that global warming is a myth created by the tree hugger's lobby. Will somebody please send a note to the Enterprise Institute informing them that 90 deg. F. is Washington in August not October?

Yet at 8:00 am yesterday morning it was beautiful, around seventy-two degrees, dry, the sun was shinning – it was a perfect day for a ride. The plan was to meet Howard, a friend of mine from Georgetown, and ride the Baltimore Annapolis Trail, a rail-to-trail paved path between Annapolis and the Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI). So I was up at five and on the road to Annapolis by seven.

Howard and I were friends from our days at Georgetown. He was raised in the suburbs of Pittsburgh; I was raised on the slopes of Mount Washington, so as ex-Pittsburghers we had a natural affinity. He joined Georgetown after retiring from the Navy, and stayed on until his second retirement. Although I left Georgetown almost ten years ago we remained friends and get together occasionally.

In the early nineties he bought a house on the water in Annapolis, the home of the US Naval Academy. Annapolis sits at the mouth of the Severn River on the Chesapeake Bay – it’s a sailing town that also happens to be the capitol of Maryland. It’s a small tight town with the favor of a resort. It has narrow streets, shops, restaurants and harbor all jammed into a few streets around the crowded harbor. Parking is always impossible. The entrance to the Naval Academy is only a couple of blocks from the center of town, on weekends the streets are decorated with midshipmen all spit and polish. The State capitol is also crowded into the ten block radius.

Yet once you are out on the water the space expands, still crowded but not claustrophobic, the water is broad, you can see for miles. Populated by sail boats, power boats, cabin cruises, and even its fair share of ugly boats; the air is fresh - a playground for the rich.

My cycling companion, Howard, is in his mid sixties, about ten years older than I; he is slim, a sailor, and in good shape. A few months ago we rode the southern end of the trail – the first seven miles to Earleigh Heights Station. The trail is beautiful but not very challenging, for the most part it is straight, flat, shaded and quiet, bucolic even; yet it is only a few blocks off Route 2, a running strip mall between Annapolis and Baltimore. Still 14 miles is a pretty long ride for a novice.

Being our second ride, we planned on going a few miles further up the trial. At the time I thought the trail ran all the way into Baltimore but it ends a few miles from BWI.

I was on my Bianchi Volpe touring bike; he was riding a street version of a mountain bike. The different bikes make riding together a challenge; I had smooth thin tires and he had notched balloon tires, so I glided, and he pedaled. For the first half of the ride we pretty much stayed together. I might get ahead a bit, but when I lost sight of him I’d slow up.

Yesterday we reached Earleigh Heights Station feeling good, so we pressed on. We rode through Severn and Gen Burrie. We only intended to go a few miles past Ealeigh Heights but before we knew it we were at the trail head at Dorsey Road. We could see the planes making their approach to BWI. Howard suggested that since we were close we take the BWI trail for a while – the airport couldn’t be too far. It was a nice trail; it had the feel of riding through a city park. After a couple of miles we arrived at the Tom Dixon Jr. Airport Observation Area. The ‘airport observation area’ is a couple of porta-potties, a parking lot, and a small playground; but it’s at the end of a runway, you can see the airport tower in the distance, so an ‘airport observation area it is. How this place slipped by Homeland Security I’ll never know; I thought sitting around in a isolated area watching planes take off and land would be consider at least as much of a security threat as a pair of nail clippers, but not being a national security expert I will defer to the professionals.

By now it was close to 11 in the morning, the sun was hot and high in the sky; shade was scarce. The BWI trail circles the airport. We still felt pretty good; we were 16 point something miles out. I thought we might circle the airport and then head back to Annapolis; a quick check of the map dissuaded us. The BWI trail was 12.5 miles, we had only covered the first two or so, and we still had the 13.5 miles back on the Baltimore Annapolis Trail. So we traced our steps back to the Dorsey Road trail head, it was a nice glide, I think ninety percent of the way back was down hill.

I got to Dorsey Road a few minutes before Howard, and stopped to wait and take a few photos. Within a minute or two he was back and ahead of me. I wanted to push my legs a little. I was bored riding slow so away I went. I guess I got a little carried away; before I knew it I was at Earleigh Heights Station. I estimated that Howard would be about ten minutes behind me, certainly no more than twenty – it was only about four miles back that I had pushed ahead of him. I stretched, collected some maps and waited in the shade. At fifteen minutes I began to wonder if he had passed while I was in the Station picking up the maps. Now I knew I was an idiot, I didn’t know whether he was ahead or behind me, I didn’t even know if he had his mobile with him. At twenty five minutes I decided I better head back toward Dorsey Road, at least a few miles and see if I could find him. Just as I was about to leave, I saw him coming up the trail.

Well, as it turns out he bonked – the term cyclist use to describe what happens to you when your muscles run out of nutrients, it is also know as lactic acid poisoning. Long distance runners call it ‘hitting the wall.’ It can be dangerous, and after it happens to you once, that’s it, you make sure that it doesn’t happen to you again. I guess it happened a few miles from the Station; he walked part of the way, that was it for Howard for the day. It was still over seven miles to the car, so I took off and was back to pick him up in about an hour.

He was feeling better by the time I got back; he thought at that point he could have finished on his bike, but I’ve bonked and I know it takes longer than an hour; it takes a couple of good meals and a long rest to recover. I never should have left him so far behind. I made the mistake of judging his condition by how I was feeling. The temperature went was ninety that afternoon, and he was riding for over four hours. I screwed up, and he paid for it.

Despite our misadventure it was a good ride - it always is went you see something new Enjoy the Baltimore Annapolis Trail it's a great trail for a leisurely glide even if it is behind the strip mall; just go early and bring a couple bottles of water.

Photographs: First. Baltimore Annapolis Trail
Second. Baltimore Annapolis Trail II
Third. Dorsey Road Trail Head, BA Trail
Fourth. Tom Dixon Jr airport Observation Area, BWI Trail
Fifth. Earleigh Heights Station, Baltimore Annapolis Trail