Bike

For five hours of a perfect autumn morning, half of Roland Avenue went to the dogs. To the bikes. To the runners and the walkers and the stand-around-and-schmoozers. And the skateboards, baby carriages, wagons, skates, at least one unicycle and a three-wheeled, scooter-like contraption called a Trikke. Anything but motor vehicles. From 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, the city closed the southbound lanes of Roland Park's main drag to motor vehicles - turning the busy traffic artery into a mile-long, paved park.

With the name "Suit-A-Palooza," who knew what to expect when you arrived at the Lyric Opera House for a party? Everything good, it turned out. There was a buffet line along one wall of the lobby, a bar at another, a jazz band playing in one corner, and a silent auction set up in the theater vestibule. This annual shindig was celebrating the 10th anniversary of Suited to Succeed. The organization was founded by a group of local business folks who realized that women participating in job-training programs learned the skills they needed to get a good job, but often lacked the business clothes.

They saw gardens in Federal Hill, renovated homes in Canton, barges in Locust Point, Little Italy, Fort McHenry, Patterson Park.More than 2,100 early-risers bicycled through Baltimore neighborhoods in yesterday morning's Tour du Port, taking in city sights in a way they say would be impossible if pedaling alone in traffic or zipping along in a car."It sounds silly, but it's three-dimensional now. We'd come down here, we'd come to the Inner Harbor. You kind of forget there is a city behind it -- a nice city," said Don Connolly, 47, a Wilmington, Del., engineer, who was biking with his family.

The McQuins of Mount Airy just logged 3,904 miles on their bikes, from the Pacific to the Atlantic coasts, through 12 states, two deserts and four time zones.The journey, dubbed "One Voice Across America: A Ride to Fight Childhood Cancer," was inspired by 19-year-old Bobby McQuin's recovery from leukemia. Their goal was to raise money for cancer research and increase awareness of a disease that claims more victims younger than age 15 than any other.It took the cyclists four months to climb seven mountain ranges, cross countless rivers and visit more than 350 children hospitalized with cancer.

A common-sense recycling program could increase mobility and fitness for the 100 or so Citizens On Patrol groups in Baltimore County this year.Spurred by an insistent COP member in the Towson area, Baltimore County police will give abandoned or unclaimed bicycles to any citizen patrol group that wants them, provided the group has registered as a nonprofit organization. Lost or unclaimed bicycles traditionally have been sold at the department's annual auction."It just gives them another method to patrol," said John S. Reginaldi, a Baltimore County detective assigned to Youth and Community Resources.

Supersports Arena in Eldersburg will sponsor a Firecracker 500 Bicycle Race and Family Fun Day from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.Bicycle races for all ages are available. Activities start with races by experienced, licensed riders at 8: 30 a.m. Spectators can also race, and medals will be given through third place.During the afternoon, children age 2 and older can participate in age-graded races. Cost is $10 for ages 11 and older, free forchildren younger than age 11.Races start about 2: 15 p.m. and are one-quarter mile for ages 2 to 5, one mile for ages 6 to 10, and five miles for ages 11 to 17, 18 to 34 and 35 and older.

WHILE MOST commuting is done on four wheels, another mode of transportation has long been overlooked by your wheelster. But no more.Cyclists -- 99 million of them nationwide -- also command an important part of our roads. And it's time four-wheelers gave them their due respect."Many motorists don't understand biker and cycling safety on the road," writes John T. Overstreet, safety-awareness chairman of the Baltimore Bicycling Club. "A lot of bikers are sideswiped by motorists that pass them."

A 41-year-old Elkridge man was critically injured when the bicycle he was riding was struck by a Jeep Wrangler on U.S. 1 early yesterday, police said.Nick J. Prieto of the 6600 block of Washington Blvd. was riding his bicycle north on U.S. 1 near Business Parkway in Jessup, police said, when he was hit by the Jeep, which also was northbound.The driver of the Wrangler, Jeffrey L. Morris, 40, of the 100 block of Keeton Road in Elkridge was not injured.Prieto was taken to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he was listed in critical condition with head injuries last night.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Until last month, it was just another charmingly eccentric event in a city celebrated for its many eccentricities. Tonight, it could be a war in the streets.Every last Friday of the month for the past five years, thousands of bicyclists have gathered downtown to pedal en masse -- escorted by police -- into rush hour traffic. The ad hoc protest-cum-street party known as Critical Mass has been a mostly good-natured show of force, a reminder to inconvenienced motorists that they have to share city streets.

IT WAS LATE on a school night. I was down in the basement, screwdriver in hand, trying to remember a vestige of the French I had studied in college.I was attempting to put a rear rack on a kid's bicycle. The bicycle needed the rack so it could carry the camping equipment that one of our sons was going to lug on a four-day bike trip he was taking with his class.The instructions on how to attach the rack to the bicycle were written in English and French. The English -- "screw up stay ends to bicycle" -- had me baffled.

Police reports in Baltimore city and county: Eastern Baltimore Stolen vehicle: A green 1996 Chevrolet Blazer with tags 971M350 was stolen between Nov. 6 and Monday in the 900 block of N. Linwood Ave. Burglary: Someone broke into a house in the 1800 block of N. Montford Ave. between Monday and Tuesday through a rear kitchen door and removed a VCR, a TV, a remote and $5 in coins. Theft: A mountain bike valued at $200 was stolen Monday from a bike rack in the 700 block of N. Wolfe St. Assault: A man, 46, was about to enter his home in the 300 block of E. 23rd St. about 11 p.m. Tuesday when he was attacked by three men. Burglary: A DVD player and a 19-inch TV were stolen between Tuesday and Wednesday from a house in the 2700 block of E. Oliver St. by someone who entered through a front basement window.

About 80 bicyclists pedaled through North Baltimore on Sunday, claiming a bit of the roadway and remembering an avid cyclist who died last summer doing the same. The second annual Tour De Greater Homewood was also known this year as the Jack Yates Memorial Ride. John R. "Jack" Yates, 67, died cycling in August. He'd been riding south on Maryland Avenue when a truck turned right onto Lafayette Avenue in front of him. Yates sustained fatal injuries when his bike got entangled in the truck's rear wheels.

Affordable senior complex planned in Randallstown Enterprise Housing Corp. is set to develop 9 acres in Randallstown into a $15.7 million affordable senior housing complex called the Greens at Liberty Road. Construction is expected to begin this month on the site in the 9700 block of Liberty Road, and to be completed in June 2011. The complex will include 105 rental units reserved for qualified residents 62 and older. The state is providing a $2 million tax credit. Baltimore County has agreed to a property tax reduction that amounts to about $150 per unit, and also has promised a $500,000 loan.

For five hours of a perfect autumn morning, half of Roland Avenue went to the dogs. To the bikes. To the runners and the walkers and the stand-around-and-schmoozers. And the skateboards, baby carriages, wagons, skates, at least one unicycle and a three-wheeled, scooter-like contraption called a Trikke. Anything but motor vehicles. From 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, the city closed the southbound lanes of Roland Park's main drag to motor vehicles - turning the busy traffic artery into a mile-long, paved park.

There are a lot of obstacles that Nate Evans considers when he designates a bicycle route. Baltimore's bicycle pedestrian planner - yes, this is his official title - accounts for potholes, the quality of pavement and how fast cars travel on a particular street. (He calls Northern Parkway a "speedway" that should be avoided by the pedaling crowd.) But there's another factor that has to be part of the bicycle-loving mayor's Bike Baltimore campaign to mark cycling routes throughout the city.

Now that temperatures - and gas prices - are falling, you might be tempted to exile your bike to the basement or garage until warmer days return. But there's no need. With the right equipment and care, you can continue commuting on two wheels or hitting the trails on weekends. The key, bike enthusiasts say, is the proper clothing - and layering. Start with your head. Penny Trouttner, owner of Light Street Cycles in Federal Hill, recommends a skull cap or a balaclava, a head covering that also protects your neck and fits easily under a helmet.

Robert Bruce Moore, a retired Social Security analyst and avid bicyclist who during a three-month odyssey rode his bike from his Roland Park home to the Pacific Ocean, died May 16 of pancreatic cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He was 73. Mr. Moore was born in Los Angeles and later moved with his family to Summit, N.J., where he graduated from high school in 1952. After earning a bachelor's degree in political science from Rutgers University in 1958, he served in the Army Intelligence Corps for two years.

Cyclocross -- As part of its "Step Up to Health" campaign, Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks will join forces with the Baltimore-based Lateral Stress Velo's cycling club and team to sponsor an inaugural "Rockburn Cross." The event, which is to begin at 10 a.m. Sunday at Rockburn Branch Park in Elkridge, is a hybrid between high-speed bicycle racing and technical mountain-bike racing, and includes man-made hurdles and natural obstacles that require riders to sometimes dismount and run with their bikes.

Fifty women on racing bicycles, wearing sunglasses, helmets, gloves and bright jerseys, gathered in a fiercely competitive-looking group at Oregon Ridge Park in Baltimore County yesterday. But instead of racing, they shared. One by one, they went around the circle introducing themselves, describing why they love to ride and how much it means for their mental and physical health. "I feel like this is A.A.," one rider confessed, referring to Alcoholics Anonymous. And then they took off on a 25-mile ride under a glorious blue sky. The event yesterday, called "She Got Bike," was the opposite of Bikeaholics Anonymous.

Ryan Nyquist's day begins routinely enough. He feeds the dogs, Shorty and Jaxon, and takes them for a brisk walk. He eats breakfast - a bowl of Frosted Mini-Wheats. He does the dishes, pays the bills and putters around in the yard. Then Nyquist, 28, hops on his bicycle, goes to work - and tries not to break his neck. His bike is his work. Nyquist, a stunt champion, is competing in this weekend's AST Dew Tour Panasonic Open at the Camden Yards sports complex. The event, which began Thursday and runs through tomorrow, is expected to draw 50,000 fans.