Cycle

A 65-year-old man was fatally injured in Odenton yesterday when a car struck him from behind as he pedaled a cycle along Route 170, county police reported. The victim, whose identity was not immediately available, was riding his three-wheel cycle with the flow of traffic near Rodgers Lane about 1:30 p.m. when a Plymouth Acclaim hit him from behind, police said. The man, an Odenton resident, was taken to North Arundel Hospital, where he died of his injuries. The 37-year-old driver, also of Odenton, failed to stay in his designated lane, police said.

About 1,700 bicyclists are expected to descend on the state's roads today for the first leg of a 350-mile tour through Maryland.The bikers will ride 45 to 70 miles a day in the week-long, sixth annual Cycle Across Maryland Tour. Most riders will camp on designated school fields or in gymnasiums along the route.For the first time in the tour's history, cyclists will be allowed to ride their bikes across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.The riders will have overnight stops in Largo, Millersville, Centreville, Salisbury and Crisfield, and conclude the trip in Berlin.

Seldom-used Orioles left fielder Felix Pie on Friday night became the fourth player in franchise history to hit for the cycle and the first to apologize afterward. In the Orioles' 16-6 thumping of the Los Angeles Angels - a game in which Orioles heralded rookie right-hander Chris Tillman earned his first career victory - Pie accomplished what only Aubrey Huff, Cal Ripken Jr. and Brooks Robinson before him had done in an Orioles uniform. Batting eighth, Pie doubled in the first, homered in the third and singled to lead off the seventh before coming to bat again in the Orioles' seven-run inning.

Richard Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung - about 15 hours of music and drama, divided into four chapters - remains not just a pinnacle of Western art, but a continual source of fresh inspiration. Hardly frozen in a world of ancient myth, the Ring cycle has the curious ability to speak in different ways to different people at different times in different places. It's a living thing, which makes it all the more magnetic. WNO's `Das Rheingold' 7:30 p.m. Thursday and five more performances through April 10 at Kennedy Center, Virginia and New Hampshire avenues N.W. Tickets $45 to $190 (higher for box seats)

Two Baltimore County councilmen broke early from the gate in the race for campaign contributions, ignoring for the second time a self-imposed ban on raising funds while they consider zoning changes. In the latest incidents, John A. Olszewski Sr. of Dundalk and Chairman Joseph Bartenfelder of Fullerton sent letters or tickets to potential donors in the weeks before the fund-raising ban expired. The informal agreement not to solicit donations took effect Aug. 2, 1999, when the Planning Department began accepting applications as part of the countywide rezoning cycle, which occurs every four years.

A measure to move Baltimore's election to the presidential cycle was among scores of bills that cleared the House of Delegates during a rare Saturday session, setting the stage for MayorStephanie Rawlings-Blakeand the current city council to be in office for an additional year. Other legislation receiving House approval included a lower charge for those caught with small amounts of marijuana and a bill that would require helmets for motor scooter drivers. Delegates also had a testy debate on a provision that would allow expedited court procedures for some developers.

Biennial plants aren't particularly distinctive looking, but they certainly have distinctive life cycles. While annuals last for one season and perennials give years of pleasure, the biennial, as its name suggests, has a two-year cycle. The first year it produces a leafy base or rosette, which winters over; the second year it forms a flower, which, later in the season, develops visible seed pods. Most biennials produce many, many seeds and reseed themselves easily. That is their insurance of perpetuity.

At 33, the man they call "Sweet Feet" hasn't lost his touch.The Cincinnati Silverbacks' Franklin McIntosh, the Spirit's scoring leader last season, is the National Professional Soccer League's Player of the Week after becoming the first this year to record the cycle -- a three-point goal, a pair of two-pointers, a one-pointer and an assist -- in a 15-9 win over the Wichita Wings.rTC It was the 63rd cycle in NPSL history and the sixth of McIntosh's career. The NPSL's all-time leading scorer with 1,042 points turned up in Cincinnati after being suspended by the Spirit last season for the final two regular-season games and the playoffs because coach Mike Stankovic said he demonstrated a "lack of dedication at a crucial time" by missing a key practice.

A Carroll County bicyclist, a mentor with Cycle Across Maryland who volunteered with at-risk teen-agers, died Friday after she fell off her bike while trying to escape a dog on Pleasant Valley Road outside Westminster the day before. Barbara E. Benjamin, 53, died of head injuries sustained when she fell. She was wearing a helmet. She had been riding down a steep hill with her daughter near Hughes Shop Road shortly before 7 p.m. Thursday, when a dog began chasing them. In her attempt to avoid the animal, Benjamin fell and struck her head on the pavement, police said.

Orioles left fielder Felix Pie's cleats are going to Cooperstown. And he hopes to visit them this offseason as part of the Baseball Hall of Fame's exhibit on players hitting for the cycle. "I'm excited, happy. I never knew that anything was going to happen in my life like that," said Pie, who has not stepped foot in the Hall of Fame. "I'll go check it out this year." On Friday night, Pie became the fourth player in franchise history - and the seventh major leaguer this season - to hit for the cycle, joining teammate Aubrey Huff and Orioles Hall of Famers Brooks Robinson and Cal Ripken Jr. Pie, who has played sparingly this season, doubled in the first, homered in the third and singled and tripled in the seventh.