Baltimore May Day Roll, 5/1/11

[Kalidurga]

Anyone else interested? The Roll is apparently 10-12 miles, and then however many back to the car. Old Baltimore from a new angle – the May Day Roll

If you want to see post-industrial Baltimore as you’ve never seen it before – over the handlebars of your bike and through the eyes of journalist and historian Mark Reutter – check out the fourth annual May Day Roll, co-sponsored, as always, by Baltimore Brew and Baltimore Bicycle Works.

Held on May 1 – the internationally-recognized day dedicated to workers of the world – the Sunday morning Roll is meant to give participants an up-close and personal experience of Baltimore’s rich labor and industrial history.

Riders will crisscross the city and see some amazing sights – from the stone houses above the old Hampden-Woodberry mills (you’ll think you’re in Vermont) to the interior of the eerie, hulking Crown Cork & Seal building in Greektown (a century-old former bottlecap factory now partly rented out to intrepid metalworkers and musicians.)

We’ll take you back to a time before Baltimore went to work in office cubicles and instead toiled in factories and sweated in shipyards.

Here’s what we posted after last year’s roll. This year’s will be similar, but with a few new twists listed below. We are charging $25 a person for the tour, which will include a special luncheon at Ikaros Restaurant in Greektown.

We ask that you preregister at http://maydayroll.eventbrite.com. You can pay online here or on the day of the trip at BBW.

A couple housekeeping rules — for safety reasons, we can’t allow riders under age 18 and we require everyone to wear a helmet.
Workplace safety was serious business at Crown Cork, which had its own steel mill on site. (Photo by Fern Shen)

The Itinerary

Get to the Baltimore Bicycle Works, 1813 Falls Rd., no later than 8:30 a.m. Mingle with your fellow cyclers over coffee, juice and doughnuts as we sign people in and collect the dough. Wheels will roll promptly at 9.

We’ll end at Ikaros Restaurant about 1 p.m. Last year’s lunch included Greek salad, assorted appetizers, entrees and homemade desserts. Our friend, Ikaros owner Xenos Kohilas, promises another mind-blowing feast.

By that time, you’ll have earned your repast. In between breakfast and lunch, we’ll be biking quaint and gnarly streets and alleys of the city, taking in some cool lore and thought-provoking ideas as we get a street-level view of working-class history.

Here’s our itinerary, subject to change, but not likely to:

• First, we’ll bike up to Mt. Vernon Mill, Chestnut and Falls, and check out the company houses built along little-traveled Puritan, Field and Pacific streets.

• Then back down the bike trail along Falls Road and through Mt. Vernon to Red Emma’s (about 10 am) to pick up additional riders.

• We’ll head for Old Town and stop at the former Labor Lyceum on East Baltimore St., a gathering place for buttonhole stitchers and pants makers from the days when the neighborhood was mostly Russian Jews.

• Then a “new” stop: the Frederick Douglass houses to discuss black shipcaulkers in Fells Point.

• On to Ann and Aliceanna streets in Fells Point to talk about 1936 seamen’s strike.

• In Canton, we’ll discuss the “model” industrial complexes built there.

• Then we’ll bike through Crown Cork & Seal, past old “Work Safely” signs and other remnants of busy times.

• We’ll hit the “under-the-radar” site for steelworker organizers who were not welcome at the company town of Sparrows Point, arriving about 1 pm at Ikaros.

After lunch, it’s up to you to get home, though we’ll be happy to provide directions.

The $25 charge includes the coffee/donuts/juice breakfast, the Ikaros meal, on-the-road shepherding from the skilled cyclists of Baltimore Bicycle Works, and the guided tour by Mark Reutter, Brew reporter and editor and author of “Making Steel: Sparrows Point and the Rise and Ruin of American Industrial Might.”

[owlice]

Ikaros has amazing food. Definitely a great place for lunch!

I'd need to check terrain for this; I'm slow on flat, and glacial to the point of nearly moving backwards on hills. Otherwise, I'm tempted; anything for Ikaros!

[kmehrzad]

I'd need to check terrain for this; I'm slow on flat, and glacial to the point of nearly moving backwards on hills. Otherwise, I'm tempted; anything for Ikaros!

Owlice, you certainly have a way with words. I am LOL.

[Kalidurga]

At four hours for a 10-12 mile ride, I would imagine the pace will be pretty casual. And if there are going to be breaks for info from Mr. Reutter, then that's the perfect time to catch your breath from any hills.

If anyone else is interested, I also thought of maybe doing this as a shuttle-- Drop off one car near Ikaros, drive bikes and riders up to BBC, do the ride, then drive bikes and riders back up to BBC to the car left there. Less mileage that way, but easier if anyone's concerned about the pace, etc. Though if the weather's good, it'll be more fun to ride back.

[kmehrzad]

I'd love to do the ride but am unable to due to prior commitment.

[Cataboo]

I'm signed up for a kayaking skills weekend

[Kalidurga]

Well, if I can get my butt out of bed early enough to get up there, then I'll just have to take photos to show y'all what you missed

[owlice]

Owlice, you certainly have a way with words. I am LOL.

kmehrzad, it's not so funny if you're the one behind me on the hill when I'm starting to slide backwards...!!

It's so sad. I've been working on increasing my speed so I can go on longer rides; I'd like to do a century ride as some point. In daylight. Without having to be above the Arctic Circle in the summer for the ride. It sounds so exciting when I can say I'm now 1.5 times faster than I used to be... until I confess that my average speed used to be 8 MPH. ~~~ sigh ~~~

Kalidurga, I likely will not be going on this. It sounds like fun, though, and Ikaros... mmmmmmmm!!! Please, share pictures!

[Kalidurga]

Owlice-- I haven't been around here much since last year so I don't know what methods you're using to improve, but when I began wanting to ride longer distances the recommendation I was given was to get a computer and pay attention to my cadence. Monitoring that would help me to ride more efficiently. I'm still no speed demon and have no desire to ride any centuries, but I did see a significant difference in both speed and distance within one summer of getting a cadence computer. I've now taken the computer off my bike, but can still use what I learned about how an efficient cadence feels.

And I will officially commit myself to posting photos from Sunday's ride. That'll give me incentive to get out of bed and up to B'more by 8:30am

[Kalidurga]

For your vicarious pleasure , my blog about the ride is here: http://kalidurga.blogspot.com/2011/0...bike-ride.html

Coupl'a highlight shots:












Definitely a fun ride for history buffs, and the sit-down lunch at Ikaros was fantabulous. They even had a vegetarian option (though the Greeks love their bechamel sauce too much to go vegan).

[owlice]

Oh, what a lovely write-up! Thanks very much for sharing; it sounds like a great time and very interesting ride!!