With temperatures soaring up to 60 degrees this Sunday after a week that could scarcely creep above freezing, it was impossible not to heed the call of the road.

Felkerino and I set out on another “from our front door” adventure to Ellicott City, Maryland, via Patapsco State Park with our friend Eric. Car-free. That’s the life for me.

The route to Ellicott City is not the most scenic, passing through plenty of suburban build-up and several industrial areas, but the payoff of Patapsco State Park is well worth it.

The area offers plenty of hills (although we chose the lazy way today via the multi-use path) and views of the river and woods.

Temperatures dipped at least ten degrees as we dropped down into the valley and meandered along the Patapsco River, but even then it was still pleasant. As you can see from the photos, ice lingers on the water.

Pedestrians, road cyclists, and mountain bikers were out in droves today, stretching their legs in the warm temperatures. It felt fantastic and I could not believe I was riding in a short-sleeve jersey and a base layer. The good life.

Patapsco has always seemed so far away, but in fact, it’s about 40 miles from my door, with Ellicott City just over 45 miles away.

I hope we return soon and explore more of the area. I want to see how our tandem does on some of those 18 percent grades people were telling us about.

Today, though, I got my thrills by walking across the pedestrian suspension bridge. Who doesn’t love a suspension bridge?

Near the end of the ride we had a close encounter with a determined dog, but we kept our wits about us and escaped safely.

Our total ride ended up at 92 mellow miles. Many thanks to Eric for the easy company and good conversation on our D.C. to Patapsco State Park trip. What a great day to be a bike rider.