B&A Trail Map, Image Credit BikeWashington.org
Yesterday’s long run along the B&A Trail and a few of its side streets is the farthest I’ve gone yet, a solid 18.13 miles and it was a fantastic run for a lot of reasons. The first being that the weather couldn’t have been better. All the bitter cold runs this winter were worth it for a day like yesterday averaging 56 degrees during the first day of February. I realize we’re not in the clear yet with cold temps, but it was nice to have a break from the chill. I started off down the trail from the Annapolis end with a huge smile on my face until I got to my first patch of ice. As I approached the first shaded stretch of the trail I realized I would be encountering a good chunk of areas where the snow and ice would not be melted away quite yet. There were only about a half dozen icy patches ranging from about 10 to 20 yards long and my first instinct was to slow my pace, though I refused to walk. I thought about trying to stay in the footsteps of people before me, but they were too far apart (darn men’s strides) and already iced in. I also tried to stay in a few bike tracks, also glazed with ice. Wanting to get through the ice patches as quickly as possible without falling I found myself engaging my core, focusing on my breathing, and thanking my Pilates training as I made slow and steady progress through each patch. Good old core strengthening came to the rescue.
Once I made it through the first patch I figured I’d be able to survive the rest and hoped the ice patches would have time to melt before I hit them again on the way back; most of them did and I have the wet shoes and muddy pants to prove it. But I started wondering, had I known about the ice patches before getting to the trail head, would I still have gone on this route? This got me curious about whether or not there is any sort of B&A Trail report kind of like there is for Bay Bridge traffic or snow reports at ski resorts. I now know that there is not, but even before I knew that, I started brainstorming how that could work.
Considering the B&A Trail is an extremely popular route for runners, bikers, and walkers along its 13 miles between Annapolis and Glen Burnie, there is a lot of ground to cover on a daily basis in order to offer regular, accurate reports. Also knowing that people use the trail on weekdays in the early morning hours before having to get ready for work would mean having to beat the earliest exerciser to the trail in order to create the trail report before they get there. I envisioned a team of B&A enthusiasts who would hit the ground running or biking early, and I mean 3 or 4a.m. early, with a little Flip video camera, a clipboard with their checklist of items to report on, and each would have a designated trail section to monitor. This could be a volunteer group that rotates on a regular basis unless someone is a super morning person and would love those early morning reporting jaunts. (I also pictured myself in a mini, very quiet helicopter, with cameras attached swooping down the trail to provide daily reports but that is just my imagination at work.)
Reports would be uploaded to a B&A Trail condition report website that exercisers could check before heading out. You could search by sections of the trail, view photos or videos, or get the trail overview report for the day. We would include the day’s weather, the temperature range for the day, whether or not there are puddles, ice patches, or other obstructions on parts of the trail, and we could even share updates about the Park & Rides and stores along the trail. The condition report itself would be brief; all you really need to know are the basics: puddles, ice, fallen branches. The website could also have a membership program so that users of the trail could log in to add their own reports and updates to the site. Ahhh, user-generated content. Perhaps there is a neighborhood along the trail having an annual yard sale; you could get in some exercise and pick-up some cool stuff. Maybe the Severna Park coffee shop is introducing a new, limited-offer brew; who doesn’t want a good cup of Joe after a morning run?
I’m torn on whether or not this is a legitimate idea. I can easily see the easy and the hard parts of starting a website and program like this; it would be fun, challenging, and could spin off into dozens of other websites and programs. And if it already exists, please someone tell me where to find it. All this out of a simple Sunday run where I thought to myself during those icy patches, “watch your step.” If only I had known ahead of time where to look…
