Getting to Baltimore (and Artscape) with a bike

On Friday I went to Baltimore to see Artscape, the big street art fair.






Because I wanted to go see a couple neighborhood commercial districts beforehand, I decided that I wanted to take my bike. Because MARC commuter trains don't allow bikes, I did this by taking the subway to Greenbelt, the connecting bus to BWI Airport, and the Light Rail from the Airport to Baltimore.

Upon arrival, I breakfasted at Lexington Market

and rode around to Old Goucher, Charles Village, Waverly, and Hampden, and then I went to Artscape, which opened at noon, although I probably didn't get there til about 3 pm.




Going to Baltimore this way costs a bit more than taking the commuter train, and it takes longer, especially if you don't hit the connections just right. (During rush this is $2.90 from Union Station on the subway, $3 to the airport on the B30, and $1.50 on the Light Rail. On the return the subway is a bit cheaper, $2.35.)
But I was able to see a lot more of Baltimore than I would have been able to had I been reliant on their less frequent bus system. So the time tradeoff paid off on the other end. Plus, you can get to Baltimore this way on the weekends, when otherwise Amtrak is the only direct rail option, but Amtrak costs ($29) more than twice the cost of the MARC train ($13/round trip).
While you see a fair number of bikers in DC, I saw very few in Baltimore, except around Hampden.
Supporting multiple and complementary transportation modes is the way to go.
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