A&M Cycle

Friday, I visited A&M Cycle in Bowie, Maryland. I wanted to get a new Schwinn touring bicycle. The Schwinn website (http://www.schwinn.com/) stated that the only Schwinn dealership close to where I live was A&M Cycle in Bowie. You can buy Schwinn bikes at Target, Wal-Mart and other such stores but, the support you can get from such stores is questionable in my opinion. I doubt they're really going to know the bikes that well. A Schwinn dealership will know the bikes as the specialize in them. Why go with a Schwinn bike? In my case, because of the favorable impression I have of them already. As a kid, I had 2 Schwinn bikes. One was a regular Men's bike that my family called the Green Monster. It was green and big and damn near indestructible. It was a great bike. The other was my first ever 10-speed. It was fast and fun. Sadly, that bike taught me how important it was to have a lock and chain. I foolishly parked it but, I didn't lock it. I kept checking on it while I watch some friends play a video game. Apparently others were watching the bike too and decided to steal it. I quickly noticed my bike was gone, ran out to where it had been and saw the thieves ride away on it. I never saw the bike again. I never forgot the hard lesson.

A&M Cycle's shop wasn't anything to impress. It wasn't super big and, it didn't have much of a selection. They did have a fair number of used bikes which didn't look that great but presumably were mechanically sound and possibly cheap. Another annoyance is they don't have a website so it was hard to find out the days and hours they're open. As far as I can tell, the shop is a 1 man operation. All those negatives said, the shop does have plusses. First, the man who runs the shop knows bikes. He knows how they should fit and, he knows how to fix them. This was important to me as I wanted to get a bike that would fit me and if I have any problems with it, they'll fix it. One of my major problems with buying a bike at Wal-Mart is I don't think they could fix the bikes they sell. Another plus about this shop is the guy running could tell me the advantages and disadvantages of the different bikes Schwinn sells. I was looking at 2 specific bikes - the World Tour DLX and the Le Tour. The Tour DLX is a touring bike. That means it is made for long rides or commuting and comes with the equipment for that such as fenders and a rack to carry stuff on. The Le Tour is a speed bike. It is made for fast cycling. The shop owner was able to explain the differences between the 2 bikes and aid me in which one to go with. Eventually, I put a non-refundable deposit down on a World Tour DLX. While the shop didn't have one in stock, bikes it special orders usually arrive in 2 to 3 days barring weekends. Mine should arrive by Wednesday of this week. Once it arrives, they'll check the bike and fine tune it. By next weekend, I should have my first ever 24-speed bicycle. It boggles to think of a bike having that many gears. Incredibly, the Le Tour Super has 30 gear settings! I don't know how much so many gears help. I'll find out when I start riding my new bike. It should be fun and, it should have one other major benefit - it'll be good exercise. I need to do more of that and cycling is a fun form of exercise to me. I look forward to riding my new bike. Stay tuned for more posts on this. Cheers all!

Church

I went to church today for the first time in over a year. I stopped going because I was working at Medieval Times every Sunday. A number of times, I had to be at the castle by noon and church didn't start until 11 a.m. From where I live, it takes me at least 30 minutes to get to church. The church I belong is Berachah Church in Houston, Texas. How do I attend church in Houston when I live in Maryland you ask? Berachah broadcasts their church services. They have a group in Bowie, Maryland that receives the broadcasts. We go to fellow member's home and listen to the services there. It was neat to get to hear the service live. It was also interesting to hear Pastor Thieme's son give the 2 bible lessons. Thieme's son was chosen to become the new pastor when Pastor Thieme had to step down. His son is very much a chip off the old block. His teaching is extremely strong doctrinally. And to my embarrassment, he can put me to sleep just like his dad could. I don't know what it is about their teaching. Anyway, it was nice to listen to the service and meet with the group in Bowie. I plan to go every Sunday barring when I'm travelling (3 months till I leave for Scandanavia!).

Patuxent Research Refuge

The Patuxent Research Refuge is a little known gem to be found between Laurel and Bowie, Maryland. It is composed of over 12,750 acres of land dedicated to wildlife research. The refuge has a visitors center where visitors can find out about the work the refuge is performing. The refuge also has trails where visitors can take peaceful country walks. Lastly, Cash Lake is open during certain hours for fishermen. Fishermen must hold a current Maryland fishing license and obtain a permit from the refuge if they wish to fish there. Below are some pictures I took of the refuge.

This is the entrance to the Visitors Center.

This is a statue of a timber wolf family. The statue can be found in front of the visitors entrance.

This is Cash Lake.

These are two pictures of Lake Redington.