The Tostitos are still here

Thursday, September 12:

I checked into the Courtyard by Marriott Detroit last night after an
uneventful (but annoying) day of 9/11 travel. The night clerk asked,
“Smoking room?”

“Non-smoking please,” I answered.

“Does it have to be a king?” he asked, pleading for compliance.

“If the choice is between a king smoking room and a non-smoking
something else, I'll take the non-smoking something else.”

“Oh, you're in luck–a Marriot Club member just moved out of this room
because they said it was too big.”

Too big, I thought. “I'm sure that'll be fine,” I said unknowingly.

After getting my key, I went to the room. It was big–it was a very
poorly designed conference and guest room, with a king bed at one end of
the room and a conderence table at the other, with the usual
accompaniment of furniture. But it was all dwarfed by the room, which
measures about 28 feet by 30 feet. You could play roller hockey in here
and not touch the furniture cowering on the borders.

And there were still signs of continued inhabitance. A bag of Tostitos
sat on the conference table in the room, and a melted candle smoldered
next to it in a bowl. Women's bath products lined the tub, and a
woman's AT&T calling card and key still sat on the nightstand.

“Are you sure this room is empty?” I asked over the phone. “There are
some things here…a phone credit card…”

“I'll be right up to get them,” said the guest services rep.

Midnight came. A message light blinked on the phone. “Mr. Gallagher,
We're sorry didn't get up to pick up the other guest's
effects tonight. Please call us and tell us when it's appropriate to
come by to pick them up.”

Next morning, I dropped the card off at the front desk. “There's still
some bath products and other trash in the room; could somebody get them
out?” I asked.

I returned to my room late this evening–and the Tostitos are still
here. As are the various and sundry Victoria's Secret bath gels and
such, a plastic body scrubber, and the molten candle.

This is not a particularly good hotel, I have determined.

Birthday ride today — at lunchtime, I did the 6-mile loop, from Falls and 41st uphill, past the Rotunda, down to University Parkway, up to Charles Street, down the glassphalt Charles St access road past JHU to 29th St, down Maryland Avenue cranking to keep near traffic speed, across North Ave and a right on LaFayette, down into the Jones Falls Valley and north (and uphill) on Falls Road, to Clipper Mill Road, under the JFX and over the Jones Falls on Union to the gates of the old (now burnt-down) Clipper Mill industrial park, up Druid Hill Park Rd to 41st Street and back across the bridge over the JFX, uphill to 41st and Falls. 40 minutes.

90 degrees, low humidity, it was a beautiful day. Aint the beer (well, okay, the Diet Pepsi) cold?

Yesterday and the day before, I did a new route, as yet not measured. It starts off like the one I described above, but I cut over on 29th St. to the bridge to Druid Park Ave, 170-degree turn onto the access road around the Druid Lake reservoir, and through Druid Hill Park past the Conservatory and Zoo. Then down through the frisbee golf course (screaming as I caught air off a frisbee launchpad and a few moguls), and down Druid Park Rd to the 41st St bridge. Advantages to this route: A nice view of the city from the top of the reservoir access road, you get to go down (instead of up) the 10% grade on the north exit from the park, there's still some puffing up hill from the 29th street bridge, and traffic in the park is light. Downside–dealing with freeway exit and entrance traffic crossing the 29th St bridge, and traffic in the park is light, so few will note your encounters with interesting people there.

I'm going to guess this route is about 5.5 miles, with about 350 vertical feet uphill total.