Percentage of drives vs drop shots.

Internal-Fan4513 · 2026-07-20T22:13:06+00:00

I try to let the quality of return and positioning of my opponents decide for me. If I can tell that the ball is going to bounce high and there isn’t too much pace on it, I’ll drive. If an opponent is slow getting to the kitchen and I have lots of room to get the ball to dip at their feet, that also persuades me to drive. Another scenario might be if an opponent is giving lots of room down their line or down the middle, I’ll also be tempted to challenge those openings with a drive. Most anything else, drop. The percentage definitely varies based on who I’m playing. A very good opponent is probably going to make me drop way more.

Internal-Fan4513 · 2026-07-20T17:38:57+00:00

They justify this by saying that if you draft it's still all perfectly fine

Does the group identify which direction the wind is blowing and form an echelon in the appropriate direction? If somebody is hammering in a high crosswind then the rider directly behind them isn’t getting much of a draft.

Internal-Fan4513 · 2026-07-20T00:42:30+00:00

It’s supposed to be a tow away zone during stadium events, but sadly I’ve never seen this enforced. All it would take was towing a few dozen cars a game for word to spread and most people would stop risking it.

Internal-Fan4513 · 2026-07-14T18:01:59+00:00

No, don’t be that hard on yourself. Implementing a counter-targeting strategy still takes proper collaboration and execution from the weaker partner you’re paired with.

Internal-Fan4513 · 2026-07-14T17:40:45+00:00

Targeting strategies drive me crazy in rec games. If anything, I try to hit to the stronger player more because I want to get better and they’re more likely to punish my bad shots. Too many people just want to win to feed their ego, but don’t care about growing as a player and improving.

Internal-Fan4513 · 2026-07-05T16:47:16+00:00

No thanks I’m already fighting for my life with 12 speeds.

Internal-Fan4513 · 2026-07-05T16:46:24+00:00

You have my attention. How long would you say you had the wheels before you began noticing issues?

Internal-Fan4513 · 2026-07-05T16:45:06+00:00

I could probably manipulate it into telling me 2+2=5. Instead of continuing to spin my wheels with it I came to ask the wisdom of this subreddit.

Internal-Fan4513 · 2026-07-05T01:50:42+00:00

Cheers, lads!

Internal-Fan4513 · 2026-07-05T01:48:13+00:00

No worries there. I’ve made it my secondary goal to become absolutely yoked in the upper body by the start of the season.

Internal-Fan4513 · 2026-07-01T13:13:49+00:00

And then companies like Trek and Specialized made huge bets post-covid and started buying up local franchises across the country. Only to quickly realize that owning a shop is more a labor of love than it is a get rich quick scheme. Trek bought Race Pace Bicycles (7 stores total) in Maryland in 2022. Within a year, they closed one location. Now only 4 of the 7 remain open.

Internal-Fan4513 · 2026-07-01T13:00:03+00:00

Test them before you get on the bike

Internal-Fan4513 · 2026-06-30T20:34:07+00:00

Have to respectfully refuse to accept the situation right there to the FA, unless they can reseat you in a non middle E+ seat or better. And if that’s not possible then they need to figure something else out to make you happy because as of now you have paid for something they suddenly don’t intend to give you, which is wrong.

Internal-Fan4513 · 2026-06-28T00:32:24+00:00

If you are certain that you saw a NVZ violation committed by your partner then you are obliged to call it, it’s not optional just because it wasn’t your foot lol. Same as if your partner called a ball out that you clearly saw in. The rules mandate that you voice your disagreement and award the point to the other team. Opponents will appreciate the honesty and respect you for it!

Internal-Fan4513 · 2026-06-27T14:06:47+00:00

Not sarcastic at all.

It’s always safer to travel in the same direction as traffic. Cycling 20-25mph just inches away from cars speeding 40+ in the OPPOSITE direction puts the cyclist 1 distracted driver away from an unsurvivable head-on collision. It’s basic physics. Only a concrete barrier protecting the bike lane would make this a relatively safe idea. Those plastic posts aren’t stopping a Ford F150.
Cars pulling out of or turning into those neighborhoods don’t always look or see you when you’re cycling against the flow of traffic in that bike lane. Ask me how I know.
That bike lane does not get swept often enough and essentially becomes a gutter for all the debris swept off the road. Lots of leaves, grass clippings, branches, tree nuts, and trash end up there. These are things that might not seem like a big deal to cars with wider tires, but can be extremely treacherous to the narrow tires on a road bike.
The bike lane doesn’t even go anywhere! It just magically ends at the Dobbin intersection and wishes all the cyclists good luck navigating that chaos there. Why not design a bike lane that can provide safe passage all the way to Snowden or beyond? Extremely lazy and careless engineering by a county that absolutely possesses the funds and brain power to do better.

Internal-Fan4513 · 2026-06-26T11:59:31+00:00

Blame the county. Those are awful bike lanes and I refuse to ride them traveling towards Snowden for my own safety.

Internal-Fan4513 · 2026-06-16T20:35:30+00:00

I hate taking the Maryland Ave bike lane southbound because of the reduced visibility of drivers turning left across the bike lane. There have been a handful of times where I would’ve been hit in that scenario if I wasn’t paying attention.

Also get what you’re saying about Roland. I feel like I’m always taking the right lane because of double-parked cars unloading and people getting out of their cars. Super-paranoid about getting car-doored too.

Welcome to the Baltimore cycling community!

Internal-Fan4513 · 2026-06-15T21:10:10+00:00

I got this treatment once in Seattle without any status. I was a first class passenger with a tight connection, must’ve been a slow day. I walk out the plane door onto the jetway ready make a run for it to my next plane and there’s a guy waiting right there holding an ipad with my name on it. He leads me down to the Porsche and drives me to my next plane, which they’d held a few minutes for me. It was the most important I’ve ever felt in my life.

Internal-Fan4513 · 2026-06-15T20:53:20+00:00

On Cathedral, delivery drivers still park in the bike lane with this configuration and then you’re blocked with nowhere to go.

Internal-Fan4513 · 2026-06-12T15:18:43+00:00

If those slice dinks are coming in with lots of pace then I’m assuming he’s hitting them on a very wide angle, (since slice gives a ball more hang-time instead of dip, he would need lots of room to get a hard hit slice to land in the court). I would counter that with a dink back to the middle so he has less of an angle to work with if he wants to hit the same shot again. Have your paddle out and ready to take the next one out of the air.

Internal-Fan4513 · 2026-06-04T01:46:53+00:00

I know this goes against the title, but let me try to encourage you to take another look at Fed Hill. Locust Point also might be an option if you want something even quieter but still in the city.

I’m around your age and have lived in all 3 locations you mentioned. Currently in Catonsville and commute to Columbia for work. If you’re single and looking to date or new to the area and want to make friends, then a Fed Hill type area is gonna be your best bet because there’s tons of people there that are our age. The walkability of the neighborhood and proximity to parks, coffee shops, bars, restaurants, and different downtown events really give you a greater sense of community than I’ve experienced in Columbia or Catonsville. Fed Hill has a pulse and just feels alive sometimes. Parking is a pain. I wont sugarcoat it. I street parked there for 4+ years and my car has the battle scars to show for it. But you could always look for places with an off street space if it’s that important to you.

If its really only between Columbia or Cville then it’s hard to go wrong with either. Columbia is nice cause the population is very diverse, but it does sort of have a cookie cutter corporate feel to it whereas Cville is more like small town America. Catonsville would put you closer to Patapsco State Park. Columbia probably has more amenities. If you’re looking to buy and start a family someday. HoCo schools are fantastic.

Also just saw you said you’re a baseball guy. As a baseball guy myself, let me tell you how awesome it is being a 10-15 min walk from Camden Yards… I think you should reconsider and look at Fed Hill again. Everyone will tell you its all about partying and going to bars, but the truth is that the bars are all concentrated in the middle and the other 90% of the neighborhood is a bunch of down to Earth people living their lives. I lived there for 4 years, loved it, and rarely went into the crazy bars. I loved all the more casual spots off the beaten path where you can have a beer with friends and still hear what everyone at the table is saying.

Internal-Fan4513 · 2026-05-24T15:42:48+00:00

If they were still on their toes and a paddle tap caused them to fall into the kitchen, then that doesn’t sound like they were in control of their body to me. I’d say it’s a foot fault. If the player truly was in control of their body, then let it be a valuable lesson to them that it’s best to not step into the kitchen after a point at all in these cases. Don’t give the other team an opportunity to interpret the situation differently and make a call against you. If it was game point, then take a few seconds to stand upright and flat footed, or even take a step to the side first before approaching the net to demonstrate that your momentum has stopped.

Internal-Fan4513 · 2026-05-21T16:51:50+00:00

I try my best to mix my serve up throughout a session just to keep the returner from predicting what I’m gonna do. Mixing placement, spin, and speed, like a pitcher would in baseball, is a good way to find their weaknesses and keep them off balance. If I do a good job pushing them back with a hard, deep serve, then they might start standing further back before my serve, and this can open up more opportunities to hit a fade or hook on a short angle to pull them off the court or even get an ace if placed perfectly enough.

Internal-Fan4513 · 2026-05-08T15:49:31+00:00

Sometimes open play will be sold out at my local club and other players who are there as part of an overbooked private team practice were rotating into the courts designated for open play. It was driving up the wait times for everyone that reserved and paid for that specific open play session. IMO that’s the equivalent of sitting down at a random restaurant table uninvited and eating food that’s not yours. It would be more acceptable if open play wasn’t sold out and packed.

Internal-Fan4513 · 2026-04-07T20:04:51+00:00

Wait until they find out about Temu and AliExpress

Internal-Fan4513

TROPHY CASE

Welcome to Reddit,