The Baltimore City Board of Estimates is expected to approve a bike-sharing grant agreement with the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) at its scheduled Wednesday evening meeting.

The approval of the bike-sharing agreement represents the next step in bringing a bike-sharing program—now found in more than 500 cities worldwide—to Baltimore after a similar effort last year fell apart. Bike sharing programs, for those unfamiliar, rent bicycles—for a small membership or fee—from convenient public stations around cities, typically for short trips. The idea is to reduce traffic congestion and carbon emissions while providing cheap, healthy alternative transportation.

Michael Jackson, director of pedestrian and bicycle access for MDOT, told Bike Shorts that several minor hurdles remain in the process, including a final review by MDOT’s Darrell B. Mobley, the transportation department’s acting secretary. But Jackson said the go-ahead for Baltimore City’s bike-sharing program is “95 percent” certain at his point.

Part of Gov. Martin O’Malley’s “Cycle Maryland” initiative, the state is funding the majority of the start-up costs of the bike-share program with a grant of $881,300. Baltimore efforts to implement a bike-sharing program in the city by last fall ended when an exclusive negotiating agreement with B-Cycle—a bike-sharing company operating in 15 cities— expired without a deal when the company couldn’t line up enough private, local sponsors to offset the capital start-up costs.

Jackson said that Baltimore is working on a deal with Alta Bike Share, the company that Washington, D.C. contracted with to develop, design and launch its successful Capital Bikeshare program. Capital Bikeshare, which has expanded to include nearby Arlington and Alexandria, recently surpassed 4 million rides since its September 2010 launch. The Capital Bikeshare program now has more than 1,800 bikes at 200-plus stations.

Capital Bikeshare offers daily, monthly and yearly membership rates (yearly rates, for example, are $75) and the first 30 minutes of any ride after a membership is purchased is free.

In an email, Baltimore bicycle and pedestrian planner Nate Evans said Phase I of the proposed Baltimore bike-sharing program would include 250 bikes at probably 25 stations.

“We should double the size (of the number of bikes and stations) for Phase 2,” Evans wrote, adding that the best hope for the launch of project is April 2014. Evans also said the city is waiting on final approval from the state on its proposed contract with Alta.

Last month, Montgomery County’s Department of Transportation signed a contract with Alta that will bring an estimated 50 bike stations and 450 bikes to the county.

The City of Frederick and Howard County are also currently exploring bike-sharing programs.

Similar to Baltimore, College Park also received a state grant to launch last year to launch a bicycle sharing program.

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake will help celebrate the start of National Bike Month tonight with a 5 p.m. kickoff ride around Lake Montebello.

Organized by the Department of Recreation and Parks and Department of Public Works, "Laps Around the Lake" is free and open to the public. Bikes are available from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

From May through August, Lake Montebello will host rides around the lake from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. while Druid Hill Park will host similar rides on Mondays and Wednesdays from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The League of American Bicyclists recognizes May as National Bike Month, which includes National Bike to School Day May 8 and National Bike to Work Week from May 13-17. National Bike to Work Day is Friday, May 17. The share of Americans commuting by bike has grown by 47 percent since 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey.

Upcoming bike events in the Baltimore area this month include the not-to-be-missed, 15th Annual Kinetic Sculpture Race, hosted by American the American Visionary Arts Museum, this Saturday, May 4; the Monument to Monument ride this Sunday, May 5; Bike Maryland's Rec Ride — part of Patterson Park's annual Bike Jam — May 19; and the May edition of the Baltimore Bike Party, May 31. The Baltimore Family Bike Party also organizes a ride each month.

The Baltimore Bicyling Club, which hosts recreational rides every weekend (and many weekdays) in Baltimore County and beyond, also gets out to the 31st Annual Kent County Spring Fling, May 24-27.

Besides 60-degree temperatures and clear blue skies, how perfect was Sunday’s bike ride down and back to Annapolis on the B & A Trail?

Halfway through the trail, park rangers at the Earleigh Heights station were handing out big, homemade, chewy chocolate chip cookies. Apparently, the ranger station doesn’t offer free cookies all the time — these still-moist leftovers wrapped in cellophane came courtesy from an event the previous night — and we just got lucky. Nonetheless, it’s the kind of unexpected surprise that makes you want to return right away and do a ride like that again.

I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I’d never ridden the Baltimore & Annapolis Trail before because it’s been around a while.

A classic rails-to-trails path, the old Annapolis & Baltimore Short Line Railroad began carrying train passengers between the two cities more than 125 years ago. According to a history of the B & A from the Anne Arundel County Department of Parks and Recreation, on the morning of May 9, 1887, two-dozen passengers first boarded steam engine No. 1, pulling out of Annapolis’ Bladen Street Station bound for Baltimore. The maiden trip marked the beginning of 63 years of passenger service on the first major direct transportation route between the state capital and Baltimore City.

The ranger station, by the way, has been around nearly the whole time. The building is the former home of Frost’s Store, a general store built in 1889.

With hourly trains running from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., an estimated 1.75 million passengers a year — an incredible number, right? — used the 26-mile line during its peak in the Roaring Twenties. Of course, highway construction and increased competition from automobiles (sigh) and bus lines ultimately paved the end for the passenger line in 1950. However, the silver lining — granted a long-time coming — is today’s B & A Trail, which first opened 40 years after the last passenger train ran between the two iconic Maryland destinations.

Sunday, with one old acquaintance, Adam Hu, a Baltimore Bike Party organizer, and two new acquaintances, Audra Agnelly, a Dundalk High School chemistry teacher, and Kate Drabinski, a UMBC Gender and Women’s Studies professor, I finally pedaled my way to Annapolis via the old Short Line.

(Kate, by the way, also maintains the thoughtful blog, What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today.)

Rolling out from Mount Vernon, Waverly, Charles Village and Patterson Park, respectively, we met at the University of Baltimore/Mount Royal Light Rail station — bikes are allowed in the rear car — and took that train down to Linthicum. We started on the BWI Trail there, connected to the B & A Trail at its beginning in Glen Burnie, and then just spent a beautiful spring day cruising the 8-foot wide, smooth surface path down to Annapolis. Adding the entire BWI 12-mile loop, plus connecting links to the B & A Trail — 13.3 miles each way — we covered almost 50 miles at a leisurely pace. But you don’t have to ride the BWI Trail, if you’re looking for a shorter excursion, although you miss watching the planes take off and land overhead.

We grabbed lunch at Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches, took a quick spin on the brick loop around the Maryland State House (“the oldest state capitol still in continuous legislative use and is the only state house to have ever served as the nation's capitol”) and headed back to Baltimore.

I even managed to get home in time to watch the final round of The Masters.

The trail itself weaves mostly though wooden areas near cozy residential neighborhoods, however, it also crosses U.S. Naval Academy Bridge over the scenic Severn River — the highlight of the ride. There were lots of bicyclists and joggers out, along with parents pushing strollers. I don’t know how many bike commuters use it during the work week, but the B & A seems like a great resource for Anne Arundel commuters — given the width and excellent condition of the path and its connections to mass transit.

There’s plenty of shops and stops available along the way, too, including a handy bike store, Pedal Pushers, The Big Bean coffee shop and the super-eco friendly Froyo House — a frozen yogurt shop — all in the same little shopping center right on the trail in Severna Park.

If there aren’t any cookies at the ranger station next trip, I’m definitely stopping at the Froyo House.