holiday surprise

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  • November 26, 2011 at 3:12 pm #910646
    mstone
    Participant

    So I got the great idea to take advantage of the warm holiday weather and take a leisurely ride on the W&OD, have a late barbeque lunch at Carolina Brothers, and take an obligatory picture of the nifty decorative medallion at the end of the trail. Didn’t bring the helmet light because I figured I wouldn’t be out too late. Hmm, 0/3. Carolina Bros was closed, the medallion is gone (best prank ever?) and I forgot how early it gets dark in late November, even if it’s really warm out. Luckily I keep my emergency lights in my bag.

    The trail gets pretty busy on a 60 degree holiday in November.

    I really don’t get the fad of teenagers wearing bike helmets pulled low over one eye. A fedora at a jaunty angle is cool; a bike helmet at a jaunty angle screams “my mom made me wear a helmet, but I’ve still found a way to suffer brain damage in an accident”. I haven’t decided if I’m more disturbed by parents without helmets riding with kids who are (“darn gum’mint made me put a helmet on my kid”), or parents with helmets (who obviously know how to wear them) riding with kids who have their helmets at a jaunty angle. I’d say at least three quarters off the kids under 18 I saw had their helmets falling off.

    There were also several kids (and one guy in his 30s or 40s) weaving back and forth across both lanes. I haven’t entirely decided whether they’re really bad cyclists or just obnoxious.

    Oh well, at least I got in a pleasant 70 miles unbelievably late in the season.

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  • November 26, 2011 at 5:06 pm #932981
    eminva
    Participant

    Was this yesterday? It did seem a little like the Wild Wild West out on the W&OD when I was coming home from work yesterday at 3 p.m.-ish. I regret that I was perhaps a bit too vehement in warning the middle school age kid who was riding an extended wheelie in the middle of a particularly crowded patch. It was right after I witnessed two distracted guys on road cycles perform the rare triple pass (passing someone who was passing someone else who was passing someone else). I am all in favor of kids having fun on bikes, but it’s just too dangerous when you have dogs, kids, roller bladers and speed demons out at once.

    At least he did seem to have his helmet affixed securely to his head!

    Liz

    November 26, 2011 at 7:03 pm #932982
    mstone
    Participant

    Yes, Friday. Glad to hear that at least some kids have been taught how to fit a helmet.

    November 27, 2011 at 1:50 am #932987
    eminva
    Participant

    I should add that in the Town of Vienna, bicycle helmets are now the law for cyclists under age 14. The W&OD goes through the town limits.

    Liz

    November 28, 2011 at 2:33 pm #933014
    vvill
    Participant

    I did a similar thing, got up at 6am on Sat to ride the W&OD. It was at least 2 degrees above freezing :D I saw nary a soul nor ninja until Reston (one unlit runner in Falls Church but she had a bright white shirt), but on my return leg it was packed and at least 50F. I was also pretty tired by then and may have perhaps rode on the left to overtake some walkers without noticing there were two cyclists already barreling towards me. A quick steer and a sorry, no damage done although judging from the looks I got they were none too pleased. Oops. Most cyclists aren’t the smiling type anyway.

    I got a pinch flat in Leesburg and it was 40F when I was changing it so that was a bit painful, and I think I need some winter shoes/shoe covers but otherwise it was a good post Thanksgiving ride and I just scraped in the distance for a metric. A shame I had to be somewhere for lunch otherwise I would’ve left later and chowed down at Carolina Bros.

    Feeling grateful for the easy 55F commute in this morning.

    November 28, 2011 at 6:04 pm #933033
    Terpfan
    Participant

    For once my problem (at least as far as Thursday was concerned) wasn’t other people. I bike-metro-biked from Alexandria to family near Silver Spring. Instead of doing the same home, I figured I’ll just zoom down Rock Creek Park because I had brought my light (more by token of thinking I would need it in brief ride from metro to house when I returned than anything else). RCP at night on a holiday is desserted except for deer. I turned around one corner and nearly hit one head on. That aside, it’s a great ride with no one else to worry about and the eerie quiet in the middle of the city. The entire trip back one cyclist passed me heading north at the bottom of RCP and that was it. I passed about 10 people along the Potomac and two runners on MVT–it was great.

    The people problem was on Friday when gf and I decided to ride to Mt. Vernon and everyone and their mother also decided to take to the MVT. Normally it’s so what, but so many people were walking 3, 4 or even 5 abrest across the middle of the trail and were not responding to bells,OYLs or anything. C’est le vie. At least it has been beautiful out.

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