40 mile days

that thread is all good info.

I’ll throw in my unpopular opinion here though since my commute is 20 miles each way as well. As my screen name implies, I ride an ebike. I started for fitness. I had gotten fat and out of shape (300 lbs, 6′, scary BMI). When I was younger, I had biked a lot including some commuting, so it was trying to get back into shape. When I started, I had to use every bit of assistance the bike would give me. Over the past 9 months, I’ve been dialing it back and will continue to do so until I can do my commute on a regular bike. That said, I’ve ridden regular bike some days and yeah, it’s tough. Mostly because I’m still about 50 lbs overweight. Even when I get to the point where I can commute regularly on an unassisted bike, I might still find myself taking the ebike a couple days a week. The ability to turn up the assistance level if I’m sore or mentally fatigued or even if my knees are bothering me is a great thing. (or when there’s a 22 mph headwind like today’s ride home). Some people will look down on you, but honestly, I’ve had quite a number of other commuters mention to me that they’re thinking about an ebike for their commutes because it would allow them to do it 5 days a week vs 3-4. That doesn’t mean they’re planning on flying down the trail at 30 mph, but being able to maintain 15-17 mph for 40 miles per day 5 days a week without killing themselves.

anyways, food for thought. and a plug for juiced bikes since they make a really affordable ebike with really good range.

Do you have a car / how is your work for parking overnight?

When my commute stretched to 20 miles I drove in with the bike, parked, biked home, and biked in again. Then my work moved again and it’s still 20 miles, but just Silver Spring instead of Laurel.
That’s my strategy for tomorrow, so that I can do BTWD. I did it all of 6 times last summer, I’m hoping to do a lot more this summer. I used to bike commute almost every day, when it was 5-10 miles each way. 4 hours of bike riding / commuting just won’t fit into my day, where two could.

Anyway, one-way commutes could be an option to explore. 4 days a week, at least, and then you’ll either have to do RT on Fridays or alternative transportation.

@BikeCommute 180558 wrote:

You might want to check with the Park Authority about your eBike. I was told by the Park Authority that they are considered to be motorized and are not permitted on trails including the W&OD and other trails where the Northern VA Park Service has authority.

There is some disagreement about the status of ebikes on the W&OD, which is owned by the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NVRPA). THe W&OD is, I think, the only important trail owned by the NVRPA. The National Park Service (NPS) , a federal agency, definitely DOES ban ebikes on their trails (though it does not appear to be enforced) – the only important trail they own in Northern Virginia (I am pretty sure) is the Mount Vernon Trail. They also own trails in DC and Maryland.

I just got off the phone with the Park Authority. At this time ebikes are not allowed on the W&OD. There have been requests to allow the lower (meaning less powerful, top speed under 20 MPH) class of ebikes to use the trail and that is under consideration, an announcement will be sent if the rules changes. I have seen the police pull them over at the intersections but I am not sure if that is because they were not allowed on the trail or if it was because of a crossing violation.

Paging SolarBikeTroll…

@pmf 182599 wrote:

Indeed! There’s more of those stupid things on the trail than ever. If they’re not allowed, no one is enforcing it. And if they do, expect to hear some noise, because the people who ride them are too lazy to ride a real bike. My local bike shop (Spokes) probably sells more ebikes than real bikes. And they must make a good profit doing it, because they push them hard. Kind of a sad state of affairs when the most up and coming desirable feature on a bicycle is an electric motor.

A masterful blend of hot take and shitpost. Tip of the cap to you.

@Judd 182607 wrote:

Can I have your RadWagon so you can be a real cyclist again?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It’s yours. Better to be a “real cyclist who drives almost everywhere” than a “car-free e-biking shithead” amirite