Missed connection

[creadinger]

Blossoms great on trees
On the ground they obscure glass
Glass shards cause punctures

[brendan]

@hozn 113846 wrote:

You need a Crank Bros Speed(ier) Lever. Those make mounting tough tires/rim combos not only easily doable buy quite …. speedy!

I have gotten faster at changing tubes, though I still spend time to make sure I understand the reason for the flat. Have had too many times where I miss the piece of wire/glass and just immediately flat my new tube.

Second that recommendation. I have some pretty tight 26″ tires on my 26″ rims, until then I assumed tight tires only happened on 700c road rims. Took me about 30 minutes before the speedier levers to get them off, repairs and back on. Lots of grunting and cursing. Less time now with the speedier, and I appreciate the built in knuckle protection. Great bikearlingtonforum recommendation!

B

[americancyclo]

To the woman who works at the Arlington National Cemetery with the short black hair that drives a brown Honda CR-V.

It’s not polite to honk at cyclists that are safely taking the lane on the Arlington Blvd access road between Queen and Meade.
It’s not polite to honk and flip off cyclists as you pass them on the other side of the double yellow line.
It’s not polite to ignore me when I catch up to you to inform you that I was legally taking the lane.

Why didn’t you honk at the garbage truck that impeded your progress or the gate guard at the cemetery? They both held you up far longer than I did.
I hope you weren’t too late to whatever it was you were doing at the ANC at 8am.

See you soon!

[PotomacCyclist]

I’ve only seen three or four car drivers run red lights over the past 24 hours.

[mstone]

@PotomacCyclist 114727 wrote:

I’ve only seen three or four car drivers run red lights over the past 24 hours.

I saw someone driving through one of those two way turn lanes, honking, to pass a line of cars. I assume they were important.

[Starduster]

@mstone 114740 wrote:

I saw someone driving through one of those two way turn lanes, honking, to pass a line of cars. I assume they were important.

*They* certainly thought they were important…

[83b]

You: Dude on a CaBi with his week’s drycleaning slung over his shoulder.
Me: The guy whose wheel you chopped trying to zip by me as the light turned on Penn Ave.

How are you the one who almost went down?!?! That bike is built and rides like a Sherman tank!

I confess the fair-weather crowd is severely straining my patience, as this was in addition to a slew of highly questionable passes this week. I can’t imagine what the narrow MVT has been like!

[PotomacCyclist]

The MVT can be unpleasant at times in the spring because of the increased traffic. The worst for me are the high-speed people training for a race (or appearing to do so) on the crowded MVT. Guys (and it’s almost always men) will be riding on a tri bike in a sleek racing kit and zip through the traffic, crossing the yellow line to pass slower traffic, even if there is a lot of traffic on the other side of the yellow line. Sometimes they almost cause head-on collisions or force the traffic on the other side of the line to veer off.

I say this as someone who occasionally trains for triathlons too. I never do tempo or speed workouts on the narrow MVT. I think it’s reckless to do that, especially when it’s crowded. East Potomac Park is a much better place to do those faster workouts. It’s not that far away from the MVT. But I think some of these people are combining a bike commute with a speed workout. Not the best idea.

Though there aren’t many incumbent bike riders, I wish that all of them would install safety flags on their bikes. They are so low to the ground that it can be difficult to see them in many situations. (This is also the case during the Challenge Ride, coming up in June. There’s a lot of traffic in that ride, with many people passing and weaving. It’s not easy to see the incumbent riders behind or on the other side of other cyclists. Then someone passes or swerves and they appear suddenly.)

[JimF22003]

Me: on downhill section of Military road in the bike lane on a slow right curve, gaining and passing:
You: work truck full of arborists, crowding over half of the bike line and almost mushing me into the parked cars…

thank you for having your window open so you could hear me telling you to “get out of the bike lane!” (I can’t believe I didn’t say something ruder. That’s so unlike me, sorry.)

[JimF22003]

Me: on downhill section of Military road in the bike lane on a slow right curve, gaining and passing:
You: work truck full of arborists, crowding over half of the bike line and almost mushing me into the parked cars…

thank you for having your window open so you could hear me telling you to “get out of the bike lane!” (I can’t believe I didn’t say something ruder. That’s so unlike me, sorry.)

[Supermau]

I used to enjoy the MVT when I began commuting last year. Now I dread it, unless it’s after dark or before sunrise. I think the last straw was late last summer when a pathlete in brown kit (I call him the UPS racer) passed me rather closely. I caught up to him a mile later because he’d stopped to stare at his iPhone IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PATH!

[Crickey7]

I don’t ride back home on the CCT. In the winter, because the pool of illumination my light casts causes an unnerving sensation of floating, and in the summer because it gets crowded, and everyone has an equal right to the path, not just us bike commuters. I will say everyone in the a.m. has been behaving great, even better than years past.

[Emm]

@Supermau 114773 wrote:

I used to enjoy the MVT when I began commuting last year. Now I dread it, unless it’s after dark or before sunrise. I think the last straw was late last summer when a pathlete in brown kit (I call him the UPS racer) passed me rather closely. I caught up to him a mile later because he’d stopped to stare at his iPhone IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PATH!

I’ve just given up trying to go fast during my commute, esp on my way home. Yes, it sucks to go way slower than I want to, but it’s just not safe to go really fast on the MVT. I’ll let someone else get in an accident, and I’ll just ride along and hope they don’t do something that causes my slow self to get hurt.

Same thing holds for weekend rides–even though the MVT has way less stop signs and street crossings, I stick to the W&OD since it’s typically wider and less crowded, especially as you get further out. It’s more conducive for riding fast. Plus the W&OD has Green Lizard Cycling, and I’m kinda in love with their smoothies…

[Supermau]

@Emm 114786 wrote:

I’ve just given up trying to go fast during my commute, esp on my way home. Yes, it sucks to go way slower than I want to, but it’s just not safe to go really fast on the MVT. I’ll let someone else get in an accident, and I’ll just ride along and hope they don’t do something that causes my slow self to get hurt.

Same thing holds for weekend rides–even though the MVT has way less stop signs and street crossings, I stick to the W&OD since it’s typically wider and less crowded, especially as you get further out. It’s more conducive for riding fast. Plus the W&OD has Green Lizard Cycling, and I’m kinda in love with their smoothies…

Everybody passes me on the MVT and I’m reasonably fit. I chalk it up to the fact that I’m not a racer, I always have a pack on my back, and I’m assuming the speeders haven’t been out riding as long as me so they’ve got fresh legs. Or maybe I’m just slow!

At any rate there’s only so many spots to go full gas before I inevitably have to slow down for safety. I’m happy to amble along at a cozy pace. It seems it’s always crowded between the airport and Old Town anyway so I gave up trying to race through.

[rcannon100]

7 things you should give up to be a happy cyclist, London Cyclists
http://www.londoncyclist.co.uk/7-things-you-should-give-up-to-be-a-happy-cyclist/

People doing stupid things is a given. Whether it bothers you or not ~ is not. If stupid people bother you, it is because you have let them bother you. On any given ride home, I will encounter morons and FREDS. I will also have a marvelous ride home. Which ride am I present in when I arrive home? That’s my choice.

[Author]

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