My Evening Commute

[Dickie]

Was not my finest. It started OK as I stopped off at Bikenetic to see Dirt and talk new cross/commuter tires as mine are completely shot and flatting all the time. Dirt was not around but Jan was glad to help out. I left informed but without new rubber for now. Back on the WOD and being careful to elude the dreaded FCPD I slowed at the Grove St. crossing only to be passed by a dude with absolutely no regard for the stop sign. He flew through the intersection just as I was getting clipped in without even a look. He then pulled the ultimate DB move, passing (and nearly clipping) two woman with strollers as they crossed paths with a gentleman walking towards them… yep, four abreast with him at speed. The gentleman yelled and put his hands out for protection and the ladies screamed. I slowed, apologized for his behavior and chased the scum down. As I got next to him (and gestured for him to remove his headphones) I became possessed by a sudden calmness (weird). I decided to politely explain what I had just witnessed and suggested better methods for future situations… he tolerated my intrusion and then I flatted. DANG IT! Luckily it was directly in front of the “Free Air” station on the WOD so I rolled my bike to the station, leaned my steed against the air machine (you can see where this is going), started taking off my back pack when I watched my bike slowly roll forward and fall against the pole…. result:

Needless to say, wasn’t a great ride home.

Topic

[Tania]

@GovernorSilver 157720 wrote:

Only bummers on the ride was discovering I couldn’t cut in front of the White House to get to 17th. Lots of stuff fenced off, increasing the density of pedestrian traffic.

The WH has been closed all week, at least whenever I’ve tried to get through there (increased security concerns with the recent breaches?)

[ginacico]

@GovernorSilver 157722 wrote:

No, I just locked up on one of the racks on M St.

Ah, that works. For future reference, they usually allow parking (bikes too) in the NatGeo garage for evening events. Access is on M Street near 16th, pretty swank bike facilities on the first level down, and it’s safer than racks on the street. NatGeo just won a Bike-Friendly Business award at Bike Summit, and I intend to make sure we continue to earn it!

If I bike to the Yellow line I usually go all the way to L’Enfant Plaza. Easy to find, and it’s a nice ride down the Penn Ave cycletrack and across the Mall. (And if I’m on a CaBi there are two docks close by.)

The White House is its own mess, which we all suffer. I’ve just learned to expect chaos and prepare to dodge around somehow.

[bentbike33]

@Tania 157725 wrote:

The WH has been closed all week, at least whenever I’ve tried to get through there (increased security concerns with the recent breaches?)

Last week, too. Now the northbound cycletrack on 15th, which ends at the PA Ave pedestrian plaza, dumps you out on the wrong side of the road. SAD

[cvcalhoun]

@ginacico 157728 wrote:

The White House is its own mess, which we all suffer. I’ve just learned to expect chaos and prepare to dodge around somehow.

I’ve thought that about the White House a lot lately. And that has nothing to do with the ability to bike in front of it.

I’m now taking H Street. It avoids the construction on Pennsylvania Avenue. And it avoids my always looking over and getting depressed about how far we’ve fallen.

[bentbike33]

Regional radar is giving me hope for a drier evening commute than this morning’s. I wonder how swampy the new TR Island mulch trail has gotten? It was still pretty firm when I went through this morning.

[Tania]

I metro-ed home. Partly because of rain, which is a great excuse to bail early (“Sorry! No bikes on metro after 4pm!”) and partly because of the bottles of vermouth, bourbon and vodka I picked up at lunch.

[GovernorSilver]

Nearly made it home riding on a flat rear tire. Got within walking distance and walked the bike home when the bumping noticeably worse.

The comment in the Morning Commute thread about feeling like pedaling in mud, and quirky handling as a sign of a rear flat; proved to be spot on. I thought a sign of a flat would be a hissing sound but I never heard it.

No idea when the flat actually happened. When I commuted on it once a couple of weeks ago, I also had the same symptoms but I attributed it to simply not being a strong rider.

[Harry Meatmotor]

@GovernorSilver 158287 wrote:

Nearly made it home riding on a flat rear tire. Got within walking distance and walked the bike home when the bumping noticeably worse.

The comment in the Morning Commute thread about feeling like pedaling in mud, and quirky handling as a sign of a rear flat; proved to be spot on. I thought a sign of a flat would be a hissing sound but I never heard it.

No idea when the flat actually happened. When I commuted on it once a couple of weeks ago, I also had the same symptoms but I attributed it to simply not being a strong rider.

Don’t forget your “A, B, C’s”!!!

Air

Brakes

Chain

Check them before every ride!

[GovernorSilver]

@Harry Meatmotor 158307 wrote:

Don’t forget your “A, B, C’s”!!!

Air

Brakes

Chain

Check them before every ride!

My ABC status in morning before commute:

Air: Pumped to 70psi, within the recommended 55-90 range.
Brakes: Good
Chain: Good. Only 2nd ride after last lube.

[bentbike33]

After watching it rain like hell all morning, I think I’ll finish the clockwise Arlington Loop on the way home and leave the TR Island Mulch Bog to @rcannon100 and his fellow travelers (dang, just as it had firmed up so nicely this morning before the rain).

#MulchCross

#MulX

[Tania]

@bentbike33 158330 wrote:

After watching it rain like hell all morning, I think I’ll finish the clockwise Arlington Loop on the way home and leave the TR Island Mulch Bog to @rcannon100 and his fellow travelers (dang, just as it had firmed up so nicely this morning before the rain).

#MulchCross

#MulX

I’ve been trying to use the mulch as an enticement to get the SO to take TR bridge with me but he hates that bridge so much that not even #MulCX (and not so gentle peer pressure from me) will persuade him.

[dbb]

Beginning the ride home, I came upon this shot. Motorists in traffic of their own making; slugs slugging; and people waiting for the train.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]14554[/ATTACH]

Must have sucked for all of them. I got to go for a bike ride!

[huskerdont]

That’s a good point; I got to go for a bike ride too.

Left work right as it started raining again. Stopped at the farmers’ market on F Street just to say hi to a guy I know working there. He said, “it’s raining, can’t you take a bus?” I guess some people just don’t understand.

Got to My Organic Market just as the rain stopped. When I came out the sun was shining, so pack full of groceries, I rode back down the hill to Rosslyn to ride up again for the Strava April climbing challenge.

How am I gonna do any of that using a bus?

[KLizotte]

Don’t tell Uber about slugs. They will find a sneaky way to destroy that well-honed system because it undercuts their business model.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@KLizotte 158372 wrote:

Don’t tell Uber about slugs. They will find a sneaky way to destroy that well-honed system because it undercuts their business model.

Too late.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/uber-is-betting-dc-commuters-are-willing-to-pay-to-slug/2017/03/27/112f56c2-10b7-11e7-9d5a-a83e627dc120_story.html

[Author]

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