My Evening Commute

[KLizotte]

@Oblivious Recidivist 100087 wrote:

Left work at 8:15 pm … West on M Street .. and then a nice long ride along a dark, deserted CCT (save for several families of deer who seemed surprised to see me). All my cold gear held up, except I need something to keep my toes warm (2 pairs of socks not cuttin it). Got home at 10:30ish.

Damn, you have a long commute!

[Oblivious Recidivist]

Actually, my bad: Now that I think of it, I didn’t actually get on the road til 9 pm. Commute was 90 minutes.

[Powerful Pete]

Wonderful commute this evening. Very enjoyable with the absence of any wind at all.

Was rider #433 at the monolith at the intersection of doom. Not bad for a rather chilly day today…

[jrenaut]

The ride home was surprisingly pleasant. Hopefully that means i’m already starting to adjust to the cold weather.

[Powerful Pete]

True. Or was it simply warmer this evening?

[dkel]

@Powerful Pete 100234 wrote:

True. Or was it simply warmer this evening?

I thought it was downright balmy at 9:30 pm.

[vern]

Temperatures have really spiked this afternoon – up to 55 as I write this. My lobster claws will be total overkill this afternoon. Just follow the stream of sweat on the WOD to find me.

[Powerful Pete]

Wonder how chilly it will get after sunset.

[lordofthemark]

This was my second after dark commute. Better this time. I am getting more used to riding at night – plus it seemed like the joggers on the MVT were better lit this time.

Biggest problem though – when I am riding south bound on the MVT, at one of the spots wher the SB bike lane is very close to or pointed toward the NB auto lane on the GW parkway – and the auto headlights semi-blind me, at least when I look back to the (relativel, with my 350 L&M light) dark trail. Not sure the answer to that, other than running a brighter light. I noted this is why I feel so much more comfortable when I turn from the MVT to the 4MRT – no more auto headlights (except for that one stretch near Glebe)

[DismalScientist]

There is no solution to the auto headlights. A brighter light will not help.

More frequent painting would make the trail easier to follow.

[worktheweb]

@lordofthemark 100352 wrote:

when I am riding south bound on the MVT, at one of the spots wher the SB bike lane is very close to or pointed toward the NB auto lane on the GW parkway – and the auto headlights semi-blind me, at least when I look back to the (relativel, with my 350 L&M light) dark trail.

I ride with a hat under my helmet and tilt my head so that it blocks the oncoming lights from the cars on those sections. It stops me from getting dazzled and losing as much of my night vision. As a bonus it wicks away sweat in the summer, keeps my head warm in the winter, and stops rain from hitting my glasses when it rains. I use a quick dry hat I got from performance a long time ago.

[cyclingfool]

@lordofthemark 100352 wrote:

This was my second after dark commute. Better this time. I am getting more used to riding at night – plus it seemed like the joggers on the MVT were better lit this time.

Biggest problem though – when I am riding south bound on the MVT, at one of the spots wher the SB bike lane is very close to or pointed toward the NB auto lane on the GW parkway – and the auto headlights semi-blind me, at least when I look back to the (relativel, with my 350 L&M light) dark trail. Not sure the answer to that, other than running a brighter light. I noted this is why I feel so much more comfortable when I turn from the MVT to the 4MRT – no more auto headlights (except for that one stretch near Glebe)

I’ve been riding this stretch daily for 5.5 years on my bike commute with all varying degrees and qualities of lights, from tiny headlamp to strong battery-powered LED headlights and good dynohub lights, too. I have a helmet with a visor. I try not to look at the car headlights as much as possible, but even then sometimes there’s no avoiding them, especially when the trail dips down such that the cars are basically right at eye level. Sadly, I’ve found it’s just a big ball of suck, and there’s not much you can do about it besides take it easy and make sure you can see enough ahead of you to slow and react to trail traffic as needed. I find that the light from car headlights on that stretch is generally as bad as, if not worse, than the most obnoxiously aimed bike headlights I encounter on the trail.

Come to think of it, this presents a stronger argument for me going back to the Crystal City – Potomac Avenue -Del Ray commute route more often than I have been lately to avoid the nuisance car lights.

This song often seems to come to mind as I’m riding along there. I also find sweet relief when I duck off onto 4MR.

[Terpfan]

@cyclingfool 100365 wrote:

I’ve been riding this stretch daily for 5.5 years on my bike commute with all varying degrees and qualities of lights, from tiny headlamp to strong battery-powered LED headlights and good dynohub lights, too. I have a helmet with a visor. I try not to look at the car headlights as much as possible, but even then sometimes there’s no avoiding them, especially when the trail dips down such that the cars are basically right at eye level. Sadly, I’ve found it’s just a big ball of suck, and there’s not much you can do about it besides take it easy and make sure you can see enough ahead of you to slow and react to trail traffic as needed. I find that the light from car headlights on that stretch is generally as bad as, if not worse, than the most obnoxiously aimed bike headlights I encounter on the trail.

Come to think of it, this presents a stronger argument for me going back to the Crystal City – Potomac Avenue -Del Ray commute route more often than I have been lately to avoid the nuisance car lights.

This song often seems to come to mind as I’m riding along there. I also find sweet relief when I duck off onto 4MR.

Not quite as long, but a little more than 3 years along it and basically the same exact thought. There is basically nothing you can do. Sometimes I will move my hand up to shield my eyes just to do a quick sweep of the trail ahead of me to make sure there is no one there.

Of course, it does make me wonder about the people riding the other direction with super bright lights. I mean, the cars must be illuminating their paths like daylight based on how hard it is to see through them.

Which also gets me to wondering if they will ever just straighten out that little U bump/mini-hill right as you approach Daingerfield Island there (just a 100 yards away from the road leading back to marina). I’m convinced this does not need to be a U shape and rather could be a very slight bend with a straight away. This would eliminate the issue of blind spots there, people over/under-correcting at the turns and make sight-lines so much better. I also realize that hoping anything will change is on par with my hopes of winning the jackpot powerballs.

[Dickie]

@Terpfan 100370 wrote:

Of course, it does make me wonder about the people riding the other direction with super bright lights. I mean, the cars must be illuminating their paths like daylight based on how hard it is to see through them.

As the one rider (at least it seems) that rides north on the MVT at night I can assure you it is just as bad. The trail points me towards traffic in areas where I too have car lights in my face, especially after 395, and in the areas where it is bad for you that wash of light does little to help me. Going from pitch black to washed ambient light is not helpful. What makes it suck even more is the increase in cyclists using 1000 lumen lights coming towards me in droves, I can’t look in any direction without being blinded, but hey, it is what it is….. I just slow down and if I need to stop because I am only seeing spots I do.

[sjclaeys]

@cyclingfool 100365 wrote:

This song often seems to come to mind as I’m riding along there. I also find sweet relief when I duck off onto 4MR.

Kudos for citing to the correct version of that song too.

[Author]

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