My Morning Commute

[cyclingfool]

@OneEighth 68781 wrote:

It looked even better from on the water.

@OneEighth 68781 wrote:

I launched a little after 6 and headed North. Docked about an hour later. The upper stretch past Georgetown is absolutely amazing as the sun comes up and paints the Fall leaves that crowd the riverbanks.

Nice.

And I thought the view that direction while crossing the 14th St Bridge was nice this time of year… the view on the water must be spectacular.

[Jason B]

Two speeds this morning, 43.7 or 8.5, depending on which direction. Man, that was windy

[consularrider]

Quite the struggle riding north on the MVT this morning.

[jhr]

It was a little bit windy. For part of the 14th st bridge I thought I might end up in Oz.

[cyclingfool]

@consularrider 68936 wrote:

Quite the struggle riding north on the MVT this morning.

Yeah, the legs got a good workout but the rest of me didn’t get the sense of speed to make it seem worth the effort as much.

Sadly I didn’t get any of the fast riding Jason B talked about because my entire ride was into the wind with a few brief segments of crosswind interspersed. Looks like the wind, while slightly diminished, will still be around this afternoon, so I’m looking forward to a speedier, less strenuous commute home. If I could rig up a spinnaker to my bike I might not have to pedal at all!

[TwoWheelsDC]

My main concern this morning was not getting blown into oncoming traffic as I rode eastbound on the TR Bridge. I certainly would not mind a fence there rather than the current guardrail.

[GB]

@TwoWheelsDC 68949 wrote:

I certainly would not mind a fence there rather than the current guardrail.

Agreed. Windy or not that’s a pretty tight trail next to very fast moving traffic.

[guga31bb]

What’s better than the intersection of doom during morning rush hour?

Two of the lanes heading to the bridge blocked by a vehicle collision! (this was at 9am today)

Note the two guys surveying the damage on the van and black car. I’m actually surprised this doesn’t happen more often.

[Subby]

Out late at our monthly card game last night. Roll in about 12:30 this morning, head hits the pillow at about 1:00am.

Fast forward to 630am. I wake up about an hour late. I am hating life. GROGGY. There is no way I can deal with the cold and the cars and the bike ride in today. I picture myself in my warm SUV, eating a toasty breakfast sandwich, zoning out as I ease in to DC at a comfortable 9 miles per hour. I mentally prepare to take a hot shower.

But first I roll over to pick up my iPhone from the bedside table and glance at Strava. And Strava tells me…”Hey, a$$hole…STEVE EUNPU IS ALREADY OUT ON HIS COMMUTE. HE STARTED AT 5:30A WHILE YOU WERE STILL SLEEPING. AND HE’S *STILL* GOING.”

If Steve Eunpu can do his regular 40+ mile commute at zero dark zero in the freezing cold, then for the love of god…harden the f up. So I biked in via the towpath. And it was predictably glorious.

Executive Summary: Shout out to Steve Eunpu.

[ShawnoftheDread]

I wasn’t feeling it this morning either. But I did it anyway and it turned out pretty nice. I need to think about that towpath detour though.

[cyclingfool]

Started off “great” when I got buzzed by an HVAC company’s Ford Transit Connect less than a mile from home. (I didn’t get the opportunity to commit the license plate to memory, but I did note the name of the company and that the plates were MD, so I tracked down contact info and have a letter in the mail already to complain). Maryland theme continues as I become vigilant about traffic for the rest of my on-road riding into Crystal City: I notice five cars that are going particularly fast in the next mile or so, and a couple of them pass a little too close for comfort, though not to the point of it being a buzz job. All five cars have MD plates. No surprise given my experience both behind the wheel and in the saddle over the last 10 years. Sorry, Maryland, your drivers are hands down the worst in the region IMHO.

I shook off the early incident and enjoyed my commute in, despite a strong headwind for the second day in a row. First commute since the spring with tights on under my athletic shorts, too.

[rcannon100]

I was actually thrilled! The trails to myself! This is going to be a magnificent ride! All the poseurs will be frightened away by the little dip in temperature!

DAMN! There were actually a lot of bikes out on the trails this morning! Tremendous (Oh, and of course I saw Sir. ConsularRider)

[dasgeh]

Staring out the window at the cold, cold morning at way-too-early-dark-thirty this morning, when my kids get me up, I contemplated the parking sticker on the car. It went something like this:

I do have free parking at work. The car has butt warmers. All I’d have to do is get in, turn the key, and figure out how to get across town. In the horrible traffic. I have to be there by 9:30am – when do I have to leave by? How long does it take? How does one drive through the molasses that is cross town traffic? Ah, screw it, I’ll just bike.

I was rewarded handsomely. The morning was lovely. My new icebreaker layers worked perfectly (seriously, those things keep me warm on the down hills in the beginning, without being crazy hot on the uphills at the end AND don’t stink). As a bonus, I got to cross the bridge with a gentleman with cerebral palsy riding along at an impressive clip. A wonderful, wonderful morning not to drive.

[americancyclo]

Had a nice ride in and a stop at Best Buns riding with Dirt. He was in front of me the whole time, and try as I might, I just couldn’t overtake. Heck of a guy to draft off of, though.

[83b]

@dasgeh 69063 wrote:

My new icebreaker layers worked perfectly (seriously, those things keep me warm on the down hills in the beginning, without being crazy hot on the uphills at the end AND don’t stink).

Icebreaker wool, while a bit pricey, is the absolute best! It holds up much better than SmartWool’s stuff. My wife loves it so much that I may as well buy their stock.

[Author]

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