My Morning Commute

[TwoWheelsDC]

With apologies to my #BAFS teammates, I bailed to the metro today. Was totally exhausted, and dealing with freezing rain (it was soooo slick around my house) just didn’t sound appealing after having to deal with the cold all week.

[guga31bb]

Only saw two other cyclists on this morning’s commute. Custis was surprisingly passable.

[jrenaut]

I CaBied in today and will Metro home. I got my 13 points, kept my “riding every day of 2014” streak alive, and was very, very thankful for the warm locker room with showers when I arrived at work.

[eminva]

Well, that was . . . brisk? bracing? stupid?

I had studded tires unlike some others so I had no trouble staying upright. The Rapha rain jacket lived up to its ELITE pedigree and my core stayed warm and dry. The same cannot be said for most of the rest of me. I have no idea if this stuff will dry out by the end of the day, but the space heater is working valiantly.

I got to FCC II long after most had left but DismalScientist helpfully showed me how to commute the rest of the way on the bus with the bike on the front. I had never done this before so thanks to Dismal. I’m not sure it saved any time but it did save another hair raising ride down a steep hill, of which I had had enough by that point.

Liz

[Jason B]

^^^^
Ain’t chew fancy, studded tires and Rapha rain jacket and all
Soooooo jealous on the Rapha jacket, waiting for my PI to die before i take the plunge.

[aguy7]

What a string of vile weather: wet, cold, wet, cold, and this morning wet and cold. With the temperature hovering around freezing, and rain, I was surprised OPM didn’t cancel or delay the gov. The sidewalks and streets in my neighborhood in NE DC were icy so I slowed down. I saw a few patches of frozen stuff on the roads on the way to the office in SW, but it wasn’t bad. The rainwater ran down my rain jacket sleeve into the battery powered heated gloves, and I stopped to put the jacket cuffs outside rather than inside the gloves–that fixed the problem. I was wondering if the gloves would short out if they got wet and electrocute me, but that didn’t happen. All in all not a bad ride and the air was fresh and bracing.

[cyclingfool]

@Jason B 74370 wrote:

Soooooo jealous on the Rapha jacket, waiting for my PI to die before i take the plunge.

Keep falling and you’re bound to tear it before too long.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@cyclingfool 74390 wrote:

Keep falling and you’re bound to tear it before too long.

[consularrider]

@Jason B 74329 wrote:

… It is funny, but i have fallen so many times since FS started that it has become passé.

Must be nice to be young and resiliant, when I fall things get damaged (usually body parts).

[sjclaeys]

The trails and road from near East Fall Church to Java Shack were not too bad and from there to Capitol Hill was also manageable. The only fun was on the S-curve bridge from to Roosevelt Island. What I thought was a slush-free area turned out to be a perfectly flat sheet of ice. I then slowly went down and then walked the rest of the way to the bottom. I helpful cyclist asked if I was ok, which surprisingly I was.

[dkel]

I did an extra-late commute from Falls Church to Vienna on the WOD at about 10:30, and by then it seemed like a normal, rainy commute. If temperatures go up as planned, things should be fine for the evening ride, or sleaze, or whatever. My only problem is that all this weather has caused my bike to be encrusted with grit everywhere, particularly where I notice it the most: drivetrain, rims…really frustrating, really time-consuming to clean up, really going to destroy the brakes in short order.

[eminva]

@Jason B 74370 wrote:

Soooooo jealous on the Rapha jacket, waiting for my PI to die before i take the plunge.

I love it; well worth the $$ spent. Never too hot and keeps the water out, even today. My only gripe is that I don’t like the offset zipper that is so popular on cycling gear — although others love that. I finally figured out the reason I don’t like it is that I’m left handed and it’s really awkward. If you are righty, no problem.

They have sales every so often so you should get on their mailing list to get notice of those.

Liz

[OneEighth]

@dkel 74415 wrote:

I did an extra-late commute from Falls Church to Vienna on the WOD at about 10:30, and by then it seemed like a normal, rainy commute. If temperatures go up as planned, things should be fine for the evening ride, or sleaze, or whatever. My only problem is that all this weather has caused my bike to be encrusted with grit everywhere, particularly where I notice it the most: drivetrain, rims…really frustrating, really time-consuming to clean up, really going to destroy the brakes in short order.

This is when a fixed gear really pays off—thorough clean-up is quick and easy.

[Jason B]

@cyclingfool 74390 wrote:

Keep falling and you’re bound to tear it before too long.

Too soon, too soon

[dkel]

@OneEighth 74432 wrote:

This is when a fixed gear really pays off—thorough clean-up is quick and easy.

N+1, my friend.

[Author]

Posts