My Morning Commute

[Certifried]

sucked I drove today, despite knowing the weather would be nice. I ate at the “Original Pancake House” in Bethesda yesterday, and by afternoon was feeling pretty nauseous. I’m not sure it was the food, nor do I really have any idea what the issue was really. Still feeling a little “blech” today, and woke up way too late to ride.

Just another manic Monday.

Topic

[cyclingfool]

What a beautiful morning!!! I had taken the day off from office job in order to come to campus to work on a presentation I have to make in one of my grad courses tonight, but needed more riding than the direct 1.5 mile route, so I went circuitous and made it 8 miles. Felt great to take a morning ride w/o gloves wearing a short sleeve tee and a pair of shorts. And saw some trees along the river with leaves starting to come out – not just buds, but actual green, tiny leaves! I’m usually hesitant to welcome spring since it means the oppressive DC summer is just weeks away, but after this year’s winter, I welcome it with open arms.

[Terpfan]

I figured it would be more nippy than it was this morning so I currently have a sweatshirt that’s living up to the first part of it’s name. That said… I can’t complain as it’s not like I need bar mitts anymore and I don’t feel like going out requires 20 minutes of getting dressed .

[consularrider]

I’m happy to see my average speed increasing as I shed the long and heavier outer layers. Must be what a snake feels like after shedding its skin.

[americancyclo]

In my bike attire yesterday morning, in the elevator, an elderly man eyed me up and down and asked “Where’s the pool?”

[dasgeh]

@americancyclo 81524 wrote:

In my bike attire yesterday morning, in the elevator, an elderly man eyed me up and down and asked “Where’s the pool?”

When cyclists talk about “lycra” we don’t mean “speedos”…

[jrenaut]

@dasgeh 81529 wrote:

When cyclists talk about “lycra” we don’t mean “speedos”…

Remember Rule 42.

[NicDiesel]

@Dickie 81263 wrote:

Errr, I guess I’ve been hibernating… you back in town Mr. Fargo?

Just through tomorrow morning. I’ve been rocking the CaBi while I’ve been here. Not too bad of a ride. If they had a fourth gear they’d be perfect!

[guga31bb]

I went for a walk on L St today and was amazed at how many vehicles are parked in the cycletrack. Luckily (for me) my commute doesn’t take me this far into the district, but I feel bad for those who do (if anyone even takes L St). What’s the point of even having a cycletrack if there are cars parked in it on every block?

[cyclingfool]

Don’t know for sure, but from what I understand, that’s par for the course on DC cycletracks. I don’t venture that way too often in my travels…

I have similar issues with a federal employee shuttle bus in Crystal City that is parked in the bike lane along Potomac Avenue by the corner of Crystal Dr. on a regular basis. It’s really annoying there, but at least it’s not in theory physically separated bike infra and traffic isn’t usually bad, so I can just swing around. Still hate that a-hole driver though… or whoever lets him/tells him to park there. 😡

[lordofthemark]

I had meant to do a true winter commute – but at least I have gotten a commute in BEFORE BTWD. First since October.

The Kona is definitely a nice upgrade for commuting. But I need to get more familiar with my air pump. I had ridden I think two weeks ago, and thought the tires would be fine. They were not. I spent some time pumping and checking (should have done that last night to save morning time.) Even with that, they looked low as I rode.

The repaving on Boundary Channel is done – though I took the now open sidewalk, as I still felt kinda slow. Humpback and 14th Street bridges were easier than I remembered. 14th Street Bridge quite busy, which is good. Water Street is still open (and the most useless stop sign in DC, that at 7th and Water, is still there) – loads of signs for the Wharf, but they haven’t finished taking apart the tennis arena yet. Eye Street is nicely repaved (thanks, DDOT) but I still am not fond of the sharrows between Delaware and South Cap. For more on the approach to South Cap, see missed connections.

For some reason I wimped out about riding down 3rd street, rode down very easy 2nd (next to the park) instead – which left me walking my bike on the M Street sidewalk to the crossing. Total time was as good as my better times last year. Still room for much improvement.

But the highlight was riding between east and west building to the garage entrance, and seeing my boss walking from the metro and saying “Ken, you did it!”

When I got to the office with my coffee, I tipped my helmet to the cubicle of the (retired) guy who enticed me to bike commute.

[lordofthemark]

@Terpfan 81424 wrote:

I figured it would be more nippy than it was this morning so I currently have a sweatshirt that’s living up to the first part of it’s name. That said… I can’t complain as it’s not like I need bar mitts anymore and I don’t feel like going out requires 20 minutes of getting dressed .

It felt quite nippy enough for me

[Steve]

@lordofthemark 81602 wrote:

I had meant to do a true winter commute – but at least I have gotten a commute in BEFORE BTWD.

Awesome job! I’m just curious, are you going to DOT? Is it not easy to just take NJ from Eye st all the way down? Just trying to undestand the exact route and see if there’s an easy way if you don’t like 3rd.

[consularrider]

@lordofthemark 81602 wrote:

… But I need to get more familiar with my air pump. I had ridden I think two weeks ago, and thought the tires would be fine. They were not. I spent some time pumping and checking (should have done that last night to save morning time.) Even with that, they looked low as I rode …

When I got to the office with my coffee, I tipped my helmet to the cubicle of the (retired) guy who enticed me to bike commute.

What kind of pump are you using? IMHO every rider should have a floor pump with a gauge at home rather than trying to pump up with the type of pump you carry with you on the bike. They aren’t too expensive, a reasonable one can be had for under $40. I have the Nashbar Orange floor pump at home

[cyclingfool]

I’ve had a slightly older version of this Planet Bike floor pump for five years now and love it to death. The Planet Bike logo used to not be quite so obnoxiously loud as it appears to be now. And, FWIW, PB is good about having small replacement parts available for their products, either at an LBS or with free or cheap shipping from their website.

That said, I love the looks of that L’Orange from Nashbar. If, knock on wood, my PB pump dies, I think that’ll be the number one contender to replace what I’ve got.

[Drewdane]

was a little chilly for the clothes I picked (shorts/jersey/arm&leg warmers/wind vest), but still better than plodding along in multiple layers of winter gear!

[Author]

Replies