My Morning Commute

[ShawnoftheDread]

There were at least three widely different temps at Gravelly when I rolled through, as well as a very loud wind gust that sounded like twisting sheet metal.

[vvill]

I noticed the heat/cool pockets too. Felt like being in the ocean with various currents, etc..

[Mikey]

@TwoWheelsDC 37224 wrote:

There were some really weird thermal pockets tonight. Was warm in north Arlington, at least 5 degrees colder starting at Roosevelt Island, warmed up significantly at Gravelly Point, got cold again in Shirlington, then warm again on the W&OD, then super cold by Glencarlyn Park, then warm again by the time I hit Westover. And it wasn’t like I was getting warmer/colder gradually, it was almost immediate changes when I’d hit warm/cold air pockets.

I agree, anywhere you got within about 20 feet of water it was chilly, like “I see dead people”-chilly

Cold spots I remember were at the north end of MVT, on W&OD near Ohio Drive (4mr falls), under Sycamore street, on the wooden bridge near Little Falls street, and crossing the Accotink creek in FFX city on Old Lee Highway.

[DaveK]

@ShawnoftheDread 37225 wrote:

There were at least three widely different temps at Gravelly when I rolled through, as well as a very loud wind gust that sounded like twisting sheet metal.

+1 to the temperature pockets… I noticed them all the way down the W&OD from the Custis. Kind of neat actually.

That sound might have been a vortex spun off the wings of a plane that had landed a few moments ago… with the landings coming from the north/west you notice that effect a lot more at Gravelly Point.

Example – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPIy-qLKN6s

[ShawnoftheDread]

@DaveK 37244 wrote:

+1 to the temperature pockets… I noticed them all the way down the W&OD from the Custis. Kind of neat actually.

That sound might have been a vortex spun off the wings of a plane that had landed a few moments ago… with the landings coming from the north/west you notice that effect a lot more at Gravelly Point.

Example – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPIy-qLKN6s

That’s what I thought, except the last plane had been more than a minute before.

[Certifried]

annnnnd, once again, I could not wake up in time to ride in I’m seriously upset that I haven’t been able to get up and ride in this week. How often do we have such beautiful weather in December??!! Well, I guess we will in the future, if you believe all this bullhockey about global warming and such other nonsense (you probably also believe the world will end in a few days!! Silly Mayans.)

Between the superflu (Captain Tripps) I had (ok, just a really bad cold) since the weekend, and my doctor switching my sleep medicine on me, I’m barely waking up in time to DRIVE in!

In other news, I did get that trainer I’ve been wanting. Saved hundreds, thanks Craigslist! So I got some cycling in, yay me.

[KelOnWheels]

@ShawnoftheDread 37225 wrote:

There were at least three widely different temps at Gravelly when I rolled through, as well as a very loud wind gust that sounded like twisting sheet metal.

Yeah, between the riding through ghost pockets, playing Where’s The Trail since I couldn’t see, and hoping no one was going to run into me because I couldn’t hear, getting past the airport was LOTS of fun last night

[Dirt]

Rush hour traffic on Roosevelt Bridge.

[KelOnWheels]

So my plan is to pop one of these on the front of my bike:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/192477-REG/Arri_Daylight_12KW_18KW_HMI_Fresnel.html

18,000 watts should be enough, right?

(that’ll give me 15565 lumens at 66 feet and 1767 lumens at 100 feet)

And then I figure I’ll need one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/Everlast-Portable-Silent-Diesel-Generator/dp/B008O9G6XO/ref=sr_1_2?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1354721912&sr=1-2&keywords=portable+generators

Plus it’ll keep me nice & warm on my ride!

It weighs 340 pounds though so I might need to get new wheels.

[Certifried]

I think you’ll need 3 of those 6.5Kw generators to run that 18Kw light. Other than that, totally do-able.

[ShawnoftheDread]

@Certifried 37280 wrote:

I think you’ll need 3 of those 6.5Kw generators to run that 18Kw light. Other than that, totally do-able.

How about a motorcycle headlight wired to a MC battery and an alternator that’s powered by a belt to the left side of a flip-flop hub. I think I could set it up at less than 5000 grams.

[ShawnoftheDread]

@Certifried 37280 wrote:

I think you’ll need 3 of those 6.5Kw generators to run that 18Kw light. Other than that, totally do-able.

How about a motorcycle headlight wired to a MC battery and an alternator that’s powered by a belt to the left side of a flip-flop hub. I think I could set it up at less than 5000 grams.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@ShawnoftheDread 37291 wrote:

How about a motorcycle headlight wired to a MC battery and an alternator that’s powered by a belt to the left side of a flip-flop hub. I think I could set it up at less than 5000 grams.

I think the headlight on my motorcycle was even worse than my 300L Cygolite, and it didn’t even have a blinkie mode.

[Terpfan]

@KelOnWheels 37264 wrote:

Yeah, between the riding through ghost pockets, playing Where’s The Trail since I couldn’t see, and hoping no one was going to run into me because I couldn’t hear, getting past the airport was LOTS of fun last night

The two of you have helped me confirm that I’m actually not crazy contrary to my belief. Last night I swore it just randomly cooled down in some places for no reason. I’m not sure the wind+jets+traffic noise bothered me as much as the semi-humid glare effect from the cars. Especially the little hill with the turn at the bottom right before the marina was just horrible. I found myself holding up a hand to shield my eyes so I could find the path.

[KelOnWheels]

@Terpfan 37298 wrote:

The two of you have helped me confirm that I’m actually not crazy contrary to my belief. Last night I swore it just randomly cooled down in some places for no reason. I’m not sure the wind+jets+traffic noise bothered me as much as the semi-humid glare effect from the cars. Especially the little hill with the turn at the bottom right before the marina was just horrible. I found myself holding up a hand to shield my eyes so I could find the path.

Yup, I was pretty sure death was imminent last night. Whenever I stopped to try to clean the lenses on my glasses they would fog up, which was SO HELPFUL. The only reason I didn’t end up riding into the middle of the GWP was that someone passed me and I followed their blinky down the trail I couldn’t see

[Author]

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