My Morning Commute

[jnva]

@vern 99923 wrote:

I saw a grand total of 11 cyclists this morning on my commute between Reston and Crystal City.

I saw 11 puddles of ice!

[worktheweb]

I didn’t do an exact count, but I saw around 10-12 or so cyclists on the MVT from Dyke Marsh to the 14th Street bridge. Quite a few people on foot, too, including a bunch of Army guys on a timed run. One of them had a buzz cut and no hat, he didn’t seem to mind though.

I remember when I first started bike commuting in earnest many years ago times when I would be the only person on the trail for the entire trip with weather like this. It is good to see more people refusing to let the temperature keep them inside.

[Crickey7]

The back-to-back combo of cold rain and freezing temperatures appear to make this the unofficial end of fair weather commuting. Numbers on the CCT were a small fraction of last Tuesday’s.

That being said, I slightly overdressed.

[Terpfan]

@vern 99923 wrote:

I saw a grand total of 11 cyclists this morning on my commute between Reston and Crystal City.

Raises hand as 1 of the 11. I probably went by Crystal City around 7:45 on the MVT, maybe a little bit earlier and then all the way up to Key Bridge. At the beginning of my ride from south of OT along MVT, I didn’t see another cyclist until almost the airport.

I bet you had one helluva tailwind though because I definitely felt the headwind the whole way. A few big gusts almost knocked me over.

[ShawnoftheDread]

I was 180 something past the counter on my way home yesterday and 158 on my way in this morning. So people are clearly more skeered of rain than freezing temps.

[Mikey]

How did everyones FS15 shakedown ride go this morning. I learned I need to either lose the glasses, or get some anti-fog agent. I couldn’t keep my nose warm, other than that I was nice and toasty, but not sweaty.

[cyclingfool]

Yeah, to echo everyone else’s low rider count data points – from Del Ray to 4MR to MVT, no other cyclists spotted until around the Crystal City Connector. Saw five between there and my downtown office. Fair weather riding season is definitely over… until next Monday when it’s going to be 70 degrees again. It’s the time of year when I start to hear, “You’re still riding your bike?!” or “You rode your bike today?!” It’s sometimes hard to resist the temptation to say with snark, “You know, there are things called gloves and hats and jackets. They help to keep you warm when the weather is cold. Even my two year old knows that.”

[Powerful Pete]

@ShawnoftheDread 99935 wrote:

I was 180 something past the counter on my way home yesterday and 158 on my way in this morning. So people are clearly more skeered of rain than freezing temps.

I got up late for unrelated reasons, at around 8:30 the counter at the intersection of doom was at 220 or so…

[jrenaut]

We have a new member of the Longtail Club at the kids’ school. I parked next to a brand new Yuba Mundo and talked to the owner on the way out. Today was only the second time she’s done the school drop, but she’s very happy with it. We did discuss briefly the need for proper clothing.

[Powerful Pete]

BTW, can we all move to my country (Italy) for the rest of the winter? I handled yesterday and today fine, but I miss bundling up the same way I did today back home and complaining about frigid temperatures in the low 50s…

[Oblivious Recidivist]

Procrastinated til 8:10 this morn, probably because it was so cold, but once I got on the road, all was good.

Didn’t see many other riders on CCT or eastbound on L Street.

I’d like to claim my hardcore points now.

[americancyclo]

It was a moose mitts kinda morning. didn’t break a sweat and rolled in as the sun rose. Took about 10 min for the temperature to settle in on my Garmin, and about that long for my HR to break 60 bpm, if you believe the data.

[DismalScientist]

@Oblivious Recidivist 99952 wrote:

I’d like to claim my hardcore points now.

Sorry, “hardcore points” are only awarded at the post-Freezing Saddles happy hour.

[DismalScientist]

@americancyclo 99957 wrote:

Took about 10 min for the temperature to settle in on my Garmin, and about that long for my HR to break 60 bpm, if you believe the data.

I can barely get my HR to break 10 bpm, but, then again, I am an economist.:rolleyes:

[Tim Kelley]

@DismalScientist 99958 wrote:

Sorry, “hardcore points” are only awarded at the post-Freezing Saddles happy hour.

My four year old doesn’t particularly enjoy happy hours, but she should get some Hardcore Points too for today.

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