My Morning Commute

[dasgeh]

@Tim Kelley 99977 wrote:

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

Which reminds me: may I suggest that we do something more for kids this year? Even just designating part of the space for kids, and having coloring stuff and snacks all ready for them (if possible with softer music) would go a long way. We could even bring in some toys. We could even formally rope in the older ones to help entertain the little ones (which, in my experience, works well for both groups). The forum family is growing, and making space for offspring is important to allowing all the adults to continue to enjoy the fun.

[americancyclo]

@dasgeh 99978 wrote:

Which reminds me: may I suggest that we do something more for kids this year? Even just designating part of the space for kids, and having coloring stuff and snacks all ready for them (if possible with softer music) would go a long way. We could even bring in some toys. We could even formally rope in the older ones to help entertain the little ones (which, in my experience, works well for both groups). The forum family is growing, and making space for offspring is important to allowing all the adults to continue to enjoy the fun.

Strider Gold sprints?

[vern]

@Terpfan 99932 wrote:

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.

Nope, not in my 11. I went up Eads rather than MVT. By the way, the sewer contruction on Eads is complete and all of the road blockages are removed.

[brendan]

DC->Reston commute, as usual for a Tuesday. Layered up, headed out very late due to morning calls…which means it wasn’t as cold as it could’ve been had I left earlier.

But still..holy moley the wind. I was a bit…sluggish.

Was almost at the Custis / W&OD intersection, when…snick. Rear derailleur cable snapped. Stopped to check…and yup, yet again, it snapped inside the shifter. Fourth time in a bit over a year.

I re-adjusted my front triple to improve its shifting and decided to keep going rather than unload the entire cargo bike and run the replacement shifter cable, particularly because I’d probably have to disassemble the rear shifter to get the cable end out. A bit too cold to do that on the side of the trail unless I had to.

So I went from a bit sluggish to just plain sluggish…

I did stop in at Bikekinetic (and gave pete a whatup nod!) to see if they had any shifters in stock. Nope, but I knew it was a longshot. Same with Spokes in Vienna.

Going to replace the cable (I’ll move the bike into the downstairs lobby first) before heading back home tonight.

Very glad I brought an extra set of warm dry biking clothes for the trip home today. And the cable and cable cutter, like usual.

[dkel]

@dasgeh 99978 wrote:

We could even formally rope in the older ones to help entertain the little ones (which, in my experience, works well for both groups).

I guarantee my ten- and twelve-year-old sons would take issue with this statement.

[dasgeh]

@dkel 100034 wrote:

I guarantee my ten- and twelve-year-old sons would take issue with this statement.

It doesn’t work for all kids, but most kids like being given tasks and responsibility. Especially if they’re given enough leeway — if they want to put on a video, cool.

[dkel]

@dasgeh 100035 wrote:

It doesn’t work for all kids, but most kids like being given tasks and responsibility. Especially if they’re given enough leeway — if they want to put on a video, cool.

Tasks and responsibility: absolutely. For the purposes of Forum events, we’ve been able to give our boys a few dollars to blow at the fro-yo store to keep them busy; there’s a task and a responsibility.

[Harry Meatmotor]

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

air temp: 24º

wind chill: 16º

relative perceived temp: -261º

[dplasters]

@Harry Meatmotor 100103 wrote:

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

air temp: 24º

wind chill: 16º

relative perceived temp: -261º

Today felt colder than yesterday to me for sure. The weather station in Mantua told me it was 15º when I left for work this morning. I think we may be getting close to the maximum low my current gear can get me to.

Can’t wait for the balmy 34º commute home. Might break out the shorts at this point. Perhaps sip on a daiquiri.

[Harry Meatmotor]

@dplasters 100107 wrote:

Can’t wait for the balmy 34º commute home. Might break out the shorts at this point.

Good thing I packed my sleeveless triathlon skin suit for this afternoon; it’s shaping up to be quite warm.

[Sunyata]

19F this morning… I gave up and put the bar mitts on the bike, so I was actually pretty warm for most of the ride in (until I needed to signal a turn… Then I realized how great bar mitts actually are at keeping my hands warm!).

However, it seems that as soon as I took my boots off when I got to my office, I started to freeze. And now I can not get warm. :confused:

Also, does anyone have any suggestions on how to keep your sinus cavities from freezing? I have never had this problem before, but my sinuses were aching pretty bad by the time I got to work.

[vern]

I decided to wear a balaclava this morning since it was 17 degrees at my starting point, but that was a big mistake. I got way too warm, causing my feet to get really, really cold. But it was nice to be able to breathe warmed air.

[jrenaut]

I wimped out on a Hains Point lap this morning because of the cold. I hang my head in shame.

Also, I realized that my current handlebar setup on the fixed gear is going to allow either Moose Mitts or a brake, but not both. This is not a welcome realization.

[Supermau]

@Sunyata 100109 wrote:

Also, does anyone have any suggestions on how to keep your sinus cavities from freezing? I have never had this problem before, but my sinuses were aching pretty bad by the time I got to work.

A new helmet might be in order…

[ATTACH=CONFIG]7034[/ATTACH]

Or a balaclava. I think there’s only so much one can do.

[worktheweb]

The commute started at 16°F and arrived at the office at 27°F, definitely weather that will let you know you’re alive. The new lobster gloves did a reasonable job, sometimes things would get cold, but some squeezing of my fingers got blood flowing again and mitigated it in a few minutes. The boots did their job until about the last 15 minutes and things started to get cold down there. The hot shower at the office felt like stepping on glass for a second, then was wonderful. I got into the racks in the garage and had the beginnings of some icicles on the beard, but they quickly melted in the relative warmth down there.

Yesterday the phone died on the way into work due to the cold, so I put in my trunk bag and I got in with over a half charge, so that might be where it lives in the winter. After yesterday I made it a point to count cyclists and I was surprised how many I saw. There was 1 on Sherwood Hall Lane, 30 on the Mount Vernon Trail between Dyke Marsh and 14th Street, and 16 more that I saw once I got into DC. That’s twice as many as yesterday’s informal count on the MVT which blew me away. That said, I was a few minutes late this morning, maybe that did it, or maybe people really wanted in on this weather

There was lots of ice around, but nothing unavoidable with the biggest patch coming on the path that connects Old Town with Jones Point Park that always has the puddle. Dyke Marsh was freezing up, as was the beach by the power plant which had dramatic curls of ice going over the driftwood sitting in the tidal zone. Dyke Marsh bridge and the Daingerfield Island bridge had a beautiful covering of crystalline frost that crunched under my tires. Aside from the cold, it was beautifully sunny and as pleasant as one could expect.

[Author]

Posts