My Morning Commute

[Steve O]

@worktheweb 121003 wrote:

This was the point when I realized that the reason for this wasn’t a slow leak or a flat she had repaired beforehand, but that she neglected to check her tires before riding (and she was more than a mile into the trail at this point). I carry a virtual bike shop in my panniers, and I’m always happy to help people in need, but it is a little frustrating that someone goes into full on block-the-trail emergency mode for something that was completely avoidable.

That said, I kept those thoughts to myself and wished her a good ride.

Nicely done. None of us is immune to the occasional oversight or error. And all of us made newbie mistakes at one time, too. I wrote about this.

Perhaps a cheerful, “Sometimes when I’m in a hurry I forget to check my tires before I leave home, too. Oops.” Make your point and make a friend at the same time.

[ShawnoftheDread]

@worktheweb 121003 wrote:

I was running late this morning when I got flagged down by a cyclist on the MVT this morning blocking the whole width of the trail with her bike. She needed to borrow my pump, so I was happy to help. I had to convince her to move her bike to the grass and off the trail, which took a surprisingly long amount of time to do. After a bit of pumping she got a bit more pressure in there and she asked me if a somewhat low pressure was okay, and I said it would work (and that more would be better), but not to ride off curbs to avoid pinch flats. I helped her get the chuck off the valve and started packing it up again when she said she needed it for the front tire.

This was the point when I realized that the reason for this wasn’t a slow leak or a flat she had repaired beforehand, but that she neglected to check her tires before riding (and she was more than a mile into the trail at this point). I carry a virtual bike shop in my panniers, and I’m always happy to help people in need, but it is a little frustrating that someone goes into full on block-the-trail emergency mode for something that was completely avoidable.

That said, I kept those thoughts to myself and wished her a good ride.

Was it Blanche DuBois?

[Mikey]

@ShawnoftheDread 121044 wrote:

Was it Blanche DuBois?

Good use of the term. See forum dictionary under Blanche Dubois

[GovernorSilver]

@Emm 120959 wrote:

On this morning’s commute a lady sped by me at about 30 MPH on Jefferson Ave. I pulled up behind her at a light, noticed she was driving a government vehicle, and was texting. She then didn’t notice the light change, so I pulled around her and went. Once again, she sped by me well above the speed limit, and I caught her at the next light texting again, and she once again didn’t see the light change. This went on for a few lights. I really should have taken a picture of the license plate and reported it, but I didn’t want to be a total jerk.

Last night some a$$hole hit my bike at work. How, I have no idea since I was parked at the end of the row of bikes, but last night’s commute was spent holding my disc brake cable away from my front tire since they scratched my fork and broke the cable-holder thingy. I was able to reattach the cable to the holder with a ziptie once I got home, but I’m still ticked that my new-ish bike is already getting beaten up.

Dang, I’d been looking at disc-brake-equipped bikes as a fantasy next purchase but I didn’t know they were that delicate. The bike locker room at my workplace is pretty good, but there’s no accounting what could happen when I park my bike elsewhere.

I agree about going ahead and reporting the government driver.

[peterw_diy]

@dasgeh 120999 wrote:

I wouldn’t think you a jerk for reporting either of those. In fact, I think reporting a$$hat drivers to proper authorities is a favor to everyone else on the road.

This. Local police seem very reluctant to enforce traffic & right of way laws, so you certainly should not feel bad taking an opportunity to get help correcting dangerous driving!

[dplasters]

Disgusting. I’ve never been so sweaty at 6:30am in my life.

[mstone]

@GovernorSilver 121063 wrote:

Dang, I’d been looking at disc-brake-equipped bikes as a fantasy next purchase but I didn’t know they were that delicate. The bike locker room at my workplace is pretty*good, but there’s no accounting what could happen when I park my bike elsewhere.

Um, rim brakes also have cable guides. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of either kind getting broken off, that’s just weird.

[dkel]

@mstone 121071 wrote:

Um, rim brakes also have cable guides. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of either kind getting broken off, that’s just weird.

Sometimes a stiff plastic bracket is used to hold the cable in place instead of a zip tie; those things can pop off without much provocation. Still, I’ve had zip ties break also; it’s not that hard to do if the thing gets dinged just so, or if it’s brittle already. In any case, it’s not hard to replace a zip tie, and in a pinch, a piece of string or wire or even sticky tape would probably keep the cable in place for the duration of a ride home or to the LBS.

[Emm]

@dkel 121072 wrote:

Sometimes a stiff plastic bracket is used to hold the cable in place instead of a zip tie; those things can pop off without much provocation. Still, I’ve had zip ties break also; it’s not that hard to do if the thing gets dinged just so, or if it’s brittle already. In any case, it’s not hard to replace a zip tie, and in a pinch, a piece of string or wire or even sticky tape would probably keep the cable in place for the duration of a ride home or to the LBS.

Mine was a hard plastic guide glued to the frame, with another piece of plastic that held the cable in place. It clearly got smashed into–the whole cable guide is dented, along with the fork being scratched at that same place. I don’t think it’s fragile–I think it got smashed and dragged along something hard which would break all but the strongest of plastic. But there was still space to thread a zip tie, so it’ll keep functioning.

[dkel]

I saw a purple Straggler fly by me on my commute today! I have never seen another bike like mine in the wild, which is weird, because they’re pretty easy to spot, being all purple and glitter and such.

[cvcalhoun]

So I finally figured out why my bike was making scraping sounds when I biked, and I was biking much more slowly than usual.

The good news is that even after biking around with it like this for a couple of days, I didn’t end up with a flat. Apparently, even with the rubber entirely split, the fabric on the inside was enough to protect the tube. I was impressed enough to get the same kind of tire this time.

[ShawnoftheDread]

Involved an angry driver waving a large knife at me, followed by a roadside talk with Arlington’s finest. Good times.

[wheelswings]

@ShawnoftheDread 121100 wrote:

Involved an angry driver waving a large knife at me, followed by a roadside talk with Arlington’s finest. Good times.

Holy smokes. What happened?

[TwoWheelsDC]

@ShawnoftheDread 121100 wrote:

Involved an angry driver waving a large knife at me, followed by a roadside talk with Arlington’s finest. Good times.

Maybe he was just really excited to show you his knife, in case you were thinking about buying one…

[Steve O]

@ShawnoftheDread 121100 wrote:

Involved an angry driver waving a large knife at me…

Keep that thing away from your tires!

[Author]

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