My Morning Commute

[Steve O]

@GovernorSilver 124680 wrote:

To get to Maine Dr, I will probably just take this crosswalk to cross Ohio Dr to get onto the northbound side – I first noticed that other cyclists were using it, and started to wonder where they were going:

https://goo.gl/maps/RcTuKaU5fp62

Once I’m on the northbound side, it should be easier to turn onto Maine Ave SW, then hopefully be able to make that left turn onto 9th St. to access G St. SW

OR
Use the cut at the crosswalk to do a U-turn and then a left under the bridge towards Hains Point. Then right as you pass under the second underpass up the sidewalk onto the Case Bridge to cross the channel and roll directly down to 9th. Avoid Maine altogether. I tried that out per oldtowner’s tip for Sunday’s Nats game. Worked great.

[GovernorSilver]

@Steve O 124709 wrote:

OR
Use the cut at the crosswalk to do a U-turn and then a left under the bridge towards Hains Point. Then right as you pass under the second underpass up the sidewalk onto the Case Bridge to cross the channel and roll directly down to 9th. Avoid Maine altogether. I tried that out per oldtowner’s tip for Sunday’s Nats game. Worked great.

I had trouble with the tight turns descending on the other side, after crossing Case Bridge – hence my reluctance to take it again. Maybe I’ll have better luck with my new trekking bar though. We’ll see.

[americancyclo]

@OneEighth 124707 wrote:

I only Cat 6 you.

And anyone with gears.

[Terpfan]

@GovernorSilver 124710 wrote:

I had trouble with the tight turns descending on the other side, after crossing Case Bridge – hence my reluctance to take it again. Maybe I’ll have better luck with my new trekking bar though. We’ll see.

Yah, you basically have to almost stop at every single one of those turns and if someone is coming, you do have to stop. That, and, broken glass are my issues with it.

But I’ve done the park for free at Hains and ride to Nats game a few time and like it. I think I even did it for one playoff game last year.

Unrelated–the Papal visit has a distinct advantage. They posted cops at Wisconsin & Mass on every corner and the road right before it. This punk truck was riding next to me. We hit the red at light before Mass on Wisconsin. The cop pointed at the truck and told him he needed to move over some for me. It was glorious.

[GovernorSilver]

@Terpfan 124716 wrote:

Yah, you basically have to almost stop at every single one of those turns and if someone is coming, you do have to stop. That, and, broken glass are my issues with it.

I misunderstood what SteveO said about turning around at the crosswalk instead of crossing all the way. I got a bit lost looking for the alternate access path to Case Bridge but eventually found it.

I had to stop at every turn again on the other side of Case Bridge, but at least it was relatively free of debris. This was my first commute with the trekking bar, so I’m still getting used to it. I’ll take on the challenge of those sharp turns again tomorrow – skipping Maine to go straight to 9th and G is pretty nice.

@Terpfan 124716 wrote:

This punk truck was riding next to me. We hit the red at light before Mass on Wisconsin. The cop pointed at the truck and told him he needed to move over some for me. It was glorious.

😎

[komorebi]

In Old Town this morning, another rider swung onto the MVT behind me and proceeded to ride behind me all the way across the 14th Street bridge. I was impressed with his trail etiquette — he left a reasonable amount of space between us, rang his bell to signal all of his passes, and waited patiently when there wasn’t enough space for two bikes to pass in a row. While we were waiting for the light at Jefferson and 14th, we had a nice chat about using the Case Bridge as an alternative route tomorrow and about the fact that he was on his way to help with the DCPS bike-building program.

Strava flyby suggests that the rider might have been forum member CaseyKane50. If so, it was a pleasure riding with you this morning and kudos on your volunteer work!

[dbb]

Significant Papal impacts this morning. 15th and Maine (by Engraving and Printing) was blocked with a couple of DDOT dump trucks. Rode the sidewalk up 15th with no problem.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]9690[/ATTACH]

Security screening at 15th and Jefferson made that intersection a little crowded. Crossed 14th and continued east on Jefferson in spite of it being blocked by a DC police car.

[Sunyata]

So, I was running late this morning. It was quite interesting to see how a 30 minute difference in time made on my commute this morning. I saw some very interesting things.

First off, I saw a LOT more cyclists! That was pretty awesome.

I saw some very courteous behaviour by some ACPS buses. (I think I would much rather deal with the school buses than the Metro Buses and ART buses that I normally run into.)

And perhaps the most awesome thing that I saw this morning was not one person, but TWO people walking cats on leashes. And the cats were truly enjoying themselves, too!

Happy first full day of Autumn! 😎

[GovernorSilver]

Woke up 15 min. before my alarm was set to go off, so I started my commute early. I’m more comfortable now with the trekking bar, although I did forget to shift my hands from the front position to the rear to access the brakes before turning to climb up to Case Bridge, resulting in a near wipeout. Tightened up the backpack straps a bit. Lower back felt fine.

Two different pedestrians thanked me for using the bell.

My bike with the new trekking bar and MKS Lambda pedals.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]9691[/ATTACH]

[chris_s]

Took the long way in to work this morning. It was glorious!

[creadinger]

The past two mornings I’ve seen a couple of guys wearing jackets, full gloves, and full length leggings. It was upper 50’s/low 60’s this morning. It’s on the cool side of t-shirt and shorts weather for me, or normal people might wear a long sleeved shirt.

But what the heck are these full-on winter gear guys going to do when it gets colder and then actual winter??

As Chris_S just said, it was glorious this morning! This weather is what makes the 4 months of summer disgustingness worth it!

[TwoWheelsDC]

@creadinger 124800 wrote:

The past two mornings I’ve seen a couple of guys wearing jackets, full gloves, and full length leggings. It was upper 50’s/low 60’s this morning. It’s on the cool side of t-shirt and shorts weather for me, or normal people might wear a long sleeved shirt.

But what the heck are these full-on winter gear guys going to do when it gets colder and then actual winter??

As Chris_S just said, it was glorious this morning! This weather is what makes the 4 months of summer disgustingness worth it!

It was 57 when I left this morning, which is right on the cusp of “long-sleeve jersey or just arm warmers” for me. I usually wear just arm warmers between the upper 50s the upper 60s, but today I went with long-sleeved jersey. I wasn’t uncomfortably warm, but I think I would’ve been at my cold comfort limit with just arm warmers.

Below 60 gets the knee warmers (which might look like tights from a distance), and if highs don’t get out of the 60s I just wear knickers. The tights don’t come out until much closer to freezing.

But yeah, I regularly see guys in bright yellow jackets or hardshells when it’s like 65 out and assume they either just don’t ride hard enough to get hot, or maybe they are sweating buckets but just think that’s what happens when you exercise so they don’t realize that it doesn’t have to be like that.

[creadinger]

@TwoWheelsDC 124803 wrote:

Below 60 gets the knee warmers (which might look like tights from a distance), and if highs don’t get out of the 60s I just wear knickers. The tights don’t come out until much closer to freezing.

You’re right, some of these things look similar even though they’re for very different thermal regimes, and it’s hard to tell thickness too… but I did pay special attention as I passed them.

They were definitely wearing athletic jackets, and they definitely had full length cycling tights/pants on, and mid-weight gloves. I couldn’t tell if any had a hat on underneath the helmet. But it was much more than you might have had on, with a long sleeve jersey, and knee warmers. Another great point – assuming these guys were commuting, they know that the afternoon will be warm, at least in the 70’s, which is definitely t-shirt/shorts weather. Being a little chilly in the morning isn’t so bad when you know the afternoon is going to be warm.

These guys are probably just 3 examples of the people who won’t be on the trails come November.

It must be nice knowing which temperatures you like to wear certain items or layers. I pretty much need to re-figure it out every year, so I spend a lot of time being too cold or hot as fall progresses.

[Tim Kelley]

@creadinger 124806 wrote:

These guys are probably just 3 examples of the people who won’t be on the trails come November.

Maybe they’re from Gainesville?

[ejwillis62]

well I WAS cold this morning guys, and I had my pants on. I didn’t wear a full jacket but did have a light windbreaker on. It was cold guys. I even thought about ear muffs but didn’t put them on. I did wish I had gloves that covered my fingers. they were cold. so don’t laugh at me when you pass me. Grin. I want the 90’s to come back but I am determined to keep riding. I love those 15 miles in the morning and in the afternoon. Best part of my day. As long as it doesn’t get to icy.

[Author]

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