My Morning Commute

[Dickie]

That might have been my most miserable on a bike in a while…. the combination of a total power outage in my legs, cold headwind, false flats, and absolutely no sleep the last two nights totally did me in! Each metro station tempted me to just quit. Seeing Chris Watson, FFG, and Greg helped lift my spirits though… thanks gang!

[huskerdont]

27 degrees and for some reason it felt colder than 19 degrees yesterday. But then yesterday I was skiing and not riding. #24 at Rosslyn; I must be losing a step.

[S. Arlington Observer]

I am 99% sure I know the answer to this but want to ask to be sure.

This morning riding north on S. Eads Street I encountered a man on a CaBi bike riding south in the bike lane on the north flowing side of the street. (And this is a divided street with a median!). I know that cyclists can ride on sidewalks without regard to street direction, but I am pretty sure that bike lanes in the road are directional like the auto lanes. I almost said something to him (he was slow enough that he was no actual danger to me) but I wasn’t entirely sure if he was doing something illegal instead of merely unwise. Illegal?

[bobco85]

@S. Arlington Observer 132158 wrote:

I am 99% sure I know the answer to this but want to ask to be sure.

This morning riding north on S. Eads Street I encountered a man on a CaBi bike riding south in the bike lane on the north flowing side of the street. (And this is a divided street with a median!). I know that cyclists can ride on sidewalks without regard to street direction, but I am pretty sure that bike lanes in the road are directional like the auto lanes. I almost said something to him (he was slow enough that he was no actual danger to me) but I wasn’t entirely sure if he was doing something illegal instead of merely unwise. Illegal?

Illegal? Yes. He was basically salmoning. The only way it would be allowed is if there were signage/markings indicating a two-way cycle track.

https://vacode.org/46.2-802/ states:

Except as otherwise provided by law, on all highways of sufficient width, the driver of a vehicle shall drive on the right half of the highway, unless it is impracticable to travel on such side of the highway and except when overtaking and passing another vehicle, subject to the provisions applicable to overtaking and passing set forth in Article 4 (§ 46.2-837 et seq.) of this chapter.

https://vacode.org/46.2-905/ states:

Any person operating a bicycle, electric personal assistive mobility device, electric power-assisted bicycle, or moped on a roadway at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place under conditions then existing shall ride as close as safely practicable to the right curb or edge of the roadway, except under any of the following circumstances:
…
5. When riding upon a one-way road or highway, a person may also ride as near the left-hand curb or edge of such roadway as safely practicable.

I don’t think #5 would apply in this case because Eads street is not a one-way road even if it is divided.

[consularrider]

@S. Arlington Observer 132158 wrote:

I am 99% sure I know the answer to this but want to ask to be sure.

This morning riding north on S. Eads Street I encountered a man on a CaBi bike riding south in the bike lane on the north flowing side of the street. (And this is a divided street with a median!). I know that cyclists can ride on sidewalks without regard to street direction, but I am pretty sure that bike lanes in the road are directional like the auto lanes. I almost said something to him (he was slow enough that he was no actual danger to me) but I wasn’t entirely sure if he was doing something illegal instead of merely unwise. Illegal?

VDOT says bicycles must be ridden with the flow of traffic.

[scoot]

And it’s just common sense. There isn’t room to pass side by side anyway within the width of most bicycle lanes.

Yet I see a surprising number of people doing this, and many of them are ninjas too. I usually just take the lane and go around them. However, it’s much more difficult to do that if you’re using protected or segregated infrastructure, which limits opportunities for merging.

[DrP]

Clear.
Chilly.
Desolate.

I was 40min into my commute before I saw another cyclist (four total, all Gravelly point/along airport). And only about 8 joggers/walkers, but those I saw all along the trip. I know it is a holiday and it is cold, but this surprised me as to just how few there were out. And I was 5 on the monolith, probably at ~7:10. I am wondering how many of the previous 4 were actually late last night. I did pretty well on the clothing selection – only occasional periods of fingers or toes too cold.

[Dickie]

Yeah, ditto on DrP’s thoughts….. it was really quite this morning. Spotted only two other cyclists of which one was DCV. That headwind was brutally cold this morning.

[Crickey7]

So, I’m thinking for the a.m.:

2 pairs socks, shoes, covers and neoprene toe covers. 2 pairs tights. Jersey, vest and midweight jacket. 2 pairs glove liners and lobster gloves. Ear warmers. No hydration. I thinking introducing cold liquids would be inadvisable, and any liquids would be cold quickly.

Let’s rock.

[Vicegrip]

OK I give. I am breaking out the ski mask……

[cvcalhoun]

I went with the Turtle Fur up over my mouth, and the wool cap down over my forehead, last night.

[vern]

I added a third layer for my legs – leg warmers under a base layer and thermal bibs…Perfect! Legs were cozy warm so it felt much easier to go through the pedal stroke than it did a week ago today…no sluggish feeling. Now I just need to tape over the vent holes on my boots and I’m set.

[TwoWheelsDC]

For a slower average speed this morning, my average power was up by 12W and my total work was up 70kJ compared to the same commute on the same bike a couple of weeks ago. Thanks wind!

Also, my power meter batteries are unexpected casualties of the cold. Both PM batteries died right after the last cold snap, but they had a decent amount of miles on them, so I just figured their life was shortened by the cold. But the batteries on my Cervelo’s PM, which haven’t been used since they were changed two weeks ago, gave me a “battery low” message this morning….Good thing they’re cheap.

[huskerdont]

@Crickey7 132565 wrote:

So, I’m thinking for the a.m.:

2 pairs socks, shoes, covers and neoprene toe covers. 2 pairs tights. Jersey, vest and midweight jacket. 2 pairs glove liners and lobster gloves. Ear warmers. No hydration. I thinking introducing cold liquids would be inadvisable, and any liquids would be cold quickly.

Let’s rock.

One pair of socks, but sat in front of the heater overnight. The winter Shimano boots. Warm toes the whole ride.

Lobster gloves instead of ski mittens. Hard to warm the fingers once.

Soft shell jacket with fleece underneath.

Pretty good, all things considered, but I was lucky enough to have a tailwind most of the way.

[gibby]

I was talking to a colleague at work the other day about biking in this weather and she said “Oh, it’s like going skiing.”
Ding!
Exactly!
Fortunately no ski boots, but all the rest of the clothing gear is the same.
…nice n toasty..

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