My Morning Commute

[Judd]

@ian74 139819 wrote:

Awesome. First day back out after being home sick Monday and avoiding the rain yesterday. I went and played around at Hains Point before cycling back to Crystal City for the Bike to Work Week pit stop. It was so much fun! I saw so many good friends! Judd, Leprosy Study group (Leo), Andrea N, dbb, KWL, vern, Henry Dunbar, and sjclaeys to name a few!

There was coffee! Square bagels! Bananas! and free socks today!!! I’m totally going back tomorrow to see who else shows up! So much fun and not even that late for work!

Here’s Judd, Leo, and dbb (showing off his new socks)

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Dbb is one hell of a Price is Right model.

[bentbike33]

Deviated from my usual morning commute route to go to Crystal City BTWW. I forgot how lovely the W&OD is between Wilson Blvd and Columbia Pike as last time I was there it was a white knuckle ride/walk in the dark over post-Snowzilla ice fields. Great to meet some legendary forumites over coffee and square bagels.

Thanks, dbb, for reminding me.

[dbb]

@Judd 139903 wrote:

Dbb is one hell of a Price is Right model.

I was trying to channel Vanna White!

[bobco85]

Pretty nice morning ride to work today, albeit somehow getting caught by almost every single light (7 reds out of 9 lights including the HAWK signal at Wakefield HS) on George Mason Drive between Seminary and Four Mile Run.

Also, I saw wheels&wings at the W&OD/George Mason/4MR intersection, but right as I was about to wave and say “Good morning!” I was startled by a car on 4MR who HAD TO BEEP BECAUSE THERE WERE PEOPLE IN FRONT OF HIM (he was beeping at the car in front of him who was waiting for our line of cyclists to cross, you know, “obeying the law”). I dunno if you saw me, but I was 2nd in line across from you on the W&OD in an orange shirt. We had to wait to enter the intersection because there were 3 cars in a row blocking the box. Anyways, a belated “Good morning!” to you

[TwoWheelsDC]

Had to be in to work a little early today, so I was too early for any stops. The one by my house didn’t open until 7am, and the one in G-town that was my alternate didn’t open until 730. I wouldn’t complain if at least the bigger BTWD stops in DC opened at 630am next year.

[DrP]

Beautiful Day!
Sooo many cyclists. I have never had to wait for a train of 6 cyclists to go by on the Custis before getting on in the past and them there were just so many more out there. If this were the norm, we would need a multi-lane bikeway. Sigh. One can dream of such things.

[lordofthemark]

I have never seen conditions on the MVT both so crowded, and so smooth. Usually the most crowded times are evenings and weekends, when the combination of rambling pedestrians, and unpredictable bikers (both slow newbies and fast Freds) creates chaos and stress. This AM was as crowded as that, but was all either BTWD cyclists, or US Army runners. It was a sight to behold.

[Terpfan]

@lordofthemark 139976 wrote:

I have never seen conditions on the MVT both so crowded, and so smooth. Usually the most crowded times are evenings and weekends, when the combination of rambling pedestrians, and unpredictable bikers (both slow newbies and fast Freds) creates chaos and stress. This AM was as crowded as that, but was all either BTWD cyclists, or US Army runners. It was a sight to behold.

I’ve seen it this crowded, but not this crowded and smooth. I think that’s a sage observation. Literally I only saw one person not call and make a bad pass. I also observed people I presume are newer to it carefully observing the more seasoned vets and mimicking their behaviors (I say that because I watched a rider get passed with calls/bells and then she passed another rider saying “to the left”).

It also helped that it was a beautiful day. Now if only we could convince them not to mow the grass on a heavy biking day for the trail.

[mello yello]

Was probably the first day in quite a while the grass was dry enough to mow! I avoided the trail because of how crowded I knew it would be. Still was great seeing 3x the number of cyclists out as normal, although it’s probably a combination of me leaving at 7:15 instead of around 8, and 2x the normal people.

[ShawnoftheDread]

@Terpfan 139977 wrote:

I also observed people I presume are newer to it carefully observing the more seasoned vets and mimicking their behaviors…

I told you Subby! Scofflaw.

[S. Arlington Observer]

Happy Bike to Work Day! At least the weather is nice.

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[GovernorSilver]

Rolled out around 7 AM, nearly an hour earlier than my usual morning departure time. I woke up earlier than usual without the alarm and was having trouble going back to sleep anyway. It was the first time I began the ride heading west on Huntington, in the direction of the Eisenhower overpass. Traffic wasn’t bad at that hour. Visited the pit stops at Carlyle, Del Ray, and Crystal City. I saw cyclists at every stop but not much of a convoy, other than a handful heading towards Crystal City after Del Rey. There was one guy in red kit who passed me twice because he took a longer route than the one suggested to me by Google Maps – consularrider perhaps?

Four Mile Run Park Trail was fine, as promised by the forum. The trail it led to in Crystal City was a bit strange – it was pretty much a sidewalk, just like Potomac Ave Trail north of Glebe. I got a bit lost and somehow ended up riding past some “No Bicycles” signs on the bus lane (Crystal Drive?).

Crystal City’s pit stop was the most happening of the three – not a surprise given all I’ve heard.

There seemed to be a bit more cyclist traffic on the MVT than I’ve seen before, but I’m not sure it’s because I was commuting earlier than usual. The largest number I encountered was between Gravelly Point and 14th St. Bridge. The majority of the ones who passed me called their passes. Just about everyone seemed well behaved.

NOMA BID’s pit stop was a party scene but no swag as legendary as Crystal City’s.

My biggest surprise was Cyclemeter logging just under 13 miles, despite the pit stops. I love riding by the Potomac in the mornings, but going up Commonwealth to Four Mile Park Run Trail seems quite a bit shorter for me than my usual jaunt through Old Town Alexandria.

[Tim Kelley]

@TwoWheelsDC 139971 wrote:

Had to be in to work a little early today, so I was too early for any stops. The one by my house didn’t open until 7am, and the one in G-town that was my alternate didn’t open until 730. I wouldn’t complain if at least the bigger BTWD stops in DC opened at 630am next year.

Both Rosslyn and Ballston were open at 6:30, with people there setting up around 5:30. Should have swung by!

[TwoWheelsDC]

@Tim Kelley 140005 wrote:

Both Rosslyn and Ballston were open at 6:30, with people there setting up around 5:30. Should have swung by!

It’s partly my fault for not checking the schedule for Rosslyn. I assumed that it would be open at 7am like the other major stops in DC. I would’ve gotten a up a little earlier to make the detour otherwise.

[consularrider]

@GovernorSilver 140002 wrote:

… There was one guy in red kit who passed me twice because he took a longer route than the one suggested to me by Google Maps – consularrider perhaps? …

Not me, I was sporting my Ukraine long sleeved jersey.

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