My Morning Commute

[rcannon100]

Yeah the noobs were so cute this morning. There were a lot of them.

I think we should make up a game: Guess Which Party of the Noobs Bike is going to Fall Off First.

[Judd]

Went to Hump Day Coffee Club for the first time this morning. Good chat with Ian and Komorebi and FastFriendlyGuy and Chris. I also saw my own personal biking idol Steve O briefly.

Got to convoy to work with Komorebi who gave a nice pull along the way and makes me a better cyclist by always calling her passes.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Crickey7]

Got to share the “booting” tip with a rider I saw walking down the CCT pushing a bike with a flat tire. Gave him a new tube, too, to replace the one that popped through the hole in the tire.

[Mario20136]

I had a closed call this morning. The rider in front of me (2 bikes) length ahead did not make appropriate call to pass the lady with her cute bichon poodle rolling down and approaching the hill near Bon Air Park. He decided to come to a complete stop without warning. Luckily, my reflexes told me to get off the pedal and squeezed my rear brakes hard. I felt my rear wheel slipping under heavy load. I almost ran into him. He mentioned that he did not know I was behind him although I gave the guy and the lady a couple “ding ding” on my bicycle bell before he decided to make this call. I was wondering if this was intentional. Anyway, go figure!

I think I said “!@#$%” but I can’t remember. I did notice there are more riders today than the usual commute to DC.”

:confused::mad::cool:

@rcannon100 140609 wrote:

Yeah the noobs were so cute this morning. There were a lot of them.

I think we should make up a game: Guess Which Party of the Noobs Bike is going to Fall Off First.

[ShawnoftheDread]

@Judd 140611 wrote:

…my own personal biking idol Steve O…

Now that’s just sad.

[GovernorSilver]

First commute on the new saddle – Specialized Phenom Expert. Unlike the stock saddle, I can feel actual support underneath my sit bones now – so that’s an improvement.

The soreness is now more like when I first started commuting last year. I have until June 14 to decide whether to keep the saddle to return it to Spokes for another. The lady who helped me there recommended a couple of saddles based on what I thought was my riding posture (Posture 3, which I think is off of the Borntrager saddle posture chart) , but with that return policy I figured I’d trye the Phenom first. It’s a Posture 2 saddle, which is “aggressive”, though the Outdoor Gear Lab review said it was suitable for both upright and aggressive postures.

When I tried my colleague’s road bike last week, the saddle on that was a lot more comfortable. It’s a Trek Madone 2.1 or something like that – their most affordable Madone with a 105 drivetrain. Since Trek no longer makes it, I tried looking up past year models and apparently they came with Borntrager saddles of an also-discontinued model.

I generally commute with baggy shorts that have fairly thin padding, so maybe the Phenom was designed for riding with real bibs or something.

[Steve O]

@Mario20136 140617 wrote:

I had a close call this morning. The rider in front of me (2 bikes) length ahead did not make appropriate call to pass the lady with her cute bichon poodle rolling down and approaching the hill near Bon Air Park. He decided to come to a complete stop without warning. Luckily, my reflexes told me to get off the pedal and squeezed my rear brakes hard. I felt my rear wheel slipping under heavy load. I almost ran into him. He mentioned that he did not know I was behind him although I gave the guy and the lady a couple “ding ding” on my bicycle bell before he decided to make this call. I was wondering if this was intentional. Anyway, go figure!

Good idea to be alert around dogs in general. Even if the rider in front had decided to continue passing but then had to emergency stop because the dog made a quick move, you would have had to emergency brake anyway.

We teach a technique called “quick stop” in the WABA City Cycling classes. Good to know for situations like this. Upcoming class schedule.

[Terpfan]

@Steve O 140628 wrote:

Good idea to be alert around dogs in general. Even if the rider in front had decided to continue passing but then had to emergency stop because the dog made a quick move, you would have had to emergency brake anyway.

We teach a technique called “quick stop” in the WABA City Cycling classes. Good to know for situations like this. Upcoming class schedule.

Is that quick stop also known as this? [ATTACH=CONFIG]11864[/ATTACH]

[Steve O]

@Terpfan 140641 wrote:

Is that quick stop also known as this? [ATTACH=CONFIG]11864[/ATTACH]

Not quite. That’s the “Post-Quick Stop, Forgot to Clip Out Tipover.” (PQSFCOT)
We don’t teach that one specifically. It’s homework.

[ginacico]

@Steve O 140647 wrote:

Not quite. That’s the “Post-Quick Stop, Forgot to Clip Out Tipover.” (PQSFCOT)
We don’t teach that one specifically. It’s homework.

Are there extra credit points for those?

Did a PQSFCOT this weekend. We were touring, Vaya was loaded with panniers, and our lovely crushed gravel trail suddenly degraded into a rough dirt singletrack (trail “under development”). As I was approaching a wooden bridge, I noticed too late that the step up was a couple inches and I wasn’t going to clear it. Came to a quick stop, weight on the wrong side resulting in a PQSFCOT.

I do know how to ride a bike. Usually. :rolleyes:

[Boomer Cycles]

@ginacico 140652 wrote:

Are there extra credit points for those?

Did a PQSFCOT this weekend. We were touring, Vaya was loaded with panniers, and our lovely crushed gravel trail suddenly degraded into a rough dirt singletrack (trail “under development”). As I was approaching a wooden bridge, I noticed too late that the step up was a couple inches and I wasn’t going to clear it. Came to a quick stop, weight on the wrong side resulting in a PQSFCOT.

I do know how to ride a bike. Usually. :rolleyes:

You should post this link to WheelsNwings “London Bridges” thread for points towards next year’s pointless prize[emoji4]

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[huskerdont]

The PQSFCOT does not need to be taught; it just comes naturally.

[GovernorSilver]

Approaching the airport northbound on the MVT, I was caught by the surprise detour with that climb – wasn’t in the right gearing for climbing and totally messed up my shifting, causing the chain to get tangled up.

One nice cyclist stopped to try to help, then apologized that he didn’t have the right tools.

Then a nice cycling couple stopped to help and one of them suggested I try pulling the chain while he moved the crank – that caused the chain to snap back into place.

I later saw them relaxing by Gravelly Point – we waved at each other.

My normally relaxing ride through the Mall turned into a sprint as we were being chased by tour busses with hardly any safe space for letting the busses pass. Fortunately, about 21 mph was apparently sufficient to stay ahead of them.

I finally learned that I have to pedal hard on N. Capitol St. NE as soon as the light at H St. turns green, if I want to cross K St. before that light turns red.

[ian74]

@GovernorSilver 140698 wrote:

Approaching the airport northbound on the MVT, I was caught by the surprise detour with that climb – wasn’t in the right gearing for climbing and totally messed up my shifting, causing the chain to get tangled up.

One nice cyclist stopped to try to help, then apologized that he didn’t have the right tools.

Then a nice cycling couple stopped to help and one of them suggested I try pulling the chain while he moved the crank – that caused the chain to snap back into place.

I later saw them relaxing by Gravelly Point – we waved at each other.

My normally relaxing ride through the Mall turned into a sprint as we were being chased by tour busses with hardly any safe space for letting the busses pass. Fortunately, about 21 mph was apparently sufficient to stay ahead of them.

I finally learned that I have to pedal hard on N. Capitol St. NE as soon as the light at H St. turns green, if I want to cross K St. before that light turns red.

Did this happen on the Jamis or the Breezer? Also, when are we going to get to meet you at Crystal City Coffee Club? Your like my ex-girfriends, everyone thinks I just made her up since no one ever saw her and we only talk on the internet.

[Judd]

I got to draft behind a large truck full of landscaping equipment for a quarter of a Hains Point lap this morning. It was my first time drafting a vehicle. I was going 17mph and barely pedaling.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Author]

Posts