My Morning Commute

[mello yello]

Plus: The weather system that was all stagnant humidity broke: what wonderful weather! Almost brisk!
Minus: Ugh. Crosswinds on Ohio and my deep profile wheels make it feel like riding a kite through soup.

Re: Passes & Trails. Streets streets streets. I’ve done MV + Custis + Veitch three times now and I’m happy with my surface road alternative. I’ll save the Veitch route for Tuesdays after CCCC.

[Steve O]

@baiskeli 141036 wrote:

One newb passed me on the left with no warning as I was about to turn left on the trollheim bridge on the Mt. V trail (I know he’s a newb because he later crossed to the Memorial bridge by cutting through the grass on the south side). At least he said “good morning.”

Did you signal your turn?
That’s not to say he shouldn’t have called his pass; he should have, but two unpredictable moves are trickier to navigate than one. If you had signaled, he might have gone by you on the right instead.

[dasgeh]

@Steve O 141072 wrote:

Did you signal your turn?
That’s not to say he shouldn’t have called his pass; he should have, but two unpredictable moves are trickier to navigate than one. If you had signaled, he might have gone by you on the right instead.

I hate that intersection. I understand that one _should_ signal, but with the surface being what it is, I also understand that it may be safest to keep two hands on the bars. If I ran the Park Service, this would have striping to indicate that those going straight should be to the right, those turning left should be in the middle, and there should be no passing from a bit before the turn until after the dog leg.

[Vicegrip]

This am was just lovely. No 1000 watt flashers stitching braille like eye spots, no deer in the way, no crazy Ivans, no 10 foot leashes on 8 inch dogs and the Wheat’s crew members single filed along as they walked in to work. Plenty of walkers and riders all sharing the trail well and my completely full complement of “Vienna ladies who walk their dogs at the same time I ride the same quiet neighborhood roads” to say “Gooood morning” to.

[MRH5028]

Commute in was good, glad there was no wind. My 10PM hockey game last night left my legs lacking power or will to move forward.

[tnelson]

My commute was great, but witnessed two very close calls this morning: S. Joyce St. & Army Navy Drive in Arlington, and 20th St. NW & New Hampshire Ave in the city. Unfortunately both were due in large part to reckless behavior by the cyclists. With all the new folks out commuting now, I wonder if there needs to be a little public education campaign about safety.

[semperiden]

Crowded W&OD and Custis this AM with lots of speedsters (got passed 3 times!). Guy yelled at me for not hearing my pass (voice can get coarse sometimes). Maybe I should buy a bell.

[bentbike33]

Stopped to help a young lady cyclist at TR Island whose chain had overshot the big ring. She was trying to backpedal it on, but got it jammed at the derailleur. I fixed it with one crank rotation forward. She said she was on her “first ride without my husband” in a charming East-European accent.

Guys, please show your SOs the basics of how to deal with the minor hiccups that can happen while riding so they don’t have to worry about the creepy looking old guy on the weird bike stopping to help them and then mansplaining* how to work their bikes.

*I actually could not engage in mansplaining in this case as I had no idea how to work her bike’s brifters.

[Steve O]

@bentbike33 141136 wrote:

*I actually could not engage in mansplaining in this case as I had no idea how to work her bike’s brifters.

You clearly don’t understand the concept. Just because you don’t know how something works doesn’t mean, as a man, you can’t explain it anyway.

[bentbike33]

@Steve O 141143 wrote:

You clearly don’t understand the concept. Just because you don’t know how something works doesn’t mean, as a man, you can’t explain it anyway.

Thanks for the clarification. I always thought “mansplaining” meant “the act of a man explaining something at which he is competent to a woman in a pedantic and condescending way.”

For future reference, I will delete the italicized words from my mental definition.

[dbb]

I believe Steve O was acknowledging the concept of testosterone induced competence

[DrP]

@dbb 141148 wrote:

I believe Steve O was acknowledging the concept of testosterone induced competence

I think you have a typo. That should be “incompetence” or “belief of competence.”

[Steve O]

@dbb 141148 wrote:

I believe Steve O was acknowledging the concept of testosterone induced competence

This is also sometimes referred to as “Male Answer Syndrome”

[huskerdont]

Glebe to Chain Bridge towpath to CCT today. A very nice change from the Custis, and well worth being 5 minutes late. Even there though I think there were a few more cyclists. Saw maybe half a dozen on the CCT, whereas in years past I might have seen one or two that early.

[Anonymous]

Beautiful weather.

3 other cyclists on Oxon Hill road (typical number zero to one). And one on Old Fort Road where I have never before even once in 3 years morning or evening seen another person on a bike.

Zero cars almost killed me. Or, really, even particularly annoyed me.

I think I spent the entire second half of my ride with a goofy grin on my face.

did I mention beautiful weather?

[Author]

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