My Morning Commute

[huskerdont]

Since I see squirrels and bunnies squashed on the trail fairly regularly, I don’t think they’re always just going to avoid you. As mentioned before, I’ve had many close calls with kamikaze bunnies, and I always worried I’d go over the bars if I hit one. I still think that’s possible, but a coworker killed one last winter on the Custis and did not tonk. So it’s not a certainty, but I do seem to end up on the ground more than most so I’m probably going to end up there again if I hit one.

No morning commute today because of the … closures.

[ursus]

Squirrels seem to be a worse hazard than rabbits to me as they seem to change directions more often. I just slow down and let them do their thing.

[jabberwocky]

Small animals are pretty squishy. You’d be surprised how easy they are to roll over, even at speed.

I’m not suggesting you try to, but I’m definitely of the mind that I don’t make huge efforts to swerve and slam brakes on when they jump out. Moderate brakes, hold my line, hope they dodge.

Unless its a kitty. I will crash to avoid a kitty.

[Phatboing]

A squirrel jumped out in front of my bike on the C&O once. It bounced off the front tire. It was hilarious, and the critter was probably fine after, if shaken to its tiny little core. Less hilarious was when I squelched through fresh rat gore on my way home yesterday.

Don’t be the second person to run over a rodent, is what I’m saying I think.

[scoot]

Squirrels are the perfect storm and they have potential to cause a serious crash. Small and quick enough to get caught in your spokes, while also large and bony enough to lock your wheel. As one Chicagoan found out last year.

[cvcalhoun]

[FONT=&amp]”Interesting” trip to work. Going along the L Street cycletrack, I found L Street barricaded at 13th. 13th wasn’t barricaded in either direction, so I thought I’d go south on it. That was before I heard the explosions of flashbangs, and saw the tear gas, to the south. Yeah, I decided to go north, and go across on Massachusetts instead.
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[FONT=&amp]Good news is, the ride took only 10 minutes longer than usual. I suspect the cars downtown did not fare as well.
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[kcb203]

I just looked on TV, and there’s a parade on my bike commuting route! I can’t wait to get Pennsylvania Avenue back from 15th to 17th. The detours the last two months have been annoying.

I do have to report lots of big black cars driving in the bike lines on Pennsylvania Avenue.

[Harry Meatmotor]

this morning’s ride in was…

…AWESOME.

[cvcalhoun]

If the “high winds” and “gale warnings” before I left the house weren’t enough, I had this at the end of my driveway to alert me:

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Fortunately, the CCT was protected enough so that the wind wasn’t too bad. But once I was on city streets, I kept fearing I’d be pushed either backwards or into the next lane.

[DrP]

First bike commute to new job. Quite pleasant weather-wise. Took a little longer than I had expected. Also, I kept thinking that there was something wrong with the back wheel since things seemed to be moving (by evening commute, I realized that the rack was loose and the heavy panniers were swaying. Now fixed), which may have added to the time.

[DrP]

Got a flat on the way in. I wasn’t too far from the office when I realized that the front wheel was not acting correctly. I stopped to pump it up on the MVT (thank you to all who stopped or offered to do so!!). I could not see anything clearly causing the issue. I had to stop again along Boundary Channel Dr, and that got me, just barely, to my office. Now I know what I am doing at lunch today!

[EasyRider]

Tried googling but couldn’t identify the unmarked slate blue cyclocross bike that passed me this morning on Memorial Bridge. Rider was wearing yellow Ortlieb backpack. What a great looking bike. 35cm tires? Who makes it?

[dkel]

@EasyRider 154074 wrote:

Tried googling but couldn’t identify the unmarked slate blue cyclocross bike that passed me this morning on Memorial Bridge. Rider was wearing yellow Ortlieb backpack. What a great looking bike. 35cm tires? Who makes it?

This? http://salsacycles.com/bikes/archive/2016_vaya_x9

[EasyRider]

@dkel 154080 wrote:

This? http://salsacycles.com/bikes/archive/2016_vaya_x9

More of a grayish blue, with a level top tube. Disc brakes.

[huskerdont]

@EasyRider 154082 wrote:

More of a grayish blue, with a level top tube. Disc brakes.

Sounds a bit like a Bianchi Volpe. They come with disc brakes though the one pictured doesn’t. I think jrenaut has one.

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