My Morning Commute

[ARL_wahoo]

@ebubar 49549 wrote:

I’m slow too. But I blame my bike for my slowness. Always passed by people on those curvy handlebar things. I’m piddling along on my flat bar hybrid. It has to be the bike…right? If only I had one with curly bars I could pass all of them! To make myself feel better, when I get passed I just sit up straight on my upright hybrid and start humming to myself like I’m just out enjoying nature. Nobody needs to know that inside I’m angrily seething that I was just passed by someone twice my age going twice my speed with what looks to be half the effort.

This is by far the best thing I’ve seen on here! I commute from Arlington to DC during the nicer months and last fall I was slowly passing a few people, but I just started up again and I forgot how much it pains me to see people glide effortlessly by me, twice my speed, and twice the grey hair amount! Meanwhile, I’m peddling my butt off on my straight-bar “mnt” bike

[ebubar]

@acl 49573 wrote:

AH-HA. I believe I have detected my mistake. I rode the wrong bike! If only I had ridden the one with the curvy handlebars, I would have been passing everybody!

Eventually when my dream monies turn into real monies and I upgrade to a curvy handlebar bike (so sexy!), I’m sure I’ll have to think of another excuse. For those in that situation, I’m thinking of some reasoning gathered from my Astrophysics course:

Older folks want to recapture their youth. They ride fast. By riding fast, special relativity tells us that time for them slows down, therefore they age less. Consequently, those speedy folks are really just trying to stay young and are therefore cheating time. I am a distinguished professor and therefore am not permitted to cheat. I have to set a good example for my students. No cheating time for me. So, when I really think about it, in order to maintain my professional credibility I HAVE to ride slow. Its all by my own choice. Its certainly not my weak legs that only commute on average 3 days a week.

[dbb]

Does it count as a commute if I didn’t actually get to the office?

Met riders this morning for FCCII. Had some time to kill before my fitting appointment with Clovis at Freshbikes so I rode to Dickie’s work with Dickie and Consularrider

Went outside the beltway to Dickie’s shop (OK, maybe I did make it to an office, just not mine) and I discovered that the map I had showing that area was incorrect (it shows the area west of Arlington with the advisory “There be Dragons”). For the record, this was a far west as I have ever ridden (I seem to be something of a one trick pony in my riding).

After riding past the FreshBikes in the Mosaic District (the area formerly known as Merrifield) rode back to FB in Ballston. Fitting went well and Clovis determined that my sit bone span was larger than my saddle (did Clovis tell me I had a big butt?) so I left with a new saddle.

Ride down the MVT was pleasant except for the headwind from the south.

All in all, a fine day.

[Mikey]

@dbb 49653 wrote:

Does it count as a commute if I didn’t actually get to the office?

Fitting went well and Clovis determined that my sit bone span was larger than my saddle (did Clovis tell me I had a big butt?) All in all, a fine day.

Like Sir-Mix-A-Lot so eloquently said, “I like wide sit bone spans and I cannot lie. . .”

[Mikey]

did you catch the one tulip that was yellow with red stripes (at about NNW on the memorial)? Some days that’s me

[ebubar]

In honor of Earth Day:
Commuting by bike = 29 miles
Dessert for me and my wife = 2 Georgetown cupcakes
Commute still being cheaper and faster than Metro = priceless

[dbb]

@essigmw 49655 wrote:

did you catch the one tulip that was yellow with red stripes (at about NNW on the memorial)? Some days that’s me

I went back to look and it appears the yellow/red tulip had been purged. The NPS apparently does not encourage free spirited plant life.

[Vicegrip]

@dbb 49823 wrote:

I went back to look and it appears the yellow/red tulip had been purged. The NPS apparently does not encourage free spirited plant life.

The nail that sticks out is the one that gets hit….

[dbb]

According to my calendar company, “The tallest blade of grass is the first to be cut by the lawnmower.”

http://despair.com/underachievement.html

[dbb]

@dbb 49823 wrote:

I went back to look and it appears the yellow/red tulip had been purged. The NPS apparently does not encourage free spirited plant life.

However, there was a free spirited red tulip hiding under a shrub at the memorial

And it would appear the sculptures of the gulls might have bees (wasps actually) in their bonnets. Not someplace I’d like to have wasps.

[rcannon100]

my fitting appointment with Clovis

Sir…. what number bicycle is this for?!?!?! :rolleyes:

(and pictures or it didnt happen)

[dbb]

@rcannon100 49841 wrote:

Sir…. what number bicycle is this for?!?!?! :rolleyes:

(and pictures or it didnt happen)

You want pictures of my butt? Sir, this is a family forum! Bike 2, the new CAAD X

[ebubar]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrfDqoILHjw

I regularly take the Capital Crescent Trail on my Takoma to Arlington commute. Many moons ago when I first asked advice on here about routes someone mentioned and showed a picture of a fabled crossing between Chain Bridge and CCT that avoided that rocky, bumpy towpath.
Today, I present, that fabled path. I made it just fine in regular running sneakers, carrying a shaky iphone in one hand (I promise I was going for that “Lost” shaky camera aesthetic…) and a Trek 7.2 FX Hybrid with a loaded pannier in the other. If I can manage it in my infinite
scrawny-osity, i’m sure most of you elite athletes here can too!

The only really dodgy part of this approach is the occasional car (BWM today, Mercedes yesterday) that decides they need to be as close as possible to the car in front of them at the red light and can skillfully do so while checking their
blackberry. The big yellow blob that looks like a 5’10” scrawny bearded guy holding a big black bike is just a figment of his/her imagination so they can pull forward as though I don’t exist. Either that or i’m actually invisible in my biking outfit…in which case I can now understand why
bike gear is a bit pricey.

Cheers!

[Subby]

Hah! I remember doing that once on MY fully loaded and panniered Trek FX 7.something hybrid and thinking I was going to trip and tumble into traffic at any second. Kudos for doing it WHILE filming.

[GuyContinental]

@ebubar 49854 wrote:

I regularly take the Capital Crescent Trail on my Takoma to Arlington commute. Many moons ago when I first asked advice on here about routes someone mentioned and showed a picture of a fabled crossing between Chain Bridge and CCT that avoided that rocky, bumpy towpath.
Today, I present, that fabled path.
Cheers!

That looked CX worthy right up until you turned around! Yikes, hike-a-bike for sure! The fact that there is no clean link between the excellent bike infrastructure of North Arlington and the excellent infrastructure of the CapC has always surprised me. Short of heading all the way down Custis to Key then battling up M and down to Water there really isn’t a good link anywhere. Does anyone know if there as any long term plan to join the systems?

[Author]

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