My Morning Commute

[Dickie]

@KelOnWheels 58739 wrote:

I am so terrible at recognizing people on the trail… If I make up a bunch of labels can I just stick them to y’all when I see you out and about?

I’m going to start randomly yelling “Kel” every few minutes during every ride….. we’re bound to cross paths at some point right?

[Rogburt]

@ShawnoftheDread 58880 wrote:

I find that I get buzzed by far fewer cars crossing on LRT than riding on Americana Drive. And the people who don’t buzz me on Americana pass on the other side of the road when they can’t see what’s coming up the other side of the hill. And then there’s the dooring issue from all the parked cars and trucks.

Shawn all fair comments, get buzzed quite a bit, I just am always wary of LRT as most cars treat it as a super highway

[KelOnWheels]

This morning was SOOOO nice!

I could not even ride fast it was so nice. I used the 14th St Bridge as sort of a little cooldown since there was a slow guy on a CaBi in front of me. All good, slow CaBi guy.

[mello yello]

A different commute in today – in to the city to meet 1/8th for a bicycle gear transaction (literally!), then out to Landover.

Beautiful riding weather for July. <80 and mostly cloudy... I'll take it. Humid and I'm still sweating and working hard, but it's not near as bad as it could have been.

Riding in was interesting – there were OTHER BICYCLISTS out there, and lots and lots of CaBis. I got a bit turned around, and made one boneheaded move around Stanton Park, where C street comes in. Heavy traffic kept people from moving though. I probably added 2 miles by unnecessary turns / going the wrong direction.

Finding my way out to Benning Rd was a little interesting. I’m definitely not familiar with those roads. Thank goodness for smartphones, or I’d have been sunk.

On the plus side, the Marvin Gaye Park Trail is pretty nice. The entrance on 42nd and Hayes NE is lined on both sides with crepe myrtle that’s all blooming. Very pretty. Where the trail hits NHBorroughs Ave it’s newly paved and marked with sharrows. There is also a massive community garden complete with greenhouse that’s right on the trail. I wish there were a good way to cut through the neighborhoods before hitting 704 / MLK Jr Hwy, because that road is awful and none of the neighborhoods connect to each other.

All told, 20 mile commute this morning vs. my usual 10.

[TwoWheelsDC]

Wasn’t expecting to use my arm warmers again until closer to September, but they came in handy for the first couple miles this morning.

[rpiretti]

Sucked. I had to drive! I apologize to all of those who didn’t get to see me today.

[KelOnWheels]

@TwoWheelsDC 59064 wrote:

Wasn’t expecting to use my arm warmers again until closer to September, but they came in handy for the first couple miles this morning.

Yeah! It was a bit chilly this morning!

Can it stay like this the rest of the summer? 😎

Also, I saw a KayakCyndi! And another boat!

[Greenbelt]

Cold + tailwind = fast (for me anyways)!
15.5mi
Distance
374ft
Elevation (?)
59:30
Moving Time
476
Calories
Time 00:59:30
Elapsed Time 01:02:37
Avg Temp 59°F
Max Speed 30.4mi/h
Avg Speed 15.6mi/h
Cadence
Device Garmin Edge 800
Bike commuter

[consularrider]

No commute today, but a nice ride from Chillicothe to Washington Courthouse (Ohio) and back on a nice rail trail.

[TwoWheelsDC]

Had to dig into my Strategic Sock Reserve (SSR) this morning, as I forgot to pack a pair last night. If you don’t already, I highly advise keeping an SSR, as well as an SUR (Strategic Underwear Reserve) and SDSR (Strategic Dress Shirt Reserve). Now let’s just see if I remember to bring in an extra pair of socks to replenish the SSR…

[Subby]

Very happy to be back on the bike after two and half months. Picked a gorgeous day to get it going again, too. The first person I saw was dcv (said mornin’ as he passed me near Lee+WOD) and I just took it slow and easy. Deliberately rode past where I wiped out and got loaded into the ambulance. That’s over and done with now.

Like I said on Strava – I will never take bike commuting for granted again. The past 10 weeks in the car was terrible. So glad to be back at it.

[dcv]

@Subby 59260 wrote:

Very happy to be back on the bike after two and half months. Picked a gorgeous day to get it going again, too. The first person I saw was dcv (said mornin’ as he passed me near Lee+WOD) and I just took it slow and easy. Deliberately rode past where I wiped out and got loaded into the ambulance. That’s over and done with now.

Like I said on Strava – I will never take bike commuting for granted again. The past 10 weeks in the car was terrible. So glad to be back at it.

Sorry I didn’t recognize you, glad you’re back in the saddle.

[vvill]

@Subby 59260 wrote:

I will never take bike commuting for granted again. The past 10 weeks in the car was terrible. So glad to be back at it.

I know how you feel!! I opted for Metrobus + rail most of the time instead of the car so at least I could kill time on my phone but either way I am very glad to be back. Let me know if you want to do some gentle rides sometime. I’m still on a flat bar bike.

(Of course this morning I was running late and threw the bike on the car, only to have my car tire go flat on me… sigh. This particular car has maybe 45k mileage on it in 7 years so I’m guessing it will need a new set of tires if I look at them closely. $50 bike tires suddenly sound very cheap.)

[mello yello]

This morning was a gorgeous ride. I finally replaced the cog after lots of struggles getting the old one off, and the new one meshes with the new chain and is perfectly silent. The feeling of cutting through the cool(ish) morning air and hearing nothing but the wind is exhilarating.

Was a perfect commute until 1/4 mile from work when the WM “food waste recycling” truck passed me. Garbage trucks stink but when it’s all compostable and already fermenting / whatever it does, it really really reeks. Yuck!

[Hancockbs]

@TwoWheelsDC 59256 wrote:

Now let’s just see if I remember to bring in an extra pair of socks to replenish the SSR…

This is the hard part. Nothing like having your reserve be depleted when you need it again!

[Author]

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