My Morning Commute

[jrenaut]

@americancyclo 63365 wrote:

http://www.dancersamongus.com/

1) F***ing jaywalkers
2) Obviously photoshopped. No way are there that many bollards at any PA Ave intersection.

[jnva]

@Dickie 63345 wrote:

After a great FCCII with a record turn out, and JimK not seeing me again I finally stopped to meet the work-out man on the W&OD next to Railroad Ave. I am sure you have all spotted him “working out”, and “Lady Watching” next to his 86′ Monte Carlo. Turns out his name is JJ, a 70 yr. old ex-boxer/trainer. Lots of colorful stories, some questionable, but still a nice guy. It just felt wrong passing him every day and not saying “Hi”. I look forward to hearing him yell “Dickie” from now on!

Ha ha, yeah I’ve been wondering what his story was! I was thinking it might have been boxing. Sometimes there is a lady in the car. It’s one of the fun parts of commuting on a bike. That and dogsled guy, which I haven’t seen lately.

[DCLiz]

Overall: 7 — I’m really thinking about doing the ‘daily key’ thing, and see how it goes. I suspect, though, if I had the membership, I’d find ways to use it. Getting my ride out of the garage, and having to change into cycling shoes can be a bit of a deterrent to riding to do errands during the day. CaBi would solve that. So far, the main thing holding me back is that there’s no station at Ft. Totten, which is where I park when I drive. I suppose I could find another place to park…

It’s amazing how handy it is. It becomes another transportation option when you’re out and about. Has the Metro car stopped inexplicably at a downtown station? Hop out and CaBi the rest of the way. Need to make a run to Trader Joe’s quickly? Those stations right outside your office and the Trader Joe’s sure are handy. Need a quick way to get from H Street to Chinatown? You get the idea. Once you get a membership, you end up using it all the time. For a while I was commuting on CaBi more than my own bike, because it was just easier than having to lug my bike out of the basement in a walk-up apartment and deal with locking up, etc. Also enabled one-direction commutes.

[CPTJohnC]

Not much biking for me for a while, as I need to do enough running to get ready for the ATM. I don’t know how triathletes do it — finding time for multiple ‘sports’ is tough!

@ebubar 63720 wrote:

Good and bad commute today. Bad = bike not shifting right. I’m wondering if the chain and cassette are possibly worn after 2000 miles for the year. Definitely need to get that checked out.

Make sure you check your shifter cables, too. I was having horrible shifting problems, and it turned out my shifter cable had begun to fray. Fortunately, I caught it before it snapped…

[Drewdane]

Was crowded. Is it me, or are more people using the WOD/MCT lately compared to previous years?

[rcannon100]

Absolutely. But also this time of year the new kiddies from the local universities (GTown, GW) and even high schools can be found jogging on the MVT making it both quite crowded and filled with people unaware of trail etiquette. The worst is the local high school cross country teams that use the MVT to make a loop – and it is clear that some of the kids clearly dont want to be there – so they are not paying attention.

When is the first frost??

[dasgeh]

Was in a car And I got stuck in traffic. (Though I did get 50 cents / gallon off gas for our once-a-month fill up)

Apparently, acting as an elevator, climbing toy and comfortably supported milk machine for 50+ total pounds of squirmy cuteness is not good for one’s back.

Any recommendations for things to help random debilitating mid-back pain? I’ve been doing a rotation of drugs (tylenol and advil) and heat, with some yoga (wall plank, down dog and pigeon feel good) added in. Any other yoga positions to try?

Over/under on how long I’ll be off the bike? I could barely move yesterday. Today, I’m ok with some things, bending over not so much…

TIA

[rcannon100]

@dasgeh 63759 wrote:

Any recommendations for things to help random debilitating mid-back pain?

Get rid of the kids; get a dog

[consularrider]

@rcannon100 63764 wrote:

Get rid of the kids; get a dog

Worked for me, just make sure the dog is under 25 pounds! :p

[cyclingfool]

Three flats in less than 16 hours. That’s a new record for me. First one was last night on the way home. Already running late. Tired baby at home. Wife not happy. Not a time when you really need a flat. Alas… Other two were this AM. One about two miles into my commute in Crystal City. Changed tube and rode on. Second one made itself known as I descended from 14th St Bridge. I could have patched the bad tube I’d just pulled off in CC, but decided I’d just walk the mile and a half to my office from there. Just made it in time for a morning meeting.

All punctures were singular holes on the inside of the tube (i.e., facing the rim and spoke holes) on the rear wheel. I couldn’t find anything wrong with the rim strip or the rim itself upon inspection, but my hypothesis is it’s the plastic SRAM rim strip sliding around and pinching the tube against the rim somehow, so I took the bus to DC Hardware and Bike Shop at lunch and picked up some Velox, which is what I almost always use anyways (compromised getting the SRAM plastic rim strip thing when I did), and a new tube. So, I’ll take out the old strip, clean the inside of the rim real well with a rag, and install Velox tape before heading home this evening and patch up the tubes there. Hopefully that’ll resolve this situation.

It’s all odd because I hadn’t had a flat for almost two years before this (thanks to puncture resistant Schwalbes and Michelin City tires on my bikes). Life keeping me on my toes I suppose.

In fun news, I have class tonight, which I bike to, so I’ll get a chance finally to ride in the dark with my new MagicShine knock-off light.

[Terpfan]

@cyclingfool 63818 wrote:

Three flats in less than 16 hours. That’s a new record for me. First one was last night on the way home. Already running late. Tired baby at home. Wife not happy. Not a time when you really need a flat. Alas… Other two were this AM. One about two miles into my commute in Crystal City. Changed tube and rode on. Second one made itself known as I descended from 14th St Bridge. I could have patched the bad tube I’d just pulled off in CC, but decided I’d just walk the mile and a half to my office from there. Just made it in time for a morning meeting.

All punctures were singular holes on the inside of the tube (i.e., facing the rim and spoke holes) on the rear wheel. I couldn’t find anything wrong with the rim strip or the rim itself upon inspection, but my hypothesis is it’s the plastic SRAM rim strip sliding around and pinching the tube against the rim somehow, so I took the bus to DC Hardware and Bike Shop at lunch and picked up some Velox, which is what I almost always use anyways (compromised getting the SRAM plastic rim strip thing when I did), and a new tube. So, I’ll take out the old strip, clean the inside of the rim real well with a rag, and install Velox tape before heading home this evening and patch up the tubes there. Hopefully that’ll resolve this situation.

It’s all odd because I hadn’t had a flat for almost two years before this (thanks to puncture resistant Schwalbes and Michelin City tires on my bikes). Life keeping me on my toes I suppose.

In fun news, I have class tonight, which I bike to, so I’ll get a chance finally to ride in the dark with my new MagicShine knock-off light.

I had the same thing a year or two ago and it was a worn out tire. Even though they kept presenting themselves location wise as looking they came from the rim/spokes, it was tire-related. As soon as I changed the tire (knocking on wooden desk), everything was fine again.

I’m tempted to try those gator tires. Coworker has them and says they were work great. Is that the ones you have? I really don’t know a ton about tires except that I tend to buy ones claiming puncture resistance and that are mid range price wise since I prefer avoiding flats.

[cyclingfool]

@Terpfan 63821 wrote:

I had the same thing a year or two ago and it was a worn out tire. Even though they kept presenting themselves location wise as looking they came from the rim/spokes, it was tire-related. As soon as I changed the tire (knocking on wooden desk), everything was fine again.

I’m tempted to try those gator tires. Coworker has them and says they were work great. Is that the ones you have? I really don’t know a ton about tires except that I tend to buy ones claiming puncture resistance and that are mid range price wise since I prefer avoiding flats.

It’s not a worn out tire issue. The rear tire was first installed last week. I bought it after some bead seating issues had me convinced the sidewall was about to fail. So, the tire is brand new. I actually think that the swap may have inadvertently kicked off whatever is going on. Like I said, upon close inspection, I couldn’t find anything visible wrong with the rim or the strip, which did not have any adhesive. I hope that using Velox, which will stick and not be able to slide around, will fix the issue. If not, your experience may be helpful. I’ll have to have a closer look at the tire. Thanks for sharing.

I have not used Gatorskins. Tires I’ve had good luck with over the years are Vittoria Randonneurs, Schwalbe Marathons (and Marathon Plusses), and my current tires, Michelin City Tires with Protek, which cost about $30. My favorites have been the Schwalbes, but they cost more. I’ll go back to Schwalbes for my next set of tires, which I expect to buy in about a year.

[hoffsquared]

@cyclingfool 63818 wrote:

Three flats in less than 16 hours. That’s a new record for me. First one was last night on the way home. Already running late. Tired baby at home. Wife not happy. Not a time when you really need a flat. Alas… Other two were this AM. One about two miles into my commute in Crystal City. Changed tube and rode on. Second one made itself known as I descended from 14th St Bridge. I could have patched the bad tube I’d just pulled off in CC, but decided I’d just walk the mile and a half to my office from there. Just made it in time for a morning meeting.

All punctures were singular holes on the inside of the tube (i.e., facing the rim and spoke holes) on the rear wheel. I couldn’t find anything wrong with the rim strip or the rim itself upon inspection, but my hypothesis is it’s the plastic SRAM rim strip sliding around and pinching the tube against the rim somehow, so I took the bus to DC Hardware and Bike Shop at lunch and picked up some Velox, which is what I almost always use anyways (compromised getting the SRAM plastic rim strip thing when I did), and a new tube. So, I’ll take out the old strip, clean the inside of the rim real well with a rag, and install Velox tape before heading home this evening and patch up the tubes there. Hopefully that’ll resolve this situation.

It’s all odd because I hadn’t had a flat for almost two years before this (thanks to puncture resistant Schwalbes and Michelin City tires on my bikes). Life keeping me on my toes I suppose.

In fun news, I have class tonight, which I bike to, so I’ll get a chance finally to ride in the dark with my new MagicShine knock-off light.

I had this happen too. Turns out I had a bits of glass that worked it’s way through the tire in one particular area. Didn’t feel it until I turned the tire basically inside out.

[ebubar]

@hoffsquared 63843 wrote:

I had this happen too. Turns out I had a bits of glass that worked it’s way through the tire in one particular area. Didn’t feel it until I turned the tire basically inside out.

This is what i’ve had to do on all my flats. Turn the tire more or less inside out wherever there looks to be any kind of crack or tiny cut and pry out glass with some tweezers.

[jabberwocky]

Got right hooked on my way in this morning. My commute crosses wiehle on north shore drive in Reston. From wiehle, I sprint up the hill towards ring road. There is a school on the right that a lot of people turn into, so I tend to be out pretty far (plus I’m generally going the 25mph speed limit up the hill). This morning, I was first at the light and was going up the hill at 24-25 mph. Right as I got to the school, the guy behind me tried to gun it around and then hang into his right turn. I went into the side of his car.

Then, of course, he started yelling at me for “passing him on the right”, and that it was my fault because “he had his turn signal on”. I was yelling back that the only reason I was on his right was that he had tried (and failed) to pass me, and that I was going the speed limit in a school zone, so I don’t know why he was trying to pass anyway. I offered to call the police several times, but he balked. Once we determined I and my bike was ok we both went on our way.

[Author]

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