"My ride would be better if"

[americancyclo]

@Dirt 20568 wrote:

I’d love an hors catégorie climb with 27 or more switchbacks on both climb and descent in the middle of Hains Point.

We could put it where the Awakening was!

[Dirt]

@americancyclo 20585 wrote:

We could put it where the Awakening was!

That would be soooooooo awesome! We were talking about the number of vacant buildings in Crystal City. I might buy one of those, build a ramp and switchbacks between floors and get some vert there. Just detour the MVT into one end of the building and then out the other end. Maybe I’ll buy more than one.

[dbb]

@Dirt 20587 wrote:

That would be soooooooo awesome! We were talking about the number of vacant buildings in Crystal City. I might buy one of those, build a ramp and switchbacks between floors and get some vert there. Just detour the MVT into one end of the building and then out the other end. Maybe I’ll buy more than one.

If you had thought about that sooner, you could have done it as a Crystal City Art o Matic installation! Wouldn’t have had to buy the building.

[Riley Casey]

As I remember the scenery in the south of France – not to mention the air – was better than Crystal City but to each his / her own.

@Dirt 20587 wrote:

That would be soooooooo awesome! We were talking about the number of vacant buildings in Crystal City. I might buy one of those, build a ramp and switchbacks between floors and get some vert there. Just detour the MVT into one end of the building and then out the other end. Maybe I’ll buy more than one.

[KelOnWheels]

My ride would be better if I could get from Valley Drive to the 4MRT without having to hike down the glass-covered sidewalk on W Glebe with my bike.

(Is there a better way? Should I go through Shirlington instead?) :confused:

[baiskeli]

Yeah, you could take 34th St. across 395 to 31st St, or Valley to Gunston to the pedestrian bridge across 395 to Shirlington. It would add a little to the ride, but that’s good, right?

If it makes you feel better, until a few years ago the ped bridge was the only connection because the section of the MVT that runs under 395 wasn’t built yet.

[KelOnWheels]

@baiskeli 20597 wrote:

Yeah, you could take 34th St. across 395 to 31st St, or Valley to Gunston to the pedestrian bridge across 395 to Shirlington. It would add a little to the ride, but that’s good, right?

I’ll just have to reward myself with a coffee stop in Shirlington. OH THE SUFFERING.

[baiskeli]

@KelOnWheels 20601 wrote:

I’ll just have to reward myself with a coffee stop in Shirlington. OH THE SUFFERING.

We need to ride together some time. We think alot alike.

[Arlingtonrider]

Kel,

First, bikes and beer (see next paragraph). In answer to your question, I think going through Shirlington would make your ride a LOT better. You could either take the pedestrian bridge or 31st street from there. I think the ped bridge would be the best choice, as 31st can get a bit narrow when buses come down it. You might also have the option of having a bus take you and your bike up the hill.

Plus, Shirlington can be a great stop. I’ve been thinking that it might be fun to have a very casual almost unplanned forum happy hour at Cap City next Thursday to celebrate all our Challenge teams. The teams have done pretty well for the first month! Any interest? Should we post this someplace else?

Kathy

[KelOnWheels]

Bikes and beer! I approve this message.

[Subby]

McLean is pretty bad for bike commuting. Unless you have direct access to Westmoreland (which has nice bike lanes), you are putting yourself in serious danger every time you bike commute.

I come home on Old Glebe to Kirby and both have sections with about as much shoulder as 123 coming up from the river does. It is very scary.

Old Dominion would be a great commuting option, but it also has little to no shoulder or sidewalk and during rush hour I would get pancaked.

So, luckily, I have access to Westmoreland. But going the same way each way every day gets boring – and it takes me about 2 milles out of the way.

Anyway. its all much better (just not safer) than driving.

[rcannon100]

It is probably dangerous to flip this, nevertheless

“Your ride would be so much better if” you avoided these two mistakes I see out on the trail: cadence and flat tires.

Particularly it seems with mountain bikes, or maybe its just more obvious, I’ll look back at the back tire, and the tire is under inflated – or even barely inflated. Tires should be checked regularly, like before each ride. Low tires means the cyclists is working harder to get that mushy tire moving, and the bike is less responsive.

Cadence: Sometimes going up a slight hill, like a ramp up to the 14th street bridge, I will see a cyclists stuck in a high gear just struggling to get up the hill, barely getting the pedals around. You dont want to do that. Get a good cadence, a good rhythm, and let the gears do the work. You should find a cadence that is comfortable for you. It should be an easy but rapid cadence, and that cadence should be relatively the same in different conditions.

Here is an explanation from that authoritative source, wikipedia

Cyclists typically have a preferred cadence at which they feel most comfortable, and on bicycles with many gears it is possible to stick to a favourite cadence at a wide range of speeds. Recreational and utility cyclists typically cycle around 60–80 rpm. According to cadence measurement of 7 professional cyclists during 3 week races they cycle about 90 rpm during flat and long (~190 km) group stages and individual time trials of ∼50 km. During ∼15 km uphill cycling on high mountain passes they cycle about 70 rpm. Sprinters can cycle up to 170 rpm for short periods of time. The professional racing cyclist and Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong is known for his technique of keeping up high cadences of around 110 rpm for hours on end to improve efficiency.

You provide the power; let the bike do the work.

[brendan]

@Arlingtonrider 20613 wrote:

Kel,

First, bikes and beer (see next paragraph). In answer to your question, I think going through Shirlington would make your ride a LOT better. You could either take the pedestrian bridge or 31st street from there. I think the ped bridge would be the best choice, as 31st can get a bit narrow when buses come down it. You might also have the option of having a bus take you and your bike up the hill.

Plus, Shirlington can be a great stop. I’ve been thinking that it might be fun to have a very casual almost unplanned forum happy hour at Cap City next Thursday to celebrate all our Challenge teams. The teams have done pretty well for the first month! Any interest? Should we post this someplace else?

I’m not on any of the teams, but I’d be down. All this talk of Shirlington, Valley Drive, Gunston, 4MRT, and the pedestrian bridge has me nostalgic for the area, as I grew up in Parkfairfax. One of my earliest memories is walking over that bridge to go to the Hot Shoppes that used to be on the Shirlington side of the bridge…

Brendan

[acc]

I remember that Hot Shoppes. Now I shall go mount my dinosaur and ramble home.

About gearing. True Story. I only admit this because I have no shame. Obviously.

For a very long time I was hesitant to move into my small ring, back when I had three rings. Every time I did Spartacus shuddered and squeaked and I was convinced I had broken him. Not true. If I could go back in time and speak to myself during the first year I rode I’d tell myself several things.

First, don’t be afraid of shifting in and out of all your gears. You simply cannot hurt the bike. There is no reason to suffer needlessly. My God, I did a group ride via Potomac Peddlers and rode through some hills in Arlington exclusively in my middle ring. It’s amazing I didn’t have a stroke. Choose your suffer points. Go ahead and shift into whatever gear it takes to get yourself up that hill.

Second, learn to fix a flat. Practice that skill. You’re going to need it. And when you do it will be dark and raining and cold. I promise. I haven’t used such colorful language since the time I had a slow leak on New Year’s Eve in P’ville and had to hand pump Spartacus every five miles back to Reston where I gave up and called for help because I didn’t have any levers.

Third, don’t talk to that Blacknell person, he’s nothing but trouble.

[Mikey]

Another reason for a good moderate cadance — It’s amazing how many songs have a tempo of ~100-120bps; The songs just come naturally.

[Author]

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