new commuter
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Welcome!
I’m also a closet e-biker, though you should know not everyone loves us. In Arlington, at least, ebikes aren’t supposed to be on trails. My commute’s a lot shorter – 5 miles each way – I’m on the ebike at the moment because I’m pregnant any real efforts make me sick
How do you like the Bionix? I’m on a Kilowatt, which was bought through sale on the Clymb. Way underpowered, but perfect for what I use it for.I’m an ARL-DC-er, so I can’t help with your routing, but most questions to the forum get good answers.
Good luck! Even riding in the rain gets easier.
hi dasgeh!
thanks for your reply!
i love my route – i live about half a mile from the w&od, and i work in reston town center, which is right off the w&od.
i drove for the first time this weekend after riding all last week, and i realized that it has made me a more aware driver.
i really appreciate that so many motorists stop and let cyclists cross at intersections. but i also feel that from an environmental standpoint, it’s probably better for us to stop and let the motorists pass – it takes more fuel to get those big stopped vehicles going, and the cost of their brakes far exceeds ours – besides, i’m going to slow down to almost a stop as i approach that intersection anyway.
and then there are other times where it is a challenge. i was leaving the reston town center at about 5:30 this evening, in the thick of rush hour. we had a signal to cross reston parkway, but i felt like i was playing frogger as i crossed, with vehicles turning right onto reston parkway southbound. i need to explore going west from reston town center and picking up the w&od at a point where i can pass under reston parkway!
i am surprised to hear that ebikes are not allowed on the trails in arlington. i thought the whole idea of limiting their assisting capabilities to 20mph was so that they would be considered a bike and not a motorized vehicle. i should still be able to ride there with my pedal assist off, though, yes?
i’ve only had the bionx for a week and a half, but i love it! it is what is making it possible for me to commute to work. taking a change of clothes and a towel and showering seems like too much of a hassle to me.
i do feel like i’m cheating when i go up the big hills, though!
i think it’s great that you’re able to ride while you’re pregnant! congratulations, by the way! how far along are you?
@americancyclo 22739 wrote:
Glad to hear that you are getting more time on the bike. I tend to think of ebikes as gateway drugs or recovery tools, but whatever the reason, I’m glad you’re exploring the world of two wheels. I commuting from falls church towards dc so we might not cross paths, but welcome to the forum!
gateway drug – i love it!
Welcome maverick!
Make sure you join Strava and log all your trips with your electric assist. Fun should ensue.
(KIDDING!)I like the idea of e-bikes (there is another thread on this somewhere) because it lets you bike when you otherwise might not – due to either your own condition (injury, illness, etc) or weather/terrain conditions. I wouldn’t worry too much about riding on the Arlington trails as long you’re riding safely and sensibly.
As for pedals, I much prefer riding clipped in. I don’t know how that meshes with riding with an electric assist though.
Letting motorized vehicles go first because otherwise they have to stop and start again seems a bit silly. Might as well turn all intersections into roundabouts (traffic circles) then.
@vvill 22771 wrote:
Welcome maverick!
Make sure you join Strava and log all your trips with your electric assist. Fun should ensue.
(KIDDING!)I like the idea of e-bikes (there is another thread on this somewhere) because it lets you bike when you otherwise might not – due to either your own condition (injury, illness, etc) or weather/terrain conditions. I wouldn’t worry too much about riding on the Arlington trails as long you’re riding safely and sensibly.
As for pedals, I much prefer riding clipped in. I don’t know how that meshes with riding with an electric assist though.
Letting motorized vehicles go first because otherwise they have to stop and start again seems a bit silly. Might as well turn all intersections into roundabouts (traffic circles) then.
thanks vvill!
strava looks pretty neat – much nicer than the app that garmin provides (i have a garmin edge 500 from some time ago)!
i am going to try putting my spd pedals on this bike and ride with those tomorrow!
@baiskeli 22801 wrote:
Here’s my tip. Plan to take a shower tomorrow!
Congrats and welcome.
thanks baiskeli!
you know, i carry a change of clothes – but so far, i’ve only ever changed my shirt when i get to the office. but it probably isn’t a bad idea for me to keep a camping towel and travel size toiletries at work, just in case i want to get a shower in…
we’re getting a hot couple of days. yesterday morning was cool, but the afternoon was pretty hot. i’m working from home today, but let’s see how tomorrow morning is…
Hi again!
@maverick 22728 wrote:
i drove for the first time this weekend after riding all last week, and i realized that it has made me a more aware driver.
I agree that cycling has made me a better driver. I wish all drivers were required to bike one day a month (or even a year), just to remember what it’s like… Though I also find that after being on a bike, the car feels like a coffin.
@maverick 22728 wrote:
i really appreciate that so many motorists stop and let cyclists cross at intersections. but i also feel that from an environmental standpoint, it’s probably better for us to stop and let the motorists pass – it takes more fuel to get those big stopped vehicles going, and the cost of their brakes far exceeds ours – besides, i’m going to slow down to almost a stop as i approach that intersection anyway.
That makes sense on its face, but there’s more to the traffic considerations. I think that having cars stop creates safer streets (by slowing cars down), and promotes cycling (by making it overall faster), which in turns takes cars off the road, which is FAR more efficient than a few drivers slowing or stopping.
@maverick 22728 wrote:
i am surprised to hear that ebikes are not allowed on the trails in arlington. i thought the whole idea of limiting their assisting capabilities to 20mph was so that they would be considered a bike and not a motorized vehicle. i should still be able to ride there with my pedal assist off, though, yes?
It’s a silly rule. There’s a federal law saying that ebikes that meet its standard (the limited assist) can’t be required to meet the physical requirements of motor vehicles (headlights, exhaust, and even things like insurance). Unfortunately, that law doesn’t say that states and municipalities can’t ban ebikes from trails and sidewalks. Arlington’s rules were written before the federal law, and I don’t know the whole history, but I imagine they were ignorant of the idea of limited assist and its benefits.
All that said, you’re fine if you turn off the assist, and even with it on, you’re not likely to see any repercussions.
@maverick 22728 wrote:
i do feel like i’m cheating when i go up the big hills, though!
I call mine the “cheater” bike. I’m pro ebike, but I predict that in a few months, you’ll realize that you’d be faster on a road bike without a motor (lighter, skinnier tires), and that taking a shower is a small price for being able to motor along. Of course, I could just be having one of those grass-is-greener mornings and missing my own road bike. Poor Felt, all alone in storage, stuck with my husband’s stinky tri-bike…
@maverick 22728 wrote:
i think it’s great that you’re able to ride while you’re pregnant! congratulations, by the way! how far along are you?
Thanks. This is number 2, so I keep forgetting exactly where I am. 5 months or so. I’m not showing yet, but I hope I’m still on the bike when I’m more obviously pregnant.
@dasgeh 22808 wrote:
I call mine the “cheater” bike. I’m pro ebike, but I predict that in a few months, you’ll realize that you’d be faster on a road bike without a motor (lighter, skinnier tires), and that taking a shower is a small price for being able to motor along. Of course, I could just be having one of those grass-is-greener mornings and missing my own road bike. Poor Felt, all alone in storage, stuck with my husband’s stinky tri-bike…
i have a road bike, and i don’t like getting on it because it has a more agressive geometry. i bought it about 10 years ago (a bianchi reparto corse with an xl boron steel frame – it weighs less than my carbon fiber hybrid did before i added the bionx system, a marin highway one), and i loved riding it. but i think my body has changed, or i’ve gotten used the more upright sitting position on the marin.
a couple of years ago, when we lived in mclean, i’d sometimes ride to or get dropped off at west falls church metro with my bike, take the bus from there to reston town center with my bike on the front of the bus, and then ride back all the way. the ride down the w&od was great, but i hated the ride down haycock road and great falls street to get home!
i could probably go faster on my road bike, despite the couple of hills.
i know there are road bikes with less agressive geometry. perhaps i could even change the fork out on my road bike and end up with a more upright ride. but i really, really like my hybrid bike!
i even got this tote like pannier for it for picking up groceries and other stuff. i never thought to do that with my road bike – but i suppose i certainly could have.@KS1G 22788 wrote:
Welcome, Maverick. Before I changed job sites and my commute, I would sometimes have to drive E-W through Reston. Could easily take 15+ minutes at rush hour just to get past Whiele, Reston Parkway, and Town Center Parkway. The path to the W&OD from RTC starts at the top of the pedestrian bridge, just east of the bus station. It’s all downhill, just mind your speed and the tree root damage, plant (and human) debris, and the occasional walkers & riders. There is a hard left turn at the bottom onto the W&OD, across from the P&R lot. About a 1/4 mile east and you’re at the Reston Parkway tunnel. My preference vs. “frogger”. Or, line up with the cars and cross with vehicular traffic (assuming someone is turning left and trips the light sensor – I do not know if the cars turning right trigger a full green).
I prefer riding clipped in – more stable attachment to the pedals and I can apply power over more of each revolution. Nice thing about SPD is the shoes are at least semi-walkable (recessed cleat) and the pedals are 2-sided, so easier to clip in from a stop.
At road crossings, I assume the drivers do not see me until I see ALL lanes (Whiele Ave!) come to a stop. It may be more efficient for us to wait for vehicles (it *is* safer for us!), but if a driver decides to stop and wave me through (and it’s otherwise safe to proceed), I’m giving him a thank-you wave and going. At the very busy light-controlled crossings (Elden St, Maple Ave/123, Gallows Rd), I use the crossing button and wait for the light.
Don’t worry about panniers and your laptop – use a well-padded sleeve and I think it’d be OK, and I believe some companies make panniers/sleeves specifically for biking. Do get panniers with good rain covers or that are waterproof – road and wheel spray can soak through the cloth and puddle in the bottom. When I use a pannier when commuting, I usually just use one – I think I’d have to stuff it with much more than I’d want to pedal to notice a significant impalance.
If you need bike-related stuff during the day or along your commute, you have Bike Lane in RTC (up street from Fidelity), Performance off Sunset Hills Rd near Whole Foods, Spokes Etc and Bikes@Vienna off Maple St in Vienna.
Ride safe, have fun!
thanks KS1G!
this is very helpful!
@maverick 22806 wrote:
thanks baiskeli!
you know, i carry a change of clothes – but so far, i’ve only ever changed my shirt when i get to the office. but it probably isn’t a bad idea for me to keep a camping towel and travel size toiletries at work, just in case i want to get a shower in…
we’re getting a hot couple of days. yesterday morning was cool, but the afternoon was pretty hot. i’m working from home today, but let’s see how tomorrow morning is…
How’d it go?
I actually didn’t need a shower this morning. I got in front of my office fan fast.
@baiskeli 23002 wrote:
How’d it go?
I actually didn’t need a shower this morning. I got in front of my office fan fast.
i wasn’t much hotter than i normally am, despite the heat. i drank way more than i normally do, but that’s a good thing! as usual, i rinsed my face and changed my shirt. i feel good!
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