Tell me about the Arlington Loop

[lordofthemark]

I think I will do it this weekend if weather is even semi-decent.

Now don’t laugh.

This should be easy, cause I did a 22 mile trip up and back on the W&OD a few months ago. But I’ve hardly ridden at all in the last two months. Cherrydale to Rosslyn on inauguration day (plus the quarter mile from home to the 3A bus stop) is the longest I’ve done in that period. So I am out of shape, and still riding my old mountain bike, and no lights so need to get all done and home by dark regardless of when I leave (and I will be taking a bus from Annandale and back – I do not intend to do the ride FROM Annandale)

Depending which bus I take, I could start at many different places (W&OD and Col Pike, Rosslyn, or Pentagon City) and could go in either direction. If I take a lunch with me I might want to picnic either in the WOD section, or along the river – if not, I would stop for lunch in Rosslyn or Shirlington. I’ve ridden much of it at least once, though not the section of the custis from Ballston to Rosslyn (yes, ive heard about and driven through the circle of death – I will be very careful there)

Any thoughts, hints, experiences, or just enticements to do it, will be appreciated.

Topic

[vvill]

If you ride with gears yes I think it’s a good place to learn and adapt your timing of your shifts to terrain.

[mstone]

@lordofthemark 45205 wrote:

Is it fair to say that riding east on the Custis its very good to be able to shift gears quickly and smoothly? I did the Arlington Loop again today (the wind wasn’t nearly as bad as two weeks ago so just finishing is much less an accomplishment – I was faster of course, but not fast enough to want to talk about it) I got the strong impression that I went slower on the Custis and worked harder than I should have, even given my level of fitness, weight, bike, etc because I was not shifting smoothly or quickly enough to take advantage of downhills, get into the right gear for uphills, etc.

I’m now curious just how slow you shift.

[lordofthemark]

@mstone 45215 wrote:

I’m now curious just how slow you shift.

I’m not sure I even know how to explain it. I have found some youtube videos that I think will help me, at least on uphills where I found myself having trouble downshifting.

[Jason B]

Shift early, shift often.
At least that worked for Eddy

[Mikey]

When you are going down hill be in your biggest cog, as you decend, shift down to the middle of your rear gears, then at the bottom drop your front cog to your middle (if 3) or lower (if 2) gear. You should transition quick, and if you need to tune it in you can shift in the rear as your momentum slows. The worst thing to do is to try to shift once you are really torquing the cranks, your derailers wil never respond quickly, and the front is always more touchy than the rear since it has so far (up or down) to travel. That said if you are on a moderate uphill, and your gears won’t shift, lighten the load on your pedals and slow your cadence, and the gears should shift (especially if you have integrated hub gears. I found that the only way to shift a Capital Bikeshare bike is to sit back and take all strain off the pedals, then they will shift fine. Hope this helps. I once ripped through my 5th gear on my steel cassette by suddenly being in too big a gear on a steep little hill.

[Amalitza]

@lordofthemark 45218 wrote:

at least on uphills where I found myself having trouble downshifting.

Shift earlier. Before you think you need to. And be conservative about it– when in doubt, pick an easier gear. Once you’re climbing and mashing hard on the pedals, your bike won’t downshift easily.

//been there, done that//

[baiskeli]

@essigmw 45234 wrote:

When you are going down hill be in your biggest cog, as you decend, shift down to the middle of your rear gears, then at the bottom drop your front cog to your middle (if 3) or lower (if 2) gear. You should transition quick, and if you need to tune it in you can shift in the rear as your momentum slows. The worst thing to do is to try to shift once you are really torquing the cranks, your derailers wil never respond quickly, and the front is always more touchy than the rear since it has so far (up or down) to travel.

Yes, and it has to do it while the chain is under extreme tension. The front should always have just a little slack to work.

[Author]

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