Tuesday Freshbikes (fka Conte’s) Arlington Hill Ride is back

[Steve O]

I was not on the ride, but I saw the emergency equipment at the corner of Glebe and Old Glebe.
Yes, there may have been gravel, but I also blame the county for leaving the road in such poor condition. There is a lump of asphalt on the curve that could take someone down on the corner. Perhaps that’s what caused the crash–or contributed to it.
There’s a similar problem on the corner of Old Glebe and Military that’s been there for several years. It took me down once turning onto Military.

[vvill]

Others on the ride said it was some serious gravel. Swathe-y. It sounded like a horrible crash (I guess they always do). I was somewhere in front of it when it happened, but close enough to pull up and look back. Not a pretty sight, and didn’t give me much motivation to finish the ride hard/fast. I had taken the turn slowly as I was on the inside, it was a crowded ride, and I’m fortunately familiar with the variable conditions there. I hope the injured cyclists heal up well.

As for lights, yeah, it surprises me how few cyclists from that ride have lights, given how much $ a lot of them spend on their bikes/gear! The first time I did the Freshbikes ride was one of the last rides of 2011, and it was getting dark even before the ride finished, so I turned on my old trusty 4xAA halogen front light, but only one other rider in my pack had any lighting at all. Riding home last night a racer in front of me had the dimmest single red LED on his seatpost. I assumed it was facing the wrong way it was so dim, but I guess it could’ve been the battery.

[dasgeh]

I didn’t realize so many of you ride this. We’ve started a mini-tradition of coming out to cheer on the cyclists at 20th and Quincy (just South of Lee). It’s me + toddler, and our friends who also have a toddler come to join in (usually a little late). My husband usually does the ride then joins us when he gets there (we live a block away).

When we started this a few weeks ago, we got lots of weird looks, and once my husband joined us (full kit, obvious road bike on the side of the road) lots of people asking if he was ok. People must be getting used to us because we’re getting more waves and cheers back. My daughter loves cheering on the “bike racers” (she’s generally saying “Allee, bike racers, go, go. Good job, bike racers” and clapping).

Anyway, sorry to hear about the crashes this week. We’ll be out of town next week, but wave when you see us once we’re back!

[Dirt]

I missed seeing y’all at the ride last night. I stopped by to shop, but the group was so huge leaving, that I didn’t hang around to chat with anyone. Honestly, I’d already had too many Bike Arlington-related sightings for the day and I thought I’d explode if I saw one more of our kind.

Love,

Dirt.

[txgoonie]

@dasgeh 27652 wrote:

My daughter loves cheering on the “bike racers” (she’s generally saying “Allee, bike racers, go, go. Good job, bike racers” and clapping).

Oh, was that you!? I heard the little cheer but it didn’t register until I was past. I did look back with a smile though Thanks for being there!

At the start of the ride last night, I honestly felt like bailing – felt icky and just too many people. I’m at a fitness level where I’m fully embedded in Fred territory;-) *Deep breaths* I stuck it out till the end, though, and was glad I rode, but more glad my friends nabbed seats at the tables near the kegs:cool:

And to elbows, I had the same thought regarding recycling. My team will be hosting the next BBQ ride in September, so I’ll inquire about making sure that’s covered. BTW – Some folks from Companions for Heroes (http://companionsforheroes.org/) will be at the Sept. 4th ride. So everyone please come out and find out what they’re about (and enjoy some Dogfish Head courtesy of Gripped Racing with your tacos:-)

[DismalScientist]

Was this what attracted all the bikes on the McKinley street hill last night? Had I known, I would have hung a sheet on the Ohio St. bridge (facing Ohio, not 66) saying “Steel is Real.” :rolleyes:

[vvill]

Oh yeah the recycling point got totally lost. I wondered that too, since I was a soda hog and had both a Coke and a Sprite afterwards. 😮

The free kegs are great (I enjoyed the Ranger IPA yesterday) but I can never bring myself to pour much more than half of one of those red Solo cups since I have to ride home shortly afterwards.

(and 24+ oz of water, two tacos and a cookie = wife said I looked pregnant when I got home)

dasgeh – I’ll try to remember to look out for you guys next time I do this ride

[vvill]

@DismalScientist 27669 wrote:

Was this what attracted all the bikes on the McKinley street hill last night? Had I known, I would have hung a sheet on the Ohio St. bridge (facing Ohio, not 66) saying “Steel is Real.” :rolleyes:

That was probably a different group ride, but I’d bet in either case that there were lots of shiny, shiny bikes on both.

[GuyContinental]

After my brief chat with Dirt I nearly got skeeshed on Fairfax by someone heading to one of the rides (pickup with a shiny c’dale in back)- note to folks driving to a group ride- it’s bad form and reeeealy bad karma to run over other riders on the way there.

[DaveK]

@DismalScientist 27669 wrote:

Was this what attracted all the bikes on the McKinley street hill last night? Had I known, I would have hung a sheet on the Ohio St. bridge (facing Ohio, not 66) saying “Steel is Real.” :rolleyes:

Neither A nor B ride goes over there, must have been a different group.

[eminva]

@GuyContinental 27679 wrote:

After my brief chat with Dirt I nearly got skeeshed on Fairfax by someone heading to one of the rides (pickup with a shiny c’dale in back)- note to folks driving to a group ride- it’s bad form and reeeealy bad karma to run over other riders on the way there.

When I first began bike commuting way back when, I had a car change lanes right into me (14th Street NW in Columbia Heights). That was my first scare and my first successful implementation of swift evasive maneuvers. As he drove off, still completely oblivious, I noticed it was a Subaru wagon with a bike rack on the back.

Liz

[vvill]

Heard tonight that this poor guy from WWVC broke his hip on that crash a couple weeks ago. OUCH.

[KelOnWheels]

Oh jeez. Poor guy!

[txgoonie]

@vvill 29280 wrote:

Heard tonight that this poor guy from WWVC broke his hip on that crash a couple weeks ago. OUCH.

Oh jeez. That ride was a bit of a mess.

But don’t let it deter you! Bumping this to give a heads up for next week. September 4th – 2 Kegs Dogfish Head beer courtesy of Gripped Racing! Word to the wise about the ride: due to a comms SNAFU, we were unaware that the final BBQ ride of the season would be the second Tuesday in September, not the first. So, there will be beer to drink on the 4th, but no tacos till the week after. So make sure to bring a waffle for after the ride! Also, the route on the BBQ ride on the 11th will be different than usual, so be sure to attend next week and get your hill rides in while you can!

And as I mentioned before, the REAL reason we’re excited (okay, yeah, I lured you in with beer;-) is because we’ll be hosting some folks from Companions for Heroes, a non-profit organization that matches shelter dogs with active duty military personnel, military veterans, and first-responders recovering from the psychological challenges they suffered during service to our country. We’re currently raising money for a C4H Emergency Fund for times when the dogs placed with veterans need special care and the veteran cannot afford it. We’re collecting till next Tuesday, so please consider donating – every little bit helps! http://www.giveforward.com/c4h_emergencyfund

[Bilsko]

Reviving a long-sleeping thread. Is anyone riding tonight’s FB Tuesday-night ride? I’ve got a buddy going and was thinking of riding too.

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