Why is Arlington so mean to me???

[Dirt]

It seems like every time I go for a long ride and I’m returning home tired and in need of a peaceful, joyous welcome, I am greeted with 41st Street, Glebe Road and Williamsburg Blvd. Falls Church adds insult to injury with West street.

Sometimes I just want to cry.

I want a town that loves me and welcomes me home with flat, smooth pavement and a tail wind no matter which direction I’m going. Any hills should have a Starbucks at the top.

But seriously folks….

Can you tell I rode a lot on Sunday? Totally joking with the above stuff. I wouldn’t flatten Arlington if I had the opportunity. Gravity is half the fun.

Have bike, –> will whine!

Love,

Pete

Topic

[Dirt]

My friend Joe has a sticker on the back of his bike, “Follow me to certain death”. I completely support that mentality.

[consularrider]

@Tim Kelley 1132 wrote:

I’ve taken a handful of friends up 41st street and the majority of them have tipped over on the last little really steep stretch.

Perfect example of my own personal light-hearted schadenfreude…

Yep, that was me on Sunday, tipping over at 2 mph.:eek: I made it riding my old mountain bike without too much trouble, think I made on my old road bike with a 30/28 combination. As I said, I’ll keep trying.

[OneEighth]

Okay, old thread, but what? No love for Walter Reed from 4 Mile Run toward Glebe? And then down again…on a fixie?

[Dirt]

I love that climb, but it takes 2-3 miles of level riding just to connect it into a loop. I prefer to stay further north where the hills kill you over and over with little or no time for recovery.

[OneEighth]

Yeah, I hear you—it isn’t worth doing if you can’t over-do it!

[Dirt]

I’ll add one observation to this thread…

There’s a reason why McKinley Street got its name.

Hugs and Kisses,

Pete

[carfreecommuter]

Hey Dirt, can I suggest a slight addition to your Kill Bill V3 route?

Between mile 20 and 21 swing a left onto Beachwood Cir and loop left. It’s a much steeper climb than Military Road and you can connect back only adding 0.2 miles. I did it on a run a few weeks ago and I was struggling at the top. I recommend trying it out.

[carfreecommuter]

Hey Dirt,

A suggetion for your Kill Bill V3 route. Between Mile 20 and 21 take a left onto Beechwood Cir and loop left. That hill is much steeper than Military Rd and you can connect back into your route with only an extra 0.1 mile added.

[Dirt]

@carfreecommuter 1862 wrote:

Hey Dirt,

A suggetion for your Kill Bill V3 route. Between Mile 20 and 21 take a left onto Beechwood Cir and loop left. That hill is much steeper than Military Rd and you can connect back into your route with only an extra 0.1 mile added.

Perfect. I also need to find a way to incorporate McKinley in there too. It isn’t the steepest, but it is long enough that if added toward the end of the loop, it’ll make me want to cry like a baby.

[OneEighth]

Give a heads-up if you ever decide to attempt this on your steel fixie.

[Dirt]

@OneEighth 1867 wrote:

Give a heads-up if you ever decide to attempt this on your steel fixie.

Won’t happen. I’ve got tights, but I own neither a cape, nor a big red S on my chest. Last time I did the whole loop, I needed the 36×25 on a pretty light weight bike.

[OneEighth]

Reality truly does bite.
Still, it might be fun to come up with some sort of modified hill ride that is survivable on a fixie (40+ year old knees notwithstanding).
Just a thought. Will have to noodle on this a bit myself.

[Dirt]

@OneEighth 1874 wrote:

Reality truly does bite.
Still, it might be fun to come up with some sort of modified hill ride that is survivable on a fixie (40+ year old knees notwithstanding).
Just a thought. Will have to noodle on this a bit myself.

I like reality. I visit there sometimes… Not often though. Too depressing.

I totally agree that we need a fixie climbing loop. There are plenty of hills out there that will stab you, but not kill you too badly on a fixie. I have one that I use in Falls Church when I need a quick hammerfest. It is only 6 miles, but has enough ups and downs to make you want for recovery time.

[Author]

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