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@MCL1981 16707 wrote:

It says something like 40 to 85 PSI. I have them at 60 and they’re solid. I can’t imagine going up to 85.

Give ’em a try at 85. When I first swtiched from knobbies, I went with 60-65. Once I tried 85, though, I stayed with it. In the last ten years or so, I think the only time I ried ’em at 60 or so is if I’ve gotten a flat and 60 was quicker witht he hand pump.

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@dbb 16434 wrote:

I logged a request for a curb cut about a year ago with the DDOT. They were helpful but said that the curb cut program wasn’t installing new cuts at this time. Probably time to take it out of the pending file and revisit the issue with DDOT.

If you do, post the info and I’ll make a request, too.

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@KLizotte 16432 wrote:

Your winter route is exactly the same route I take when I want to take the shortest path home. I was wondering today about the Banneker circle and the bridge (it’s not at all clear from looking at Google maps that it is bikable) and am glad to hear how to get from A to B. I’ll try it out tomorrow! Shame about the lack of a curb cut (there’s no way I can bunny hop on my bike). Thanks so much for the info.

One thing I’ve noticed — chiming in — with the Case Bridge is that the pedestrians you do enctounter don’t expect to see bikes. Unlike the pther bridges, they jump when they hear a bell or “on your left,” rather than simply moving over. On the other hand, I don’t usually take that route ithe summer, so maybe it’s different then.

The lack of curb cuts at Banneker Circle is probably the worst aspect of this route. I get there from Maine Avenue SW, so I’d often take the blacktop “trail” from the corner to the circle, rather than the road. That can be tricky –curb cut, a couple of feet, and then around a hedge — if there are pedestrians.

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If you’re a sidewalk rider and you’re on the corner, back away from the corner. A couple of times a week, I see a bus or truck making a turn and coming up right up to and sometimes onto the curb — sending the cyclist on the corner scrambling backwards. (As long as they don’t get hit it’s amusing, but they — both the cyclists and drivers — need to pay attention.)

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@acc 16405 wrote:

Each time I pass this landmark I’m either not hungry or forgot cash. One of these days…]

Great half smokes! The Weenie Beenie is at the end of the W&OD in Shirlington.

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@JeffC 16366 wrote:

Did anybody get caught up in the bomb scare on the 14th St bridge last week in the afternoon? The walkway was cordoned off while police investigated a suspicious duffle bag, had to turn around back to DC and bike over to the Memorial Bridge to avoid it.

While I missed that one, I got caught in the tail end of the one yesterday, at the Sheraton on Columbia Pike. They were just starting to let people back in and the right lane of westbound Columbia Pike was essentially closed. (Orme had just opened up and cars were backed up trying to turn right on Orme.)

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When our crossed over from Columbia Island, you exited the small parking lot on the south end?

The first time I ever came from Columbia Island to the Pentagon, was about ten years ago — dashing across the GW Parkway. Since I’d ridden around by the Pentagon countless times, it was obvious that I’d just have to ride along the road around the perimeter of the north side, up to Route 27 and then head back towards Columbia Pike. As Charlie Denney once said, the Pentagon blocks Columbia Pike from D.C. and when get across, it’s right there, o you have to get around it — either go south and ride around most of it or go along the north side and ride around a smaller portion.

I’ve given directions to people a number of times and it’s more confusing to tell someone how to get from the Pentagon to Columbia Island, since the bridge is behind the sign.

I’ve never had a problem with the Pentagon Police, even on the rare morning — maybe once a month — when I take that route. (I had a problem with a rent-a-cop at the Pentagon Memorial, once, who told me the trail was one-way at that point.)

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@zanna_leigh 15872 wrote:

As a member of the general public (not BA) I personally feel like the word “Loop” implies a recreational, fitness trail. Even though many people use it for this purpose, I think the main goal is to really make people aware that it is also widely used as a transportation corridor. Commuters aren’t going around the Loop to get to work, rather they’re using chunks of it.

The things is, it’s a loop. If you want to make the point that it’s a “transportation corridor,” then talk about the “parts.” People getting from point A to point B don’t use the entire loop, jsut like people don’t drive around the entire Beltway — they use parts of it. (Yes, I realize some people use the Arlington Loop to add extra miles, but those people already know about it and don’t care what it’s called.)

Instead of a loop, address each of the four trails as a major “bike transportation corridor” in Arlington and let people know (a) where it goes and (b) how to get to it. Don’t ignore that last part. A lot of people don’t know the easiest way to get onto one of these trails or the closest one yo where they live

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Other than the original laces, I’ve had good luck with Lake.

If you decie to go with same model/size, search for the shoe. Especially if they are making a slight change to the model, you can find deals on the previous model. I’ve got a brand new pair I picked up off eBay, brand new, in the box, for under $60. I won’t need them for at least a year, but the price was too good to pass up.

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I tend to avoid Takoma Park, since it’s a Nuclear Free Zone. (I can’t carry cruise missles to take care of cars that cut me off.)

Takoma, on the other hand, on the D.C. side if the border is not too bad. The area has been building up around the Metro station in the past few years. I’m not sure what changes are going on a mile or two furhter west with the closure of Walter Reed Army Medical Center, so you might look there, too.

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My first thought was a broom stick, mounted on the rear rack, extending three feet on either side. Mount a nail on the end to scratch the car’s paint as a record.

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What about a rack at each Metro/ART bus stop? Recently, I noticed that the newer stops at Columbia Pike and South Glebe Road had three or four racks. At a stop closer to home, on Columbia Pike, which has a shelter, I see a bike is always locked up to a sign. If not every stop, maybe a rack at every bus stop with a shelter?

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The peace and solitude of riding along the Potomac in the dark.

The “solitude” aspect being interrupted and driven home this morning, with two separate ninja incidents. Why anyone walking, running, or riding at 3:00 a.m. on an unlit trail would not at least wear something reflective — let alone have a light of some sort — is beyond me. (Yeah, I know, I know, why anyone would be out riding at 3:00 a.m. is beyond a lot of people, too.)

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I added some similar comments and I also pointed out that using a person’s work Zip Code for locations does not work all that well in D.C. (I don’t work anywhere near the Rhode Island Metro Station or even in NE.)

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Thanks for the heads up. On the way home, I take the street, but they’ve had the sidewalk and one lane blocked almost every day this week, when I’ve headed home (3:30 p.m. or so).

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