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@Dirt 14473 wrote:

Good point. I guess there’s an advantage to only doing Swiss Army Pedicures.

Well, if it’s a facncy pedicure, I’d suggest socks. Black socks.

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Sorry to hear about the accident and the hassles with the doctors.

@RESTONTODC 14137 wrote:

5) My bike is 5 years old. Is it my bike?

That’s it! Not because of the age of the bike, but because it’s a road bike!

At 37 degrees, I’d expect any ice to have a much larger wet (melted) area around it. It might have been a small twig/stick — hit one parallel to your direction of travel, while turning, and your rear wheel will slide right out. (Ask me how I know.) Even at slow speeds, that will happen. (I’m slow, so someone else needs to address “too fast.”)

When falling, I try and resist the urge to break my fall with my hands. How to practice? Get on your bike, do a track stand, and lean to the side? Yeah, maybe not. A martial art that involves throws (Judo, Aikido) would get you used to falling and not using your hands to break your fall, but that’s probably overkill. (I know several cyclists who have studied Aikido and tucked into a roll when flying over the handlebars.)

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@Greenbelt 14029 wrote:

One point I’ll throw in for consideration when buying winter gear is durability.

I’ll second that.

I’ve had good luck with Col d’Lizard products. (My Col d’Lizard tights are on their 12th or 13th winter.)

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@DaveK 13986 wrote:

This is the tunnel under Route 50 near George Mason Drive…?

Yes, between George Mason Drive and Glebe Road. I wish I had a picture with the old lights and the mattresses….

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@Arlingtonrider 13972 wrote:

Every once in awhile I think about getting an additional bike, but I haven’t really felt the need for one yet.

Come over to the dark side….

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@essigmw 13968 wrote:

and over the 14th street bridge to SW DC. I cross over to SE DC on Eye Street and finish up at the Navy Yard. Any takers.

That’s several hours too late for me, but why I Street and not M Street? Other than cars turning down 4th Street SE to Fort McNair, is it that bad at that hour? I went in late once, around 6:00 a.m. and I didn’t think it was too bad.

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@DSalovesh 13982 wrote:

But (kinda off-topic for a bike forum I guess) I run there pretty often to connect RFK to Nationals Stadium. It’s kinda demoralizing to take Water Street to O, turn left down toward the WNY Riverwalk and find the gate locked with no notice. If they’d simply put a status sign there I’d at least know what to expect…

I do not follow it, so I don’t know if it is useful or not, but they do mention a Twitter feed on the official web page:

“Connect to the WNY Riverwalk’s Official Twitter page for real-time news and up to date operating hours.”

I agree, M Street is not an ideal solution for runners/walkers.

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@DSalovesh 13974 wrote:

Good place to be aware of your surroundings. It will become more familiar to people once the bridge over the train tracks opens, but won’t really be useful unless we can rely on the WNY connection.

http://maps.google.com/?ll=38.876748,-76.984003&spn=0.000881,0.001003&hnear=Washington,+District+of+Columbia&t=h&z=20&layer=c&cbll=38.876736,-76.984071&panoid=ElZuy48Jn5Ny3BUPqu0l7w&cbp=12,202.65,,0,14.08

Although it is subject to closing, which makes it potentially difficult to rely on, I think it’s easier to just ignore the WNY Riverwalk and take M Street SE. That pesky “No bike riding, rollerblading, skateboarding, or scooter use permitted.” rule means it quicker to take M Street SE.

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[ATTACH=CONFIG]651[/ATTACH]

I know this one is obscure and I wondered about posting it, but it does connect two marked routes on Arlington County’s bike map, (although it’s not marked).

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@DaveK 13732 wrote:

I don’t ride through deer country…

Define “deer country.” I’ve encountered them, in the afternoon, on the Custis Trail. The only deer I’ve encountered in the morning was on Columbia Pike.

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@CCrew 13671 wrote:

but at 2:30 am I don’t have that issue much.

Out of curiosity, does bike “traffic” increase once you get into D.C.? At that hour, I rarely see anyone in Virginia. (You’re riding through north Alrington, while I’m in south Arlington.) Once I get into D.C., though, it’s uncommon, but not rare.

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@Rootchopper 13433 wrote:

The blood in your toes keeps them warm. If you over stuff your shoes with extra socks you will restrict the blood flow to your toes and make a bad sitaution worse. Try one pair of wool socks and loosen the laces on the front of your shoes to widen to toe area.

While I don’t loosen the laces, I do go the one pair of socks route. I used to wear two, one of which were wool hiking socks, and sometimes my feet would still get cold. I picked up some thick wool cycling socks (DeFeet?) and my feet don’t get cold anymore. Although I don’t think I have worn them in single digit temperatures: so, if it drops below ten degrees, I might double up anyway.

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@Arlingtonrider 13453 wrote:

I don’t know if anyone here knows the answer to that, but I support your taking the bridge that works best for you (unless you’re craving some variety). We can get a general idea of GM/14th conditions from what’s happening on other bridges. Nice of you to consider that, though!

In the morning, either one works. I usually take Memorial in the morning and the George Mason Memorial in the afternoon/evening.

The one problem, though, is days like today, where Memorial Bridge was fine at 3:00 a.m., but sounds like it was worse about five hours later.

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@Arlingtonrider 13432 wrote:

Just a shout out of thanks to those who post the early morning or weekend trail or road condition reports. They’re much appreciated! (especially those for FMR/MVT/14th :cool:)

Which bridge, the George Maosn Memorial Bridge (14th street) or Memorial, do more people use in the mornings? Although I normally take the Memorial Brdige, in the mornings, I can try and remember to take the George Mason Memorial Bridge if more people use it.

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@Tim Kelley 13240 wrote:

Or maybe Brian didn’t think of or know about those two when he was doing his research? Either way, we’re happy to include them going forward!

Brian overlooked Glebe Market, telling me he has shopped there and it does belong on the list. I’ll get some pictures and get the info to you soon.

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