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@hozn 92223 wrote:

I think the idea of people riding in a pack being “Lance wannabes” is a bit out of touch with reality …

I dunno, I think that’s actually a quite mild bit of invective when aimed at this particular group. I’m pretty sure that under similar circumstances–a group of riders endangering me and having the gall to curse me out for it–I would have said something much worse. And said it at the scene, rather than bringing it here where a constructive conversation might take place.

To the rest, I think everyone agrees Haines Point is the best location for a weeknight training session that the city has, but that it doesn’t absolve the training group from all responsibility to act appropriately towards others. It seems to me like a mild public rebuke–something we’re all due for on occasion–might help the group regain the appropriate balance.

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It just so happens that I have a wife who is 5’4″ and in the market for a first road bike. She’s a bit long legged, so I hope the XS will fit. How about emailing me at [email] to see when we might give it a test ride. Conveniently, we also live on capitol hill.[/email]

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@lordofthemark 92046 wrote:

My understanding is that that is at the discretion of the police officer, and they will often not give a reckless driving citation to someone doing say 81 in a 65 zone. So I guess it depends what you mean by “automatic”.

I’m embarrassed to admit this, but my experience was different. I got ticketed doing (according to the officer) 82mph in a 70mph zone on Highway 85 in Dinwiddie County. It was labor day weekend and I was driving with friends back from a wedding in NC. Traffic had slowed to a crawl for several miles due to a broken down vehicle. Immediately after we passed the stalled car and everyone was accelerating back up to highway speeds and sorting into the two lanes according to speed, we passed an officer camped out in the median. He managed to pull over five of us simultaneously!

I only got out of the ticket without a horrendous fee because the local traffic attorney (dinwiddietrafficlawyer.com) took pity on a broke law student after I spent about a half hour on the phone with him reminiscing about his days at UVA. I learned my lesson. Even with all of DC’s automated enforcement that remains my only ticket.

Back to your point, the officer led me to believe his hands were tied in writing the ticket and the lawyer said that they always go for the reckless charge if it’s available because it means significantly more revenue for the county.

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Consider me sufficiently shamed. Headbutted with shame even.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]6337[/ATTACH]

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@Powerful Pete 91456 wrote:

Thanks for starting the new thread, apologies for [slightly] derailing this one!

Said without irony in page 295 of essentially a Seinfeld thread (i.e., about nothing)!

Also, I motion that we start calling inattentive jaywalkers “The Undead” or some other suitably derogatory reference to zombies.

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Hmmm… Looking at the map it seems likely (although not explicitly stated, but who really expects Secret Service to pay attention to bike facilities) that the 15th Street cycletrack from Treasury to the Penn Ave turn will be closed next Tuesday, 8/5, from 2PM until 11PM.

Thanks for the info!

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@hozn 91199 wrote:

Not as far as I know/have experienced. Titanium is flexible and when the frame is trying to be lightweight, even more so. My Lemond Victoire, for example, was very laterally flexible: I could make the brakes rub easily on climbs and see the BB moving side to side significantly on the trainer. I am sure some frames are better than others but afaik the Lemond frame was well regarded.

I’ve heard that the Victoire was a flexy frame, but don’t have any firsthand experience. On my old Litespeed mountain frame, the V-brakes visibly flex the seat-stays, causing significant loss of power, particularly on long descents. It’s less of a problem now that it’s used as a city bike, but was a real problem on a trail bike if you didn’t run a brake booster.

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I have an old Lemond PoPrad (853 steel) that is my Jack of All Trades bike. I picked it up for a song on Craigslist back when I was a broke student and my bikes got stolen. It’s got a mishmash of old/new components on it and weighs in at something perfectly reasonable. The limiting factor in my riding is, as Hozn points out, always me and my (lack of) fitness.

Relevant for your purposes… If the frame ever gives out on me, I’m going to replace it with a new Gunnar or a Curtlo. If it was going to be used exclusively for cross racing, I’d be very tempted by that sweet Niner for the same ~$1K. The open-mold carbon frame route would also be quite tempting.

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@americancyclo 91046 wrote:

I see the exact opposite every time I ride through the intersection of Penn Ave and 18th NW. It’s a honeybadger crossing.

Ditto, all along Penn Ave NW. The pedestrians look for cars when they dart for the middle of the intersection, but they act like bikes either don’t exist or have no right to proceed through a green light. This being a significant portion of my commute, and having had numerous bad experiences with pedestrians here (and also tremendous issues with them where the 15th street cycletrack starts at Treasury), leaves me completely unsympathetic to all the cries that we’re bullying the poor shoe-leather crowd.

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@dkel 90600 wrote:

The Straggler paint is electro-deposited, and has the glitter thing going on.

That’s a good looking frame!

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Chris Bishop’s latest. A full-steel electronic disc road frame with full internal routing. Custom Di2 stem. Paragon dropouts. This is my “If I ever win the lottery…” bike. Full album on Flickr.

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A lot of smaller custom frame builders* use Brian Myers of Fresh Frame. He’s up in Pennsylvania. If you want something awesome in fancy wet paint, I’d try him. If you want awesome and utilitarian, I’d go the powdercoat route others have suggested. A buddy had one done through Spectrum Powderworks a few years back and loves it.

*Including my personal favorite, Chris Bishop. Which reminds me, I’ve got something to post over to the “Covet” thread!

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@Mikey 90202 wrote:

Wouldn’t this work?

Frankly, I’m not sure even the visibly armed man could deter the typical DC cabbie from swinging across the street to nab a fare.

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There’s a bicycle coop on Mt Vernon Ave in Del Ray that would be just a short ride away. I’ve only stopped in once, but they seemed very friendly.

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