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@jrenaut 76844 wrote:

I’ve had the u-turner I yelled at park and yell at me, too.

The part that really got me was that I hadn’t even yelled at this lady. I’m so anesthetized to stupid drivers at this point all she got from me was a WTF gesture and a dose of stink-eye. I was pretty zen about the whole thing until the yelling. But like the second she vacated her big metal box to threaten me my adrenaline flooded brain went, “This is now a winnable confrontation, cease fleeing, DESTROY!”

Biology is some crazy stuff. Even Pandas will occasionally act like proper bears.

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@jrenaut 76821 wrote:

[expletive deleted]. Seriously, [expletive deleted] [expletive deleted]. For real. [expletive deleted].

Cars trying to go during the bike signal is already a huge issue there. If it makes you feel any better, I’m sure his El Salvadorean friend was only in town for a short while and she really needed that escort to quickly navigate the city.

@americancyclo 76833 wrote:

ditto to the u turning black SUV that nearly got me this morning on Penn between 18th and 17th

I had a blue car–MD plates of course–do the same to me last night between 14th and 15th. That’s normal enough, but the extra special part was that they proceeded to parallel park on the block then yell at me as I was waiting for the light to change. I’m not normally prone to violent impulses, but I suddenly understood those all stories about cyclists going off and swinging Kryptonites at people.

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I think these relate back to a circa-2006 April Fool’s prank by Specialized. They were promoting their new Venom line of hubless bikes. The pictures have been making the rounds ever since!

EDIT: A quick run through the Google machine found more to the story. Apparently the original sketches are by Scott Robertson (more cool ones at the link), and were co-opted by the Big S/some humorous industry person for the April Fools press release.

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At ~9:00AM it was raining heavily enough to sting and obscure vision. Also, the cycletrack puddle at 15th and Alexander Hamilton Pl. was inches deep with the filthiest looking brine I’ve seen on the roads in some time.

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Looking back at Hozn’s post (which reads pretty much like my dream bike features as well), the new Niner RLT9 checks off just about all of these boxes. I think the only difference is that it’s Al rather than Ti. Saw it for the first time via a Wrench Science email.

Clocks in at just over $1K and 3lbs for the frame. I had fun playing with it on Wrench Science’s bike configurator during lunch. If it came out to approximately the same price as for a Habanero, I’d probably prefer to wait it out for the custom Ti Frame, but it’s great that there’s a production option available! I don’t have any idea who is a Niner dealer and it sounds like this won’t be in stores before February.

@hozn 74522 wrote:

If I was building a commuter, my checklist for frame features would be:
– titanium, brushed. Low-maintenance as it gets.
– disc brake mounts on the chain stay (for fender clearance)
– rack and fender mounts
– 44mm head tube so I could use inset headsets for tapered forks (becoming more standard, the only current option for full-carbon cx disc forks).
– internal shifter cable routing holes (solves di2 compat too with seatpost battery).
– zip tie “stops” for the brakes so I can run solid housing
– BSA bottom bracket. Maybe PF30, but in general not wowed by these competing standards.
– clearance for up to at least 40mm tires.

I don’t know that this exists, so I would probably have that built custom by Habanero, XACD, or Titan Products. So $1000-$1500 range, but it would be perfect. And obviously geometry could be specified too.

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From B-More Craigslist: 2013 Salsa Beargrease Fat Bike – Large – $1900

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http://bikearlingtonforum.com/archive/index.php/t-688-p-7.html

A Google search string restricted to this site worked (at least I hope that’s what you’re looking for)!

Searched: site:bikearlingtonforum.com “Glebe Road” “missed connections”

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As a general rule, cars don’t belong in bike lanes. The 15th street cycle-track in particular. But I was inclined to give you the benefit of the doubt since you were an MPD cruiser with his running lights on (not flashing though).

And then, as I navigated out of the snowy cycle-track, between the flex-posts, and into oncoming traffic to pass you, I looked over and saw that whatever reason you’d originally had to be there had obviously long passed. You were engaged in the vital law enforcement function of watching YouTube videos. It looked like hockey, maybe? I can’t imagine the State of the Union caused a viewing conflict for you last night.

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@dasgeh 75897 wrote:

I’ve been composing a letter to them in my head on my rides in and out this week…

I’m relieved to hear I’m not the only one who writes in their head. Must be a lawyer thing!

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@jrenaut 75877 wrote:

Didn’t see that many cyclists, but there were more bike tire tracks than car tire tracks in the PA Ave cycletrack, so that’s encouraging (And discouragingly rare).

Sadly, I thought exactly the same thing this morning. East Capitol was also in good shape other than the sections around Lincoln Park, which seem to stay filled with slush and ice.

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@cyclingfool 75823 wrote:

That said, there are these crazy brake levers on Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hybrid_handlebar.JPG – that look like they’d allow braking from multiple hand positions. Never seen em anywhere else though.

Velo Orange carries a Dia Compe lever that’s similar. Seems like they’d be very handy on a porteur-type bar.

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@dasgeh 75724 wrote:

I’m thinking of calling Daily Rider and seeing what options they have.

Last time I was in the Daily Rider they had a sweet Spot Ajax and Wazee in stock. If you’re still considering flat bars and internal gear hubs those could be a lot of fun to test out.

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My usual commute sticks to in-town streets, but today I had a dentist appointment first thing over in Crystal City. I understand now why everyone raves about their studded tires! The 26″x2″ Schwalbes I’ve always run were not quite up to the task of the unplowed trails. Add in a dash of overconfidence and you get me sprawled out in the snow–twice, since I’m a slow learner–having washed out the front wheel on icy patches.

The areas of hardpacked snow weren’t too bad but some of the sunnier wind-swept spots seemed to be starting to form a shiny layer of ice. The 14th street bridge had a decent track along its eastern edge, but passing the lone oncoming cyclist I saw required moving over into a sketchier section.

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@TwoWheelsDC 74945 wrote:

Just don’t buy one with a lock still on the frame….I count at least 5.

I own an angle grinder! …but it’s not battery powered, so I’m not presumptively a bike thief.

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