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I have an 11 year old son. He uses his bike to obtain luxuries like ice cream, video game magazines, Slurpees, or french fries.
It’s a very simple equation. Bike = Treat
When I suggest going out to ride for the sake of looking around, he stares at me blankly like I’m just a simple-minded creature.

Your daughter may like to combine a bike ride with a visit to one of the Arlington libraries.

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@Riley Casey 40133 wrote:

I was away and not riding for five days so this had a sort of mildly sudden aspect to it. Last night I put on my helmet, fished around in my pannier for my lights and rolled my bike out the door. It Was Not Dark. It was a deep blue but it was not the pitch dark of night with no visibility sans lights of some sort. That just made me happy.

Thats all.

Sometimes the most appreciated rides are the quiet twilight rides when you’ve been off the bike for a few days. It sounds beautiful.

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Two way? Dear God, that hardly looks much wider than the W&OD. I wonder if flying off the cliff upside down would make you more aerodynamic, or just allow you to drop like rock and get the handlebars neatly implanted into your forehead? My goodness you’re brave.

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Ha! I had a little red metal tricycle with black rubber blocks attached to the pedals because my legs were too short to make the entire revolution. I rode that trike far past the age I should have been on a big girl bike because I was used to it. I’d stand on the back and push with one foot and race up and down the sidewalk pretending to be a firetruck.

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@eminva 39697 wrote:

True, I don’t know what time the OP went out. But looking at Strava, I had already done a ride and put on a Bike Skills clinic for the Boy Scouts and gotten back home by the time consularrider left for his errands, so it is possible it warmed up later. Starting temp for me was 29 with wind chills in the low 20s.

Liz

Consularrider, I think you were just called out.

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Thanks Mr. Kelly, for posting that.

I can understand wanting to decapitate a goose who’s standing in the middle of the road but it would be tough to tuck a sword in a back jersey pocket. A small machete would probably work better.

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Right now I have a right hip muscle that hurts enough to wake me up at night. Stretching matters.

I think Dirt has said before that it’s better to deal with these minor annoyances proactively rather than allow them to fester and throw you out of the saddle for several months.

And Tim talked about paying attention to the different phases of pedaling as a way to build strength, power, and speed.

Anyway, during the off season heal what ails you. And it’s a good time to focus on mechanics and not becoming hypothermic. :rolleyes:

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You will recognize me by my sparkly helmet. I always wear it if I’m on the trails.
But better yet, come to a Forum Happy Hour so you can put names and faces to the people here posting.
I’m sure there will be one soon. If no one organizes one, I’ll put something together towards the end of January.

Be safe, enjoy the ride. The worst day on a bike is still better than one commuting by car. Except if there’s a hurricane. Or lightning. Or ice. But otherwise, the random tornado or two, temperatures above 90, wind gusts or pouring rain — it’s fun.

Happy New Year.

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I’ve had this problem and wear glasses so it’s something that worries me.
1. I’ve tried contacts and they work fine on the bike. I’ll forego wearing sunglasses in that case.
2. I’ve stretched the opening so that it rests just under my lower lip. A bit colder true, but no fogging.
3. I’ve tried repositioning the material, usually without success.

You have a long ride, look around for some places to bailout in case you need to warm up.

And invest in good equipment for riding in this weather. In the summer, you can get away with wearing practically nothing. But good weather-appropriate gear matters when it gets cold.

And by the way, you doing great!

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Over Christmas I visited the Tampa Bay area to do some research and air out the children who had become moldy from sitting in front of the Xbox for too long.

By the third day my idyllic vision of happy holidays had crashed into reality. My teenage contrarian, 007, kept up a steady editorial analysis about why Tampa was worse than Disney World or Miami Beach or pretty much anywhere else on the face of the earth. And Rambo, my younger son, was in the throes of severe video game withdrawal. His poor little thumbs twitched with longing.

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On the fourth day of Christmas I hauled 007 out of bed at the ungodly hour of 10:45 am, shoved him in the plastic scented rental car and headed to Clearwater Beach. I found Wheel Fun Rentals underneath the Hyatt and they were open, hallelujah. http://www.wheelfuntampabay.com/index.php/locations/menu-hyatt
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I thought it would be lovely to spend some quality time on a city bike with my son, show him the finer points of riding safely in traffic, enjoy the view. Once we pulled out of the rental space it devolved into a ride best described as Death by Bicycle.
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I had no intention of riding hard. I was wearing yoga pants and carrying an oversized bag stuffed with a ton of junk including a camera. But once we cleared the town, that little weasel took off at a sprint headed south along a bike lane. He didn’t look back. I wasn’t going to be left behind. And so it went, over a bridge, down the road, past residential neighborhoods and small towns for 18 miles. I haven’t worked that hard in a long time.

I only caught him twice and each time he realized I was drafting off of him, he lost me. Usually after making a snide comment about the size of my calves in relationship to my lack of speed. Towards the end I stopped to take photos from the top of a bridge. When I caught up he condescendingly suggested I try taking hills at a faster speed in order to get over them. I bit my tongue. Almost in half. When we returned the bikes 45 minutes late I was covered in sweat and he simply sauntered off without a single hair out of place. I will always believe he looked back at me and yawned simply for effect.
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Afterwards, I bought him dinner, congratulated him on an excellent ride, and toasted him with my passion fruit mojito as he sullenly sipped his lemonade. I tried not to gloat and that was easy because 18 miles in yoga pants leaves a mark.

Clearwater, Florida. It’s easy to rent bikes, easy to ride, just not with a college age kid.

Dinner was at Clear Sky Café http://www.clearskybeachsidecafe.com/

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Funny you should mention that. A big box of LED lights came in the mail while I was away. And I have working brakes again. But the costume is still under construction.

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It’s just one of those odd things. Now that I think about it I’m surprised we haven’t ridden together. That’s just plain strange. We need to, and I promise not to wear any bizarre costumes.

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Slacker. Best wishes on a long and cold ride.

Thanks for the information, may head out that way or just say hey, what could be more fun than sliding around the CCT.
Beats sitting at home.

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@TwoWheelsDC 38663 wrote:

Civil War Century is no Mountains of Misery (which I may sign up for) and isn’t billed as a fondo, but it’s about 7k feet of climbing and a fantastically supported ride. I definitely plan on doing it again in 2013.

The words, “Fantastically supported” caught my eye. Do tell.
I mean, my idea of “fantastically supported” involves a cabana boy name Roberto and dirty mojitos.
I suspect this is something less than that.
And yet, I’m intrigued.

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So do correctional facilities…

I was just now thinking about how important bike safety is, especially because I ride solo so often. It’s important to me to know my equipment is in good working order before I go out for a hard ride.

Tire pressure is one of the first things I check by gripping my tires firmly between my fingers. I usually carry a standing floor pump in the back of my car because it’s the fastest way I know to blow up a tire to the proper pressure. And I’m careful not to overinflate my tubes; the sound of sudden blowout is something I want to avoid.

I check my brakes too. I squeeze them firmly and evenly to make sure the pads grip the rims and the release lever is in the proper closed position. Sometimes I check to make sure the pads are not prematurely worn down. (I have a bad habit of death gripping my brakes.)

Finally, I give my chain and pedals a quick once over to make sure everything is mounted correctly and moves without sticking or catching. A clean, well-lubricated chain makes all the difference.
Have a good ride.

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