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@ginacico 162026 wrote:

it looks like the Ultegra 10-spd triple is officially obsolete……sigh.

Thumbs up for sticking with the triple. I don’t know why triples went out of vogue. I really like them.

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There’s also this, from Two Wheel Gear. Much more expensive than the Nashbar one – I don’t know whether it’s worth the extra money, but I’ve heard good things about these.

Years ago, my visiting mother-in-law saw me coming home from work in dress clothes and recommended that I switch to polyester suits to save money on dry cleaning. Despite my Brooklyn roots, I did not take her advice.

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I have used the W&OD for years as a runner and lately as I recover from a health issue I have been doing a lot of walking and slow biking on the W&OD and Custis. I haven’t kept a tally, but my guess would be that about 25% of cyclists I’ve encountered over the years called their passes. It’s easy to blame this low number on clueless newbies, but I’ve found that the most dangerous offenders are Lycranauts barreling along at speed who pass me so close and so fast that my first and only warning of their presence is feeling their pressure wave.

On the other hand, I’m actually grateful to the cyclist who cursed me out during a pre-dawn run a few years ago. This was before I was doing any significant cycling and I hadn’t realized just how much of a ninja I was being – since then I’ve always worn lights and/or reflective clothing.

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@TwoWheelsDC 160804 wrote:

I have a portable speaker that I can plug in for better sound, though, so I’ll probably stick with that.

It’s a bummer that I’ll be out of town the weekend of the party – otherwise I could provide all the audio wattage you might possibly need. Oh well, perhaps for a future movie …

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You’ve included Warren Beatty but not his sister, Shirley Maclaine. How about Patch Adams? He went to Wakefield HS in Arlington and last I heard still lives in Arlington – I used to see him from time to time around EFC. And Tipper Gore!

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@CaseyKane50 160460 wrote:

There is a plague on the Alexandria side of Four Mile Run mounted on a rock where Commonwealth Avenue intersects the Four Mile Run Trail.

Bubonic? Biblical?

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For those who cut through Columbia Island, please be considerate of other users of the place. More than once I’ve been buzzed by cyclists while I was walking through the parking lot with a 50+ pound, 17 foot long kayak slung over my shoulder.

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@cvcalhoun 159341 wrote:

It has a communal kitchen, so it allows those who can no longer cook (or aren’t safe around open flames) to eat.

I think you’re misunderstanding the common house. It sounds like it’s a “clubhouse” such as is found in many new developments. It’s not a place where all the residents go for meals prepared by a kitchen staff. It sounds like the developer is thinking in terms of a senior cohousing community without calling it by that name.

And did you check out the following – can we hate a place which offers this?

“Bike cage provided
A secure bike cage will be provided so owners have a convenient and safe place to store their bikes, there by (sic) further encouraging such use.

Shared bicycles provided
3-4 bicycles will be provided when units are occupied to encourage their use as an alternative to automobiles.”

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@Drewdane 159306 wrote:

Nobody’s opposed to the development per se, just the scope.

A classic NIMBY quote! “I’m not opposed to development in the abstract; I just oppose every specific development because they’re all wrong.”

I think a development like this is a great idea, since for the most part sensible “downsizing” housing doesn’t exist in this area. Maybe I’m biased because I just became an empty-nester and am creeping up on meeting the age restriction (sigh).

I haven’t read through the proposal and so don’t have an opinion on this development vis a vis the W&OD, but I don’t think this community would be any worse for the trail than the many other adjacent private parcels.

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I had noticed it on the chair when I came in, so when we spotted it at the end of CC we launched into a whole deductive process of figuring out whose it was by trying to remember who was already there when I arrived. Then W&W had the brilliant idea to actually pick the thing up and look at it – and immediately saw your name on it. She’s a regular Sherlock Holmes, she is.

A good example of why it’s a good idea to label your gear!

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@dhs1963 158673 wrote:

… and because of genetics, I have to worry about stressing my heart.

Good to hear from a fellow member of the bad genes club. I’m a fairly fit 50-something currently recovering from heart surgery. I intend to be back on the bike as soon as I can, whether it’s pedal-powered, electric-assisted, under sail, or whatever. I think it’s great that you’re determined to bike with your daughter and I’ll join the previous posters in offering encouragement!

During my current daily walking regime I’ve been buzzed by any number of cyclists, few of whom call their passes. Over time I’ve seen both well-behaved electric-assisted cyclists and the the folks who go way too fast. Be courteous and considerate and all will be well.

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I think kwarkentien should have been recognized with a Good Samaritan prize. As described below, she performed what I consider to be the best kind of good deed of all … one that benefited me. Though in retrospect, foregoing the kugel might have been a better idea.

Here’s my very late entry. Dates back to our first “snow” of the season. Riding from the FMR Trail in Madison Manor over to Roosevelt Street, I was flagged down by a woman who was hopelessly lost while trying to deliver a kugel. Seems Arlington’s penchant for streets that are discontinuous had bolluxed this poor lady as she was in the 1200 block of Quantico but needed to get to the 1000 block. So I offered to lead her there on my bike. I navigated around and about to connect over to the needed address and she told me I was a “mensch.” This being Saturday, I wished her “Shabbat Shalom” and continued on my merry way. A little biking with a mitzvah.

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I realized I had forgotten to record this one. Operating under cover of darkness (for once sparing the neighbors) I took a little tour around the neighborhood. Fashion note: if you are a true pencil-necked geek you can indeed wear a reflective ankle strap as a choker.

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https://www.strava.com/activities/872962336

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I’m going to have to be a “maybe” for right now, based on how I’m feeling by then. Apparently my coronary arteries have for many years been big believers in Rule #5 and as a result I’m a little under the weather. right now.

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I’m signed up for the Pi(e) ride but now it turns out that I have a rehearsal that night. Please feel free to pass my ticket on to someone on the waiting list.

Jesse

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