[AFHokie]

@Dickie 213359 wrote:

Hey Everyone.

Some might know, some might not – after riding for 15 years with a ticking time bomb in my chest the “bad valve of birth” finally said enough, and stopped being useful. Before it quit on me, it did do one last thing, and that was to enlarge an aneurysm on my Aorta.. Thanks Valve! SO, after a new aortic valve, aortic root, and a 10″ scar I’m near bionic.. well, just as soon as my sternum fuses back together.

All that to say, I’m 9 weeks into recovery and ready to get back on the bike and see your faces. I also have 2 weeks of disability remaining so I can get from Centreville to Arlington right now while I’m super bored.

Any Coffee clubs meeting up in the next few weeks? Anybody out there that even remembers who I am?

Miss you all!

Dickie, I’m gland you’re on the mend and doing better…that’s a lot to go through. If you’re looking for more local gatherings near Centreville and ready to get back on the bike I cannot recommend the PWCC group enough. The group is very active and if you need any contacts, I can certainly put in you touch.

[AFHokie]

@Smitty2k1 202198 wrote:

My wife and I were car free from Dec 2015 until June 2020. Lived in SW DC and Capitol Hill. Wife took Metro or bus to commute and I commuted by bike.

We got pregnant before the pandemic started. We considered staying car free, and continuing to use Uber/Lyft for baby transporting needs, but decided to purchase a vehicle because of COVID to avoid more exposure to unknown individuals.

As a side bonus, I got a hitch and bike rack for our vehicle in hopes of getting out more to explore bike routes further out of the city. Alas the baby arrived 3 weeks ago and I never got a chance to use the bike rack!

It’s been nearly a month of no cycling between taking care of the newborn and nursing a sprained/broken toe. Babies are rad but I miss getting out to ride my bike for hours at a time…

Maybe when covid subsides and group rides return I’ll have some more free time to get out and ride!

Way to keep it up Steve! Here’s hoping to 5 more years!

Don’t feel bad about gaps in when you can ride, just get out and ride when you can! My son’s almost 14 months and this past Sunday was the first time I was able to get on the bike in almost four months.

[AFHokie]

Did Solar car guy move to Idaho and join the Air Guard?

Idaho Guard uses electric bike at Gowen Field

[AFHokie]

I did it this past year, it’s a very well run ride. The only thing I’ll caution on doing the longest routes is to pay attention to the time while at the distilleries.

We did the long route on the first day and while we didn’t think we spent too long at Buffalo Trace, but when we left we realized we had… We made the decision to still stop at all the other distilleries that day, but because of that, we didn’t return to base camp until almost 8pm and as a result didn’t have much time to shower and still make the provided dinner and base camp tasting.

The next day we did the route to Four Rose’s and then drove out to Wild Turkey.

[AFHokie]

Has the teams list posted?

[AFHokie]

Dickie,
Wanted to check in and see how the move is going

[AFHokie]

@Dickie 193878 wrote:

My work location is at the new NVCC STEM Fab Lab on the Manassas campus off Battlefield Parkway. Any thoughts or observations would be greatly appreciated. I would love to return to commuting full time if possible, keeping the one way distance below 15 miles

First off, welcome back!

The problem you run into with the NVCC Manassas campus location is that it sits just north of I-66. Sudley Rd (Route 234 Business) is the north/south road that crosses I-66 at that location via an underpass. Traffic is always busy at that location and it is extremely heavy during rush hour times. The 66 overpass is currently under construction and once that is completed, the added bike lane along 66 should also include bike infrastructure upgrades in that area as well, but to what extent (if any), I don’t know.

Lee Highway (Route 29) runs east/west through the Manassas Battlefield National Park while Sudley runs north/south through the park. They may be the best route to/from the NVCC campus, however both experience substantial amounts of traffic during commuting hours and while in the park, both are narrow two lane roads with little or no shoulder. Still, they may be your best option since Sudley south of I-66 turns into a four lane and is the main business corridor with strip malls, car dealerships, etc for several miles until you get to the city of Manassas.

Despite those issues, they may still be your best option to bike to the campus. Strava’s heat map does indicate that there’s a substantial amount of bikes riding on Lee Highway between Gainesville and Centerville. I’ll ask around for opinions and observations of riding on 29 through there. If it is ok to ride, I recommend looking in/around the Gainesville area or a little to the south in Bristow. Gainesville has a lot of suburbia shopping mall buildup, and while I have biked through Gainesville a few times, it was always on a Saturday or Sunday morning. I wouldn’t want to cross some of those intersections on a bike during commuting hours. Bristow would keep you under 15 miles each way and puts you on roads with multi-use paths. Also, downtown Manassas is a relatively short ride around the north side of the airport from Bristow.

Also, Jiffy Lube Live is just south of Gainesville off of Wellington Rd, so keep in mind concert traffic, plus the the noise of the performances could also influence where you’d prefer to live.

As has been posted, the Prince William Cycling Club Facebook page is the best way to find out information as far as where to ride, group rides, etc. Bull Run Bikes sponsors a popular Tuesday evening ~12 mile shop ride during the summer. Then there’s the Thursday night 20 mile “Hoadly Loop ride that starts at the Starbucks just off of Hoadly Rd and many other group rides throughout the week and weekends start from several locations in Gainesville, Manassas and elsewhere. The Hoadly loop is my “I want to get a ride in” route as I live just off the northeast corner of the loop near where Prince William Parkway (Route 294) meets Liberia Ave.

I’m sure there’s more I’m forgetting, please do shoot any questions you have my way. Although Bob has since retired to Michigan, I’m sure he has a wealth of knowledge as far as where to ride in PWC and defer to anything he says.

[AFHokie]

Thanks for the info, I ended up borrowing a rack for the Kentucky, trip, but have decided that I will get a 1up rack when its time to buy my own.

[AFHokie]

@bentbike33 193886 wrote:

Calling AFHokie and Bob James!

It’s not quite the hinterlands as some have suggested, although the NVCC campus is on a bit of an island as far as cycling is concerned. I’m at work and will write up details when I get home.

[AFHokie]

DC Rainmaker states in the article that it’s the only device he’s tested that DOESN’T get negative comments from anyone that’s actually used it.

[AFHokie]

@drevil 190760 wrote:

I’ve been using the 1UpUSA since August 2009 on my Honda Fit. It’s made primarily of aluminum so it withstands weather well, has never failed me, and is dead simple to use even if you have two vastly different size bikes (I’m a foot taller than my wife).

I also got one of the heavier duty ones about 4 years ago for my Subie Forester that is built with two bike holders and can fitted with two more to carry 4 max. That’s another thing I love about this rack, how you can easily add extra carriers, or just have 1 attached (depending on the model).

When I started using it, I only knew 1 other person that had one, but now I see them everywhere and a lot of my friends have them. I always recommend them despite the cost.

Do you know if you can fit a recumbent bike along with regular bikes on the 1Up rack? A few of my friends ride bents and Ideally, the rack I get will be able to fit one along with my bike.

[AFHokie]

I’m looking at a platform hitch rack and the 1up is a front runner. Does anyone have experience with their rak attach? I want to have the ability to open the tailgate of my truck without having to remove the bikes.

https://www.1up-usa.com/product/rakattach/

[AFHokie]

@Subby 192082 wrote:

bike: giant revolt advanced 0

bike color: all black (this is the most important thing)

Here it is in it’s office post-race and post-wash

[ATTACH=CONFIG]20240[/ATTACH]

My 2015 black Revolt 1 approves:

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930AZ using Tapatalk

[AFHokie]

@bentbike33 191470 wrote:

If a bat eats enough fireflies, will its belly begin to glow?

No, but its poop might

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930AZ using Tapatalk

[AFHokie]

@Judd 190672 wrote:

I bought a pair of sunglasses from City Sunglass and the free pouch infested my house with bed bugs. I definitely would not recommend buying anything from City Sunglass

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Wut?

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