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@TwoWheelsDC 36354 wrote:

Cold and lonely this morning…traffic in north Arlington was practically non-existent, which made my ride relaxing and pretty quick. And since we’re gonna hit 60 today, I’m going to have to leave early and go for a ride!

I was with you until you mentioned the “pretty quick…” part – I had gravy coming out of my pores and was slogging along. I am with you on the leaving early and extending the commute home into a nice ride.

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Welcome to DC and enjoy the run. For Crystal City – there are a number of bars (Crystal City Sports Pub, Buffalo WW, etc) – but they may all be swamped due to folks in town for the run. So you may want to venture a bit away from the concentration of hotels that are close to the start line. Maybe some of the bars on the Orange Line: Court House – Ireland’s Four Courts, Summers; Clarendon – American Tap Room, Hard Times Cafe – or you can venture into DC.

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@khanb1 33521 wrote:

After I biked to work the first time, I realized I ended up doing close to 19 miles. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN! However it took me just over 2 hrs (idk if that’s fast or slow for someone starting out commuting with a 50lb dept store mountain bike)

Welcome!

My recommendation to you – don’t worry about fast/slow, what matters to me is whether or not I’m having fun. You’re enjoying it, so keeping that up should be your goal. IE – if you look to get a new bike, buy some new clothes/equipment, etc – don’t wonder if it will make you faster, ask yourself if it will make the ride more enjoyable.

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For those considering whether or not to do it next year – here’s a quick ride report.

Ride started and ended at National Harbor. Start was early (0715), probably to lighten the impact on the local roads. There were 338 riders for the bike ride (there’s a 5k run also, but that takes place at the Memorial near Judiciary Square – so no impact) and over 100 volunteers. The ride was well supported with four pit stops, plenty of markers along the road, and safety volunteers along the course directing, and in some cases there were police officers stopping traffic for the riders. The course was mostly flat and was well designed to limit left turns along the course. Some moderate hills, but nothing worse than the Rosslyn/Custis hill.

The weather was great and it was nice finishing through “downtown” National Harbor. Traffic was blocked for the riders and the folks having lunch and enjoying the weather cheered my friend on as we finished.

Bottom line – I recommend it and will plan on doing it again next year.

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@bluerider 31880 wrote:

Any forum members that want to ride together can meet up there and prepare for battle.

Thanks to Bluerider for organizing the informal meet and greet. It was nice to put a couple of faces with the profile name.

I rode in and back from Falls Church and did the 13 Colonies ride. I started at the rear of that group and thought the marshals did a good job of sweeping up folks. The intermingling of the 50 states/13 colonies coupled with some road closures due to maintenance and the protests/counter protests did cause some headaches – but nothing unavoidable. I did skip the Eastern Market rest stop so I did have the rest of the shorter ride to myself. That made navigating the city easier, but riding solo for the last 8 mi was not bad – I don’t think I would have wanted to do that for the entire 50 states ride.

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Ann – I’m doing this ride, with maybe one or two Coast Guard shipmates. I signed up as an individual, I think the only difference between that and registering as a team is the fundraising requirement.

I will be gallumphing along at my 13 mph pace. If you’re looking for a riding partner and don’t mind riding with a Coastie (or a few), please let me know.

I’m riding in honor of BMC Sidney Sanderlin who was killed along with another Coast Guardsmen and a Secret Service agent in 1927 during a boarding of a rum running vessel.

It’s an interesting story – but watch the (loud) sound on this website:
http://www.jacksjoint.com/hanging.htm

Matt

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What a morning! Got up early to take advantage of the Arlington loop instead of making the point-to-point commute. Totally worth it to ride along the river and see DC at dawn. More of these days please…

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I am signed up. However, due to obligations later in the day, I’m limiting myself to the 13 Colonies ride. I will be riding in and back from the Falls Church area. I ride a green Kona commuter and have red/green “Nav light” pedals.

(I think someone made a COLREGS reference a few days ago…I don’t have the lighting down, but this is a close second.)

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@culimerc 30560 wrote:

To the guy in the polka dot jersey this morning. You may want to consider getting a new pair of knickers, with a heavier weight lycra…….PLEASE……. these seem to be wearing a bit thin in all the wrong places….. =

Maybe he was just trying to show how he got named King of the Mountain???

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Like the guy says on the radio, “Not a sermon – just a thought…”

Two passes in quick succession this AM – both riders call their passes, so thank you for that.

However:
(a) to the rider who passed me rounding the basketball court at Banneker Park – there really wasn’t any margin for error if I didn’t hold my line in the turn. Perhaps it would have been safer if you had waited until the straightaway 20 feet later?

(b) to the rider who passed me rounding the corner at the base of the Brandymore Castle hill – I’m REALLY glad nobody was flying down the hill coming the other way. That would have been messy for all three of us.

In both cases, there were safe places to pass that would have required the slightest of delays. If you’re choosing an option that requires everything to go right for it to work, maybe that’s worth re-thinking? No harm – no foul this morning, but something to ponder on the ride home.

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I signed up – I plan to do the “13 colonies” ride, but will be riding in and back from Falls Church.

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@rcannon100 28108 wrote:

What got people in the forum to start bike commuting? Are things like Bike to Work Day – or cycling booths at fairs – or classes – strong factors that helped motivate people to start cycling? (I say this with strong interest as my agency’s bicycle coordinator – wondering what next steps should be to motivate more cyclists).

I started biking to work in fall of 1998 when I transferred to DC and one of my coworkers who lived nearby said he was doing it. It was a lightbulb moment for me, I had always liked riding (to the point that I had done two organized bike trips as a kid) but had just never considered it as a commuting option. For me, getting started was very easy. My friend showed me the route in and I was close to paths and so was my work. I wear a uniform and my office had bike racks in the garage plus a gym to shower, etc. Since then, part of my calculus for chosing a house when I move is whether or not bike commuting is an option.

Regarding Bike to Work Day, etc – I found these to be helpful. Partly for buidling comraderie and partly for gear, maintenance, and other lessons learned. I found out and signed up for the Commuter Connections/Guarantee Ride Home program at one of these.

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@Tim Kelley 27424 wrote:

At what point do they outgrow the seat? What at what weight limit do you find it to be impractical?

We bought an iBert when our daughter was old enough to hold her head up. I like dasgeh’ recommendation for the BoBike mini.
The iBert was very easy to install on my wife’s Novara hyrbid and has held up well. Our daughter is just under the 40 lb weight limit and it is definitely time to move on to a larger capacity carrier.

I’ve done some bicycle touring/caming with a full load on the rear rack (paniers, sleeping bag, tent, etc) and I found that having our daughter up front was much more stable. My wife was less comfortable biking, but adjusted very quickly. Luckily, we had some time in Key West to adjust to traffic and there were no hills there. But even after moving here, my wife adjusted easily.

We did buy sunglasses for our daughter though for rides – not only for the sun, but for bugs, etc.

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@dasgeh 27397 wrote:

Ditto for the BoBike Mini (which I like to hawk because (1) you can only buy online and (2) it’s cooler and more adjustable than the iBert = lots of people tell us they wish they had heard of it before buying the iBert)…

Thanks for the tip. We bought the iBert because it was the first front carrier I had come across. We were living in Key West at the time and it worked great for us down there. Now our has reached the weight limit for the iBert – the BoBike Maxi looks like a worthy next step.

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@eminva 27268 wrote:

Your backpack is repeatedly hitting your child in the face. She looked a little young to tell you this herself (I think it was a girl).

Liz

Ouch – this is why I like the iBert. Plus, it makes our daughter feel like she is on a parade float – so she waves to everyone. It’s nice to look at the faces of folks coming the other way, 95% of the time it will draw a big smile.

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