[bentbike33]

@GovernorSilver 139233 wrote:

Tried the 7th St -> Capitol Square Place -> 9th St SW -> Case Bridge route.

Now that the cherry blossoms are gone, the “Anacostia Riverwalk” (a.k.a., the sidewalk along south side of Maine Ave.) offers a flat, uncrowded shortcut to the 14th Street Bridge. The green light from 9th to Maine, or the green left-arrow from E. Maine to 9th, gives you almost unused westbound lanes to the fish market most days. See: https://www.strava.com/activities/566760462.

[bentbike33]

@GovernorSilver 139209 wrote:

I still haven’t ridden on the Custis and thus haven’t seen the Corkscrew of Death. Maybe in a couple of weeks – definitely before tourist season goes into full swing.

I ride the Custis “Corkscrew of Death” (or “Switchback of Grave Peril”) twice a day. Tourists are never a problem there despite the obvious allure of the intriguing moniker(s). The times when the peril is most grave are approximately now, when the trees are raining blossom-related debris that is subsequently soaked by actual rain, and in the fall when the leaves come down.

[bentbike33]

It’s inconceivable to me that biking to work could possibly be statistically safer than Metro, so safety is not the reason I have gone almost exclusively to bike commuting. The main reasons for me are that: (1) the bike commute is far more enjoyable, even in the cold January darkness and sodden July heat, than standing on an overcrowded train (or sitting beneath looming standees); and (2) while under ideal conditions, total travel time might be shorter for me by Metro than bike, ideal conditions on Metro are a “black swan” event and the variance in my bike commute travel time, even allowing for the occasional flat tire, is much smaller than by Metro.

[bentbike33]

I saw @wheels&wings herding unruly waterfowl on the MVT in the rain this afternoon. Thanks for getting them out of my way!

[bentbike33]

@Emm 139107 wrote:

Am I hurting the group more by staying in it when I’ll be dead weight for a good portion of the challenge?

Absolutely not. All days and miles ridden by Washington Area All Stars team members add to the total. We are in the mega-team category with no cap on membership numbers, so the more riders, the more points, better the chance at beating Gainesville.

[bentbike33]

@DrP 138938 wrote:

Really? An accident nearly occurred and I tell you why, but you do not correct yourself at the next opportunity and barely stay ahead of me? Why were you even passing me then? Take the f’ing headphones off Dude!

If karma means anything, his failure to use his ears to monitor his surroundings will eventually result in a world of hurt.

[bentbike33]

You could also just remove the barrel adjuster from the brake caliper, as long as you have one on the lever.

Although I thought most mechanical disk brake manufacturers recommended against using the barrel adjusters at all in favor of moving the pads.

[bentbike33]

@huskerdont 138831 wrote:

So, my new Masi CX Comp comes with the disc brake mounted on the chain stay in front of the seat stay. I’ve noticed that my foot occasionally hits the caliper while pedaling. While grinding a few miles out the towpath yesterday to lengthen the ride home, I eventually clued in that it was getting harder and harder and I was going slower and slower, even though I didn’t *think* I was tired. Dismounted and checked everything out, and the brake was tight enough that it was difficult to turn the wheel by hand. The barrel adjuster was most of the way out from my foot hitting it.

There are mounting holes behind the seat stay, but these are for racks, not a brake. Apparently there’s no adapter that can be used to mount it there such as on my Soma mountain bike.

So, any ideas on preventing this? I have a lower profile pair of shoes that hits it less so that will help to use them for this bike. I might put some tape on it as a temporary fix, but other than gluing the thing down, that’s all I got. It’s too late for footbinding.

Try one of these on the left side?

http://hostelshoppe.com/KNEESAVERS-Pedal-Extenders-174591/

[bentbike33]

I’ve never quite understood why salmoning the stretch of E Basin Drive by TJ was so popular, especially when the sidewalk is not horribly clogged by tourists. One may execute a very graceful, momentum-saving ascent to the sidewalk by taking the western crosswalk across E Basin Drive (from 14th St. Bridge Trail off-ramp closest to the CaBi station), cutting the corner into the northern crosswalk, and going straight up the ramp to the sidewalk. It’s doubtful that Officer Friendly will cite you for the few yards of salmoning necessary to cut the corner.

[bentbike33]

@creadinger:

Not to try and excuse the inexcusable, but having used one of these marvels of German engineering since I bought myself one for Christmas last year (Busch & Müller Luxos U), I think I might know what set him off (not that there would have been anything reasonable for you to do to prevent it).

@creadinger 138766 wrote:

Friday evening (9pmish)

As I crested the bridge over the airport ramp, you flashed me from ~70 yards away, and I switched my dynamo light from high beam to low beam. Being a well crafted german engineered light it’s designed to cut the light off at a certain height so as to not blind people, and no one has complained to me yet about it being too bright.

I have observed from non-ninja-pedestrians’ reflective clothing that when you are above oncoming traffic because you are cresting a hill, the brightest part of the beam (the top) can hit much higher than when you are on level ground. I don’t know how your light works, but my light has a kind of high-beam setting that basically maxes out all the LEDs using the standlight battery reserve, and switching to “low-beam” at night does not actually cut the brightness of the top of the main beam.

Anyway, he was still a jerk, as he didn’t bother to notice that your light was no longer in his face as you got closer to passing him.

Oddly, the only complaints I get about my light are during daylight hours.

[bentbike33]

While passing her near Brandywine Castle on the W&OD this morning, @Tania introduced herself to me. As I was slowing to chat she waived me along saying something about me “out-classing” her.

Pfft, unlikely.

Pleased to make your acquaintance, Tania.

[bentbike33]

@dasgeh 138581 wrote:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]11580[/ATTACH]

https://www.facebook.com/LarryVsHarryCargobikes/photos/a.149575891736743.28108.148816041812728/1275392362488418/?type=3&theater
customind-id.de/index.php/en/bike-concepts

Ah! An end-loader for clearing snow from the MVT!

[bentbike33]

@DismalScientist 138539 wrote:

Awful lot of collectible bikes in this area.:rolleyes:

If and only if MSRP <= Market value.

[bentbike33]

@ShawnoftheDread 138535 wrote:

So a ’91 Accord is antique? I’m not buying it.

Actually, “antique” = “25 years of age or more” is only a partial definition. The full definition is: antique = “25 years of age or more” + “collectible”, where “collectible” = “has inexplicably high market value relative to any actual use to which it can be put”.

You are in all likelihood correct that the ’91 Accord does not meet the second part of the definition of “antique”, so you probably shouldn’t buy it.

[bentbike33]

While you are at it, contact your county supervisor to see if they can ban the sale of alcoholic beverages in glass containers to get at the root cause of the problem.

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