[bobco85]

Looks like you guys had a good time, even with the (jabs elbow) lower mileage. Midnight Saddles is one of the recurring events that I would look forward to when I was there, and I’m glad you’re still doing them.

@drevil 166802 wrote:

I cried a tear then rode home with my tail between my legs

Because Midnight Saddles was shortened, you only had Midnight Sad

[bobco85]

Thanks for the survey link (took it, gave my feedback).

I prefer the chronological listing for rides according to when they took place which makes activities easier to find, so this change is not welcome for me. It’s weird seeing folks post photos of rides/hikes they did on Facebook/Twitter (sometimes with screenshots of their Strava activity) yet not seeing them on my Strava feed. Case in point: I just looked at Strava, and folks’ Midnight Saddles activities appeared 3rd on my list but weren’t anywhere on my feed about 7 hours ago.

The problem is, what I want Strava to be (social athletic activity platform for sharing rides/hikes/etc. & pics, testing/challenging oneself, and giving encouragement/trash-talk to friends) is not what Strava wants to be (all-encompassing curated social media platform based on athletic activities the A.I. deems relevant to the user but increasingly adding non-activity posts like personal stories traditionally found on other social media and/or forums like this one… a.k.a. Facebook). I don’t want Strava to become Facebook (and ESPECIALLY not Twitter, but that’s another story).

My solution: options for filtering so users can choose if they want chronological (based on start of ride or upload time) or curated (based on athletes with whom the user tends to interact) with options for non-activity posts like personal stories or questions.

[bobco85]

@Judd 166816 wrote:

I like the spinning cassette in the video. Looks like there’s some great murals along the trail.

The morning I got the footage for the video, I was actually running late (SURPRISE, SURPRISE :p) for a group bike ride starting from Gas Works Park in the heart of Seattle (16.6 miles away, ~1.75 hours of riding to get there with hills), so I was unable to stop and really enjoy the murals. I will make a return trip to do so, especially since there is one particular mural that is somewhat hidden from view but has a particular opinion of the choice of logos for a certain DC-area football team and a certain Cleveland-area baseball team.

Also, the sound for the cassette is a recording of my commuter bike’s rear wheel.

[bobco85]

Fresh off renovating my YouTube channel, I’ve got a video for a short but obscure trail in Seattle: the SODO Trail.

SODO is derived from “SOuth of king DOme” referring to the King Dome football stadium which used to be in south Seattle until its replacement by CenturyLink Field. The name then changed to being derived from “SOuth of DOwntown,” but the origin of the name is still different. The neighborhood is industrial with lots of warehouses that are slowly being converted into studios and lofts. There are lots of really cool murals/graffiti (my favorite types of art) that can be seen on the backs of the old industrial buildings, some not being visible from the light rail or nearby roadway.

The SODO Trail runs for about a mile alongside a section of the Link light rail near the SODO and Stadium stations. There’s a comparison to be made between this setup and that of the future Purple Line/CCT with the use of space for a parallel light rail/trail, but the histories are entirely different.

I’m trying a lot of new things in this ride video that will also be in future videos to provide more detail and to ensure cohesion across my channel. I hope it works out.

[video=youtube_share;sS8oXa1mm44]https://youtu.be/sS8oXa1mm44[/video]

[bobco85]

@lordofthemark 166791 wrote:

Either way works. If you take the MTV, ride past the turn up to the 14th street bridge, over the Humpback bridge, then make a right onto the side trail around the Navy-Merchant Marine Memorial that will take you by the marina. Ride North thought the marina parking lot, onto the flagstone path through the grove, then left onto the wooden bridge. Go up the ramp and you will be on the Pentagon reservation.

Here’s the route lordofthemark is describing: https://goo.gl/maps/CWj7bDNkZgB2 I agree that it is the easiest way to get there, plus you won’t have to worry about any road closures affecting your trip.

On a side note, that Kids’ Run map is a bit confusing. Why did they orient it to the east without providing a compass?

[bobco85]

Moving across the country from the DC area to the Seattle area has been stressful, exciting, and huge boost of inspiration and creativity, so I did some extra work to polish up future bike videos. First off, I redid my YouTube channel trailer that includes an animation that I created that I can use in my videos. I decided to post this here because I still have a backlog of footage from biking in DC that will make its way into upcoming videos along with new footage from biking in Seattle.

Here’s my new channel trailer; those with a keen eye may be able to see themselves in it 😎

[video=youtube_share;64Q_ZsLhRMM]https://youtu.be/64Q_ZsLhRMM[/video]

[bobco85]

@anomad 166759 wrote:

Funny story. I’ve been to Seattle many many times, mostly years ago on connecting flights in and out of Alaska. I’ve only seen Ranier once! I couldn’t stop staring.

It’s one of those things I’ve noticed since moving here: I’m still not used to seeing a mountain off in the distance when I’m doing errands or on a bike ride. Nonetheless, it’s just as beautiful as when I first saw it years ago

[bobco85]

First off, I want to let you know that I received the book that y’all signed. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I’m reading a few notes from it each day, and it helps me get through the homesickness.

For this week, I’ve got photos from a ride I did the other day that just about made me fall in love with Seattle a second time. I went on a ride after picking my Chinook bike up from the bike shop (had to remove and replace a screw attaching the bike rack to the bike that had sheared off) that took me around Elliott Bay at sunset. I’ve only attached 5 pics here, but the scenery was just majestic.

I rode on the Elliott Bay Trail which goes by a massive container ship loading apparatus (think grain conveyor belts except gigantic) and features multiple sections where the pedestrian path runs completely separately from the bicycle path
[ATTACH=CONFIG]15589[/ATTACH]

sunset over Puget Sound from the Elliott Bay Trail (at Elliott Bay Park)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]15590[/ATTACH]

viewable seemingly from everywhere around the Seattle area, I caught a glimpse of Mount Rainier in red from (I measured it and added the map to the image) about 60 miles away!
[ATTACH=CONFIG]15591[/ATTACH]

riding south of the Seattle Waterfront on my way to West Seattle, this part of the Elliott Bay Trail reminded me of DC’s Metropolitan Branch Trail
[ATTACH=CONFIG]15592[/ATTACH]

I was cyclist #1157 to pass this bike counter (at 7:42 pm) at the West Seattle Bridge, and I saw cyclist #1158 as she was coming the other way on the bridge; it still amazes me to see so many folks passing through sometimes
[ATTACH=CONFIG]15593[/ATTACH]

[bobco85]

@eminva 166632 wrote:

Wow, interesting, Bobco! Quite an adventure. Wonder if you could get there by kayak, if you were so inclined? I’m not a kayaker so I have no idea if that is even possible or where you would start.

I came upon the bridge to nowhere following the cue sheet through Oxon Hill Farm Park. I had to do a wet foot crossing. May have been able to ride across, but the opposite bank looked steep and muddy and my legs were in no shape for adventure by that point.

Liz

You know, I never thought about getting to the SE9 stone by kayak, but it seems absolutely possible; future eminva group kayak trip to the stone?

To be honest, I am disappointed that the washed out bridge in Oxon Hill Farm Park STILL has not been replaced, and it’s been over 2 years without so much as a low-budget solution like a few extra stepping stones.

[bobco85]

@eminva 166628 wrote:

Here are some photos — I made it all the way and saw 33 stones. I am curious to know if anyone made it to the stone in the woods near Eastern and Kenilworth (or has made it in the previous years)? I had no idea how far back it was and the area looked like folks use it as a waste dump, so I took a pass.

Also, there is a final SE stone down by the Potomac River just west of I-295. Has anyone been there?

Rod? Bobco?

For the NE8 stone, you have to go through a gap in the fence into a sketchy lot behind (NW of) the intersection of Kenilworth & Eastern, then walk probably about 300-400 feet and look for the stone along the fence on the right. When I found it, it took a bit of walking through the weeds, but it’s there.

For the SE9 stone between I-295 and the Potomac River, yes, I’ve been to it! Here’s my proof that involved stepping on a board with a nail in it that went through my shoe and into my toe (long story short, it wasn’t too bad, plus I was up-to-date on my tetanus shot): http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?p=123681#post123681 If you are feeling adventurous and have a good sense of spatial geographical awareness (read: lots of estimation and trying to find possible landmarks while using GPS), I would recommend going with a group of people and attempting to find it some time in winter (say, a warm day) when the thorny bushes and vines have died back.

[bobco85]

@lordofthemark 166601 wrote:

VisitAlexandria would be interested in details of this project. They said as much at the last BPAC meeting.

Awesome! Do you have any contact info for the VisitAlexandria representative? You can give them my e-mail.

[bobco85]

I should add, I cannot be there, but I will have a beer in your honor, Dickie!

[bobco85]

For reference, I made a Strava route for what Kitty is describing: https://www.strava.com/routes/10910736

@Kitty 166620 wrote:

Ugh. I see that Google Maps continues to be dumb as hell when it comes to Memorial Bridge and bikes. The route it is showing you is non-existent.

Yet again, this specific trail (officially the Route 110 Trail) is another issue that I petitioned Google Maps to change back when they still had Google Mapmaker. They were undergoing a process of removing side path lines from their maps in favor of marking the parallel roads in solid green (which is annoyingly vague because bike lanes, protected bike lanes, sometimes sharrows, and parallel side paths all display the same way).

I told them that the Route 110 Trail is an officially recognized trail (according to Arlington County) and not a sidepath. I also told them that removing the trail from the map would confuse cyclists and pedestrians, but they insisted on marking it as a parallel side path, plus they would not change Jefferson Davis Highway to reflect this. My frustration comes from having done a lot of volunteer work on the Google Mapmaker site which allowed users to edit and submit changes (like marking roads having bike lanes, adding trails and especially connections not previously on the map, etc.), and now that the Mapmaker site is gone, it’s incredibly difficult to make changes.

[bobco85]

I’ve got great news: I just completed my guidebook for the Alexandria Historical Bike Ride!

For those not in the know about this, here’s the sequence of events:

1. Initially, it was close to being finished in August
2. My laptop broke (motherboard fried)
3. I tried to get it fixed, but Apple considers 2011 hardware to be too ancient and Microcenter told me the cost to fix would be more than a new computer i.e. my laptop was totaled
4. Agony
5. In my process of moving to Seattle, I ordered a new laptop
6. New laptop arrives, I get all my design applications back on it (luckily had registered them with Adobe, so redownloading was easy)
7. I took the hard drive from the old laptop, plugged it in (external USB), and voila, the files were still there!
8. Researching the cost of printing X number of copies, cutting them, and binding them, I concluded that it was cheaper to buy my own printer, paper trimmer (has the sliding blade to cut many pages in half with smooth edge), and binding machine
9. I acquired everything necessary
10. Now: I have finished the guidebook (including proofreading and double-checking all directions) and have started production

I will be contacting a few folks who will be tasked with distributing a limited number of the guidebooks, but I will also make the guidebook available as a PDF just like my Arlington one. (takes deep breath)

(WHEW!)

I don’t know if y’all could hear that from the East Coast, but I am relieved that it is finally complete!

[bobco85]

@KWL 166499 wrote:

I believe I see a lime green Freezing Saddles band on the top tube of your bike at IKEA. Well done.

Yeah, that is my commuter bike (and trailer) which I brought with me from VA; I had left all my FS stuff on it. Btw, there are actually 2 FS bands (top tube and front fork) and 3 FS tags (all on bike bag, one facing the other way) in the pic if you use a keen eye

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