[bobco85]

Just had this idea pop into my head (warning: you are about to see a brief glimpse into my thoughts): looking at your original request of using books got me thinking, if each person has a distinct page #, then each person is going to end up with a nonsensical “story” based on those pages. This gets me thinking, it’s not about the books themselves, how about the writing?

What if, instead of a page # from a book, each location would have a bunch of random words/phrases (maybe on cards?), and the order would be designated by the location (each location gets a number that denotes the position of that word/phrase in a story). Each participant would grab one part at random from each location, and at the end of the ride, everyone would tell the story based on the parts they found.

It’d be like a mashup of Mad Lib with the words/phrases coming from something like Cards Against Humanity (see Steve O’s cycling version for added hilarity).

Quick example:
Story: (rider name) set out on a bike ride. First, they put on (#1 clothes) and ate (#2 food). Partway through their ride, they encountered (#3 group) which made them feel (#4 adjective). Finally, (rider name) made it to the bar and drank (#5 beverage) until they (#6 action). The end.

Picking up cards at random from each location, Judd ends up with this story:
Judd set out on a bike ride. First, they put on coveralls-that-don’t-cover-all and ate raspberries stolen from the MVT by Steve O. Partway through their ride, they encountered a pack of pathletes which made them feel sticky. Finally, Judd made it to the bar and drank nectar of the cycling gods until they forgot how to clip out of their pedals. The end.

[bobco85]

Art by bobco85 (with inspiration from CaseyKane50); ride by bobco85
[ATTACH=CONFIG]14780[/ATTACH]
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/990921115
Drawing: 23.0 miles

Everything really happened at the right time for this. This Monday was my cat’s (Reeses) 10th birthday, and while perusing my Strava feed, I came across CaseyKane50’s ride on Monday. I like to look at the maps of the routes people take on their rides, and I noticed that Casey’s ride https://www.strava.com/activities/987363550 looks a LOT like a kitty.

Once that happened, I was inspired to turn Casey’s route into an actual cat shape. I made some tweaks to the route including adding a proper tail, fixing an ear, and getting the position of the feet just right. Due to the shape of Glebe Rd, I then decided to use it to add a collar with tag in Four Mile Run Park.

Again, much credit to CaseyKane50 because I would have never done this ride had I not come across his route.

[bobco85]

This happened yesterday, and I got it on video.

As I was biking on Pegram St in Alexandria, I approached the intersection with Taney Ave which is a 4-way stop. I slowed to a crawl, then started into the intersection when a driver on Taney Ave blows through the stop sign. She would have hit me if I hadn’t slowed in anticipation. But then something interesting happened…

Suddenly, I hear a WOOP! WOOOOP! behind me. An Alexandria police SUV had been right behind me, saw the whole thing, and immediately turned on their lights/siren to pull the driver over! Swift justice!

[video=youtube_share;HeSCLRmn8yw]https://youtu.be/HeSCLRmn8yw[/video]

[bobco85]

@micahmac 160152 wrote:

Thanks – I biked that route a few years ago with a convoy, but on Franconia from Van Dorn to Bush Hill (almost a mile) there is no bike lane – only sidewalk and the right travel lane and I would not be comfortable in biking it alone.

Sometime in 2015, a bike lane was added to Franconia Rd on that stretch, and it has made a huge difference in the bike-friendliness of that road. I used to avoid riding on Franconia Rd, too, until the bike lane was installed.

The bike lane runs from the entrance of Thomas Edison HS to Bush Hill Dr. You can see it here in Google Map’s Streetview: https://goo.gl/maps/bXXsdhqQfXC2 Most of the imagery is out of date, but the bike lane shows up on Google Maps in the satellite view.

It might be worth considering for a future ride, at the very least, but it’s still dependent on your level of comfort.

[bobco85]

@micahmac 160141 wrote:

Here is my route:

https://www.strava.com/routes/4912544

I think the route looks good, and you’ll have quite an enjoyable ride using a lot of different trails in the area (Ffx Co Pkwy, Franconia-Springfield Pkwy, Eisenhower Ave, Potomac Yard, Mount Vernon, & Rock Creek Park Trails).

If you’re comfortable riding for a bit longer on Franconia Rd, might I recommend this route to avoid the Van Dorn St/Eisenhower Ave mess: https://goo.gl/maps/vca4yGk1f7x It uses a bike lane on Franconia Rd, neighborhood streets (it looks complicated, but if you’ve got your route map, you’ll be fine; plus, it’s a very nice way once you know where you’re going), and the Eisenhower Connector puts you only a few blocks away from the Eisenhower Ave Trail.

Looks like you have the opportunity to visit 4 pit stops on your route (times the pit stops are open):

• Springfield / Metro Park at Walker Lane (6:30-8:30 a.m.)
• Alexandria – Carlyle (6:30-8:30 a.m.)
• Arlington – Crystal City Water Park (7-9 a.m.)
• Georgetown Waterfront Park (7:30-9:30 a.m.)

Given your route says it will take 2:05 to get from start to finish and assuming 15 minutes per stop, you’re likely going to spend about 3:05 to do the whole thing. Have fun!

[bobco85]

I passed by there and took some pics around the area. Everything was open, and the smell of the burnt hillside was still in the air. A lot of people didn’t seem to even know what had happened.

Pics of the aftermath of the fallen tree-electrical wire-brush fire from earlier today:

(top) at first, it was difficult to find a good angle; (bottom) elevation was key to properly seeing the burnt area
[ATTACH=CONFIG]14765[/ATTACH]

(left) this truck was damaged by the fallen tree, now sporting a dent in the hood and a broken side view mirror among other things; (right) all that remained of the tree that started the chain reaction
[ATTACH=CONFIG]14766[/ATTACH]

scorched earth
[ATTACH=CONFIG]14767[/ATTACH]

(top) pano looking down the hillside; (bottom) pano looking at the trail and hillside
[ATTACH=CONFIG]14768[/ATTACH]

[bobco85]

@LhasaCM 160028 wrote:

I think today’s DCBR experience proved that I’m semi-functional waking up early enough to make this work (though not by this point of the day), so pencil me in.

No worries! I figure this time range would work better for most people, as they would be able to get home by dinnertime.

[bobco85]

@bobco85 160080 wrote:

(Arlington, VA) – The W&OD Trail and Four Mile Run Dr are both closed between Columbia Pike and George Mason Drive due to a fallen tree that hit the power lines and caused a brush fire. It was reported on ArlNow: https://www.arlnow.com/2017/05/15/breaking-tree-down-on-power-lines-brush-fire-along-four-mile-run-drive/

Pics from the article:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]14762[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]14763[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]14764[/ATTACH]

I’ll post an update if things clear up by this evening, but in the meantime, you can use Four Mile Run Trail as a detour as shown here: https://goo.gl/maps/CqRUHZV2FrS2

ArlNow posted a update on the situation:

Updated at 2:30 p.m. — The fire has been extinguished and Four Mile Run Drive is expected to reopen shortly. The access road is expected to remain closed until the fallen tree is removed.

While it is not known if the W&OD Trail will be open, trail users will be able to use Four Mile Run Drive (mostly one lane with parking lane) to get between Columbia Pike and George Mason Drive.

[bobco85]

(Arlington, VA) – The W&OD Trail and Four Mile Run Dr are both closed between Columbia Pike and George Mason Drive due to a fallen tree that hit the power lines and caused a brush fire. It was reported on ArlNow: https://www.arlnow.com/2017/05/15/breaking-tree-down-on-power-lines-brush-fire-along-four-mile-run-drive/

Pics from the article:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]14762[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]14763[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]14764[/ATTACH]

I’ll post an update if things clear up by this evening, but in the meantime, you can use Four Mile Run Trail as a detour as shown here: https://goo.gl/maps/CqRUHZV2FrS2

[bobco85]

@Emm 160046 wrote:

If you put in a call, click, connect note they usually will clean it up if it’s a public sidewalk… sometimes really fast, sometimes though it takes a few weeks

Send a picture of the spot, too. I also tweet at the city with the Call.Click.Connect report number (social pressure) and have gotten better results with it.

[bobco85]

Congrats on the move, and I hope to see you on the trails when I make it out there this fall!

[bobco85]

Surge 15 starts Monday, and my video is now up for biking around it!

Quick notes:

• Surge 15 will run from May 15th through June 16th
• All Orange Line stations east of Stadium-Armory will be closed (New Carrollton, Landover, Cheverly, Deanwood, & Minnesota Ave stations all will be closed)
• Free local shuttle buses will replace Orange Line trains
• Express shuttle buses will connect a few Orange Line stations to a few Blue/Silver Line stations

This bike route video uses parts of the route that I took folks along for the Purple Line, and it should show a couple of connections between the stations that aren’t very easy to figure out.

Here is the video. With Bike to Work Day approaching, I hope this helps those who are less experienced.

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

[bobco85]

@mello yello 160002 wrote:

I’d bet on a cyclist. I’ve picked up people’s panniers before – one had gov’t ID and gov’t issued cell phone in there. If your wallet was in there someone will probably find you.

Update: she went back and was able to find her panniers last night. She posted on Strava that she found them at the DC end of Memorial Bridge next to The Arts of War statue titled “Valor” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Arts_of_War_and_The_Arts_of_Peace

[bobco85]

I got bitten by the curiosity bug and went to the ride site which has a map of the routes. The century ride has 4 loops (think a really-withered 4-leaf clover), so I would imagine that there would be a centralized pit stop where the loops intersect.

Here’s the map of the century route (the half-century and quarter-century routes use parts of this):
[ATTACH=CONFIG]14746[/ATTACH]

Again, this is pure conjecture, but that’s what would make sense to me. Enjoy your ride in the Shenandoah Valley!

[bobco85]

@cvcalhoun 159982 wrote:

Who has old newspapers around? I tried stuffing the URL of the Washington Post into my shoes, but it didn’t work.

I’m mostly digital when it comes to newspapers/magazines, but I still get those coupon sheets in the mail addressed to previous residents of my apartment. Paper towels also will do.

I do like the mental image of someone stuffing a URL into one’s shoes, although there might be some future technology that offers, “The Washington Post: straight into your sole(s)!”

(pun intended)

[Author]

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