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welcome!

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Love the sandwich idea, and I get elevation points since I’m on the 3rd floor!

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Go to all of their KOMs in your car, make them cry.

or make friends and share a beer

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I had never heard this before (in regards to bicycles, at least) but smaller is better. A bike that’s too big will be less stable with a shorter stem and sized down to fit than a bike sized up to fit. All news to me!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

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You have gone in to Freshbikes, right? I can’t stop smiling about how great my bike fits now that Clovis got me all set up. I always thought I needed to be on a 56, but it wasn’t until my fit last night that I learned I should actually be on a 54. I’m just shy of 6′, but the bike had to have a shorter stem (less stability). He did get it dialed in, but said I should really consider a 54 in the future. I’m sure you can go in and have them size you without going through the entire fit process.

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@Arlingtonrider 22429 wrote:

Are you a new bike commuter as a result of Bike to Work day this year? How is it going? What do you like best about it? Any problems?

Yes, BTWD day inspired me to ride more. I’m also building up to doing it on a regular basis. It’s a 21 mile ride one way. I have moderate arthritis in my spine. I still have 20-30 pounds to lose to be at my ideal weight (lol, never make it).

I’m getting to where I can bike to and from. Some days I will drive down the day before, metro home, bike in the next morning, then drive home with the bike in back. This lets me bike the “easy” way in and avoid the uphill ride home. It’s a nice way to split it up. Lately I’ve realized I can ride in (easy part), then ride home for an hour (6pm to 7pm) and catch the metro 1/2 way home. I get off work at 6, so it works out perfect. I can get even more of my ride in, but jump on to metro when I’m running out of gas.

I like that I can save so much money, enjoy my bike ride, avoid driving in the area traffic I hate so much, and avoid metro. My ride in takes me about 1:30, my metro commute takes anywhere from 1 hour to 1:15, or more if there’s a problem (red line, always a problem!). So it doesn’t take me too much longer. I have a shower and locker at work I can use, so that’s easy too. I’m also getting a nice tan and sexy legs haha

I haven’t really had any problems, other than it being a bit long of a commute, but it’s still reasonable. Yes, it takes an hour longer than if I drove, but my drive is against the flow of traffic for the most part. I also really hate driving in this area, and the cost of gas and maintenance, insurance (I get a discount for fewer commute miles), and a WHOLE lot less stress. Not to mention how bad the traffic can be at times in this area, especially in the summer afternoons.

So, there are just a TON of benefits to riding for me, even at the longer distance. If I had less of a distance to ride, it would be a complete no-brainer. I have to admit that I’m very lucky with the capital crescent trail. The CCT for me is awesome, Bethesda down to Georgetown with almost zero vehicle traffic at all. The infrastructure in DC is great too. The only part of my ride that I deal with traffic is over the Anacostia, up Good Hope road and down Suitland road. I’ve had no issues with the traffic in that area, people are very nice and polite.

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@DaveK 22467 wrote:

Just curious – height/inseam?

I’m 5’11 1/2″ lol, so just shy of 6′. Inseam is ~41 or so I guess. Not only was my seat WAY off, but it was angled up too. Everyone down there, even the non-store people took a look at that seat and said “WTF?”. Not being a bike fit expert, I just (mistakenly) assumed the LBS I purchased the bike from had it right, especially when I went back complaining of saddle problems. One guy actually asked me “do you like things up your ass?”. After the shock wore off, I said “of course not”. I should have really looked at the seat closer I guess, I had raised it 1/2″ already on my own, but never really paid attention to the angle of it. Again, I assumed the LBS I bought from knew what they were doing, and now realize they could not have cared less. I don’t want to “out” them since they really are nice people, but I just want to warn people that not all LBSs are the experts we newish folks expect them to be.

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Yeah, we talked about going back in a month, and I’ll definitely do that. He also told me to come back sooner if I had any issues. My ride home felt great! (other than pretty much running out of gas and having to jump Metro for a few miles LOL)

He did set me up with a new saddle, a specialized I had one of these on my old bike, and really liked it. Part of the fit was measuring my buttocks (ass) and the saddle I had was too small (or my ass is too big, take your pick) so I did buy a new one. I’m planning on putting some miles on this weekend, so I’ll have a good idea of how it feels on longer rides

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@PotomacCyclist 22121 wrote:

On the other hand, many surgeons have been accused of recommending fusion surgery too frequently because it’s more lucrative. There can also be severe complications from fusion surgery, including death. He may actually be better off not having that surgery. (Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor or a medical professional, but I’ve done a fair amount of reading on the topic.)

They have quotas to make. I don’t blame the doctors, I blame, mostly, the insurance companies and hospital administration. No, I’m not a doctor, I’m a patient. I had one neurosurgeon literally tell me “there’s nothing I can do for you” once he realized I was not a surgery candidate. Yes, I get he’s a “surgeon”, but his office was a “pain center”. It was very clear that he was just a mass production line for surgeries and had no interest in treating people. I ended up going to an anesthesiologist and have managed to maintain an acceptable level of pain reduction. (my X actually saw the same doc, had a spinal fusion, and is in as much or more pain these days than she was in before)

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@thucydides 22144 wrote:

Watermans Sprint is a terrific choice for a first tri. It’s well run, it’s a pretty setting, the swim is nice, the bike course is fun (basically rollers), and the run is not too bad. Plus you’ll almost certainly have cool weather. The only real downside to that — if you consider it a downside — is you’ll probably want a wetsuit. But you can rent one if you’re not yet ready to invest in buying one. Good luck! It sounds like you’re going at it in a very systematic careful way with the bike and shoe fittings. Running is probably your biggest issue as far as injury avoidance goes (especially with arthritis). I’m sure lots of people will tell you this, as well, but my 2 cents is to build your running mileage very slowly. If possible try and limit the amount of time you spend pounding asphalt and cement. We don’t have a lot of flat unpaved trails around here but the high school tracks are generally available for the public and much easier on your legs (though I find running on them tedious).

Thanks! Great advice, and seriously appreciated. It’s good to hear Waterman’s is so nice, I was a little concerned that it might be more of a “hardcore” or “racer only” oriented tri, but I can relax on that now. I’m definitely looking at a wetsuit, used if possible or an inexpensive one at least, since I won’t be seriously racing. I could see really enjoying this, so buying one could be worth it, but I’ll look at all the options. I did find a really nice swim coach that I start with tomorrow! I’m very excited about that.

I had a LOT of pain in my foot yesterday, so didn’t go to the running store. I get this horrible pain occasionally in the ball of my foot, almost like something is in there. My doctor has said it’s likely just swelling from the arthritis, so I just try to relax and not be on my feet too much. It typically only lasts a day or two, and only happens every 2 or 3 weeks. Fortunately, my cycling shoes are very stiff and do a great job of spreading the pressure across my entire foot, so I can bike without problems. I imagine swimming will be the same, so I’ll still be able to train on these types of days. I’ll just be screwed if it happens on the day of the triathlon The idea about the track is not something I’d thought of, but was like a huge lightbulb going off. What an awesome idea. I’ve run on some of those squishy tracks when I was in the Army, and loved it. I had planned on just running on the road (or Bethesda trolley trail) or a treadmill, so a softer track would seriously help to avoid problems.

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@TwoWheelsDC 22055 wrote:

A bunch of us bike commuters meet at Swings (17th/G) for coffee and friendly bike conversation every Friday morning from 7ish to 9ish. All are welcome!

ooooh, I see how it is, welcome the reporter on down, but keep it on the down-low for the other commuter-noobs like me? :p

haha seriously though, is it from 7 to 9? or something in that range? I’d like to meet a few folks (haven’t seen anyone on the trails yet). I imagine it’s not hard to spot everyone

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@Tim Kelley 21748 wrote:

It’s coming up soon, so if you haven’t already started training, you better get started!

I think it’s likely more than I should take on for my first. I haven’t started training yet, though I’ve been cycling a lot. I need to start running, and my swim skills are not anywhere they need to be. I can swim, but not properly. I’m very comfortable in the water, so hope to learn fast (once I find a swim coach to help me).

I’m looking at doing Waterman’s Sprint Tri in October for my first. I’m a little concerned about the time restrictions since I really want to finish, but it’s farther out (4 months) and only sprint distance. I have a fitting with Clovis on Friday, and am going in for a running shoe fitting this afternoon at RNJ Sports. Avoiding injuries to my already arthritis plagued body is my main concern

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@thucydides 21634 wrote:

Don’t do the Nation’s Tri if this is your first or you’re just getting back into triathlons.

It would be my first, and I’m not in exceptionally good shape. Plus I have all kinds of arthritis issues. I’m not interested in “racing”, I just want to finish one. I’ll take a look around at the VA series or MD ones and see if I can find one that would be more appropriate thanks!

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Thanks! I plan on it. The “procedure” was an RFA (I’ve mentioned elsewhere). Big needle, raw nerves, lots of heat, destroyed nerves, then after a few weeks no more pain (until they grow back, they’re peripheral sensory nerves, which regenerate after, for me, about 9 months). Not really invasive or something that keeps me more than just sore for a few days. I just bit off too much with the whole carrying my desk on my back thing LOL. I have this crazy idea that I can do a triathlon now, so considering training for the Nation’s Tri in September. Probably something an old arthritic body shouldn’t be doing… (please talk me out of it haha)

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I use strava, then just export it and import everywhere else. I tried this with Runkeeper initially, but RK seemed to like putting in an extra XML tag all over the place. This caused issues with importing anywhere else (probably using stricter settings). Strava seems to do a great job with the XML, and I’ve had no issues importing anywhere else.

I have my eyes on a Garmin, but have a question since we’re talking about it. Will it actually synchronize with multiple sites automagically? Or do I have to manually upload to runkeeper, strava, endomondo, etc.?

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