[ChristoB50]

2018 was my first year on a bike in 25+ years, so I didn’t start out with any stated biking goals or prior year comparisons. I bought an ebike (pedal assist, no throttle) to introduce exercise which I hoped would be fun enough to stick with, to help with some much needed weight-loss and building towards improved fitness, stamina and energy, and perhaps to consider dabbling with office commutes, once I felt “more up to it”. The bike arrived March 2, 2018, and I was 49, 6’2″, 303 pounds.

These loose goals arose while contemplating my 50th approaching in the summer, watching my dad’s weight spike in his retirement, and also having committed to go visit Australian friends in 2020… I won’t lie, the thought of contemplating a 15+ hour flight in an economy seat at 303 pounds was a powerful driver by itself.

So for me, my 2018 results frankly blew me away, and I’ll be evaluating how to form 2019 goals from this, while I recover from the flu this week:

4,032 miles — total biked miles for the year (6,488km)
1,161 miles — car miles eliminated by biking to work
600.2 miles — highest monthly total (Jul.)
109

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office roundtrip commutes made
95.8 miles — average weekly miles (of all weeks with any biking)
61 pounds —- weight lost as of 1/1/19
53 pounds —- weight of bike with battery
51.4 miles — longest single-day ride total
38 days

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mileage exceeded 30
27.8 miles — highest average daily miles of any month (Sep.)
23 days

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greatest number of biking days in any month (Jul.)
22.4 miles — average daily miles (of all days biked more than 1 mile)
17

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highest number of office commutes in any month (Oct.)
2 days

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mileage exceeded 50
1

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number of falls/wipeouts (late in the game at mile 3,961)
0

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number of flats (fingers crossed!)

[ChristoB50]

Good luck to all the saddle warmers!
I didn’t get around to registering in time, as I deliberated too long whether or not I’d be a helpful team contributor. But I’ll be following along and comparing my miles with the teams, to make an informed decision in time, next year.
I joined you all in spirit with a 10 mile ride today to start the new year on the right track; far shorter than I’d do on any other 60 degree day, but I’m still coming off a nasty cold/bug.

[ChristoB50]

Not specific to ice here (though perhaps just as slippery as ice can be)…
I took my first spill on the bike last week, when my rear tire slid out from under me as I was making a pretty broad and thankfully slow turn (picture a U-turn on a dead-end street) — and the rear tire crossed over a wet manhole cover.
My front tire just barely skirted the perimeter of the manhole cover, staying on the asphalt — but should’ve planned an even wider berth to ensure the rear tire would clear the cover also; it did not!
Lesson learned – down I went, hard onto the pavement on my left side, with a doozy of a knot in my left shin, where the bike frame clobbered my leg.

[ChristoB50]

@drevil 184262 wrote:

What bike is that?

Apologies – I just edited the original post.
It is a Cafe model from Vintage Electric Bikes of California. A pedal-assist without a throttle.
Stoked to have just ticked over, this past Friday (after the spill mentioned above) 4,000 total miles biked since March. For background, I’d not ridden a bike regularly for at least 20 years prior to this, and started out at 303 pounds when the bike arrived (6 foot 2 inches, 49 y/o). I’m now down 55 pounds, and will hopefully close out 2018 with 110 office commutes as well. To say it has been transformative in my life this year is putting it mildly…

[ChristoB50]

My ride, photographed earlier this summer…
At 3,961 miles tallied for the year (last Friday morning) I had my first spill.
Rear wheel slipped out from under me, on a wet manhole cover. Fortunately no bike damage; I may still decide to see a doctor if my egg-sized knot on my shin doesn’t diminish soon…
(Edit: The Cafe, a throttleless pedal assist from Vintage Electric Bikes out of Santa Clara, CA.)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]18688[/ATTACH]

[ChristoB50]

@dkel 184159 wrote:

Sew your fingers together so you can’t hold a beer. Duh.

Or – sew them together in such a way, all you CAN do is hold a beer, eternally…

[ChristoB50]

@Judd 184129 wrote:

It turns out that Wheels & Wings also does all of her sewing while standing too.

Shoot! I totally forgot about the library meet up for balaclavas…!
I joined the wait list/rsvp’d. But then never heard if I made it off the waitlist, and forgot to follow up….

[ChristoB50]

@TwoWheelsDC 184056 wrote:

I recently purchased a set of Twin Six Winter Bib *Pants* and holy shit they’re amazing. I’m generally not a fan of Twin Six apparel, but these are definitely an exception. Warmer and less constricting than my other cold-weather tights, and they fit over winter boots, which my other tights do not (the exception being the Amfibs). Highly recommend.

Like the look of those very much! Not a full-on skin-tight lycra look, but not floppy pants either…
Glad I tell myself that my budget resets on Jan. 1 — the amount of wish-list gear this one thread has been generating for me to ponder, could break the bank

[ChristoB50]

@Hancockbs 184018 wrote:

Decided to break down and but some cold weather shoes. I found Shimano MW5 for $125 including shipping at bikeinn.com.
https://www.bikeinn.com/bike/shimano-mw5/136224930/p

Please report back with your experiences with that shoe, after you’ve got a few cold rides — I’m curious if they make a measurable difference over “plain” bike shoes like my Shimano ME3’s, particularly on longer rides (1hr+) in low 30s or colder…

[ChristoB50]

I still get (pleasantly) surprised when I encounter deer just off the trail, on my morning commute — through the wooded part of Four Mile Run Trail that joins S. George Mason and S. Walter Reed. Granted, the bit of narrow park swells to its most expansive right in there, but I just never expected to see anything bigger than a rabbit, given the residential density.

[ChristoB50]

@Judd 183892 wrote:

If I’m remembering correctly, I believe city staff said that Mt. Vernon was getting repaved next year.

My heart skipped a beat, when I initially mistook that to mean repaving the Mt. Vernon Trail…

[ChristoB50]

Glad you all got it done Sunday! I thought I’d head down (to buy the Freezing Saddles bands) Sunday early afternoon — but it was totally cleared out by the time I got there!
Then tonight, I attempted to take a HP lap on the commute home, and it was by far the most seriously flooded I’ve seen it so far. (Loop was closed, as was a stretch of Ohio, under the 14th St. Bridge, with perhaps 18 inches or more of standing water in the middle, based on the trash truck that drove through it anyway.)

[ChristoB50]

@Paytonb33 183814 wrote:

Any suggestion for keeping feet warm and dry when temperatures are below 30 degrees? I currently use neoprene toe covers and high viz pearl shoe covers with merino wool socks. But after 45 mins, my feet are freezing. Any help would be appreciated.

Will be watching the responses! I’m still wearing my biking/clip shoes (which have tiny perforations all over the upper face) — so I’ve taken to wearing over-shoe waterproof covers (well, they’re still open along the bottom/sole, of course) to act as a bit of wind-block… and combine that with ShowersPass 3-layer waterproof socks.
Longer rides (over an hour) my toes will still get cold, but basically a manageable level. (In contrast to my first-ever cold ride; made the rookie mistakes of cotton socks and baggies inside, so the socks got damp and BOY did my toes freeze; I was actually somewhat concerned when I got home and realized they’d been wind-chilled while wet!)

Anyway – I’d love to hear how effective some of the specifically-for-winter cleat-compatible shoes or even boots are… {Edit: Like the Shimano MW5 shoes: https://www.rei.com/product/121535/shimano-mw5-mountain-bike-shoes-mens}
I’d seriously think about investing the dough to keep my feet warmer than “manageable” throughout winter, especially as I have yet to bike into the low 20s or teens.

[ChristoB50]

My commute doesn’t cross the river — but I’ve biked over Memorial Bridge on most weekends since the construction / traffic changes started; fortunately the bridge sidewalks haven’t been chaotic then. (And wow — I’m not brave enough to imagine biking in the car lanes there during rush hour!)

I think if I did need to regularly cross the Potomac, and my targeted or direct route made Memorial Bridge the ideal crossing point — I’d just trade the hassle of the bridge construction zone (and that murder crosswalk) entirely, for some extra minutes and the roughly what, 2.3 mile detour? to go down Ohio Dr, cross 14th Street Bridge (now that the trail is reopened / freshly paved!) and onto Mt. Vernon Trail.

I’d likely chose that over Roosevelt Bridge, speaking for myself, even though TRB route detour could likely be a little shorter? The TRB does feel too narrow for comfort with any other users sharing it, not to mention the nightmare images that pop into mind, of tipping over the low railing into traffic… The 14th St. detour just feels far less stressful overall to me, and worth the stray miles.

(That said, I’ve also not biked my commute, or at all yet, below 28 degrees — I could see where soon, I’d loathe the idea of adding even 2.2 miles if I didn’t have to

[ChristoB50]

@Brendan von Buckingham 183795 wrote:

While the bridge overhaul is putting a hitch in regular commutes, we can entertain ourselves with a virtual tour of the inside of the bridge

Thanks for sharing! Fascinating to look at all that!

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