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Well this is a major bummer…..

The Freezing Saddles leaderboard is now flagged as pornography on the NOAA network.

Did y’all do something funky to the webpage this time around?? Or did some ‘entertainment’ site buy the domain for certain cold weather fetishists?

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@jrenaut 102912 wrote:

First initial last name. Pretty boring.

Same

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They responded to my e-mail and asked me to send it back for a replacement (assuming it’s one of the newer 31.8mm ones. It is). I’m gonna drop it in the mail today and hopefully get the replacement soon. I’ll post an update when that happens.

So far, so good.

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@Steve O 102044 wrote:

It is there, Cancun, where I don’t want to be “finishing up” achieving my goal. The “up” is associated with “finishing,” not with “there.” If you pause just slightly after saying “up” and say “there” as though it’s italicized, you will get my drift.

Also, my geography teacher aunt did not allow her students to use “up” to refer to north nor “down” to refer to south since those references are, of course, completely arbitrary and essentially meaningless–or at least, imprecise. I would never risk her disapprobation by doing so. She would frown at you if she were to see your post.

Oh geez.. I get it now. Sorry!! I totally read it the other way :rolleyes:. I can handle a stern frowning. I would hope she’s at least satisfied that I clean up on all the geography categories on Jeopardy. If I wasn’t such a scaredy cat little kid I would have competed in geography bees… I coulda been a contender.

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@bobco85 101995 wrote:

Ha! You’re a year behind me (my 2013 goal was 4000 miles, 2014 goal is 5000 miles), so my prediction is that in 2016 you’ll be looking to get more quality than quantity out of your bike mileage (i.e., more centuries and overnight trips) as you add running to your repertoire in training for your first biatholon (it’s a stretch, but I’m up for the challenge).

Wow! Hey, thanks for the futuristic advice! Fortunately, in the first 6 months of 2015 I’ll be trying to complete the 2nd half of my R-12 from RUSA, so I’ll get my share of long training rides, 200Ks, and hopefully a 300K or two in as well. I have my eye on a 400K, but I’m not ready to commit quite yet. The 2nd half of 2015 I may be recovering from the long rides with shorter, more utilitarian rides. Who knows. This winter will be a big part of how my spring plays out.

Running? I doubt I’ll be trying to run more, but never say never!

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@Steve O 101889 wrote:

…and I don’t want to depend on finishing up there (might prefer relaxing on the beach with some drinks with umbrellas in them).

At no time should a person in Washington DC, call Cancun “up there”. It is down. It is south of us, and in this northern hemisphere-centric world, south is down. Exception – If Cancun was at a high elevation, then “up there” might be acceptable. It is not though.

Best of luck trying to achieve your goal!!

I got my goal of 4000 miles last week. In 2015 I think I need to challenge myself more. I’m thinking 5,000 miles.

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@jabberwocky 101978 wrote:

It was a lovely day to be up in the mountains.

Wow! So is the trail the bit with the rocks, or do you get to ride in the space between the rocks… somewhere?

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I focus on staying warm, rather than staying dry. Because I know I’ll get wet, whether it’s from rain or sweat.

Rain repellency is never a bad thing, but waterproof just doesn’t seem to exist in my world.

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So I only took one photo, on the recent 200K. The weather was 30’s-40’s with light to moderate rain ALL day. Thus, I was hesitant to take my camera out to snap a photo of the wet, greyness in which I was surrounded. With respect to scenery there wasn’t a single thing that didn’t remind me of miserableness.

But this, I just had to pull over to immortalize…

[ATTACH=CONFIG]7143[/ATTACH]

I may have to submit this to unintentionally funny church signs or something.

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To the 3 Freds that blew through the red light at 3rd St. NW, heading west on I St…. you realize that if you had actually tried riding just a little faster you would have easily made the light right?? After you 3 busted through the light and the SUV driver who was patiently waiting started to go, all I could do was shrug my shoulders and shake my head. If you were better cyclists you wouldn’t need to do such blatantly stupid things.

The funniest bit is that you were all decked out in blinkie lights, reflective gear, and all the other things that help to keep you safe. Guess what morons!? Not blowing through red lights is probably the best technique for being safe on a bike out there. What’s the point of all the other stuff then?

PS – To the third guy, lube your damn chain. It sounded like you had a cat stuck in there.

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@ian74 100617 wrote:

I’m shopping for some now. Which ones do you recommend? I already have the toe covers, I was thinking the Pearl Izumi Elite barrier booties. The reviews seemed pretty good.

I don’t know exactly which ones I have, but they are Pearl Izumis. I had some trouble getting mine because I usually wear mountain shoes and not all shoe covers seem to work with all the extra cleats apparently. I really hate putting them on too because it’s the last thing I do in the morning, and I need to sit outside in the cold or else I’ll boil over from all the layers I’m wearing. Once they’re on though they’re great.

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Welcome to the fold! It’s nice to see another Alexandrian (and even Maryland connection) on here. At times the forum can seem as though it really is just about BikeARLINGTON, but there actually is a nice representation across the DMV.

Whether you want it or not, my advice for winter riding – I’m sure you have enough layers of pants, women’s tights (hee hee), and jackets that you can keep your body warm enough. But if you wear cycling cleats I suggest you invest in a pair of neoprene shoe covers. Definitely worth the $40!

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@elbows 99501 wrote:

I’m sure I’m stating the obvious, but consider metroing out to Wiehle-Reston, at least one way, to cut off what you see too much of. It’s a pretty fast trip from Arlington.

No that is a great suggestion. The Silver line wasn’t open when I started this thread, but it is something that we could take advantage of to avoid some of the most congested, cross-street riddled, close-in parts of the W&OD.

On the other hand, metro doesn’t open until 7am on weekends, so it would be difficult to get significant miles in before the worst summer middday heat comes on. I’m from the mountains of PA and I hate the summer heat down here, so I like to get out before sunrise. In June-July that is before 6am. Heh. Some of my best rides out that way recently I arrived in Purcellville by 8am with 50 miles under my belt. I was relaxing at home by 1pm.

I just can’t believe there aren’t any worthwhile or safe road routes between Arlington and Leesburg.

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@KLizotte 99358 wrote:

The Thurmont area is great for riding; very agricultural and far fewer cars than the Poolesville area.

It is great, but that’s starting to stretch my ability for a door-door ride.

Thanks for the tip though.

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@KLizotte 99294 wrote:

How about hopping on metro all the way out to Shady Grove then heading out to the Olney or Poolesville areas? You can visit the Agricultural History Farm Park in the former.

I ride up there a bit too. I have a variable 110 mile loop that goes north from home and uses a mix of road and trail up to Lake Needwood, then I continue up to Mt. Airy, then turn west to Urbana, and south to Poolesville and back home to Alexandria. Thinking about it – I spend a lot of time in Poolesville! There is a bit more exploring I can do around Frederick, but overwhelmingly I feel like the biggest gap in my local visit count is definitely southern Loudon and northern Faquire(sp) counties in VA.

I have not visited the Agricultural History Farm Park yet. Maybe I’ll put that on the list.

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