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I’m thankful that my wife puts up with this weird addiction to cycling I have, riding 3-5K miles each of the last 5 years. And thankful that she doesn’t complain about being a cycling widow while I spend countless hours our riding and during my multi-day solo tours like Boston-to-DC this year.

I’m very thankful that we (Team Puddin’ Thieves) were able to raise $10,500 for Sarcoma research through the Pan-Mass Challenge this year. Next year we’re shooting for more like $12,000.

Lastly, I guess I’m thankful that my wife enjoys cycling too. Not to the same degree, but enough that we can and do ride together sometimes.

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@Arlingtonrider 11093 wrote:

C’mon guys. Let’s get back to being a biking forum. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Where’s Roscoe when you need him? At least his post pertained to cycling. Haha.

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@MCL1981 10659 wrote:

Are you sure you’re not seeing the strobes on the bridges for the River Visual 19 approach into national?

Ok, just to conclude the question that I brought up…. using the last few commutes to check out more thoroughly what I’m seeing, I think indeed it is a strobe light on the underside of the Memorial Bridge. Why is it underneath the bridge though? That can’t help pilots. I’m thinking it helps to mark the channel or the clearance for boats going up and down the river so they don’t strike the bridge itself.

On a brighter note (pun intended) the MiNewt 600 that I ordered finally came in the mail yesterday. Wow is that thing bright! That will come in handy in the winter/spring when I’m trying to build up mileage to do some longer rides in March/April. Right now I have it mounted to my helmet, but I think I’d prefer it on my handlebar. Problem is I have a handlebar bag, which makes that really difficult. Does anyone have any experience with something like this?? http://www.amazon.com/Topeak-60001001-The-Bar-Extender/dp/B000FIAVN8

Just wondering if it was useful, or not.

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@MCL1981 10659 wrote:

Are you sure you’re not seeing the strobes on the bridges for the River Visual 19 approach into national?

I don’t think so because I have to look through the arches of the Memorial Bridge to see the flash, so these would be under the bridge? I’ll try to check tomorrow to make sure that’s not what I’m seeing though. If they are for the airport approach I’ll feel like a proper git… damn.

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From the whoah that’s a bright light department.

I don’t bike to work regularly, however I have been hitting up early morning yoga classes in Tenleytown. A few times now on my drive to work after getting my sweat on, I’ve seen a really bright strobe light catch my eye. I come down Rock Creek to Ohio Drive and then continue straight on Constitution Ave on my way to Suitland. Looking ACROSS the river I can see a ridiculously bright strobe light flashing on the MVT.

I’m not making any judgements or anything, but from across the river if you’re looking at it when it flashes, it will leave the tiny outline of the flash on your retina. Now, that’s a bright light! According to mapmyride, it’s about half a mile.

The not so great part is that by the time I’ve seen this flashing light, it’s basically fully light outside and the super-light is pretty much unnecessary. It’s hard to tell what this would look like to an oncoming cyclist on the MVT, but it’s probably not enjoyable.

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I have no idea what you guys are talking about and I need to confess that this post does not in anyway involve cycling or bikes… however, in an attempt to figure out what you guys are talking about I happened upon a thread in the Arlnow forum entitled “Custis Trail Incident” where a jogger apparently was the target of a flying microwave. The appliance missed fortunately.

http://www.arlnow.com/forums/misc/custis-trail-incident/

Some of the replies to the IP are hilarious and worth reading.

Also, good to keep an eye out for flying appliances because they could indeed cause serious damage to someone if they got hit.

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@acc 10257 wrote:

I was lucky to get out there today and roll around to my favorite BBQ place on the W&OD, although I have to confess I’ve learned the hard way to stick to the macaroni & cheese because I have another 20 miles to go to get home. While puking in the bushes after a ginormous pork sandwich is probably an effective diet plan, it is also a waste of perfectly good pork.

Does this BBQ place happen to be at the corner of Ashburn Road? It’s the only BBQ place I think of near the trail. I’ve never stopped there before, but I have a severe addiction to mac&cheese and I’m already calculating how much I can eat if it’s a 64 mile round trip in the cold.

I rode out that way last Wednesday and though I did not see random discarded clothing anywhere I did see a very active turtle at Smith’s Switch Station. Got me thinking – where do turtles go in the winter? I guess they hibernate by burrowing?

On Saturday this past weekend I was out with the wife and I think we saw Dirt doing the W&OD/MVT/Custis/W&OD triangle.

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@PotomacCyclist 10017 wrote:

While this could help to improve the Washington Blvd. crossing, a different solution would be needed for the GW Parkway crossing. I don’t have any ideas there except for an overpass. (I think an overpass would be better than a tunnel. Fewer places for unsavory characters to lurk.)

I don’t use these crossings very often, so maybe I’m not informed enough on this. I like the idea of moving the crosswalk farther away from the split.

Tunnels can definitely be sketchy and do tend to attract unsavory characters, but my concern is that there isn’t enough room in that area to put a ramp up to an overpass without it being really steep. Or, if indeed there is enough room, whether the NPS would spend the money to make the approaches rideable or instead just put in steps. I can think of a couple of poorly thought out or constructed ped/bike overpasses in this area and they’re really annoying! It takes the flow out of a good ride when you have to dismount and haul your bike up stairs in the middle of it.

The tunnel under the train tracks on the Crystal City spur seems to be in good shape and I’ve never seen any shady characters using that segment of trail. Maybe it’s because of the high traffic and a strong police presence that I’m unaware of, but I think tunnels can be made safe if you try. But overall I think cost would be the major deciding factor whether it’s a tunnel or bridge.

As a stop-gap measure why doesn’t NPS put up some flashing yellow lights indicating a cross-walk and that drivers should prepare to slow down or maybe even stop?
http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photos-crosswalk-image9600213

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@Roscoe 9920 wrote:

So this post just seems to me to be justifying rudeness while cycling. I’ve never seen this problem in any of the other cities I’ve cycled or driven in regularly. And while the traffic around here is also clearly impatient and rude also…at least they are not making a CONSCIOUS DECISION to do something they know will inconvenience other people, as the 2-abreast cyclists appear to be doing. In my area at least, they seem to take it as some opportunity to flex their selfish ability to temporarily seize control of the roads. The repeated rudeness I see from cyclists in this area disgusts me.

Ya know what? You’ve made your point and stated your case…. several times. Sorry that so many people in the DC area disgust you so much, especially compared to all the other idyllic places in the world you keep reminding us about. There have been an abundance of very well stated, thought out responses covering the range of opinions in this forum. And as someone else stated, those “RUDE” cyclists you saw were likely not part of this group. While sometimes people here may take up more of the lane than you think they should, or ride two abreast sometimes it looks like the prevailing opinion is that inconveniencing some drivers for a period of seconds to a minute or two in the name of safety is 100% worthwhile.

If it really bothers you that much, and it appears to do so because you’ve been venting for almost 24 hours now, there are a few things you can do but I don’t think you’ll like those options. So unless you’re prepared to take the non-option of vigilante justice against these “RUDE” people and spend some time in prison, I suggest you let it go and move on with your life.

Much like I am 2 seconds away from doing with this thread.

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@Roscoe 9877 wrote:

But the speeding and rudeness on that trail is just absolutely shocking also. That trail is for everyone – not just accomplished cyclists. People that want to near or above 20 mph on that trail should go somewhere else. There are pedestrians there, elderly folks, kids, people with pets…….and people just speed by at an amazingly fast rate for there. I know two people that have been struck by other cyclists while cycling, one needing to go to the hospital.

This I agree with… I avoid the trails on weekends because they are too crowded with walkers, joggers, strollers, kids with training wheels, dogs, double wide strollers, large groups of joggers, roller bladers, sightseers, old people, etc…. and I can’t see why a cyclist who can readily exceed 20mph would take it? It’s not fun. It’s more like the beltway at rush hour. Unfortunately there aren’t really any acceptable road route alternatives that go between Georgetown and Bethesda. Wisconsin Ave? Hah! Either way, the fast cyclists should proabably get on the roads where they’ll probably run into some a-hole drivers who think they are “inconsiderate and rude”, whether they deserve it or not.

@Roscoe 9877 wrote:

But why are so many of these people on this trail just so consistently and totally INCONSIDERATE and RUDE ? They make me sick. A generalization, I know…..but the DC/MD area cyclists I’ve encountered are far and away the rudest, most disgustingly inconsiderate group of cyclists I’ve seen in my life. I just don’t understand it.

Dude, simmer down.. you are definitely not talking about the majority of people, unless you want to include all the walkers who refuse to move over when you want to pass them, or the old fart who yells at you for not saying “on your left” when you clearly did, he’s just deaf (my rant).

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QUOTE=Roscoe;9875]By the way, I’ve passed cyclists like this while driving (obviously at a pretty slow clip and only when the road is totally clear) after waiting behind them for a bit and said out the window “hey, share the road please”……..and I almost always get a barrage of profanity. From what I assume to frequently be educated professionals who clearly can afford very expensive bikes. It’s crazy, like it’s doctors or lawyers or consultants or who knows what that just seem to be WAITING for the chance to verbally express the statement of rudeness they try to make with their cycling – “Hey **** you a*****e !!! Go **** yourself !!!!!!”

I’ve seen a lot of cyclists and ridden a whole lot of miles myself….I’m sure as many as a lot of the people here, so I see things from both sides. And I know that generalizing something doesn’t always apply to evreyone in a group (which would also be me in this case)…..but the MD recreational road bikers have come to simply disgust me. Their rudeness just makes me sick.

I think dasgeh is right that general frustration has something to do with it.

I also think that it has to do with the area you are describing. DC is filled with Type-A personalities who are all used to having things their way. There are probably more here than than any other city, especially now with the terrible economy and DC having all the jobs. The problem is that whether these people are in their flashy BMW/Mercedes or on their flashy road bikes they are extremely self-centered and prone to behavior that you have described. Since you said you live in the Chevy Chase, Bethesda, Potomac area the stereotype totally fits. That’s probably one of the most entitled neighborhoods in the country! I used to commute by bike from Silver Spring to Bethesda daily and I saw a few bikers like you described. I also saw lots of people acting rudely while walking (the three-abreast middle-aged moms on the CCT), jogging, and driving.

I won’t excuse their behavior, but if you’re going to live in this area you’re going to have to accept rudeness. It is just a very unfortunate fact! If I let it get to me every time I saw someone in a BMW pass me only to merge at the last second, while I’m stuck in a line of traffic because the lane ahead is closed it would shorten my life by a decade. Seems like you should take a chill pill too before you seriously stress yourself out.

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Just wanted to let you all know that we brought home a new baby…uh, I mean bike last night!

On Friday my wife and I both had off so we went bike shopping to avoid weekend crowds. I had done some initial research and I kind of knew what we were looking for in the entry level genre. We first went to Spokes in Alexandria, which is the closest large shop to us. The salesman was really helpful and put three different bikes up on the trainer to test how they fit her. First an ’11 Specialized Dolce, then an ’11 Trek Lexa and also a ’12 Trek 1.2. With the selection that they had we didn’t feel like we had to go anywhere else. It would have been nice to try a Jamis, but their only local dealer is City Bikes and I’ve been avoiding their shops since my first couple of stops at the one on Connecticut Ave in Bethesda. Not a fan! The fit of the Lexa seemed best and we both liked the look of it a lot as well. She took it for a spin around the neighborhood and they let me borrow a commuter bike so I could tag along to make sure it all went ok and ask questions. One thing about the Lexa was that with her super small hands she was able to reach the STI shifters and brake lever much more easily. We were very impressed with the Lexa SL so we put a deposit down on it to think about it overnight. Yesterday we went back to do a final fitting with her cleats on, and they did a final mechanical check of everything and we brought it home! I’m at work today, but she’s hoping to go out for a short spin around to start getting used to it.

Interestingly – her old bike, which has never had a major mechanical issue since she bought it 5 years ago (maybe not even a flat tire), when I was taking the good pedals off to put them on the new bike I noticed it had a broken spoke. So we brought the wheel with us for them to fix. After he put the new spoke in and tensioned it another spoke broke! Bah! He was finally able to fix it so it’s still going to be in use as the grocery getter bike.

Thanks for all the previous suggestions!

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@Greenbelt 9713 wrote:

Parts of WI bike friendly, it seems.

I remember a recent article in Bicycling magazine labeling parts of Wisconsin a cycling Garden of Eden because the quality of the roads, rolling terrain, and the lack of any people (drivers or cyclists) all combining to make for a great experience.

I know that if I was going to be touring the Northern Tier cross-country route anytime soon, I’d detour through this little place just to test them. I would also try really hard to not stop and spend any money because the last thing I want them to have is my financial support.

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If you want the really cheap version – I would put on 2 pairs of socks either thermal, wool, or whatever. Rip a plastic grocery bag in half and put the front half of your foot in each half. Then just put your shoes on. The plastic will keep the wind from ripping all the warmth off your feet. It seems to help if you don’t cinch up your shoes too tight to keep the blood flowing in your feet too.

This method worked pretty well for my 6.3 mile commute but if yours is much longer, you will probably have to spend some money.

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Thanks for the post. I’ve always wondered about the more expensive, better lights. I may actually pull the trigger this time and get one so I can get out and feel confident riding in the dark. I just read a review on REI about the cordless ones – 350, 600 that said they interfere with his wireless computer. Has that been a problem for anyone? He said his old 250 did not interfere.

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