[cvcalhoun]

Believe me, I’ve spent enough time bicycling straight up Wisconsin Avenue out of Georgetown in 100°+ weather that I only wish I could suppress my memories of summer. But I’d still like at least a few weeks in the 50s, 60s, and 70s!

@mstone 82335 wrote:

If you think 80 is summer, you’ve suppressed your memories of summer.

To paraphrase game of thrones: hazy, hot, and humid is coming…

[cvcalhoun]

My sense is that people who get apoplectic about bicycles running red lights, while not feeling the same about pedestrians, think that it’s a question of consistency–if you’re acting like a motor vehicle (by riding), you are subject to the same censure as a motor vehicle would get if it ran a red light. Thus, it wouldn’t apply if you were walking your bike, using a crosswalk.

YMMV, of course. There really isn’t a reason that a bicycle running a red light is any more harmful than a pedestrian running a red light, so any attempts to apply logic to the situation are doomed to failure.

@lordofthemark 82331 wrote:

One more thing. At GWU, I was walking the bike, and waiting for a red. The other pedestrians (the ones without bikes) jaywalked, once it was clear there was no cross traffic. Do those folks who think cyclists should avoid running reds for the sake of “optics” feel that applies when one is walking a bike? On the one hand I felt silly waiting for the light while everyone else was crossing, on the other hand I felt like jaywalking with a bike was like jaywalking while wearing a yarmulke – bad for my group. With the difference that its not easy to stuff my bike in my pocket.

[cvcalhoun]

When I left the house on Thursday, it was 39 degrees. When I arrived home on Friday, it was 80 degrees. I’m assuming all of spring occurred during that interval, and that we are now into summer.

[cvcalhoun]

@lordofthemark 82322 wrote:

7. DC law on no biking on sidewalks downtown. Boundary is Mass ave. Is it the center line on Mass Ave? IE is it legal to bike on the sidewalk on the north side of Mass Ave?

Good question!

DC Statutes state as follows:

A personal mobility device shall not be operated… Upon a sidewalk within the Central Business District, as defined by section 9901 of Title 18 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (18 DCMR 9901);

The applicable regulations under this section state as follows:

There shall be no prohibition against any person riding a bicycle or personal mobility device upon a sidewalk within the District, so long as the rider does not create a hazard; provided, that no person shall ride a bicycle or operate a personal mobility device upon a sidewalk within the Central Business District except on those sidewalks expressly designated by Order of the Mayor, nor shall any person ride a bicycle upon a sidewalk in any area outside of the Central Business District if it is expressly prohibited by Order of the Mayor and appropriate signs to such effect are posted.

The definition of “Central Business District” is as follows:

Central Business District – that area within the following boundaries (including sidewalks): Beginning at 23rd Street and Massachusetts Avenue, Northwest, then east along Massachusetts Avenue to Second Street, Northeast, then south on Second Street to D Street, Southeast, then west on D Street in a line crossing Virginia Avenue, Southwest to 14th Street, Southwest, then north on 14th Street, Southwest to Constitution Avenue, Northwest, then west on Constitution Avenue to 23rd Street, Northwest, then north on 23rd Street, Northwest to Massachusetts Avenue, Northwest. (Reg. No. 71-26)

My interpretation would be that the sidewalk on the north side of Massachusetts Avenue is not “within” the area bounded by the relevant streets, and thus that if you are on the sidewalk north of Massachusetts Avenue, you are outside of the Central Business District and are okay to bike on the sidewalk. However, the language is ambiguous, because it is not clear whether “(including sidewalks)” means only that sidewalks within those streets are off-limits, or that the sidewalk along the street is considered part of the street (and therefore that the prohibited area includes both sidewalks along Massachusetts Avenue between 23rd NW and 2d NE).

FWIW, the WABA map seems to show the north sidewalk of Massachusetts Avenue as being outside of the prohibited area. And like PotomacCyclist, I’ve never seen anyone cited for riding on the sidewalk in any event. Just use common sense, and don’t do it when the sidewalk is narrow/crowded.

[cvcalhoun]

They claim they are going to have this fixed when they roll out the upgrade on April 16. I really hope that’s true. I am already uploading my rides to Garmin, Strava, and the Garmin software on my local computer, and inputting it manually to Fitlinxx. I really don’t want to spend more time entering my data than riding!

@bobco85 82302 wrote:

All the rides I upload from MapMyRide get credited to the next day, so I stopped loading them through that. I enter the numbers manually now.

[cvcalhoun]

Yeah, I’m really hoping they get these software bugs fixed before May 1. I’m having the opposite problem–losing credit for days because some of my rides get credited to the wrong day.

@Rod Smith 82298 wrote:

Yes but… We need to be careful about double/triple posting rides which happens sometime even when you don’t do anything wrong. So some of the leaderboard standings are not accurate. Shawn has a great avatar but he hasn’t ridden 750 miles in April.

[cvcalhoun]

If you prefer not to use Endomondo, you can enter mileage manually directly to the National Bike Challenge. Or given that you’re already using Strava, you could use FitnessSyncer, a free service, to automatically sync Strava rides to MapMyFitness, from which they will automatically be picked up by the National Bike Challenge.

@Arlingtonrider 82288 wrote:

Last time I used Endomondo (a year ago), I was able to easily enter daily mileage manually without having to import/share my route info or figure out time, speed, etc. It seems impossible to do that now. Arghhh!

[cvcalhoun]

Can I just mention that our league is the #1 league in the country, our team is the #1 team in the country, and one of our teammates is the #1 rider in the country? I’d say we’re doing well!

[cvcalhoun]

It’s okay, we needed that support request anyway. Both teams I specifically invited have now been able to join. Yay! However, I set the league up as public to allow other DC-area teams to join without needing an invitation, and that part does not appear to be working. And of course, we’ve still got the issue of your not being able to name additional team administrators.

@Rod Smith 82206 wrote:

Carol, if I’m having problems it’s best to try to work them out with me before going to the support requests because I’m sort of computer challenged. I found the email and joined our team to the league!

[cvcalhoun]

Sigh! I’ve put in a support request on both issues. Clearly they are having a lot of software issues this year!

Did you actually get the invitation to join the league? Someone else said he had an invitation go to his spam folder, and that when he found it, he was able to click on a link in it to join the league. That’s not ideal (I set the league to public so teams that were not specifically invited could join), but it might at least resolve the immediate issue if it works.

@Rod Smith 82192 wrote:

Awesome! The leagues is something new. I kinda thought it would be a contest between teams, but it looks like individual riders? I got this message when I tried to join. “Sorry. This account is not linked with the email address that this invitation was sent to.” Also tried to add you as a team leader (we are allowed up to three administrators), but that didn’t seem to work either.

[cvcalhoun]

Just to make this even more sociable, I set up a Washington DC Area league of teams, and sent invitations to the Washington Area All-Stars and the WABA Women and Bicycles teams. If there are any other local area teams, they can join at https://nationalbikechallenge.org/league/2521

[cvcalhoun]

I was told by a physical therapist, back when I had some serious knee problems, that bicycling actually helps cranky, arthritic knees. The trick is to gear down and then pedal faster. That way, you don’t put the pressure on the knees that you’d have with jerkier pedaling, and you exercise the muscles that help to keep the kneecap in place.

@vern 82139 wrote:

My goal this year, if my cranky, arthritic knees will permit me, is to ride roundtrips for an entire 5 day week (about 220 miles).

[cvcalhoun]

The way I look at it is that the commute may take longer than driving, but it’s still shorter than driving to work and then working out at the gym. Since I try to get in an hour’s cardo at the gym any day I don’t bike for at least an hour, I’ve had several days lately when I’ve thought, “I really don’t have time to drive to X today; I guess I’ll just have to bike.”

@skins_brew 81879 wrote:

Yea, my commute takes an extra 20-30 minutes each each way, but it is well worth it.

[cvcalhoun]

And if he complains, respond innocently with, “Gee, I guess the toddlers must have left those out there. You really have to be so careful when there are toddlers around!”

@americancyclo 82130 wrote:

next time, caltrops

[cvcalhoun]

There is a sign on the CCT warning cyclists not to text while riding. I’ve always wondered how there could possibly be enough people capable of doing this at all to justify a sign.

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@Guus 82119 wrote:

I like to think I’m a pretty experienced bicyclist but I would have a hard time holding and reading my phone while on my bike. Let alone in traffic. Wow.

[Author]

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