[cyclingfool]

As someone who has commuted with bar end shifters on drop bars for the past 2.5 years and regularly rides on street in DC, Arlington, and Alexandria, I gotta say that I don’t get why they get such a bad rap. Sure you have to take your hands off the bars/hoods to reach down to shift, but after a couple weeks, it become so automatic that I didn’t even think about it or feel it affect my balance. If you’re looking ahead and planning your actions a few seconds or more ahead of time, it’s pretty easy not to get caught stopped in the wrong gear. The couple times I did have to stop so quickly that I couldn’t downshift to the gear I wanted, I was able to easily adjust while stopped, say at a traffic light.

Additionally, as has been pointed out a couple times in the last couple days with all the cold and people wearing bulky gloves, bar end shifters have the advantage of requiring very little in the way of digital dexterity. You could easily shift gears in full on mittens when riding with bar end shifters.

IOW, I would not shy away from a bike as a commuter bike due to it having bar end shifters. In certain instances, they are even arguably preferable.

[cyclingfool]

This morning was gorgeous! I wore a couple layers fewer than yesterday on top, since it was a little warmer and the winds were calm. I felt GREAT riding in, and wouldn’t mind it if there were more days like today. Proof positive again that the worst part of winter commuting is wind, not temperature.

[cyclingfool]

@jrenaut 74006 wrote:

Had to stop halfway through my commute to get an IV for heat exhaustion. Brutally hot out there. Everyone remember to drink plenty of fluids.

It was so hot this morning that all of mine had boiled away. Guess I should switch back to water from nitrogen after yesterday.

[cyclingfool]

@PotomacCyclist 74005 wrote:

Launch has been put on hold, due to high levels of space radiation. (NASA’s words, not mine.)

They are blaming it on the solar flux activity. Which is not the same thing as a polar vortex. Nor is it related to a flux capacitor.

http://www.orbital.com/NewsInfo/MissionUpdates/Orb-1/MissionUpdate/index.shtml

They might try again on Thursday, at 1:10 pm. Depends on the space radiation, I guess.

Time to come up with new lunch break plans. I was gonna ride somewhere with a better view for BAFS sleaze miles and try to catch a glimpse. Guess that plan’s on hold until tomorrow.

Thanks for the update. I hadn’t looked on my Wallops Island Android app yet, but now I know launch WON’T be today.

[cyclingfool]

@Tim Kelley 73938 wrote:

FYI–The bike lane doesn’t end until the marking ends after the sign is posted. A bike lane ends sign doesn’t mean the bike lane ends at that point. It’s typically posted in advance of where the bike lane actually ends to give cyclists a chance to decide whether to join the travel lane, take the sidewalk, or take whatever action they feel is appropriate.

Next time, tell the lady to look down at the ground and to get moving!

And just in case she still doesn’t get it, point out that ____ LANE ENDS signs on the highway are posted 1/4 mile or more before the end of the lane. Ask her to try parking her car just past a LEFT LANE ENDS sign on the interstate and see what happens…

[cyclingfool]

@TwoWheelsDC 73940 wrote:

Straggler also comes with STI shifters, IIRC. Compared to bar ends that come standard on the Crosscheck.

You are correct, sir. I forgot that little detail. My brain just latched onto to this quote

So what is this Straggler anyway? The easy answer is to say that we added disc brakes to a Cross-Check and this is close to accurate.

from the Surly site and failed to take note of that additional difference.

[cyclingfool]

@consularrider 73934 wrote:

I personally was very happy the wind gusts died down before I headed out the door (and I admit I just pharted around until they did), they were no fun last night and at least it was 30°.

To be completely honest, a big part of me is very glad they’d died down as well, although it meant this morning’s ride was only kind of epic and not totally epic.

[cyclingfool]

@dasgeh 73925 wrote:

So on my bike to lunch (on a CaBi), I swung by BicycleSpace to see what they would recommend for a bike I could use all the time. I was steered toward the Surly Straggler, but might consider another Surly or an All-City… Any thoughts?

Something of a Surly fanboy here, so I think the Straggler would be a fine choice. The Straggler is basically a Cross Check w/ disc brakes, so if you’d rather stick with rim brakes, there’s always the Cross Check as well.

My old bike was a Long Haul Trucker, which I was very partial to and miss immensely. There’s also a Disc Trucker now, if you want disc brakes.

Fitting/sizing info for both Truckers and Cross Checks here: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/SurlyLHT/2pGsJfXWb6A in case they don’t have/can’t order the specific size you’d want to test ride.

Either would be good as an all around bike IMO. Straggle/CC should be a little lighter/more nimble than a Trucker if that’s important.

Can’t speak to All-City bikes.

[cyclingfool]

This morning was lame, well, at least compared to what I expected to encounter. Where were my 45 mph wind gusts? I feel cheated out of some serious bragging rights! As someone reported this AM, last Friday was way worse. Today was all bark, little bite.

Planning for and fearing the worst, I stuck with the clothing I had picked out last night (all lists from closest to skin to furthest from skin):

Feet: Thick wool socks – YakTrax Toe warmers – Cotton socks Shimano MTB SPD shoes
Legs: Merino wool tights – Polyester running tights – Twill khaki cargo shorts
Torso: Merino wool long sleeve base layer – Thermal cotton long sleeve shirt – Short sleeve cotton T – Long sleeve fleece jacket – Windbreaker outer shell
Gloves: Wool/synthetic blend glove liners, Pearl Izumi full-fingered gloves
Head (couldn’t find my balaclava): Wool cap under helmet, fleece scarf wrapped around lower half of face (I think this setup was actually more comfortable and allowed more flexibility than a balaclava, so if the balaclava is never found, I’ll be happy with what I wore this AM the once or twice a year it gets anywhere near this cold)

Glasses fogged up/froze within two minutes, so I rode w/o eyewear. I was fine.

[cyclingfool]

@kwarkentien 73918 wrote:

I’m sleazy and I make no excuses for it. (It also happens that the longest I’ve been able to stretch the CaBi ride out to is just under 0.9 miles so that’s just the way it is.) On a day like today, I’m happy for sleaze.

Slow and sleazy wins the race, right?

(Kudos, teammate)

[cyclingfool]

@ShawnoftheDread 73900 wrote:

I need to replace my old goggles (they’re older than some of my BAFS teammates). They were great for keeping my eyes and surrounding skin from freezing, but have lost all their anti-fogging properties and most of the insulating foam around the edges.

http://amzn.com/B0049XHPA2

For your inner wookie. I mean, you still need to get goggles separately, but this is pretty sweet!

[cyclingfool]

@dcv 73855 wrote:

I misread “fixies” in Arlington and got excited.

Misread it here, too.

+1 on the @dasgeh 73847 wrote:

Curb cut needed: S Joyce St, east side, just north of Army Navy Drive

[cyclingfool]

@jrenaut 73832 wrote:

My bike had no trouble with shifting and whatnot. My frozen fingers, however, were not performing with their usual nimbleness.

Bar end shifters FTW! Limited dexterity/nimbleness required.

[cyclingfool]

@consularrider 73796 wrote:

But the Feds are open (so far). I guess that’s ok, my wife has to go to language class early since they are celebrating Ukrainian Christmas.

Z rizdvom Xristosa!

[cyclingfool]

Coming from Old Town, if you’re comfortable riding with generally light, slow-moving traffic, you might want to consider going from your starting point in Old Town past Braddock Road metro —> Braddock Rd —> Mt Vernon Ave (or Commonwealth) through Del Ray —> Commonwealth Avenue to the end and pick up 4MR on the Arlington side by Rte. 1 and head west from there, like this:

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/3873631

You probably already know this, but Commonwealth has bike lanes almost the entire length and Mt Vernon Ave is sharrowed. Depending on where you are in Old Town you might just want to pick up Commonwealth down near King St metro and take it all the way.

That’s how I’d approach it anyway.

[Author]

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