[cyclingfool]

No morning commute for me today. Sick day, laying low at home. I’ve got a bad case of what our 18 month old has been fighting for the last few days. Thanks, buddy! :rolleyes:

Anyway, even if I weren’t sick, I’d not have been able to ride in this AM. My bike’s frame broke last night on the way home. I felt the rear end kind of pop and then get kind of squirrely, so I stopped to check out the culprit. I feared at first that I’d jinxed myself talking about how my self-built rear wheel was holding up well and still as true as the day I made it. Wasn’t that. And the rear tire was fine. Skewer was still nice and tight, and the crank arms were on tight, too. Took off the panniers and found that the drive side chainstay had broken, like this. My heart sank.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4093[/ATTACH]

This pic is not mine, but it’s the exact same type of break.

Contacted a welder based on a recommendation from a bike mechanic friend and some good reviews on a bike forum, and all I can say is STEEL IS REAL. $40 quote to TIG weld the chro-moly frame, and she’ll be good as new. Try doing that with carbon!

[cyclingfool]

@GregBain 69559 wrote:

Can we get a pic of that?

Complete photostream here. Only change since last pic was swapping out the Michelins for Schwalbe tires.

It’s a work in progress still; I plan on eventually adding a front rack, a Brooks saddle, and rebuilding the front wheel with a dynamo hub w/ associated lighting.

[cyclingfool]

@creadinger 69545 wrote:

I’m actually in Del Ray now. You’re in Del Ray too? Nice! I see dozens of cyclists riding up and down Commonwealth on work days so maybe I’ve seen you.

I do live in Del Ray, near Fireflies (Mt Vernon and E Nelson). I used to take Commonwealth every day. I got bored with the route so I started mixing it up by riding over to and up Potomac Avenue behind Potomac Yard and through Crystal City. This route is especially helpful now that there is talk of the closures on 4MR between US1 and the MVT. I don’t even have to worry about Four Mile Run, and the traffic on Potomac Avenue is generally very light, so it’s a nice ride.

I occasionally take Commonwealth nowadays, usually to drop something off at the library or just to mix it up from the other route. If you see a mid-1990s vintage black Trek 830 mountain bike converted to drop bar tourer/commuter, I’ll be the guy on it. Feel free to say hi.

[cyclingfool]

@creadinger 69539 wrote:

So where are you folks going to go to see it? I was thinking Gravely Point initially, but maybe the east side of the Wilson bridge makes more sense – It’s a teeny bit closer and more elevated.

I tried to see a launch a few months ago but didn’t see anything.

Not sure I’ll be able to get out to see it, but when I went to see the ISS cargo test launch a few months ago, I got a good view of it from the east side of the US1 bridge over the railroad tracks between Slaters Lane and Potomac Avenue. I ended up being one of a group of about 20 gathered there to watch. It is well elevated and gave a pretty good view.

Since it looks like you’re in Crystal City, that seems like it would be a convenient location to get to quickly. I live in Del Ray, so it was a super close trip for me.

[cyclingfool]

@Riley Casey 69501 wrote:

I’m a massive fan boi(s?) for Michelin City tires http://www.michelinbicycletire.com/michelinbicycle/index.cfm?event=city.view . I’m a commuter / utility rider with only occasional recreational riding ( as in not nearly enough 😡 ) so of course YMMV.

I want so bad to be a fan, but I can’t given a series of bad experiences this summer after I built up my new bike. Long story short, the sidewall/casing on the 26″ x 1.85″ version of the city tires kept tearing at the bead… this happened on four or five tires. Several others had similar issues based on Amazon reviews. Maybe all of mine came from the same bad batch of tires. Anyway, that experience turned me off to the Michelins.

Quality control issues aside, I did like the handling of the tires themselves in all weather conditions, and their puncture resistance is supposed to be good.

The upshot of all my negative experiences is that thinking that my rear wheel was to blame, I took it upon myself to build my own rear wheel. I had built a couple front wheels, but never a rear. I was always too intimidated, but I took on the challenge. That wheel now has about 1500 miles on it and is still as true as the day I built it. Easily saved at least $100 on the wheel, have the pride of knowing I built it myself, and plan on never ever having to have someone else build a wheel for me. So, in a roundabout way, thanks Michelin.

[cyclingfool]

@baiskeli 69481 wrote:

Here’s something I’ve wondered lately though – in the area where bikes on sidewalks are disallowed in downtown DC, would using a crosswalk also be disallowed, since you’re technically not supposed to be going between sidewalks? (I wondered this while, of course, crossing between forbidden sidewalks – don’t tell anyone).

I get your point. As someone who also occasionally rides on forbidden sidewalks for a block or two but never at more than a jogger’s pace, I think in practice it’s a matter of common sense and respect. Ride slowly and pass safely and it’s not a big deal, whatever the law says.

@baiskeli 69481 wrote:

And where you were crossing was the boundary between where bikes are allowed and not, so what about that?

From a letter of the law standpoint, the sidewalks are off limits north of Constitution. I was already south of Constitution. Yes, it’s a boundary area, as you point out, but I get the sense this guy:

1. probably has no clue about the CBD sidewalk rules;
2. just wanted me out of his way and found an excuse to yell at someone (me);
3. was the type of driver that would have yelled at me to “get on the sidewalk” if I were riding in the same direction as him, regardless of speed limits and the legality of riding in said sidewalk in that area solely because
4. doesn’t care all that much about traffic rules since he decided to roll into the [VERY BUSY] intersection at rush hour not knowing he could get through it before the light changed

IOW, he was just a feminine hygiene wash bag.

[cyclingfool]

@TwoWheelsDC 69465 wrote:

I go with long sleeves and full-finger gloves if the temps during my ride won’t be above 60 (weather showed 55 when I left the house this AM), and I wear arm warmers up to about 68…I’m definitely hot-blooded and I really just hate being cold, particularly in my upper body…I don’t need to wear tights until temps get closer to freezing, but I certainly can wear them up to about 50 without being particularly uncomfortable.

@Greenbelt 69472 wrote:

That would be me! My Garmin measured an average temp of 54 for one thing, not 60, and it gets right chilly in the Anacostia river valleys when the winds are calm — a 10 degree thermocline isn’t uncommon when you drop down to the rivers.

Alright, alright. I’ll give you guys a pass.

[cyclingfool]

@dasgeh 69452 wrote:

But it was WARM! I have no memory of any sketchy stuff happening, because it was WARM. It was gloriously WARM.

It was practically hot, which is why I was appalled to see several riders out this morning with toe covers on their shoes, long sleeve jackets, tights and full fingered gloves on. This was at around 9 AM, and it was 60 degrees. I was in awe. Who are these people and what do they set their thermostat to at home? 85?

I was in shorts and a tee shirt and I was sweating.

It was a nice ride in. In spots I felt like I was riding on the yellow brick (er, leaf) road. Last night’s rain and wind brought down lots of colorful leaves that hadn’t made the plunge yet, and they were bright yellow with the strong sun brilliant sun shining on them.

[cyclingfool]

Friday evening crossing Constitution Avenue at 17th St using the crosswalk on the east side of the intersection so I could cut across the Mall

You: The SUV that became a box blocker when your light turned red but were stuck there because of the stream of pedestrians already crossing the street.
Me: The cyclist courteously waiting to safely pass said pedestrians as I rolled across the street.
You: “Crosswalks are for pedestrians, not bikes!”

Um, well, sir, actually you’re wrong. Bikes are allowed to use crosswalks. And if I had my quick wit switch turned on, I would have retorted, “Intersections are for going through, not stopping in.”

[cyclingfool]

On the plus side, if we haven’t scared him away yet, he’s sure to stick around.

[cyclingfool]

@PotomacCyclist 69321 wrote:

Just for comparison’s sake (and for nostalgia, because we know everyone misses those old potholes so much).

This is what Long Bridge Drive used to look like just a couple years ago, when it was known as Old Jefferson Davis Highway…

So glad the crappy road surface has been taken care of. I rode this way after snowmaggedon as part of my route to avoid the MVT and occasionally since then, and it was always less than pleasant, though it was at least different.

Also glad the old name is gone. Now if only we could rename Rte. 1 where it’s called Jefferson Davis Highway and officially drop the state’s Lee-Jackson designation for Martin Luther King Day (says I, a carpetbagger)… I won’t hold my breath.

[cyclingfool]

@KLizotte 69305 wrote:

And why not make the cars stop – especially given that it is activated by a live, human being?!? If it is too dangerous to have the cars stop then doesn’t it stand to reason that it is too dangerous for people to walk/bike across?!

Kind of what I was thinking. And, isn’t a human in a crosswalk a good enough reason to stop? So if the light flashes on, activated by a human, and there’s someone crossing the road at a crosswalk, shouldn’t they be stopping anyway, in essence making this a stop signal?!?!?!?! 😡

(referencing this: Trail users need to be aware that the flashing beacon is a warning, not a stop signal.)

[cyclingfool]

@vvill 69310 wrote:

Part of me is tempted to just get a fat bike. Or Schwalbe Big Apples at least.

My 26×2″ Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tour tires are quite stable. I love ’em!

Also, just as a general point of info, Sheldon Brown is always informative on the subject.

[cyclingfool]

@KLizotte 69254 wrote:

Does this mean the road has been repaved? Great place for a station.

Yes. I rode through here Monday. It is repaved up to around the 395 interchange. Going under the overpass is still in rough shape, but Long Bridge Dr and Boundary Channel Dr (to get around the Pentagram, er, Pentagon) themselves are both smooth roads now.

[cyclingfool]

To the grey GMC Suburban (read land yacht) with (surprise!) Maryland plates making an illegal left turn from northbound 17th Street onto Constitution:

1. Your left turn was illegal. It was 9:15. No left turns until 9:30.
2. If you are going to make a left turn, especially at rush hour in DC when the walk sign indicated WALK, you should check to make sure no one is using crosswalk.
3. Next time, don’t act irritated with me that you had to slow/stop to avoid hitting me while I’m using the crosswalk going with the signal and you’re making an illegal maneuver.

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