[cyclingfool]

@ronwalf 66369 wrote:

Which rain cape? I’ve looked at some online, but nothing’s caught my fancy.

I also have the J&G that consularrider linked to. I tend to tough it out if it’s just a drizzle, so the rain cape only comes out if it’s really coming down like it was this morning, but the cape keeps me remarkably dry, or at least not drenched. I’m sure there are rain jackets that might keep me drier, but I can’t imagine any of them allowing the same level of ventilation as the cape does, which means I don’t have to worry about making a trade-off between being drenched by a cold rain or drenched by sweat.

The cape’s bright yellow color is good for visibility, and there’s even a tab on the back where you can clip on an extra blinkie if so desired.

[cyclingfool]

Rainy ride in. My rain cape is draped over my bike downstairs drying after doing its job admirably this morning. Record low (I think) count of cyclists encountered on the way in to work for an October commute in my 4.5 years commuting – only 3 others seen between Del Ray and around the White House. Guess the combination of crummy weather and the shutdown combined to decimate the number of commuters this AM. It was still fun to zip past all the drivers stuck in mostly stop, a little bit of go traffic on the Parkway and selfishly, to have the trail to myself for the most part this AM!

[cyclingfool]

I had stopped thinking about lighting last year once I got my dynamo hub and lighting setup installed, but since all that was stolen, I had to rethink my strategy. Pre-dynamo, I used a tactical flashlight with about 300 lumens (claimed) that I’d picked up for about $25 a few years ago. TerraLux was the name IIRC. It ran on 2 AA batteries which lasted a solid two evening commutes at high power. I used a 2Fish lockblock to mount it to the handlebars, and it worked pretty well. Just had to remember to bring my AA charger with me or charge at home.

This fall, as darkness approached, I got one of these Magic Shine knockoffs on Amazon. Less than $30 shipped. I still eventually want to build up a new wheel with dynohub and get a nice light again, but for now, I am quite pleased with the new light. It is much better than the flashlight I had been using, and should meet my needs nicely for riding in the dark this winter. I picked up a wide angle lens for it, too, but haven’t tried it out yet. The light pattern as is seems acceptable, though I probably will experiment with the lens at some point soon.

The old flashlight might go on my helmet for the really dark months of winter.

[cyclingfool]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_After_People 😎

[cyclingfool]

@5555624 66082 wrote:

I’m just a fat guy on a bike.

Amen! That makes two of us.

[cyclingfool]

Saw railing and tools to install railing out there this AM as I rode by. What would our local miniature scale Alpe d’Huez be without guard rails to boot?

[cyclingfool]

ELITE tourists = “tourons”

[cyclingfool]

Not just you. I had lots of little gnat-like buggers bouncing off my skin and getting caught in my arm hair* on the way home this afternoon as well along the MVT, though they seemed worse back in August.

*Perhaps another reason pro cyclists shave body hair?

[cyclingfool]

I bet his poop smells like lavender and his favorite hobby is helping elderly women cross the street, that is when he’s not rescuing kittens stuck in trees.

[cyclingfool]

@Greenbelt 65797 wrote:

This is probably a bit politically incorrect, but my biggest savings has been on public transit costs. I’ve gradually migrated from car to transit to bike over the last decade.

Yeah, that’s me, too, well minus the driving. I have never driven to work in the DC area.

My metro commute from Braddock Rd to Farragut West is now $7 round trip at peak of the peak fares. Throw in a few bus trips on either end if I’m too tired/lazy to walk (since my office downtown is in a metro black hole and is over 1/2 mile from the nearest station), it quickly adds up to $40+ a week to take transit to work. Granted, I could (and used to) take that pre-tax as Smart Benefits, so the true cost would be slightly lower, but the point is the same. It’s not the main reason I commute by bike, but it is certainly a compelling argument in favor of it.

I’ve spent a lot on bikes and bike stuff over the last 4.5 years I’ve been bike commuting. But even if I low-ball the estimate on metro fare at $100 a month, that’s now over $5,000 I haven’t spent on metro. $5,000 does actually outstrip what I’ve spent on bike commuting, despite having to write off a Surly LHT stolen when renters insurance had lapsed.

Bike commuting FTW!!!

[cyclingfool]

@TwoWheelsDC 65726 wrote:

Every person I’ve seen doing this, and there have been a few, was not wearing a shirt…also, I’d wager they were all males aged approximately 50+. Maybe some grad student can do some research…

I’ve been fishing for a topic for my capstone next year. This may just be it… 😎

[cyclingfool]

I think I read a report somewhere (here?) that the RCP Trail was closed where it goes through the Zoo. Since I think there’s a fence and gate there that can be closed and locked and really shut down the trail, I wouldn’t count in it being navigable.

Having ridden the trail once or twice, I can say I am no big fan, and if there’s a decent on-street route available (like dasgeh’s), I’d opt for that to get where I was going.

Have fun @ Hillwood!

[cyclingfool]

…or maybe he meant to write #Capitals and is not a fan of the puck possession along the boards game referred to as cycling the puck.

If not, what’s wrong with Redskins riding bikes? (I know the link is old.)

[cyclingfool]

@LBSki 65644 wrote:

I had the same thought this morning – seemed like a normal number or cyclists too, but then when I crossed the bridge it was empty. I figured people woke up and went for a ride even if they weren’t going to work.

Normal number of cyclists, a lot fewer panniers and backpacks.

[cyclingfool]

@rcannon100 65603 wrote:

LIKE: You like it (but have little more to contribute other than mindlessly mashing a button in order to inform the NSA of your views)

ELITE: You deem the post of a spectacular quality worthy of a cyclist who thinks it owns the road. It is the type of post by a cyclists who yells “left” with great expectation that all the little people (cyclists, joggers, tourists, small children, squirrels, bad karma) will just get the hell out of his way.

DISLIKE: In your opinion, the forum poster has crossed that well-defined line between good and drivers of white Lexuses.

LIKE + DISLIKE: You have empathy for a poster who has posted the tragic, especially if the cyclist has posted a story of woe, accompanied with color glossy pictures with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining how each photo is evidence of the tale.

LIKE + ELITE: The poster is a spandex-king among men, who has suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune along the trails, and bares the mark of many a successful KOM.

DISLIKE + ELITE: No man is an island, but you wish this cyclist was on one.

LIKE + DISLIKE + ELITE: Supreme confusion. A mixture of passion and ambivalence. The post compels you, but not in any manner that is really worth discussing. It marks a post that is filled with sound and fury yet signifies nothing.

This post requires its own new button underneath for forum members to press: Epic!

[Author]

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