[cyclingfool]

@mstone 65523 wrote:

I see scofflaw cyclists!

I see a cyclocross obstacle.

Government shutdown: Inadvertently supporting the sport of cyclocross since 10/1/2013.

[cyclingfool]

@Dirt 65514 wrote:

The C&O Canal Tow Path has been closed.

…trapping dozens of innocent bike tourists between Georgetown and Cumberland… 😮

[cyclingfool]

@TwoWheelsDC 65269 wrote:

What really gets me is the people who wave me past in an impatient manner…they always seem to do so at a point where it’s unsafe (from my view) to pass…uh, yeah thanks, I’ll pass when I’m ready…no arm-waving necessary.

Yeah, I don’t like the arm waving thing either. Some guy did it to me the other day on the MVT. I was at least a good two bike lengths back the whole time and the only reasons I hadn’t passed yet were:

1) I only caught him slowly so there was no huge speed difference.
2) We were riding past the intersection with the trail spur over to Crystal City and there tends to be a bit more traffic and really bad lines of sight there with the ups and downs and the turns.

I didn’t pass him for at least five seconds after he waved me past because I couldn’t see far enough down the trail/around the bend to make sure I wasn’t about to pull out right into the path of an oncoming cyclist or pedestrian.

[cyclingfool]

Maybe Edward Snowden is just bored? :rolleyes:

[cyclingfool]

Surly LHT frame on eBay

My size, too, and for the 26″ wheel size I now use. I don’t have the dough to consider this right now. I like my MTB drop bar conversion enough for now that I would possibly not jump at this even if I had the dough, but “thought someone might like it”.

[cyclingfool]

@DCLiz 65012 wrote:

A friend had an interesting idea: cyclists could arrive early (in their cars) for that sweet sweet Sunday morning parking. Use that as a jumping off point for a Sunday morning ride…

That would be EPIC!

[cyclingfool]

@DismalScientist 65003 wrote:

The kid might as well learn bike maintenance early.

Like this?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]3728[/ATTACH]

Yep, that’s my 16 month old!!! (w/ grandpa’s legs behind) I was working on a flat at the park we had gone to over the weekend. I need to nurture this natural curiosity!

[cyclingfool]

Missed this when it was first posted. Too bad it’s at the same time as a transportation planning class I have.

Who am I kidding? With kid at home, I probably wouldn’t have made it anyway, class or no. Sounds cool, though.

[cyclingfool]

This morning was fabulous. You couldn’t have asked for better weather. And I was glad to be on the bike again after a couple mystery flats again over the weekend and Monday AM before I left home made me decide to cut my losses and take the train to work yesterday. (Of course I was promptly reminded in the afternoon why I don’t miss commuting by metro.)

I think I may have been able to nail down the cause of the recent spate of flats — a serial number (?) scrawled/etched into the rim seemed to have a few rough spots and matched the area where I had gotten the last couple punctures, so I sanded it all so it was smooth enough not to catch my fingernail or a cotton ball at all and then cleaned the whole rim inside and out with a clean rag and some Simple Green. Why this was even etched in the rim the way it was is beyond me. Didn’t think anything of it before, but now that I think I’ve ID’ed it as a culprit in flat tires… You can see the etching/scrawling just between the rim tape and the rim wall toward the top of the picture. This picture was taken after I sanded it down.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]3725[/ATTACH]

[cyclingfool]

@hozn 64877 wrote:

I am guessing they might be these “long-pull” guys: http://www.treefortbikes.com/product/333222344273/107/Tektro-RL520-Ergo-Brake.html

Those are the ones. FWIW, I already answered.

[cyclingfool]

@acl 64809 wrote:

Try delivering better messages.:p

To some that is a better message. I’d probably rather get that message than “Oppressive summer heat right around the corner.”

Actually, though, in this area, I wish it were just constantly late October/early November. That’s my sweet spot.

[cyclingfool]

While we’re on the topic, I have a set of barely used (by barely used I mean 50-ish miles ridden total) 700c Nokian tires. I believe they’re the Suomi IceSpeed, but I’d need to double check that at home. Anyway, I had those for my 700c bike which was stolen last spring. My replacement bike has 26″ wheels, so I no longer have need for the studded tires I have at home. If anyone is interested in purchasing them off me (or swapping for a good set of 26″ studded tired I could use), PM me for details/pics/other info.

[cyclingfool]

The idea of making your own studded tires with something like the OP linked to is certainly interesting. Thanks for sharing.

FWIW, I think others were simply pointing out that the more conventional option of simply buying a studded tire is cheaper, especially since some people probably stumble upon these threads whilst doing research, etc.

I would even argue it’s probably likely that a studded tire more durable since the tire/rubber is designed to be studded from the get go isntead of retrofitting an otherwise knobby tire.

As for the carbide issue, Schwalbe and Nokian use carbide studs for sure. Not sure about other brands. For use in this area, where it is exceedingly rare for the entire route to be covered in ice/snow, I wouldn’t get anything that’s not carbide. They’d wear out too quickly.

[cyclingfool]

@lordofthemark 64737 wrote:

The census page on the american community survey has a lot of mode breakdowns by other variables, including I think distance, but I also think those group bikes into “other” along with taxi and motorcycle. The only table that spefically breaks bike out is the one that has total for the jurisdiction and by gender. Thats from some quick examination after looking at yesterdays post by WashCycle. There may be more there.

Unless they significantly changed the structure of the ACS questions (doubtful) for the most recent dataset, you’re right. I did a project for one of my planning courses last semester and did a fair amount of digging through data on commute mode share. The grouping of bikes with motorcycles and taxis was a major shortcoming of the data. As far as distance-related commute statistics go, also not well covered in the ACS. It’s possible MWCOG or some other local planning agency has done some surveys, but I am not aware of any offhand.

I think the type of info you’re thinking about would be really interesting to look at, though, dasgeh.

[cyclingfool]

@DismalScientist 64654 wrote:

This is an insane price for a 56cm Trek 520: $125
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/bik/4077671156.html

Too insane. And with so little detail. Very suspicious IMHO. Any reports of a 520 going missing lately?

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