[DanB]

@dkel 98076 wrote:

It’s not like we’re Lutherans!

Hey! I resemble that remark!

[DanB]

@AFHokie 97450 wrote:

This entirely. Most Americans just don’t view bicycles as transportation. Your average American views cycling as a recreational activity/workout. Look at the majority of bikes bought and sold in the US. How many ‘commuter’ bikes vs road/mountain, etc are bought each year?

I agree that the view of biking as a hobby/recreational activity is quite common in the US. I think this is even more pronounced in less populated areas, e.g. much of the Midwest, where destinations, such as work or the store, are farther from your house, and there aren’t trails or bike lanes to get there.

@AFHokie 97450 wrote:

Plus as others have mentioned; bike attire. You don’t typically dress in special clothing before hopping in your car for a trip to work or the store. That reenforces the ‘it’s a workout/recreation’ activity mentality.

One thing I noticed after living in Germany for 6 years: their view of the bicycle as a mode of transportation brought with it some not-so-positive side effects. A much smaller percentage of bikers wore helmets, and bike maintenance was kept to a minimum. (“Just want it to get me there!”) I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that attitudes are similar in Sweden.

[DanB]

@americancyclo 98026 wrote:

I stopped to compliment a jogger this morning that had a really nice reflective jacket. She said she bought it because she had seen an accident on the W&OD near West St. She bought it at Athleta, and I was surprised to see it was almost $300.

http://athleta.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=1017878&vid=1&pid=138650012

Was that in Falls Church? I’ve seen a woman who walks/jogs that stretch with a jacket that has super-reflective material on the whole front and back. I looked online for what it might be and found this:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rareflective/ra-reflective-360-reflective-performance-for-men-a
http://rareflective.myshopify.com/

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[DanB]

@Steve O 97946 wrote:

Don’t put him on my Freezing Saddles team!!

It’s not that I mind the cold temps, but the risk of slipping on ice kind of puts me off. Especially after I heard about the guy who slipped and dislocated his shoulder. Oh, and the one who broke his hip. Oh yeah, and the one who fractured his skull…

[DanB]

Thought this thread could use a little love this morning …

So, the trail was pretty empty then! [Done in my best Minnesota accent.] Still managed to get passed twice on the trek from Vienna to downtown–not to mention the guy who blew the red light on L Street.

Started out at 6:00 with a temp of 36° F. That’s probably about as low as I’ll go.

[DanB]

Little chilly yesterday morning, but the view from Key Bridge sure was nice. (Taken around 7 am.)

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[DanB]

@rcannon100 93204 wrote:

Happiness is a dirty bike!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]6483[/ATTACH]

Unless you’re the worm in the dirt!
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[DanB]

@acl 95992 wrote:

Do they have all the tree roots perfectly memorized or what?

No, we outlawed those in Vienna.

Actually, I think the reason is that the W&OD is on an old RR bed, and somehow the roots haven’t encroached so much as on the Custis or other trails.

[DanB]

@mstone 95969 wrote:

I find that the deer tend to be more visible than the joggers

When I pass those joggers on the wooded, unlit stretches of the trail, I’ve decided to say something like “Please wear a light” or “Can’t see you at all”–preferably prefaced with a cheerful “Morning!” I’d rather they get the hint before they get hit.

I know my responsibility is to light my own way relative to my speed, but it seems reasonable that joggers should wear a light or sufficient reflective gear. (I’m probably preaching to the choir, here.)

[DanB]

Going down a very dark stretch of the W&OD in Vienna this morning, I noticed two small patches of reflective material about 30 feet in front of me. Then I realized the reflective patches were the eyes of a deer. I think for everyone’s safety all deer that live along the W&OD should be outfitted with one of these:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]6734[/ATTACH]

[DanB]

@dkel 94339 wrote:

Don’t even get me started on fat bikes! I did talk to Jan at Bikenetic about the fat bike v. studs question (and there have been some good threads about it on this forum as well), and he told me that fat bikes have the same problem on icy ruts that other bikes do. Since I’m riding the MUPs all the time, a fat bike wouldn’t necessarily be better on the icy remnants that linger on the MUPs. Now a fat bike with studs…

This is the perfect thread to bring up the Minnesota 2.0 from Framed Bikes. http://www.framedbikes.com/mn2/ (I have no affiliation and don’t own one, but my friend works at a LBS in Minn. and rides fat tires.) Sounds like they really thought this one through. For $900 you get a frame that accepts 2 sets of wheels (both included): a complete fat tire wheel set and a complete 29er wheel set. You can switch out the wheels with no adjustments–including the (disk) brakes.

So you could have a fat tire bike and switch to 29er wheels with studs for ice.

[DanB]

This is a good topic to think about. I think I’ll start with:

I’m so cheap … I would look through used parts to find a quick fix to get the bike back on the road. I have, in fact, while living in Germany, fished an aluminum crank out of a bin to replace the one where I stripped the threads. It would have been much more expensive to replace the entire bottom bracket assembly, and I would have had to go with steel instead of aluminum. (This was in ’93 or ’94.)

If a LBS could fit it into their business model to cater to those of us who aren’t afraid to tinker with their bikes, and help out when our tools or knowledge fail, that would be great. Oh yeah, and no snickering when we do something stupid.

BTW, I heard about a place (in Arlington or Alexandria, I think) that does in fact have used parts. Does anyone know if that’s true? I’d sure like to know what it’s called.

[DanB]

@Kolohe 93743 wrote:

If M isn’t you’re thing (and it wasn’t mine for a long time), you can turn right on 28th and go up the hill to N, left on N to 34th, then down 34th to get back to the Key bridge approaches.

Backed up traffic on M (westbound) normally means backed up traffic on 34th, so I often enough just take the sidewalk (and normally walk it down due to the steepness and the cornerstore at the bottom) and the then cross at the light. (and take the downriver side path) If the traffic permits, though, I ride on the street, right onto M, take the right most of the left turning lane, then make the left onto the upriver Key bridge side path

https://goo.gl/maps/YwUx2

Awesome. Thanks a lot! I’ll try it out on my sweat (i.e. ride) home today.

[DanB]

@mstone 93736 wrote:

those combination locks are really easy to brute force…

I know, but like I said, I was feeling generous. I even told him that he should probably upgrade to a U-lock so his bike wouldn’t get ripped off. (I also think this kind of mistake is less likely with a U-lock.)

[DanB]

@jnva 93499 wrote:

Driving a car is so ingrained in people’s mind that they can not imagine riding a bike to work.
My evening commute was awesome. Hit all the lights from Thomas circle to key bridge and it only took about 5 minutes to leave the city. In a car, this would have taken 20 minutes.

My office building is right on Thomas Circle. Just wondering … what route do you take to the Key Bridge from the end of the M St bike lane to the bridge? I’ve avoided that route since getting stuck in massive traffic on M Street.

[Author]

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