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@Christob50 183893 wrote:

… and combine that with ShowersPass 3-layer waterproof socks.

I’m a big fan of Showers Pass. Their waterproof socks are great. However, I don’t find them that great at retaining heat. When it gets cold, I usually put another layer on underneath.

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I’ve also had good experience with hiking boots and hiking socks keeping my feet comfortable through the winter. When it gets under 20, I double up on socks.

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@komorebi 183785 wrote:

The FS2019 ankle bands are here! Now you can be certain that the lunatic you saw riding with a joyful smile on his or her face despite the dark/cold/wind/rain/snow/sleet/ice is a fellow FS participant, instead of some other variety of lunatic.

These look great! Thank you again, komorebi, for doing this.

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@PaulDeMaio 183765 wrote:

I’m happy to report that we’re close to having this issue resolved.

Excellent news! Thank you, Paul, for the update.

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Two items that were game changers for me last year were a Seirus Neofleece Combo Scarf (when temperatures drop under 30 degrees) and Bar Mitts (for me, 20 degrees and under).

A tip I learned from a coach in middle school, that’s also been helpful, is to stuff wet shoes with newspaper and let them dry near the radiator. Depending on how wet they are you may need to swap out the paper. As previously mentioned, putting on wet gear is awful.

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@cvcalhoun 183677 wrote:

We don’t really have a definition of “ringer.”

Thank you for the clarification, cvcalhoun. It makes sense to get information on expected miles/week to help balance teams. I was thinking of the typical meaning of ringer in sport – along the lines of someone who hides their experience or ability to gain a competitive advantage. To Rod’s point, it seemed that the cap really eliminates most of the benefit high-mileage riders bring to their team. I get that this information may still be useful in balancing teams.

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@Rod Smith 183647 wrote:

Points are capped at 100 miles/week + bonus points, so I hope teams aren’t made based on this stat!

Good point. The meaning of “ringer” changed based on the cap.

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@TwoWheelsDC 183630 wrote:

I think some interesting things could be done to help incentivize the less ambitious riders, while maybe helping to even out the scores (with the disclaimer that these are not necessarily easy to implement from a technical standpoint):

-commute rides are worth 2x per mile (or whatever multiplier)
-CaBi rides are worth 3x per mile (or whatever multiplier)
-points available for non-riding tasks like volunteering/organizing bike-related activities (yeah this is tough, but I’m just spitballing)
-calculate team points based on some combination of standard points and “team total days ridden” (or something?)
-incorporate “jersey” points into team standings, maybe as a multiplier of some sort (fastest rider=green jersey, most climbing=polka dot jersey, etc…)

Or, what about some level of diminishing returns above the cap (e.g., 1/2 point for miles 101-200, 1/4 point for miles above 200/week)?

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@TwoWheelsDC 183630 wrote:

-the new rule changes seems a bit sudden and opaque for the impact that it will have

I totally agree with this. I think many were caught off guard.

@TwoWheelsDC 183630 wrote:

-I think the rule may make the scoring more even, but I don’t think it will affect anyone’s riding habits, which really is the objective (maybe the top riders will ride less, but I’m not so sure of that)

As someone in the middle of the pack (I think I averaged about 150 miles a week during the competition last year), I’m not sure how motivated by the individual competition I’ll be to ride beyond the cap. Last year, it was about stepping it up to support my team.

@TwoWheelsDC 183630 wrote:

-The new rule may shift things to a more individual-focused competition, which I think is not in the spirit of how we originally conceived FS

This is a good point and definitely relates to my comment above.

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@jrenaut 183584 wrote:

If the cap sucks this year, we can change it next year.

It seems worth a try. Initially, I was a little disappointed. However, I think it may balance out the team competition a little and stills provides some incentive for big miles through the individual competition.

Honestly though, I’m curious how the cap will affect my motivation this year. I definitely rode more miles last year to support my team. I’ll hit the weekly cap with my commute.

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After 6 months, the assigned officer responded to one of my monthly emails requesting an update. This is the first contact I received aside from the form letter requesting a statement. He responded to say that hit-and-run investigations have been transferred by DC Council away from sworn police officers to civilian personnel.

Yesterday, I spoke with a woman in the office now handling the investigation. Disappointingly, it appears that no investigation occurred over the last 6 months. Additionally, since the officer that responded failed to enter the license plate in his report, it sounds like no action has been taken to contact the owner of the car. She said she would follow up with the previously assigned officer, and listen to the audio from the officer that responded to the scene, to try to figure out why more wasn’t done. She promised to call me back in a few days.

I emailed Councilmember Allen in October, but I never received a response. I will try contacting his office again to voice my concerns.

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@Dewey 183496 wrote:

Bicycle Retailer and Industry News (BRAIN) is reporting Emerald Expo has cancelled the Interbike 2019 tradeshow in Reno, NV. The publisher printed an opinion piece noting various cycling Industry non-profits will lose funding/sponsorship including “hundreds of thousands of dollars out of People for Bikes budget”. For the past couple of years People for Bikes have organized an annual Congressional Bike Fest in the Rayburn Building, hopefully this can continue.

While the anger and disappointment in the opinion piece was clear, I don’t know the industry well enough to fully understand how much blame the entities mentioned in the article should really bear. Based on the comments, it sounds like some in the industry thought the costs of participating in the trade show far exceeded the benefits. They also criticized the management of the trade show and its failure to adjust to changing industry needs over time.

I wonder if regional expos may benefit in the absence of Interbike. They seem like they’d be more accessible to dealers and consumers.

Hopefully, People for Bikes and its Congressional Bike Fest won’t be impacted significantly. It looks like People for Bikes has an annual budget of about $7 million ( https://2017.peopleforbikes.org/static/Annual_Report_Financials_2017_FINAL.96be67f3.pdf ). I wonder how much of that comes directly from Interbike.

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@Henry 182997 wrote:

2019 Rules:

1) Scoring: Some slight changes were made to try to tighten up the Team Competition. These, of course, are again subject to change in future years!!!

• 10 points for each day of 1 mile+ (same as before)
• 1 point per mile (same as before)
• Team contribution per individual capped at 100 miles per week. A week is Monday-Sunday. Partial weeks at beginning and end also have 100 miles cap on team contribution.
• Individual rankings remain the same with no cap on the individual mileage on scoreboard.
So the max someone can contribute to their team is 170 points per week. If they miss a day but still ride 100 miles, they get 160 points.

It’ll be interesting to see how the cap on team contribution plays out. From the results last year, it looks like about 1/3 of riders would have regularly hit the weekly cap.

Not adding a cap on individual rankings seems like a reasonable compromise. At least that way, riders like Rod, Lynn, Alan, David, and other high-mile riders still get some deserved recognition, even if it doesn’t help their teams.

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@obscurerichard 183512 wrote:

I’m glad that CaBi leadership is reading this and working to correct the issues.

Yesterday around 9:15 AM none of the bikes at Reston Wiehle station would undock, they all had red lights. The next closest station, at Sunset Hills & Issac Newton Square, had bikes that would not undock, the light just flashed yellow and never reached red or green. It was super frustrating for those of us who rely on CaBi to get from the Metro to Reston Town Center. A fellow cyclist and I ended up sharing a Lyft to get there.

The continuously flashing yellow light was what I experienced with the stations that ended up being offline.

Thank you, Paul and your team. I’m glad to hear CaBi is working on this. I echo the earlier comment – I’ve always had good experiences with the CaBi customer service folks.

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@Yule 183406 wrote:

Glancing at the current CaBi map, there are currently five stations in Prince George’s County, two down near National Harbor…

There are also stations in Mount Rainier, Hyattsville, and Riverdale Park.

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