[Dirt]

Mail has been sent.

Spectators were gathering to see how huge it has become.

But seriously…. Most of the soil under this section of trail has eroded away. If this isn’t fixed, that whole area will likely cave in.

[Dirt]

Congratulations!!! I’m sure you three will be very happy together.

[Dirt]

@CCrew 4973 wrote:

They’ve never seen a pothole?

He’s just looking forward to my photo-essay on the sinkhole that ate North Arlington.

[Dirt]

@Mark Blacknell 4971 wrote:

If you (or anyone, really) get a picture of it, can you send it to trails@arlingtonva.us? Gracias.

Borrrinnngggggggg. (I’ll do that tonight.)

I just got off the phone with NORAD. They’re also on the case.

[Dirt]

@DaveK 4935 wrote:

Responsibility is for everyone, not just e-bike riders. Every single person on here (and out on the trails) is capable of putting themselves in an unsafe situation out there, be it 30 mph in the drops down the Custis Trail or weaving through pedestrians at 12 mph.

You’re absolutely right.

[Dirt]

As I think about this more and combine things with my own experience with cycling, I have a certain amount of concern with eBikes and their ability to stop. It is all well and good to go fast on something like an eBike. Those things are pretty heavy. Having spent 5000+ miles riding a cargo bike that weighs close to 80 pounds, I can tell you that even with disc brakes with 200mm rotors, it doesn’t exactly stop on a dime. I have no direct evidence of the stopping power of eBikes, but I do know that while motorpacing with Mr. eBike, I on my road bike required significantly less distance to stop when compared to Mr. eBike dude.

[Dirt]

I see three dudes with eBikes on the W&OD on a regular basis. These things are fast…. REALLY fast. I’ve talked to one of the guys and asked if he minds me riding with him when I’m doing a spirited ride home. He didn’t have any problem with that. When I’m rested and riding my fastest road bike (sub 15-pound carbon fiber wonder-bike) I’m able to keep up with him if I’m absolutely at the limit. I can pull away from him on the super steep hills. He can pull away from me anywhere else if I slip out of his draft. If there’s any kind of traffic around, pedestrian or bicycles, I don’t even attempt this because it is very easy to get north of 40kph (25mph).

On this guy’s eBike, the concept of pedal assist is purely a concept. This guy would need a 55 tooth chain ring for his pedals to do any assisting.

That said, when there’s no-one around, it is a BLAST to ride with the guy. It is exactly like motorpacing workouts that I did in the 80s and early 90s.

[Dirt]

There were beavers living there for many, many years. Not sure when the last family passed on, but I used to stop and watch them on my way home when I lived in Ballston.

[Dirt]

@CCrew 4905 wrote:

Looks like a drunk painted the yellow center line though

I’m going to go on record saying that I had NOTHING to do with painting that center line. At least I don’t remember having anything to do with it. I guess anything’s possible.

[Dirt]

@CCrew 4884 wrote:

Love to know who they are.

Conte’s and Bonzai have me covered for high end stuff. Conte’s has proven perfect at ordering stuff that they don’t stock. I haven’t tried Bonzai for that. I try to be polite about having them order things. There are some items that are a pain for them to deal with. If it is something that takes a lot of effort on their part, and gets them little or no margin on, I will mail-order that. I’m open and ask them if it is something fits into that category. They’ve always been honest. Sometimes dealership requirements and minimum orders complicate things for a shop.

I’ve never tried to special order something through Bonzai, but I have no doubt that they’d handle it well.

When I need something really weird for my rather odd bikes, I’ve found Bike Club in Falls Church usually has it.

Those three shops make it so that most of my on-line or ebay buys are for vintage stuff.

Honestly, I don’t worry about price very much when I’m shopping for bicycle stuff. If something is really expensive, I usually wait and buy it later. I make sure that my workhorse bikes are a) pretty much bomb-proof; and 2) with spares at my shop for most common items that do wear out. That makes it so I almost never have to order something and have it arrive before the weekend. I plan ahead pretty well.

[Dirt]

Great comment Brendan. I notice a lot of people unclip ahead of time as they approach a stop light. That doesn’t help with unplanned stops, but it does help make it so you’re doing fewer things all at once. By the time you’re scoping traffic and getting ready to put your foot down, you’ve already been unclipped for 5 seconds.

The Big Dummy presents other issues…. especially if it is loaded. I use road pedals and shoes on my dummy… which probably isn’t the best choice. The road shoes are a bit slippery on pavement. When the bike is fully loaded that can make waiting at stop lights a bit of an adventure. I might have to put the MTB pedals on the dummy the next time I take it out and see how that works.

[Dirt]

I’m fortunate to have two local shops that stock most of what I’d like. They also have PERFECT customer service.

When I read comments like “I’d buy locally, but my shop doesn’t sell what I want and their customer service stinks” it definitely does NOT make me wonder why people buy on the Interwebs. If my local shop sucked, I would have serious problems supporting them. I went through that for years. I remember ordering a King headset from Metropolis (my local shop back in the day). They charged me $40 over MSRP, they required 100% payment before they’d order and there were no refunds. When it arrived 6 weeks later and it was the wrong color, I was told “Take it or leave it. You’re not getting your money back.” Am I surprised that shop is no longer around? NOPE!

Buying locally is not an easy choice to make for many. Like I say, it is a very easy choice for me.

This is an interesting thread! Thanks for contributing.

Pete

[Dirt]

Looks like a fine bicycle for what you want to do. Honestly, I don’t think it is overkill at all. You’ll have fun with it.

[Dirt]

I love me a good death zone!!!! Gonna have to route my commute through there a few days per week just to spice things up a bit. (Totally joking).

I hear they Key Bridge Marriott is contemplating putting a Burmese Tiger Trap at the parking lot entrance that crosses the Custis Trail. (REALLY TOTALLY JOKING THERE!!!! I love and respect the Sodexo Marriott company and all of its employees and facilities.)

Please ignore this entire post. It is an infantile reaction to stress in my workplace. I need a ride. Bummer that it stopped raining.

Love,

Pete

[Dirt]

I also mark the cleat placement on the soles of the shoes so it is easy to see if they’ve slipped.

[Author]

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