[Dirt]

The Bike Lane in Reston Town Center is one of my all-time faves.

[Dirt]

@Just161 1920 wrote:

It’s disappointing that the 15th St. cycletrack wasn’t plowed (if I’m seeing the picture correctly). Wasn’t that the point of widening it in the first place? DDOT?

I don’t think there’s room for a plow between the markers and the curb. I was just happy that it wasn’t buried in a big pile of snow.

[Dirt]

Lots of ice on the way home. Definitely using the studs again tomorrow. W&OD from Vienna to the Custis is mixed.. some areas are clear, some are snowpacked (though a thin layer of snow) and some areas are ice. Custis is a little more clear, though there are some sections that are definitely icy. The “S” of certain death above Lyon Village is mostly clear, but there’s a serious ice patch going under I66 as you approach the shopping center. From Lyon Village to Lee Highway has a lot of snow and ice. Mount Vernon Boardwalks by Roosevelt Island are still snowpacked and slick.

See y’all tomorrow.

15th Street Cycleway

First tracks through Falls Church

[Dirt]

@OneEighth 1874 wrote:

Reality truly does bite.
Still, it might be fun to come up with some sort of modified hill ride that is survivable on a fixie (40+ year old knees notwithstanding).
Just a thought. Will have to noodle on this a bit myself.

I like reality. I visit there sometimes… Not often though. Too depressing.

I totally agree that we need a fixie climbing loop. There are plenty of hills out there that will stab you, but not kill you too badly on a fixie. I have one that I use in Falls Church when I need a quick hammerfest. It is only 6 miles, but has enough ups and downs to make you want for recovery time.

[Dirt]

I was about 10 minutes behind you.

[Dirt]

@OneEighth 1867 wrote:

Give a heads-up if you ever decide to attempt this on your steel fixie.

Won’t happen. I’ve got tights, but I own neither a cape, nor a big red S on my chest. Last time I did the whole loop, I needed the 36×25 on a pretty light weight bike.

[Dirt]

@carfreecommuter 1862 wrote:

Hey Dirt,

A suggetion for your Kill Bill V3 route. Between Mile 20 and 21 take a left onto Beechwood Cir and loop left. That hill is much steeper than Military Rd and you can connect back into your route with only an extra 0.1 mile added.

Perfect. I also need to find a way to incorporate McKinley in there too. It isn’t the steepest, but it is long enough that if added toward the end of the loop, it’ll make me want to cry like a baby.

[Dirt]

@Tim Kelley 1855 wrote:

That’s what all the “little people” say when they fall in behind me. I’ve been told I’m the only person they know who they can draft behind while I’m still in aero.

I’m relatively aero, but I’m sure not as good at it as you. Plus I’m quite a bit wider. Looks like this kind of ride will get a core group of people who will share the work. I must say that I don’t tend to spend a lot of time in drafting groups where people don’t take their turn at the front. Teamwork is good. Wheel sucking? Not so much.

This ride is at the end of June. If this year goes better than last, I believe I can be ready for it.

I’m on winter break from cycling at this point… Still riding every day, but mostly just fun stuff. I’ll kick back into more serious training in mid February. Having a June double will add purpose to my Sunday rides.

[Dirt]

@carfreecommuter 1852 wrote:

The problem is that makes for a very long day and I doubt that even if we tried we wouldn’t have had enough daylight to finish with all the photos. I suggest breaking up the ride into four individual routes to make it more managable.

We just need longer days. Springtime will make this possible.

Thanks for your hard work on the route. It was amazing. I’ve started sorting photos, but there’s a lot out there.

[Dirt]

@Tim Kelley 1848 wrote:

My recommendation would be to convince Dirt to do it and we can all draft behind him!

Let me look at the web site. I haven’t picked my events for the year. If the timing is right, I could be convinced to give it a go.

Tim, you and I would be extremely popular guys in any pace line. I’ll need to start training for this last fall for sure.

[Dirt]

The biggest thing that I find that I need when doing rides over 120 miles in distance is a variety of hand positions. For me that means drop bars for sure. I use the tops, hoods, drops, etc. and move around to change how my back and legs move to get some variety. When I get into the double-century range, I really want to have clip-on aero bars so that I have the chance to get a bit aerodynamic as well as have the 2 or 3 extra positions that it gives me.

My dummy is built with drop bars which has made it comfortable for me for rides as long as 100 miles. The down-side to the dummy is that if I’ve got any load at all, standing out of the saddle… even to just stretch a little, induces a fair amount of wag.

I like the idea of putting drop bars on the Kaitai. again, that’s just me. I know folks who can ride all day every day on flat bars. My shoulders and arms would fall off if I did that.

Best wishes on your rides this year!

Pete

[Dirt]

@consularrider 1837 wrote:

And where is the Honduras Embassy? The address includes a suite number, so I guess it must be inside the INTELSAT building. Maybe we should substitute the Honduran Consulate at 1014 M St, NW, and we almost went by it anyway? It’s not much to look at, but at least they fly the flag!

Perhaps Honduras is now a fully-owned subsidiary of Intelsat?

Sorry. I had to say that.

@Brad: I’d love to see the adjusted cue sheet when you’ve made the 4 or 5 changes that we found while riding it. I’ll be happy to lead this one in the spring.

Did I mention that I broke the frame on my mutant cross bike on the ride home? I couldn’t have picked a more lovely day to break the frame. It died a warrior’s death.

Happy Tuesday, y’all.

Pete

[Dirt]

@SQ: Awesome looking Cross Check. I like how that build turned out. Should be a fun bike.

[Dirt]

Great looking bike CCrew. I was thinking of building a Vaya… especially with the demise of my mutant snow bike yesterday. I’m leaning a bit more toward the Van Dessel WTF for its ability to handle belt drive.

[Dirt]

Here are the details from yesterday’s ride: http://ridewithgps.com/trips/156324

[Author]

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