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Now I just need a way to carry my 12-pound lock and chain. I guess there’s some workout value to wearing it around my neck.

On Topic: @Joe: You might find that a short bungee cord helps it hold still in that position with all the root-induced bumps on the Custis trail these days. Sometimes gravity is not enough… even with an anchor-weight U-lock like you’re hefting.

Great post. Thank you!

Pete

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@jabberwocky 412 wrote:

Thats almost as good as the guy I saw on the Capital Crescent a few years ago riding down the trail with a huge ghetto blaster bungied to his rear rack, blaring “eye of the tiger” at top volume.

Oh that’s definitely going to be something that gets done a time or two on the dummy. Eye of the Tiger over and over again will be a big improvement over the jinglebells that I normally ride with.

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@Mark Blacknell 406 wrote:

More gong.

Is that from the AC/DC “Hell’s Bells” skit on SNL?

I guess that makes it official. Definitely need a gong to hang off my nice rack. Bwahahahaha

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@Mark Blacknell 405 wrote:

Huh. It strikes me that right now might be a good time to invite you out for a Hills of North Arlington ride

Hahaha… Can’t imagine HONA on a trike. I’d be grabbing the brakes to keep from rolling down the hills backward. Give me about 3 weeks.

We’re going for coffee in National Harbor Sunday morning if you wanna ride.

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@Chris Eatough 387 wrote:

There are small ones available that give a single “ding”.
All the bells I have seen mount with a small screw.
The can be small enough that you can leave them on there for all of your riding.
You won’t even notice it’s there, until you use it.
Check out your handlebars before you buy to see if the mounting area is oversize (ie. wide).
Some bells will open enough to mount on an oversize bar, some will not.
This one would mount on most size bars.

I’m considering equipping my Surly Big Dummy with a 3 foot diameter, 15th Century, Chinese gong.

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Yeah. Gotta love the people that want to race you on a Multi-use trail. Heaven forbid their fragile male ego get bruised.

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I pick up the W&OD around mile 7 and take it to the Custis. Now that I’m on a trike, I go down Mount Vernon to Memorial Bridge and up the National Mall to the RayGun building (14th and Pennsylvania). I’m on the trail at 0530.

Ride home I usually head south on Mount Vernon trail to the Shitlington (typo intended) Connector, then I ride the W&OD home. It adds a few extra miles. Afternoon commute starts around 4:30 or 5pm. I’m pretty hard to miss. These days I’m on a bright pink recumbent trike.

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I love helmet hair. If anyone comments, say “I meant it to look like that. I spent almost an hour getting my hair to look JUST LIKE THIS!”

Not a day goes by that I don’t give thanks that EPA lets me use their bike room and GSA lets me use their locker room and showers. I can deal with the mildew and mold. I spray a path of bleach between my bike and the shower every week or two. I like having a place to shower in the morning.

Love,

Pete

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I use the bell. I talk to people. Neither are really effective. My normal commuting bike has jinglebells on the bars. Those are much more effective than calling out or a normal bell. Honestly I’ve found maniacally singing show tunes (especially on the boardwalks where I get really good vibrato) seems to work the best for announcing my presence. Jabberwocky and I were on a ride two weeks ago and I demonstrated my prowess at announcing my presence. I belted out my own rendition of “I’m in the mood for love…” and the walkers ahead could not wait to give us room to pass. It was like Moses and the Red Sea.

That said… I was taken down 3 times in the last year by runners wearing headphones. I call out, use my bells (jingle and incredi-bell) and sing to my heart’s content and they still did not hear me. When I get close enough that they can see my light, they freak out and jump to the left, right into me. On all three occasions I chose to hit the deck rather than run over the runner. The third time (in early February) i dislocated my shoulder. I’m still off the bike from that incident. I purchased a recumbent trike so that I can ride without putting weight on my shoulder. With luck I’ll be back on the bike soon.

On the topic of the Humpty bridge: On a recumbent trike, I’m actually wider, less mobile and with less control when trying to walk it across. I just ride it. No incidents yet… though the guy that tried to pass me while riding across the bridge was a national treasure.

Hugs and Kisses,

Pete

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I rode the humpty bridge on the way home yesterday and it is still narrow. There’s about 8″ of path on the bridge that my trike doesn’t take up. Interestingly, I had someone try to pass me as I was going over the bridge. He finally decided that he could wait until the chicane to pass me…. and once we were rolling on the trail again, I passed him because he was moving slower than I was. People are morons.

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@AJsinVA 395 wrote:

How about 25 miles miles out for a BBQ sandwich and 25 miles trying not to puke on the way back. Both ways at a fairly solid 17.5 miles per hour.

Once I’m back on a 2-wheeler I can do that. Right now I’m pushing pretty hard to average 15mph on the trike.

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Kind of a cool set-up. I’m gonna swing by Friday and check it out. I thought about it tonight, but I’m gonna dodge the rain and head straight home.

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I’m on a recumbent trike until my shoulder gets more strength back. I rode the Hump bridge a week or so ago. Walking or carrying the trike isn’t much of an option. I just waited till I had room to roll across it without annoying too many people. The chicanes are quite a bit of fun on the 3-wheeler. Good opportunity to lift a wheel and ride it like a bike.

Honestly it is about the same width as the underpass that goes under Memorial bridge. Problem is that if you get it wrong, you’re face to face with oncoming traffic on GW Pkwy.

I’m heading south to Alexandria on my commute home tonight. I’ll report on how fat it is.

Pete

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I’ll check out the Hump bridge on the way home today to see if it is conducive to such a ride.

Lots of people know the major trails in the area (W&OD, Custis, Capitol Croissant, Mt, Vernon, etc.) but there are other paths that connect things together that might be good for including in a themed ride. 4-mile run, Holmes Run, and the like. Maybe we can work up something that includes some of these. Not much of Arlington is really “off the beaten path”, but some paths are beaten more than others. I’ll try and look into that in my 3-wheeled explorations.

Love,

Pete

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@Brcire 294 wrote:

Thanks for the tip Pete! I’ve done parts of Tuba’s route but now is a good time to do the whole thing.

Eric

Tuba and I did Kill Bill twice together last year. The first time he had no idea what he was in for. He was sprinting hills in the first 15 miles and NOT enjoying life in the next 20 miles. A month or so later he completed the whole loop with me. I think I rode it 6 or 7 times last year. Not sure that I’m going to try it on the trike this year. I’ll do the Ups an Downs of North Arlington loop though. 26 miles — 40 with the ride to and from. I’ll be slow, but will enjoy every one of the hills.

I’m so itching to ride that I’m about to jump out of my skin. With luck I’ll be back on in another 2 weeks.

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