DSalovesh
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DSalovesh
Participant@Justin Antos 13909 wrote:
How about here? Hint – it’s in DC.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]648[/ATTACH]Good place to be aware of your surroundings. It will become more familiar to people once the bridge over the train tracks opens, but won’t really be useful unless we can rely on the WNY connection.
ParticipantI was going to write something like this, but Transportation for America did it faster and better under the headline “Pedestrian deaths, blaming the victim: headphones edition”:
http://t4america.org/blog/2012/01/19/its-the-1-percent-vs-the-99-percent-pedestrian-safety-edition/
January 18, 2012 at 8:16 pm in reply to: The Ultimate Arlington Grocery Store Bike Parking Guide!! #934773ParticipantI don’t know if this is currently true, but in the past I’ve had no problem bringing my bike inside many area grocery stores.
I still do at the Pentagon City Costco.
It’s a different story at CVS though…
ParticipantHang a chain over the chainring. Tug on the chain at the top.
If it won’t come up much the chainring is good. If it comes up a little, not so much but it will probably work fine for a single cog rear if the tension is right.
If it comes up a lot the chainring is shot.
ParticipantI got a pair of Lizard Skin lever covers off a bargain table at some bike shop years ago, but I couldn’t get them on. I tried them on a bunch of different bikes but the shape was always… wrong.
My best suggestion (untried) would be Plasti Dip. I used to put it on all my bare metal tools and it made them nice and grippy and more comfortable to hold in the cold, so I bet it would work well for brake levers too.
Participant@PotomacCyclist 13050 wrote:
Shortly after you get on the bridge from Alexandria, look for the lookout area. Right after that, you’ll see narrow brass lines on the bike path. Those mark the boundaries between Alexandria, the District and Prince George’s County. About 400 ft. of the trail lies in D.C. So in just 401 ft. or so, you can say that you rode in Virginia, D.C. and Maryland.
I can’t find references – so I could be wrong – but I could have sworn they sliced that tip off as part of the bridge project. Wikipedia says DC gave up ownership of and granted a permanent easement for the bridge, but I remember reading elsewhere that they had actually redrawn the border at the northern bridge line to avoid creating a discontiguous lump of DC south of the bridge.
If you like reading up on strange borders and interesting map features, I recommend this blog – seems that the author(s) are based nearby so there are a lot of items of local interest, in addition to a bunch from around the world:
http://www.howderfamily.com/blog/washington-dc-anomalies/
Participant@Mariner 13029 wrote:
Impressive! But those are technically interstates, right? And aren’t self-propelled vehicles prohibited from interstates? Or is that not an ironclad rule?
I’m sure it is illegal, and it’s also not a good idea. I’m sure there would have been some explaining to do if I had been caught but arrest or charges are unlikely, and at 3-4 AM when I did it getting caught was pretty unlikely too. Morning rush slows traffic to bike-safe speeds too, but the drivers are irate and unpredictable.
@Mariner 13029 wrote:
Rochambeau has long leads that lead only to bigger and faster highways. At least Williams has a ramp right at river’s edge on the south.
Williams has no shoulder or space to spare – hence the need for a chase vehicle. Rochambeau has good shoulders. In general, the DC side is a big mixing bowl from highway to highway and ramp to ramp. It would be almost impossible in traffic. The VA side has some ramps that flow much more smoothly, but you’d still want to aim for the good exits. Same for Washington Blvd., 110, 50… there are spots that seem very reasonable to bike and others that are near-suicidal.
@Mariner 13029 wrote:
Speaking of bridges, I’ve been wanting to try the new Wilson Bridge.
The problem with most road facilities is that they’re built around the assumption that vehicles will be moving at 50-70 mph with 100-200 bhp to power up elevation changes. I’m always amazed at how much slope some roads, ramps, and bridges actually have and that I’ve never noticed it when I drive. Wilson Bridge is like that – there’s 100 feet of elevation change from the MVT to the top but due to the superhighway scale it just feels like I’m having a bad day and can’t get any speed. Nice view though, and the park at the MD end is worth a visit by itself (situated on a bridge over the beltway, great views of the Potomac, Alexandria, and DC).
ParticipantRainX helps some. Don’t try it on your favorite pair as it may damage the coating, but a spare lens set (I always seem to have clears left over) or a cheap pair of shades should work fine.
A helmet visor also keeps some of the precip off too. My go-to, high-zoot helmet doesn’t offer a visor so I got a cheap-o one just for bad weather – it’s also a “universal” size that fits over a hat or headband better.
The combo gets me though all the cold bad weather pretty well.
ParticipantTricky question too: The plane came down on the south-most span, then called the Rochambeau Bridge. Four people killed in the crash were driving on the bridge at the time.
In 1983, when that span was named in honor of the passenger who assisted in the rescue of five others by the Park Police helicopter “Eagle One” only to perish before he himself could be rescued, the Rochambeau Bridge name was transferred to the central span.
(I believe Eagle One is still in service, but in retirement it has a place reserved in the National Law Enforcement Museum which will open in late 2013.)
ParticipantTo be technically correct, which everyone knows is the best kind of correct, there is no “14th Street Bridge”. The one we ride across is the George Mason Memorial Bridge, the next one downriver is the Rochambeau Bridge, and then we come to the Arland D. Williams Jr. Memorial Bridge (formerly just called the highway bridge or the 395 span). Those plus the two rail bridges are sometimes referred to as the “14th Street Bridge Complex”, but because of the different histories, origins, and destinations I like to keep them straight.
I’ve actually ridden all three, and there’s really no room for bikes on the Arland D. Williams Jr. Memorial Bridge – don’t try it without a chase vehicle. Rochambeau is okay but access is difficult, and the George Mason Memorial Bridge is no challenge with the path and all.
ParticipantI signed last year, I signed this year, but I have no idea what good it does.
I have two friends who don’t need to sign this year because they’ve given up riding on our streets. Both are experienced and skilled, and neither understands how I can keep it up. I guess responsibility has its own rewards.
Kinda kidding about redeeming anything, but it sure would be nice to collect a visible token (ala the neighborhood pace car program) that other people could recognize and respect.
ParticipantMy only 10-speed chain is Campy, mounted on a wall queen. It probably has under 1,000 miles on it, all ridden on clear and sunny days. But that’s a special bike.
The other six everyday bikes in my house all take the same SRAM PC-951 / 971 chains. I use club memberships and coupons and Groupons and loss-leader sales to make sure I always have a few on hand, and if the price is good enough to buy one I’ll buy two or three just to keep my private stock full. I don’t think I’ve paid full price for a chain in a decade.
ParticipantI just replace my chains frequently, about every 2,000 – 3,000 miles, pretty much. Between my two main bikes I change one per year or so.
Sounds a bit silly, I know, but the real enemy isn’t chain dirt, it’s chain wear. Careful cleaning and lubrication can slow that down, but careless cleaning and lack of lubrication (or wet salty winters) can speed it up.
I don’t know about anyone else, but all the “right” ways to clean and rehab an old chain are more work than I can justify, when a carefully spent $15 and 10 minutes or so of work gets me a brand new chain. Also, by never letting my chain wear down much I preserve the far more expensive drivetrain components, which can be far more important if you have unusual or vintage parts in use.
(When my annual distance was higher I used to have a complicated chain-swapping plan where I rotated through new and lightly used chains so I could always have a fairly new and fairly clean one at the ready, but I got busy and behind on the schedule so I lost track. Wound up with half a dozen pretty rusty chains and no idea which would be any good after all the work – so I tossed them and stopped worrying.)
ParticipantCongrats! I’m pretty close to 13,000 myself. Only 11,750 to go…
ParticipantSUPER-old thread now, but important update:
Construction work is done for now, the barriers are all down, the nearby closures have ended, and the eastbound side is back to normal with a nice new surface and markings all in place.
When I get more info about upcoming re-closures I’ll post here too, but that’s not expected any sooner than June.
Enjoy!
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