ebubar
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ebubar
ParticipantFree Stuff!
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Blinkies, blinkies everywhere!
Made it to Silver Spring Discovery Plaza, Bethesda (registered) and Rosslyn.
Looked like Rosslyn had the best free stuff. Perhaps i’ll register there next year…Not Pictured? WABA Membership at a $10 discount! Now I don’t have to feel bad
about getting all this free advice on here!Participant@krazygl00 52599 wrote:
A boo boo? Hell, that exact maneuver is one of the best reasons for running 32c or larger tires! Trail gets boogered up and you just “expedite” the whole process by bailing to the right. It helps if you yell “CYCLOCROSS!!” as you do it.
Will keep that in mind. By the by, is there any way to ELITE your profile picture? Don’t mess with the HOFF!
ParticipantLet this be a warning to other new bike commuters.
Made a boo boo on the GBT today near City Bikes in Chevy Chase. I was cruising along at around 12-13 mph on the crushed gravel trail. This doesn’t seem like a particularly fast speed to me. I rang my bell as usual for the older couple in front of me and then noticed a roadie coming up the other side. Since my experience has shown me that roadies are pretty unpredictable and prone to crazy move, I couldn’t pass on the left. Old couple thought they were being helpful, but instead of moving to the right, they kind of just got closer together in the middle of the trail. It was too late to stop effectively on the gravel (I was going too fast), so I passed on the right by swerving about 5 feet off the trail into the grass to slow down and pass everyone involved without a pileup!
I think it was the safest thing to do in that exact situation. However it probably shouldn’t have happened. Need to remember to:
Ring my bell earlier and as annoying as it may be I need to slow down. I’ve gotten used to commuting during the winter season and now need to learn to share the trails with pedestrians. I’m usually pretty good at avoiding Crazy Ivan’s, slowing down for dogs and children and had a lapse.And on the off chance that the folks walking see this, I truly am sorry and meant it when I apologized. I didn’t intend to scare you and I did what I thought was safest to avoid colliding with anyone.
Participant@consularrider 52271 wrote:
So which pit stops will you be hitting?
Depends on how the morning goes, but hoping for a quick stop in Silver Spring around Discovery Plaza (around 6:45/7).
Cruising down GBT and CCT to Bethesda (free TSHIRT time!).
Continuing along CCT to either the Chain Bridge connection to CCT (see my video!), the connection to the C&O a little further down of, if time permits, all the way down to Key Bridge for another stop at Rosslyn and finally rolling along Custis until getting off around Old Dominion (near Big Wheel Bikes) to cruise to work at Marymount University. Have to arrive by around 8:45 AM so I have time to dress for the day. Thinking i’ll end up having to skip Rosslyn.Participant@alibi1 52388 wrote:
I would like to join up with you and meet at Discovery Plaza pit stop and then on to Capital Crescent. I have never ridden that branch…I will be headed to DC by way of the mall.
Is there a good way to meet up?
I may try to roll through Silver Spring Discovery stop around 7 AM. Then I’ll be heading to the Georgetown Branch to Bethesda (shirt pickup!) and down the Capital Crescent to the trestle connection to the C&O. I may go further (all the way into Georgetown) and cross at the Key Bridge for a stop at Rosslyn. This would be partially along your route. Could ride with you some of the way. I typically go between 13-18 depending on the gradual uphill or downhill nature of the route (more slight uphill along the crushed gravel of Georgetown Branch) and definitely a nice downhill along the CCT once you hit Bethesda!
ParticipantTook it easy on the bike today and did a mixed mode commute. Legs should be nice and well-rested for a good, long, multiple pit stop tour of the BTWD festivities!
Just started commuting a few months ago and am giddy as a kid on Christmas eve! Hope to meet some of you on the trails tomorrow!I’ll be on a black trek 7.2 fx hybrid with bright yellow jacket, white helmet. Feel free to stop me to say hello!
ParticipantChallenged to a race this morning…
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which I clearly lost…
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until I get a Volpe.:cool:
In my defense the deer wasn’t taking my picture…as far as I know…:confused:
May 12, 2013 at 11:31 pm in reply to: According to Garmin, 9.5k miles over the last 12 months. #969789Participant@hozn 51788 wrote:
Yeah, that is fantastic mileage. I think I rode ~8k last year so my goal *was* 10k for the year, but it looks like we are having a baby in Sept, so I imagine that I will be riding less this fall. Can’t think of a better reason to fall short of that goal.
Congratulations (on the baby)! Condolences (on the loss of biking time).
May 12, 2013 at 2:29 am in reply to: According to Garmin, 9.5k miles over the last 12 months. #969758Participant@Greenbelt 51770 wrote:
Laurie got me a Garmin for my birthday last year, and my first recorded ride was on May 13th, 2012 for Bike DC.
With May 13th 2013 coming up, I looked back that the last year of pretty consistently recorded rides (I had a little Garmin glitch last July that probably cost me a couple hundred miles…)
Overall, it looks like I’m going to come up a tad short of 10k miles per year, which was sort of a target, if not a goal.
But regardless, it was a great year for commuting, and the occasional silly weekend rides too! Not bad for the old fat guy.
Knock on wood, but I haven’t had a flat for at least 6 or 7k miles, since I switched to the super heavy Schwalbe Marathons on the commuter bike.
Only bad thing: a couple of uncharacteristic road bangs over the last several months, once on ice (just pure stupid), once when I hooked my handlebar on the rear bumper of a delivery truck (even stupider), and once a couple weeks ago up in Baltimore (which I swear wasn’t my fault, it was the combination of the water main break and sun that greased that rail spur so slippery that…. OK, that one was stupid too).
Going to work on not-being-so-stupid for the next year, and hopefully get in another 9.5kmiles without flats or crashes this time!
Here are my stats since last May 13:
ACTIVITY
Avg Rides / Week 11
Avg Distance / Week 219mi
Avg Time / Week 15hr 53m
YEAR-TO-DATE
Distance 3,723.2mi
Time 279hr 45m
Elev Gain 123,816ft
Rides 226
ALL TIME
Distance 9,537.3mi
Rides 573
Biggest Ride 100.9mi
Biggest Climb 1,715ftWOW! Holy…crap…
Here, I brag to my wife about 100 miles in a week.😎
Participant@KelOnWheels 51757 wrote:
The Volpe looks like an awesome bike! Plus it comes stock with cross-top levers which is nice. If I hadn’t fallen for the Space Horse I’d definitely be looking at the Volpe.
I love the Space Horse glamour shots. Fantastic advertising!
If they were in my price range, i’d definitely be thinking of an All-City.ParticipantUpdate on my new commuter quest:
Test rode a Kona Jake (53 cm) and another Bianchi Volpe (49 cm) (top contender at the moment).
Jake was okay and was the correct size. I like the idea of disc brakes, but once again the Volpe just feels right (even though
it was a little small). I suspect I’ll find a place with a 53 Volpe, the heavens will part, a chorus of angels will sing and praise my choice.
Can’t explain it, but it just feels like a nice, rugged, fast, lifetime bike. The Volpe is about $100 over my budget, but as you’ve all advised, if i’m spending
upwards of 2 hours a day on it, its worth the cost!ParticipantI ordered this. Waiting for delivery in mid May and will update folks on its usefulness. Gets good reviews AND its cheap…win-win!
ParticipantLittle digital biker on my Garmin course beat me by 15 minutes today. The little slacker, however, didn’t take the scenic route, so he didn’t climb the Rosslyn hills along the Custis (though he did 41st Street at 12 mph like he ALWAYS does…showoff). I don’t feel too bad though. He only rode 13 miles to my 18.
What a little cheater…:pParticipant@TwoWheelsDC 51673 wrote:
I seem to always get passed in the TR island parking lot by impatient folks…unsurprisingly, these people lose steam about half-way up the Rosslyn hill, so I like to get on their wheel and yawn loudly or look really bored, like “oh, this hill is steep? I hadn’t noticed.”
This is my eventual goal. One day…
ParticipantIn the interest of having a good tips, here are some of mine:
When locking your bike somewhere, I use a ULock and a cable lock.
I ULock my back tire through my rear tire and frame to the bike rack.
Then I run the cable lock through the front tire, around the frame and into
the ULock. I’ve read that this was the best way to lock a bike. -
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