[eminva]

This was the year of technology at our house so I didn’t get anything specifically bike related. However, I did get a new phone that replaces the phone with the broken camera so maybe now I can take some One-Eighth sighting photos.

Liz

[eminva]

Oh my, you go into a year end rush at work and look what happens. Well, it’s probably time Santa considered alternate forms of transportation, maybe acc and I can convince him to join Freezing Saddles. Although it starts a few days too late for his most epic ride.

Liz

[eminva]

@Fast Friendly Guy 71487 wrote:

I don’t want to ride my road bikes through all the snow and slush necessary to help my Freezing Saddles team achieve success.
I saw this at Revolution this morning. http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/road/cyclocross/crossrip/crossrip_comp/#
Cyclecross, Shimano gear and brake levers, disk brakes, aluminium frame, carbon fork. Add fenders and a bike rack and I’m ready to go!

What do you recommend? What do you think? Is this a good choice? Know where I could get it for less?
After two days of not riding, it was all I could do to avoid impulse buying on the spot

Thanks, Dave

Do it!

Although if you were looking for someone, anyone, to try to talk you out of getting a bike, you came to the very wrong place!

Liz

[eminva]

@Jason B 71432 wrote:

I was able to convince two others teachers to commute with me this year and they want to take a stab at the Freezing Saddles. Are teams randomly assigned?

Randomly assigned. That’s part of the fun — you are competing against people you know on a team of people you might not know so well (but do get to know by the end).

Liz

[eminva]

D’oh! I was #11 last year. It’s just as well, it would take me the rest of my life to drink that much (not much of a drinker, I’m afraid).

Seriously, a good idea for a thread. I’m always up for contributing prizes; let me think.

Liz

[eminva]

Alrighty then!

I’ll attempt to steer this back on track by nominating:

Jason B., a teacher at Washington-Lee High School in Arlington who is recruiting and nurturing the next generation of cyclists via his participation with the Washington-Lee Bike Club. Club members, under his supervision, have learned bike maintenance, gone on group rides, participated in cyclocross and even been involved in advocacy by giving out lights with Bike Arlington. Jason B. even set up a workshop at school so the students can work on their bikes.

Jason B., thanks for exhibiting the qualities that characterize WWPD-style advocacy.

Liz

[eminva]

I’ll bring my seven passenger minivan with the hitch mounted rack for 4 bikes and follow you all around.

Getting older and wiser.

Liz

[eminva]

Hello —

We were talking about reflective wear on another thread recently, and I mentioned my decade+ old IllumiNITE tights. They have faded somewhat but still work. When new, they are blazing bright. The brand is hard to find, but I found a source online for some tights to replace my old ones:

women’s: http://www.aerotechdesigns.com/ilwodareflti.html

men’s: http://www.aerotechdesigns.com/ilrewiti.html

The women’s run a bit large (and long, sorry KLizotte) but they don’t have a chamois so that’s okay if you want to wear a liner under. The price is good.

Liz

[eminva]

All right, I didn’t actually read this thread, nor will I ever read it, as I did not choose a medical career for a VERY GOOD REASON, which is that I freak out at the sight of blood and guts. Therefore, if any of you ever need a referral for any type of physician (because I have one of every type), please send me a private message because I won’t be seeing your post here.

And dcv, I didn’t read on so I don’t know the resolution, but I hope you went to the doctor about that knee.

Liz

[eminva]

@consularrider 70151 wrote:

You should hire Ms. Dickie.

Yes, a thousand times yes. I would kick in part of her fee, assuming it is within our collective means or she would discount for us great people.

Liz

[eminva]

Exposure Diablo on highest setting:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4131[/ATTACH]

Diablo on medium setting:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4129[/ATTACH]

Diablo on low setting (note you can see the ambient light in the background — this was after 8 p.m. on Thursday):

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4130[/ATTACH]

Here’s me. The jacket (Gore), gloves (Gore), seat post bag (Banjo Brothers) and trunk bag (Topeak) have some reflective bits. I added 3M reflective tape to various parts of the frame. Also, the Illuminite tights from my running days (at least ten years old) seem to still have some reflective oomph to them.

Please note the piece de resistance: the hi viz, light up ankle strap (Nite Ize). I have one on each leg, so motorists and zombies can see the lights bobbing up and down as I pedal (visible from all directions, I think). I have gotten lots of positive feedback on these.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4132[/ATTACH]

Liz

[eminva]

Totally anecdotal: my brother lives in The Netherlands. When he tells people how far his sister commutes by bike in the US (29 miles RT), he reports that they stare at him blankly and ask, “Why doesn’t she drive?” He’s never gotten a different response. This is in The Netherlands.

So yeah, their commutes and errands are probably much shorter, on average, than what many of us do.

Liz

[eminva]

In addition to all the good things Dirt pointed out, when we were planning the scout C&O trip last summer, we arranged with our LBS to offer discounts to scouts needing to buy bikes, gear and get service. They also offered to teach a basic bike maintenance course to the scouts. So when you support a LBS, you are also supporting this give-back to the community.

Thanks in no small part to Greenbelt, Laurie and Dirt, things are getting better, but it used to be difficult to find a reasonable variety of women’s cycling apparel in LBSs. So I bought a lot online. There is still room for improvement.

A quick question: if you know of a clothing item you want and the LBS doesn’t stock it, can they special order it? Anything? Or just manufacturers they already carry? Can you return it if it doesn’t fit? This might be the next step for me to encourage the LBS to carry more womens’ stuff, but I just need to know how it works. Thanks.

Liz

[eminva]

@Jason B 69733 wrote:

On the opposite end of the spectrum, I think I rather go biking with the Copenhagen folks than these Jackweeds
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-15/in-the-land-of-the-mamils-where-men-are-men-and-bikes-are-a-semester-at-yale.html

Hmmm . . . competitive middle aged guys . . . I’m sure I’ve never, ever, ever met any of those outside of Wall Street . . .:rolleyes:

Liz

[eminva]

I’m not saying anything here that I haven’t already said to the FABB officials, but I feel completely unqualified to perform this civic duty. I am not a cartographer, civil engineer, planner or oracle. While I consider all these worthy professions, I have neither interest nor time to be an amateur version thereof.

I haven’t answered the survey and if anyone can make sense of this and would like me to vote for your pet project, please do as Subby has done and identify it so that I can vote for it. I will vote for #186 and anything else the peanut gallery finds worthy.

Please tell me where I can find the survey to get Fairfax County to hire some professionals to set priorities in a thoughtful and cohesive manner.

Sorry for the rant; I just think it is stupid to crowdsource these important decisions.

Liz

[Author]

Replies