[eminva]

@mello yello 58478 wrote:

My new IRO Rob Roy, purchased in ’07 and left in my basement for 6 years. Fixed/SS for commuting & everything.

You get a “Like” and an “Elite” because what could be better than a bike named after a freedom fighter and folk hero?

Liz

[eminva]

@dasgeh 58494 wrote:

I did a double take: thought for a sec this was Liz’s Strava avatar…

Ha! I was going to say it looked like our legs after each day on the C&O. My mountain bike shoes got so wet and muddy I had to switch to Chaco sandals for a couple of days — the shoes couldn’t dry overnight and I couldn’t bear to put my feet back in them.

The story of my Strava avatar: that is a northwest DC tan line — one morning on my way to work it was just bucketing. When I got into my office and went to take off my shoes, I noticed how much crap had been spashed up on my legs so I snapped a photo.

I have another idea for a Strava avatar, to coincide with my 2014 goal — stay tuned for that.

Liz

[eminva]

@rcannon100 58406 wrote:

It might be. Have you taken it for a test drive?? Maybe there is only one speed left on the thing :rolleyes:

Like the bike I got when I was about 10, now residing in my parents’ garage, which is an internal hub three speed with no shifter/cable.

Liz

[eminva]

@americancyclo 58336 wrote:

Any takers for tomorrow or will you all be too hungover from TTHH?

I will be there; I didn’t go to happy hour, I had to work.

Liz

[eminva]

@americancyclo 58062 wrote:

lovely chat with eminva this morning riding in to DC, despite being honked at on M St. I did my best to behave and not harass the driver when he got stuck at the light.

Then crossed paths with Mr. One Eighth himself, and felt instantly ashamed that my kit did not match my bike.

Nice riding with you! And I want to see the kit that matches the beautiful purple bike.

Liz

[eminva]

We had good experiences with the Burley Piccolo, and it looks like they have at least one other model in their product line now, too. It mounts to a rack rather than the seatpost which I believe makes it more stable. Also, you can put panniers on the rack even with the Piccolo attached.

The thing was a tank — bought it used on Craigslist and sold it there when he outgrew it. Very sturdy and a good resale value.

It was easy to attach and detach and I used to drop the kid and the Piccolo at school on my way to work.

Liz

[eminva]

Thanks for nothing, you guys, I couldn’t resist.

Three of my five top rivals: crysb, Megabeth and acc (the latter hasn’t posted to Strava in like a year, as far as I know).

Liz

[eminva]

@Tim Kelley 58009 wrote:

I’ve never tried it, but this might fix the problem: http://strava-tools.raceshape.com/snap/

Interesting! I couldn’t make it work with an “off road” route though.

I created a handful of shorter segments where my data appeared to track the trail very closely and they all seem to have populated as expected. I also think I just handed Pete’s friend he mentioned earlier today a bunch of retroactive QOMs.

I also figured out there are a few C&O segments for which I don’t show up on the leaderboard, I assume for the same reasons identified above. Oh well, it’s not a perfect science.

Thanks again.

Liz

[eminva]

@Tim Kelley 58003 wrote:

Looks like your GPS got off track here:

Shouldnt it follow the water a little closer?

Hmmm . . . I see the problem. I failed to consider that some of my fellow riders would follow the path and not my ELITE route through the woods (same goes for my ride across the Potomac and back the following day).

I’m pretty sure you can get on the leaderboard for a segment retroactively; that appears to have happened for the first of the segments I created — up to the campground — there are activities dating back to 2010.

This isn’t something I care to dig into too much, either, but I thought it would be fun. I suspect GPS reception is not the best out in the boonies, so it might be tough even for a shorter segment to track well across riders.

Thanks, all.

Liz

[eminva]

Is that 14th and L Street you are trying to get to? It looks like 1st (First) to me. Just double checking your destination.

Liz

[eminva]

I’ll be thinking of all of you as I drive to the Cumberland C&O Trailhead with 14 scouts and the various parent escorts. Hopefully I will find the time to make or buy a cup of coffee when I have to be at the church parking lot at 5:15 a.m.

Liz

[eminva]

@consularrider 57461 wrote:

I heard a number of comments both last year and this that people didn’t like riding on busy roads. For me that’s actually one of the attractions of the ride. A group of 20 to 50 riders heading down Pennsylvania Ave/MD 4 early in the morning is quite a thrill. In addition there were (mostly) good shoulders on the other busy roads and I never felt threatened by any of the motorized traffic.

Yes, I think this is a fair point that should be made to anyone thinking about the ride. How comfortable are you riding on busy state highways with 40-50 mph speed limits? Another lesson learned, I would put myself in the category of being comfortable with it and being able to do it safely, but not necessarily wanting to do it for eight straight hours. No knock on anyone, just know thyself.

Another thing: I haven’t spent a lot of time in southern Maryland, but it was more hilly than I imagined. The metric double climbs over 6000 feet.

Good luck in the RAIN, consularrider!

Liz

P.S. to Culimerc: Per the official route (not including unintended detours), it was 25.4 miles from the last rest stop to the finish.

[eminva]

@dcv 57406 wrote:

Sorry won’t fit, it’s a size small.

Haven’t persuaded your wife and son yet?

Liz

[eminva]

There’s something Tim forgot to tell you: he was in the first group that finished to 200 mile distance. Congrats!

Here he is coming into the final rest stop:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]3262[/ATTACH]

Liz

[eminva]

@hozn 57373 wrote:

I loved riding back through southeast DC; it was so incredibly social and people were so friendly. It was different from the few other experiences I’d had in southeast and certainly different from what you’d expect based on nightly news (i.e. murders), and honestly that new perspective was probably the part of the experience I enjoyed the most.

This is great to hear. I love that part of the city and don’t get there often enough; some great hills for cycling. If you haven’t done it yet, you should do the WABA 50 States Ride and visit some more of that area. The residents I encountered were friendly and encouraging for that event, too. That’s in the early fall so it’s not so hot.

Sorry you had so much trouble but glad Doug was there to help. And congrats on gutting it out!

Liz

[Author]

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