[eminva]

By the way, it sounds like Clovis is going to have a sad face when he sees all the commuter junk on my proud road bike: rack, kickstand, me, etc.

Liz

[eminva]

Glad to hear you are on a bike that fits and that you are happy and comfortable, but sorry for the expense and trouble that preceeded it.

It is with some trepidation that I face an appointment with Clovis tomorrow afternoon. My husband bought his last bike there and got a fitting as part of the process so he has been encouraging me to get one. It has been 3 1/2 years since I bought my bike and there have been enough changes in my riding and circumstances that it seemed like a good idea. However, I would be devastated if the diagnosis is that my frame is the wrong size. So don’t sell that 47 yet, K.

Why can’t the sales staffs at various bike shops learn some of this mojo? Seems like a lot of folks are making expensive mistakes . . .

Liz

[eminva]

I have had quite an odyssey trying to find a portaging system that works and stands the test of time. When I first started commuting, I got the low end panniers on the wall at the bike shop. Those were fine until my first and only dooring incident — which happened at about 5 mph, so I was okay, but one of the panniers flew off and got a busted bungee. After that they would fly off at any bump in the road and one time one of them flew off on a busy stretch of 14th Street in Columbia Heights, where it was repeatedly run over in rush hour traffic until I could retrieve it during a brief gap in traffic. The construction workers working on the Target store there got their day’s entertainment. The hooks that held it to the rack were crushed and so that was the end of that.

After we moved to VA, I was doing a mixed modal commute for a while so I needed something with a strap so I could carry it on the metro. I bought one set of panniers that were all one piece. That proved too cumbersome to carry, so I abandoned that.

Now, I have this:

@SilverSpring 20222 wrote:

Pannier/bag combination. I’ve got this (http://www.amazon.com/Topeak-MTX-Trunk-Bag-DX/dp/B000FIAU0C/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1337697538&sr=8-9) or something like it from Topeak and I’ve been quite happy the past three years. The middle part holds lots of clothes and the zip-down panniers hold break-down gear and office junk (alternately, it can hold an entire St. Patrick’s Day dinner and four bottles of wine–just sayin’). Best of all, a strap makes the whole kit and kaboodle easy to carry when I get to my destination.

I try to discipline myself to only fill up the main compartment, and use the panniers only when I need to carry my laptop to/from work or am grocery shopping on the way home. My husband also used this bag on his C&O canal towpath trip. The stitching is starting to fall apart though, and it’s only been two or three years.

I got a Chrome bag last year — the smallest size for my small back. I use it often but not for full time commuting. I am a little worried about what would happen to my back/neck/shoulders if I started carrying a bunch of weight around, but I should try it one of these days. However, not summer.

This is just one area where I haven’t found a perfect solution for my commuting needs.

Liz

[eminva]

@brendan 20180 wrote:

I’ve never quite understood the appeal of canisters. If you manage to not get it right the first time (need to patch twice, etc.), you’re SOL. Or you brought two canisters…which is starting to get into the weight class of a pump…

Brendan

I’m a wimp so using a frame pump, I probably wouldn’t get enough air in there to ride safely to the next bike shop. So I was carrying around a canister and a spare tube, hoping to avoid the downsides you suggest. Through this forum, I learned about the Topeak Morph pump, which you can place on the ground for leverage, so now I have one of those.

Liz

[eminva]

Hey, I can do it!

Was coming back from Purcellville on Saturday, got bored, and decided to practice. I continued this afternoon on the commute home (the rain had stopped by the time I left work) and lo and behold, I could do it! So, that was me sitting up with the silly grin on all the straightaways I could find.

Thanks for all the tips.

Liz

[eminva]

I would add that I really appreciated all the bike shop mechanical staff being present at the pit stops. Was giving my bike a spa treatment on Saturday morning and realized there was a little issue that I could have used some help with, if only I’d known on Friday.

@Tim Kelley 20128 wrote:

Oh yes–we’re going big time in 2013!

What could be bigger than vuvuzelas? Thank goodness the kid went camping with the scouts, so there was a 24 hour period when I didn’t have to hear that thing this weekend . . .

Liz

[eminva]

I was coming home just as the afternoon pit stops were closing up — got some socks, thanks Tri360! — and just before I got to the Falls Church pit stop, I observed a cyclist being detained by the infamous cop-in-the-bushes. The cop was asking for ID just as I passed. I have no idea of the particulars, but I assume he rolled the stop sign at the intersection.

Seriously?! On Bike to Work Day? You can’t leave it for one day? Talk about a bummer of a way to end the day for that poor guy.

When I passed through the Falls Church stop during the morning commute, they asked cyclists to fill out surveys. I included Mark Blacknell’s suggestion that the stop signs be reversed (stop for cars; through for trail users) at those intersections where cross street volume is less than trail volume.

Liz

[eminva]

@kelinva 20028 wrote:

If it’s not too much trouble, thanks! That way eminva can have the last 2/3 of her name back

Ha! I’m not proprietary about it, but I do like your future moniker a whole lot!

Liz

[eminva]

@vvill 19980 wrote:

There were 3 PETA (I think?) girls at Reagan wearing very little with something like this written on them… don’t eat meat eat me 😮

Can you imagine the intern orientation there? “Congratulations! You are fetching enough to wear our lettuce bikini at promotional events!” I think I’d decamp to the American Bankers Association or something.

Liz

[eminva]

@GuyContinental 19753 wrote:

Kids. Are. Tough.

@vvill 19773 wrote:

I’d be happy to do some mountain biking but due to time constraints, commuting is my easiest way to get miles/cycling in.

So, basically, some of us are former recreational cyclists or would be recreational cyclists, but because of parental and other duties, have resorted to bike commuting to keep from turning into middle aged couch potatoes. :rolleyes:

[eminva]

Awesome progressive party this morning! Got a desk top covered with swag and enough breakfasts for a first rate stomache ache. Should have let discretion be the better part of valor and limited myself to the McDonalds fruit parfait at Dunn Loring.

Acc giving out t-shirts at Ballston:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1070[/ATTACH]

FABB at the Vienna pitstop (me on the left there)

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1071[/ATTACH]

RESTONTODC at Vienna pitstop:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1072[/ATTACH]

Looking forward to the return trip this afternoon.

[eminva]

@Lt. Dan 19938 wrote:

lol… Dress code? full mountain bike gear(including shoes w/pedals swapped over) on the road bike!!! I looked confused…..

When you’ve been doing this a while you will see that regular commuters deviate from orthodoxy for practical reasons. Sounds like you made some wise choices the first time and might avoid the rookie mistakes that some of us went through.

Liz

[eminva]

@5555624 19798 wrote:

Which way? For a while, post-9/11 (and after the trail had been rebuilt), the route followed the on-ramp from Columbia Pike to Washington Boulevard. Although not paved well, it was paved. Roughly once the 9/11 Memorial opened, they tore that up stretch up and the trail continues through he bollards and by the memorial. (They tore it up one evening, after 4:00 p.m., because it was gone at 2:30 a.m. the next morning.) Some cyclists still use the dirt route along the ramp and some simply ride on the ramp and into traffic.

I followed the other cyclist on the ramp, but there was no traffic on it at the time.

@KLizotte 19897 wrote:

I generally avoid Columbia Pike like the plague but when I do have to go in that direction, I skip Columbia Pike up to the Air Force Memorial by taking S Southgate Road instead – it takes you up the same hill on the other side of the Navy Annex. It’s still a long hill but there is little traffic. I take a left at Ft Myers (they don’t let cyclists through at this gate) on to the road that takes you by the Sheraton. Once you are at the intersection of the Sheraton and Columbia Pike you either have to suffer the indignities of the sidewalk heading west (narrow and in poor shape) or risk getting squashed by a car or bus along the Pike. Whether I take street or sidewalk depends a lot on time of day and which bike I’m riding. I really hope the County is able to make this stretch more bike friendly. I know plans are in the works and I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Google Maps did route me on S. Southgate Road; I turned on S. Ode Street per the directions above. Good to know the county may be making changes in the future.

Liz

[eminva]

Depends — unless you work south of the Mall (in which case you may want to take the W&OD all the way, then MVT to 14th Street Bridge), the W&OD and Custis would be the way to go.

Yes, LOTS of people will be going that route on Friday. Where exactly in DC do you want to end up? What time?

As a side note, I am very encouraged to see all the messages from commuters in outer suburbs, especially those with commutes to other suburbs. It is fantastic to see this response. Looking forward to a great day tomorrow.

Liz

[eminva]

Thank you again! I found my way fairly easily, with a little help from a cyclist who showed me where to go when the paved trail kind of ends near the Pentagon. Man, that trail must be interesting in winter evenings with the headlights coming straight at you. Still, it worked well for getting from Point A to Point B. I missed the little girl, sadly.

What do cyclists do on that early stretch of Columbia Pike? I took the lane, but it is kind of a long climb and the road is in poor condition, with cars raring to go fast. I saw another cyclist on the sidewalk.

By the way, the movie was excellent. If you get a chance, do see it. Nice to see Skreamingquadz and of course, Chris Eatough. I got a preview of the Bike to Work Day giveaway this year. My friend won a Cannondale bike frame in the raffle!

Thanks.

Liz

[Author]

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