[eminva]

I celebrated the day by visiting the pie truck parked on Virginia Avenue today. Somehow I doubt my not quite pi (28 miles and change) round trip commute will make up for the indulgence, but I have to honor the spirit of the day, no? Plus, what cyclist doesn’t love a slice of pie now and then?

Liz

[eminva]

I was wondering if anyone would mention this. Also wondering who, if anyone, would be playing hooky in the middle of the day on Wednesday to go up to Bethesda (for my part, it would very much depend on the pile of work waiting for me after playing hooky on Tuesday. Early indications do not look good).

I got an announcement from the League of American Bicyclists that he would be at the business meeting on Tuesday evening (not sure in what capacity — speaker? participant?). But that wouldn’t necessarily conflict schedule wise, as the TJROW finishes up around 3:30ish?

He doesn’t strike me as the righteous cyclist type, but on the other hand, he has a book to sell . . . why don’t you ask him? I did email him once at the address on his blog and he responded. You could also ask through his publisher, Chronicle Books I think.

Liz

[eminva]

@brendan 16320 wrote:

Related: anyone else often check to see if the car stopped behind you in the right lane (or over into the bike lane) is planning a right turn and decide to move out of the way to let them make a right on red? Anyone ever been honked at for not doing this?

Brendan

Yes to both. I usually get out of the way if it is feasible (e.g., if it wouldn’t interfere with pedestrians and/or the car in the next lane over isn’t already fully encroached into the crosswalk).

[eminva]

Out of idle curiosity, how many miles is this loop?

Thanks.

Liz

[eminva]

@dasgeh 16299 wrote:

I was listening to NPR at work, and a “sponsorship” message came on: “This hour sponsored by the city of Houston, Texas, where the average temperature in March is 73 degrees Fahrenheit”. I laughed.

Yep. They don’t mention the daytime LOWS are in the 80s in the middle of summer, though. Of interest to cyclists, it can be quite windy at times. And it is flat. We all had 10 speeds growing up, though I’m not really sure why.

Liz (from Houston)

[eminva]

P.S. Pete, I cannot believe you are handling all these logistics when you are probably in the final preparations for going to Boston, no? Best wishes to you on your long days of riding!

[eminva]

@jrenaut 16303 wrote:

We have two meetup spots so far:
19th & L NW between 11:15 and 11:30
9th and T NW between 1130 and 1145

Then the plan is to make our way over to the MBT, so we can pick up others along the way if people want.

Right, vvill and I are in this convoy, too.

jrenaut suggested our group would join the MBT at the R Street entrance; we could meet others there if they are coming from the Union Station area.

Liz

[eminva]

What is going on out there? This morning, I was in the final blocks of my commute on L Street, which was remarkably free of cars for some reason, when a car came up right behind me and stood on the horn. He could have easily moved into the completely empty left lane to pass, but instead barely moved to the left and passed so close he was just inches from me.

It was a Range Rover with a very low DC license plate number, which you get by being friends with the mayor (or at least not ticking off the current mayor, if you got the tag under a previous administration). Am highly tempted to take advantage of my good relations with certain people in DC governement to report this jerk. Not that it would do anything . . . but would love for someone to look it up, see who has the tag, and gently tease them about harassing cyclists at the next fundraiser.

You would think the nice weather would make them happy!

Liz

[eminva]

That’s a snack?! Well, I guess you have greater size to spread all that nutrition out over.

Related to another thread going on, am I the only one who can eat or drink anything at any time and not get a stomach ache? Guess so. Although Mr. Kelley seems to be making a bid for the crown with his “snack.”

Liz

[eminva]

This sounds like great fun! Sorry I missed it and hope they do it again next year so I can make it. Congrats to all participants.

Liz

[eminva]

@jrenaut 16151 wrote:

So who is going to buy me a cross bike and watch my kids for a week so I can do this?

You know you can take them along, right?

My husband rode the C&O Canal towpath from Cumberland to DC with a friend in October 2011. They had a great time. We were thinking of doing the entire GAP and C&O with our 11 year old this summer, adjusting our daily mileage totals for his capacity. For a variety of reasons we won’t be able to do that this year, but we hope to do it in the future at some point.

He’s old enough to ride his own bike, although we also considered having him on the back of a tandem. For a younger kid, you would need the trailer or a trailer cycle. Without a doubt it would slow you down and be a very different experience than a solo trip or trip with adults. However, there is a lot along the way that would be fun for kids.

Liz

[eminva]

I’m sorry, what is “SF Metro”? If that is a metro station, I can’t figure out which one.

My bike was stolen from Ballston station a few years ago. Make sure you report it to the police. I only had a partial serial number (when I bought it, the LBS salesman’s handwriting was so poor it was impossible to make out some of the numbers, and I didn’t realize this until, natch, it was too late), which was an obstacle to recovery. Keep calling the police to see if they’ve recovered a bike fitting your description. Eventually they auction off recovered bicycles so you want to have them check their inventory periodically.

Good luck.

Liz

[eminva]

There’s also College Park, right? All of the amenities you would associate with a college town. You can use the trail network to get to work.

Takoma Park has a big farmer’s market every Sunday from 10 to 2.

If you are interested in bike-related volunteer opportunities, check out WABA. There are any number of ways you can get involved and it will provide a ready made group of friends with similar interests.

Liz

[eminva]

Wowwie wow wow, Ann! I have to see this in person — will you be touring Vienna anytime soon?

Sorry I will miss the events tomorrow — home with a sick kid while my husband does extended family obligations. Have fun and report back!

Liz

[eminva]

Thank you very much to my anonymous benefactor! However, I’m not changing my goal below $2500 just in case someone else with a really fat wallet comes along.

By the way, Pete is now less than $250 from his goal — if you haven’t donated yet, help him get over the top!

Liz

[Author]

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