[eminva]

My whole attitude about this intersection has changed since Pete put forth the “Burmese Tiger Trap” at the Marriott driveway image in his post a few weeks back. Now when I pass through there I just think, “look out for tigers!” and I’m smiling until the Key Bridge at least. It hasn’t reduced the number of near misses, but oh well.

I’m still working on the “love and respect all mankind” thing — getting better every day, but still not there.

And Ann, come on across the Key Bridge and ride around DC! We’ve got plenty of disaster and peril here.

Liz

[eminva]

The one bit of advice from the late Mr. Brown I did NOT appreciate:

“Just leave the lock at work, locked to whatever you normally lock your bike to.”

We have those old fashioned bike racks at our office that you have to lift your bike over. The entire top bars are taken up by dusty u-locks belonging to once-every-six-month commuters. It is impossible to find enough space for your bike even shoving them to the side. I’d say leave it in your office and run up to get it if you only ride in twice per year.

I know, preaching to the choir again — sorry for my rant.

Liz

[eminva]

Yes, sadly I know from experience that a U-lock is not impervious to a determined thief. After my unfortunate incident, I was told that one should get the smallest u-lock that will fit around the frame and whatever you are locking it to so there is very little room to slip any cutting implement in.

My backup advice is to just be careful where you park your bike and for how long you leave it unattended (even with a lock).

Liz

[eminva]

Thanks very much; these are great! I think we need a month of Sundays, though. Thanks again.

Liz

[eminva]

I stopped there, too! They were doing a brisk business between cyclists and joggers when I passed through.

Liz

[eminva]

Me too! Hope all goes well training for the event and that you raise lots of money.

Liz

[eminva]

Done! Best wishes with your training and hope the event goes well!

Liz

[eminva]

Last year, I did the 29 mile version of the Back Roads Century. My one and only cycling event so far. I was a little worried about the hills (the only reason I didn’t do a longer distance). Most of it was okay, and I felt like I would have been fine with a longer distance, but I remember one tough hill. Otherwise it was fun and scenic. You should be well prepared and if the weather is nice, have a great day.

And the food! I was coming from a running background so I was really astonished that people stopped and ate in the middle of the event! And real food, not just orange wedges and gatorade.

I might do it this year, but not the full 100. It’s right after I return from vacation and experience tells me I might need a couple of weeks to recover from the overeating and lack of exercise.

Liz

[eminva]

Did I remember correctly that you once said you liked REI (one of my favorite places,too)? Because that would be another possibliity. I’m sure they staff up in the warm months and then the Christmas rush, which would suit your time frame.

The danger would be spending the whole paycheck with the employee discount (or at least it would be for me).

Liz

[eminva]

Well, I’ll ignore your stronger assertions, but just to clarify one point: if you are talking about most of the trails in our area, they are not bike trails, they are mixed use trails. Big difference.

Liz

[eminva]

Congratulations, Ann! What a great story! Thank you for all your great contributions. I am envious of all your group rides; I have never done that as I am a pretty one dimensional commuter cyclist.

Would join you tomorrow, but this week is making me bonk. If you do it again in the fall or sometime with cooler weather, I would love to join you. I have been to Leesburg, but not Purcellville so that is on the to do list.

So, when are you going to do the century? 😮

[eminva]

@brendan 5474 wrote:

Unfortunately, pedestrians treat MUTs like sidewalks, and it’ll be a cold day in hell before that ever changes. Bell + called pass seems the safest thing passing both pedestrians and cyclists. Runners w/ headphones are generally experienced enough to check before turning but if they don’t, hey, at least *you tried to warn them*.

Also: it’s important to note that most experienced cyclists will slow down when coming up on another cyclist who is poised to pass a 3rd party. Sometimes they don’t and you end up with a double pass or pass-crash. Less likely to happen if the rear-most cyclist is calling passes, especially if there’s a great difference in cyclist speed.

Brendan

Agree 100% with Brendan. And when kids or dogs are involved, any expectation of predictability goes out the window. I know the dog can’t and the kid might not heed the warning, but at least the responsible adult has fair warning.

Liz

[eminva]

I find Penn Ave generally extremely frustrating with the timing of lights. I am only on it in the morning, from M to L, and I can never get the timing of the lights right at the intersections of 25th and 26th. By that point I am in the left center lane so I can turn on L, and it’s uphill to boot. I doubt it is any easier for drivers — sometimes I think they have a computer program that randomly times the lights to keep us all off balance.

By the way, I wander up to N Street on the westbound in the afternoon. Sometimes it is quite fast, other times, not so good, but it gives the illusion of movement.

Liz

[eminva]

@CCrew 5376 wrote:

If you do the WABA class tomorrow are you riding? I’m debating doing it if only to realize I’m doing it all wrong

Oh dear — here I was thinking that I was a little beyond this class, and yet, you ride . . . what did you say, 1200 miles a month? This is triple my mileage. If you think you might be doing it wrong, what must it say about me and the rest of us?

In all seriousness, I have heard good things about the class, but I have had a hectic few days and though I will be on the bike tomorrow, thought I might head home and chill right after work. But I think you are downtown so maybe I could check them out sometime (not 2:30 a.m.).

Liz

[eminva]

I am just trying to imagine what these would be like. Do any local bike shops sell them? Could they demo them one evening when it starts to get dark early?

I often wish the light I have were brighter, especially west of Gallows Road, but I am reluctant to increase the wattage since I have already gotten complaints. And if I added a helmet light, I’m not sure I’m coordinated enough to shut off the helmet light and redirect the handlebar light at once in the face of oncoming traffic. Also, the beginning part of my commute is on the streets of DC which has a different set of issues (visibility).

Thanks.

Liz

[Author]

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