[Emm]

My morning commute was (blessedly) flat tire free. I snapped the head of my presta valve in half while inflating my back tire this AM, and was a little paranoid it would let air out on my ride over. It didn’t look like it was, so I rode in since it is soooo nice out today. My tire still seemed fully inflated when I got to work, so that’s a good sign.

Now I get to spend my lunch at Capitol Hill Bikes or City Bikes getting the tube replaced since I don’t trust myself with the IGH quite yet…Luckily the weather is perfect for a lunch ride!

[Emm]

Be careful commuting home tonight everyone…

From the CWG:

Timing: Mid-afternoon into evening, and then another round possible later tonight.

Location: The southern, warmer portion of the D.C. region has a higher chance of seeing thunderstorms that meet severe criteria than the immediate D.C. area and north, but all areas have the chance to at least hear some thunder.

Impacts: The threat in these storms will be mainly strong winds, though widespread damage from wind is not expected. Some of the storms could produce small hail. There’s also a small chance that a weak, short-lived tornado could develop, should conditions ripen further.

[Emm]

@komorebi 112962 wrote:

Emm, have you tried using the call button on the other post at the northwest corner (i.e., the post that’s closer to Glebe Road, not the post that’s closer to Potomac Avenue)? I’m pretty sure that the call button closer to Glebe Road is the one that you’re supposed to use if you’re trying to cross Potomac Avenue. I used it successfully just an hour or so ago, and it’s been working consistently every time that I’ve been through there in the last month.

I agree with you that it’s extremely annoying to have a post smack dab in the middle of the turn area, though. It bothers me every time I go through there.

Hmm. I will try this tonight. That would be a pretty odd place for the correct call box–I generally assume that unless there are arrows stating otherwise, the call box closest to the road I am trying to cross is the correct one.

[Emm]

@lordofthemark 112945 wrote:

This? https://www.google.com/maps/place/Potomac+Ave,+Alexandria,+VA+22307/@38.832642,-77.047659,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sutLPrrRLusNW9nIyDHVx2g!2e0!4m2!3m1!1s0x89b7b1cd317bed43:0xf815fe931835e596

Across the street from that–google maps doesn’t show it clearly, but only 1 person can go by it at once–ped, bike, or dog, so it doesn’t allow 2 way traffic which is problematic for a busy trail. They also have a large construction sign there currently which takes up additional trail space and blocks your view of oncoming traffic (which you need to see to cross the trail since the walk sign is broken…). Is it as bad as the ones you list? Not really, but when mixed with the fact the call box has malfunctioned since sometime last year, it’s a real annoyance for me every single day.

[Emm]

OHHH somewhere for me to gripe! My favorite

Potomac Ave in Alexandria–at the intersection of Glebe road where you have to cross the street to stay on the trail. WHY is there a light post in the middle of the north west side of the trail? It makes turning at any speed terrifying–it creates a VERY tight turn. And just to add salt to the wound, on the north west side the call button for the walk signal is broken. I have now tried it almost every day for a month and it has NEVER worked. The call button on the east side works fine though, so I refuse to believe this is a user error.

Griping about this actually did help though–I just submitted a service request to Alexandria about the walk signal

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@dasgeh 112785 wrote:

Would this route help you? As of this past winter, this route wasn’t entirely plowed, but all but about 1/2 mile of it was. On the theme of baby steps, if we could get NPS to consistently plow their parts of this route, would you be able to bike to work?

I could make it work. It’s an extra 1.5 miles on top of my normal commute, but doable as long as it’s not too far below freezing…

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@dbb 112769 wrote:

Here was the email I sent to the NPS on March 19. It went to the NPS on both sides of the river as well as to the regional director.

[ATTACH]8231[/ATTACH]

It suggests that by reallocating resources from plowing recreational area to transportation, we might get there at no additional cost. The graph shows the impact of the snow at the trail counter on the 14th Street Bridge.

So far, I’ve received no response.

Very good email, I like the use of statistics.

If they actually start plowing the MVT, I will lose my main reason for not participating in freezing saddles. The MVT is 4 of my 8 mile commute from Alexandria to DC, and I have not found a reliable way around it that doesn’t add a lot of length to my ride (something I’d prefer not to do in freezing temperatures).

[Emm]

I noticed the same thing last year when I used this route, it was also true at the crossings on the DC side of the bridge. I just chalked it up to people being more cranky in the evening. The main risk I noticed is when cars try to swerve around the stopped cars and almost hit you. Never happened to me, but I did see it occur to a few joggers.

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@Greenbelt 112405 wrote:

The geese will go back to their natural migratory habitat hopefully: golf courses.

Or the side of the MVT where they will stare me down with their evil beady little eyes until one of us finally moves off the trail (usually me…)

My dog would like to volunteer for this job. He has no real experience, but he did once try to swim into the middle of a lake in Michigan in an effort to catch a goose, so he clearly has initiative, drive, and a willingness to learn to the art of goose-harassing.

[Emm]

@dasgeh 112285 wrote:

Before you think the grass is greener, it’s not necessarily a good thing for the budget when both adults in the family support bike purchases…

Agreed, because then you find yourself with $2500 worth of new bikes 5 months before your wedding, plus another $400 in tune up costs for your existing 3 bikes since you both decided you need a new commuter (um, I swear, it’s all to get in shape for the wedding… really…).

I’m sure the wedding guests won’t mind sitting on the floor. Chairs at wedding receptions cost money…money that got spent on bikes…

[Emm]

@jrenaut 112275 wrote:

This is pretty common for a new bike – new cables need to stretch a bit then get readjusted. Most shops will tell you to come back in a month for a first tune-up after you’ve broken the cables in.

That said, it could still be that Raleigh puts crappy cables on that bike. If that’s the case, tthhhhppfffttt to Raleigh.

Good to know. Since its an IGH it’s impossible for me to actually see what is going on…But I can sure feel it! I’ll bring it to the shop this or next weekend, depending on how it handles in tomorrow’s rain.

[Emm]

Today was my first commute on the road bike (aka first day I didn’t have a ton of stuff to haul to and from work). Overall great commute, but I realized it’s not that my new commuter bike is slow–it’s that I am slow. Switching from the commuter to road bike only saved me 2 minutes of time, which can partly be explained by not have 20 lbs worth of work stuff on my bike, and the fact I timed a few lights perfectly. Hopefully within a few weeks I’ll be faster.

On a less positive note, my new commuter (Raleigh Cadent i11) had some gear issues on last night’s commute. I’m not quite sure if it’s slipping gears, or what. The bike jerked at a few points, as if I had attempted to switch gears under load (my hands were nowhere near the shifters though). When I bought the bike I saw a review or two that mentioned this issue, but they all said switching the cable connected to the IGH for a higher quality one fixed the problem. The shop told me if the bike did in fact have this issue, they’d fix it under warranty, so I’m hoping they keep their word…

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@consularrider 111540 wrote:

Tuesdays are still open.

I can do Tuesdays. I would do ANY day for Sugar Shack donuts…

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@chris_s 111504 wrote:

Streetview shows 2 hoop racks within 15 or 20 feet of the front door. I’m hoping they’re still there.

Good to know! I walked right by there and must have missed them. Maybe we should have a donuts and coffee club sometime there soon. It’s pretty amazing.

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@chris_s 111492 wrote:

This seems worthy of celebrating with a trip to Sugar Shack donuts.

I couldn’t find bike parking by sugar shack a few weeks ago when I was there…but I also didn’t look close. If there is bike parking there, you’ll be able to find me there most Saturday mornings

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