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@rcannon100 95223 wrote:

If you have need heard, apparently there is a lot of police enforcement taking place downtown against cyclists: cycling on sidewalks and running stop signs. Several folk have been ticketed. Be careful out there.

Same thing has been going on around King St in Alexandria. At an Alexandria BPAC event last week 2-3 people told me they’ve been ticketed recently in Old Town for slowly rolling through stop signs that had 0 cross traffic or not fully stopping to let pedestrians through on crosswalks. They all admitted fault, but were annoyed that they were getting tickets, and Alexandria police have indicated they won’t be enforcing the 3 ft rule for cars/bikes unless an accident actually occurs.

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@jrenaut 95097 wrote:

Ahh, Freezing Saddles, when the fair-weather clowns clear out of the garage and I can park my bike in the choice spots again even if I don’t arrive until 9:15.

It appears at my work the “fair weather crowd” stops riding Sept 1. We went from 3 racks with 10-15 bikes on each, to 3 racks with 1-2 bikes on each within a 2 week period. It happened to all my other agency buildings too. Racks you couldn’t find a spot on Aug 25 were half empty Sept 3. And it’s not even cold yet!!! I’m wondering if it has to do with kids being in school making it so parent’s can’t ride in anymore. Only explanation I can think of…

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@Supermau 95167 wrote:

Me too. Never had anything stolen but I strip my bike of lights, saddlebag, and pump when I get to work. I never want to say, “I told you so” to myself.

Everyone in my building leaves their helmets, bags, and water bottles (???) unsecured on their bike. I leave just my saddle bag. I’d be angry if someone took the CO2 cartridge and spare tube I keep in there, but it wouldn’t end my world.

I will have to reconsider this next year when my office moves from a place with secure parking in a garage to a place with only outdoor, public racks. I’ll also need to switch the pin in my saddle so it’s no longer quick release. Bleck.

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@lordofthemark 95111 wrote:

Best moment – on the MVT, there was a woman in a wheel chair, going SB, propelling along with what appeared to be ski poles at a pretty good pace. I nodded in salute, and resolved to take rule #5 more seriously.

I saw her going up a hill right outside gravely point and was VERY impressed. She totally out bad-assed everyone on the trail today. I wish I had 1/10th of the upper body strength she has.

@cyclingfool 95120 wrote:

This is also when you start to get a sense for who is still going to riding to work come winter. People like me in shorts and a tee shirt, definitely. People in thin tights and light jackets maybe. Those who are already in heavier coats and fleece ear warmers on, doubtful. (BTW, how do those people not sweat to death? I got sweaty in a short sleeve tee? I’d have lost a gallon in sweat and been drenched from head to toe like a wrestler trying to make weight if I wore that much stuff…)

I was in knee length leggings and a light jacket with a light long sleeved shirt underneath today. First mile my hands and legs were cold, my upper body was perfect. I should have taken this as a warning sign… By the time I got to work I was an overheated sweaty mess up top, and perfect everywhere else. I think I have now determined 55 degrees means t-shirt and light jacket/pullover. My shirt was pretty much soaked when I took it off this morning.

So that you have another reference point for fall clothing/length of riding season: I plan to stop biking when it gets around 40 degrees in the AM. I biked in late March early April last year and found that to be the temp when it goes from “THIS IS TOTALLY AWESOME!!!” to “I want to turn around, go home, and sit by a space heater for an hour”.

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yay Detroit! If they keep the sidewalks and roads on the GM campus plowed, it’ll be useful year round. While in Ann Arbor I rode my bike through the winter, as long as my classes started after 12 (when the sidewalks/roads would be clear). And I didn’t even have winter riding gear, or even a bike that stopped when the brakes got wet.

My office had it’s own private bikeshare for awhile here in DC. We work in a building that’s a 15 min walk away from where the rest of our agency sits, so a former boss bought a cheap bike at a garage sale, locked it in the basement, and let everyone use it when we had to run between buildings for meetings. It was actually really useful. I wish he left it when he moved to a different department .

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This morning’s ride was beautiful. Sunny, no headwind, and everyone on the trail was polite. Also a good temp–cool, but not cold. Everything was PERFECT.

I’m going to have to figure out over the knee or longer pants soon though (once it dips into the 50’s in the AM). I have a few pairs, but they aren’t padded since I just used them with my hybrid. Since I’m guessing I’ll call it a day (or “season”) November or Decemberish, I’m not dying to spend a ton of money on long, padded pants. Maybe I’ll just look like a total dork and put long pants on over my padded shorts one it drops into the mid 50s…

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This morning was my first day back on my bike after a 3 week hiatus. A nasty case of vertigo hit me 3 weeks ago which kept me off the bike for 2 weeks, and then I had to move which took a week (and still isn’t done. ugh).

Not gonna lie–this morning hurt…but was worth it. I just need to sort my new route out. I only moved about 4 blocks in Del Ray, but it looks like Potomac Ave is now the better option to get to the MVT (vs commonwealth). I just hate those switchbacks with a passion…

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@PotomacCyclist 93213 wrote:

The NBC link has been updated with video of the accident/crime scene. No word yet on why the driver veered off the GW Parkway. He/she crossed the MVT, over a grassy area and across a side path of the trail and into the water. Maybe a heart attack? Something else?

I grew up in MI where this is sadly not uncommon since there are lakes and rivers EVERYWHERE. Usually heart attack, stroke, or seizure Occasionally it’s due to drugs/alcohol, but that seems less common from my memory.

The sad part is, even if people see it happen, it can be almost impossible for an untrained person to rescue the individual(s) in the car if there’s a current or the water is deep.

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@cyclingfool 92840 wrote:

The future is here! That’s my station! Hell, that’s practically the view from my bedroom window!!! Hallelujah!

..and ANOTHER! (again, via twitter)
@bikeshare: Doubling down in #DelRay today with a 15 dock station just installed at Mt. Vernon Ave & Kennedy St.! pic.twitter.com/iqs5BxqiqB

CABI is having a busy day in Del Ray today…

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Can you make a roof rack? That’s what we did since there wasn’t one pre-built on the car. We use the following set up:
Thule traverse bars/foot pack (this is an example, ours are so old I don’t know if they even make the same ones anymore. They’re thule though).
Yakima roof rack (with locks)
and
wheel holder (works well, but not perfect. Also doesn’t lock)

The bike racks have worked 8 years now, been driven through mountains, bad storms, and all sorts of other conditions. The set up has worked well for carbon road bikes, aluminum road bikes, mountain bikes with disk brakes and my hybrid.

Bonus: They allow you to attach a snowboard, kayak, or any other adventure-needs.

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@cyclingfool 92824 wrote:

As I was leaving home, a Capital Bikeshare Sprinter (but not one of the white rebalancing ones) pulled up to the location by my apartment where one of the the new Del Ray CaBi stations is supposed to be. Encouraging sign for future progress!

Looks like one of the stations opened today in Del Ray–via twitter: @AlexandriaVAGov: Del Ray are you ready for @bikeshare??!! It is ready for you! Your station at Mt. Vernon & E. Nelson! pic.twitter.com/HeJyCVyIKs

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I think this happens more often that we’d expect. I’ve seen ALOT of cyclists trying to bike on GW Parkway during rush hour.

One of my very experienced cyclist friends was recently telling me about how he “almost got killed” on 395 by Shirlington when he offered to take a less experienced friend out for a ride in the neighborhood. Experienced friend was riding a road bike, with a helmet. The idiot-friend was riding a single speed, without a helmet. I guess the less experienced guy biked onto the highway for a few hundred yards because it was the quickest way to get to where he wanted to go. The experienced one followed, but only to make sure the idiot-friend didn’t actually die (something about not wanting to feel responsible for the death of a guy with 3 young kids).

They are no longer on speaking terms.

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@TwoWheelsDC 92683 wrote:

Thanks to the cool weather, I rode in my casual Friday clothes, which I quite enjoy. It’s nice to be able to walk from the parking garage to my desk and not have to worry about then heading down to the gym to shower and change. And come quittin’ time, I get to just walk straight out to the bike without changing first. The only bad thing is that 80 degrees is getting a bit warm to do 8 hilly-ish miles in jeans, but I rode my shifty bike today so it’s not as much of a problem.

I’m jealous. Anything above 4 miles and I begin to sweat, even on chilly mornings.

This may be partly due to the fact I ALWAYS feel like I’m running late to work, so end up riding as fast as I safely can on my ride in…

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WTF was up with the cyclists on the MVT by the airport this morning?!?!? I have never seen so many unsafe passes within a minute.

There were probably about 5 riders going up the bridge by the airport heading towards gravely point. This bridge includes a couple of curves with really bad sight lines for those who don’t ride it regularly. All of the bikes were about ~1 “cycle-length” behind the other. I came up to the end of this pack at the base of the hill. I think most of us wanted to pass the riders at the front since they were going slow, but recognized the bridge wasn’t a safe place to do this because of the limited sight lines. As I’m starting the hill, a guy passes me. At that moment, a cyclist comes the opposite way, so the passer has to fall back and cut into the line. Except there is no room for him to cut in, so he nearly hits me as he swerves right into my bike. I hit my brakes, curse, and watch as moments later he cuts back out, passes the guy in front of me, and the whole process is repeated since he still can’t see far enough ahead of him to safely pass and cyclists are coming the other direction at a steady rate. Moments later, a tandem bike comes by, and does the same thing. Which is even more terrifying because it’s much larger and going much faster. I hear some angry yelling as they cut back in between the riders at the front of the pack, almost knocking 2 cyclists into the side of the bridge.

On the way down the hill I see this repeated 2-3 more times, all with the people getting passed barely staying on the trail. At one point a cyclist kept passing, even though another cyclist was coming the opposite way and was ~10 feet away. I won’t repeat what the cyclist said as she narrowly avoided getting knocked into the highway by the cyclist who was in the dead center of her lane…all so he could pass another bike that wasn’t even going that slow.

All of this was added onto the fact I nearly got doored on commonwealth ave right as a truck was passing me, and was shoaled at every light on Jefferson Dr by significantly slower cyclists. Bleck. Today was just not a good morning for being on a bike. While on Jefferson Ave I seriously considered turning around, biking home, and going back to bed.

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@cvcalhoun 92444 wrote:

Practice, practice, practice! Just start by allowing lots of extra time. Walk your bike and/or stop to rest when you need to. It’s amazing how much less steep the hills will get after you’ve been biking for a while.

I can’t agree more. On my commute home there used to be 2 hills that killed me. I walked my bike ALOT at the start. But after about 6 weeks of commuting I was able to ride up them without a problem. It just took practice, getting stronger, and also learning how to use my bike’s gears correctly–for example, I used to avoid using the smallest of my 3 chain rings and I also wouldn’t change gears early enough when encountering a steep hill, both of which I needed to master before I could handle steep hills. If you can tackle those issues, and give yourself some time to build up strength, you’ll be up the hill in no time. You’ll probably still be winded (4 months in, I still am at least), but you’ll make it to the top and feel like a champion

Also, my fiancee got me a book, “Every Woman’s Guide to Cycling” when I started biking. It was really useful in teaching me how and when to change gears, basic bike maintenance and developing training plans. I’d recommend it if you’re looking for a good resource.

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