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@Drewdane 147494 wrote:

Dude on the e-assist fat bike (like, obese. Those wheels have to be at least six inches wide): that thing must weigh a ton – wouldn’t it be just as easy to ride a traditional muscle-powered skinny-wheeled bike?

is that on the MVT? I probably see the the same guy every few days and think I’ve been magically transported to a tractor pull.

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Velcro straps for the ankles/calves would be good, otherwise they’re just baggy rain pants. The little booty things could be good except they need to cover the whole shoe, not just the toe, to be effective.
The fold-into-a-bag thing is nice, but not enough to convert me from my current rain pants with rubber bands method.

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All geared up and psyched for a real drenching…and then the bloody sun comes out.. who’s in charge here??

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@bentbike33 146527 wrote:

The right lane of eastbound Maine Ave in front of The Wharf construction site is completely blocked by dumpsters. So, the partial right lane that has served as a de facto bike lane is gone this morning.

Appreciate the heads up. My cyclo-intuition must have been on high alert today since I normally take that route, but decided to join the hordes up 15th and across the mall instead. I imagine it’s getting pretty mucky with the rain too.

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I used this system last winter to report the engineer/designer-challenged E. Monroe Ave speed bumps. They do indeed respond and promptly! I got emails back within 24 hours from 3 departments, including the PD, acknowledging the defect in design, number of complaints received and assurance that it would be resolved as soon as the weather warmed up.
…. still waiting…still watching cars swerve into the bike lane, turning the stretch into an automotive slalom course

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@streetsmarts 144462 wrote:

… Id love to buy a used commuter / hybrid but im new enough not to know how to tell a good one from a bad one.

If you’re in the Alexandria area, check out Velocity on Mt Vernon Ave. They always have lots of used bikes parked out front. They’re good people.
I got a 30 year old Fuji road bike in near mint condition and a clunker commuter for less than you’re looking to spend.

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@rcannon100 144449 wrote:

Yup.

Street parking ~> beater bike.

Nice bike ~> secure parking.

There is a saying the bike thieves should never be underestimated ~ they will steal anything.

Follows along with Rule #12 about how many bikes one should own. :rolleyes:

Replacing those fat nubby mountain bike tires with something more friendly on roads may help make that ride a little easier until you add the nice sleek road bike to your inventory.
The only bike theft I’ve had in 20+ years here was when I left a decent hybrid locked up with a crappy cable lock at a metro station.

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@tnelson 143657 wrote:

Problem is, I want to be able to ride my bike to places on the Pike. I’d probably go much more often if the bike infrastructure were better.

I lived off Barton St for many years and maneuvered the parallel streets and sidewalks fairly effectively even during rush hour. Not the best or fastest option and definitely frustrating, but at least from the Pentagon, uphill to Ft Myers and over to the new Wash Blvd underpass it’s smooth sailing.

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The ever so slightly cooler temps were made even better as I joined arlingtonrider for most of the ride up MVT to the Capitol.
What a great way to start the day!

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@GovernorSilver 143157 wrote:

Oh man, did you stop anywhere to un-bonk? Our team at work was treated to lunch, so I was fueled up for the ride home.

I stopped at my favorite exercise station along Potomac Ave. Trail to work in a couple of sets of pullups, tuck-to-bent arm stands, etc. but that probably wasn’t the wisest decision in that heat, without a 2nd bottle of water or cold liquid of some sort. My stomach felt a bit queasy after that.

I’d say that was more or a blast furnace headwind than a warm headwind, but in any event, I’ve discovered that potato chips are the miracle bonk prevention food- at least for me.
A couple handfuls of some good quality, salted chips and I feel surprisingly strong even on the worst of hot humid days.
I thought that my new potato chip fetish was just something bizarre that worked for me until I read this piece about a Cubs pitcher who was advised to do similar.. http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/39816/jason-hammel-wasnt-kidding-potato-chips-could-save-his-season

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@GovernorSilver 141979 wrote:

I’m the same way. Rain or shine, I wear the same clothes in the summer time when I bike commute – all quick-drying attire, even the aforementioned water shoes, which I picked up for $40 btw.

I do like having a cycling cap under my helmet as the visor greatly reduces the amount of water falling on the wrong side of my glasses, but I also wear it when it’s sunny as this cap wicks a lot of sweat away.

Great idea about the cycling cap. The rain poring into my eyes in the only annoying part and I figure no matter how rain proof my gear, I’ll still get soaked, so I just enjoy the shower..until I get home and have to take another shower and thoroughly wipe down the steel bike..
Newspapers in the shoes overnight works wonders on drying them out.

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@DrP 141120 wrote:

Aside from the wind, which had me barely making headway at one point, the commute was good until I got off the Bluemont trail on Fairfax Dr. Has the world gone crazy or is it just me?

I’m convinced (with absolutely no supporting data) that changes in the weather makes drivers go bonkers. I noticed this trend over the winter when we would get an usually warm, sunny day.
With the lower humidity the past couple days, people’s brains become unglued, resulting in hurried cluelessness. We’ll see if the return of disgusting hot weather returns drivers to their usual a-little-less cluelessness.

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@chris_s 138971 wrote:

Still pissed that every transportation question they asked was about the past and not the future.

“On the regional level, this was going to be connected to other projects,” Roberts said. “[If you go to the] Pearl District in Portland, you will see everything that could have been in Columbia Pike.”
I lived in the Pearl District for 4 years, and Columbia Pike is not and will never be the Pearl District. Completely different demographics, local economics and transportation needs/uses. When my wife and I were deciding where to buy 15 years ago, we really wanted to stay on the CP corrider, but the lack of understanding and coherence from local leaders drove us away.

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@Emm 138834 wrote:

When was this? I was out there around 7:45/8am both today and yesterday and didn’t see any police there at that time. There was the normal empty parked police car that’s there pretty often, but no actual officers around.

I saw 2 people salmon in that area today and no one said a thing to them.

i came thru about 830a today and the officer stopped a cyclist who took the road. Not sure if he got a ticket.

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@viennabiker 138823 wrote:

My impression is a bit different–spring (especially the first couple sunny weekends) are often the worst times every year, since it transforms what had been trails for the most regular riders and joggers into crowded multi-use trails. Some (a minority, but enough to be noticeable) of the former can get impatient or unwilling to share and some (again, a minority, but enough to be noticeable) of the latter can be oblivious (and clueless about how to share). As the spring wears on, a bit of learning takes place. Again, this is only an impression, but I think I’ve noticed it most in the areas that get the most mixed traffic on nice spring days (Capital Crescent in Bethesda; W&OD in Vienna; MVT near DCA). So it may be cyclical. I could be a frog in a boiling pot, but I haven’t noticed any year-to-year deterioration.

Well said.
And days like today when the temperature really starts to head up (or maybe its all the pollen) things get real jiggy. I’d have to say, moving back here after being away 4 years, that most cyclists are more aware and more friendly than a few years ago — which makes the TT wannabes and clueless meanderers, all the more noticeable.

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