[GovernorSilver]

@cvcalhoun 160641 wrote:

And the thing is, if he gives me a ticket (no matter how unjustified), I have to take off from work to contest it.

Could you sue him for lost time from work? Just curious.

[GovernorSilver]

We were just talking about salmons in bike lanes. Today was the day for my first encounter with one – on Braddock St. by the metro station.

I was of course prepared for this day, with my jousting lance. My opponent was on a CaBi, sneering at me to bring it on, as she rolled towards me. I struck her solidly with the lance and…

Ok, just kidding about jousting part.

[GovernorSilver]

@EasyRider 160257 wrote:

I just immediately slow down to a crawl when I notice a drafter. Saves me from saying something to them I’ll regret, and from being rear-ended by them if I have to suddenly stop.

I do the same thing.

Especially when riding my personal CaBi – ain’t dropping nobody on that thing.

I’ll try to keep upcoming line of sight issues and stuff in mind of course.

[GovernorSilver]

@cvcalhoun 159982 wrote:

Who has old newspapers around? I tried stuffing the URL of the Washington Post into my shoes, but it didn’t work.

Good one.

I’d just head over to a Metro station, where there’s usually some kind of newspaper being dispensed for free – Post Express, City Paper, etc.

[GovernorSilver]

@bobco85 159952 wrote:

Easy solution: dryer sheets. I put them into my bike shoes (Keen sandals) after arriving at work. They help to dry out the sweat and deodorize my sandals. For wet shoes, stuff them with old newspapers and a few dryer sheets. My desk smells mountain fresh instead of like a gym locker because of this

Nice!

I’ve been getting away with using the same pair of shoes for cyclo-commuting and wearing around the office; just changing between my quick-dry/moisture wicking cycling socks and a pair of regular socks.

About a month or two ago though I was caught in a morning downpour. My rain shoes are Adidas Climacool Boat Lace Water Shoes, with drain holes. They stayed wet a little longer than usual, and it was awkward putting on the office socks and letting them dry with the shoes by my body heat. So next time there’s a chance I might get soaked in the morning, I’ll probably just bring a 2nd pair of shoes. Summer rain in the evening is less of a bother.

The newspaper method worked great for my dry weather cycling shoes (Jameson Eco skate shoes), after I got caught in an evening downpour But I like the idea of adding dryer sheets to the mix.

[GovernorSilver]

Oh yeah, the jousting pic was a joke, in response to the post advising us to just be happy that the crazy/high salmon was on a bike and not in a car. 😎

[GovernorSilver]

@scoot 159937 wrote:

Not sure if you’re being serious here, but I see bike-lane salmons all the time. The worst location for this has got to be the westernmost part of the M Street PBL, from about 22nd to Rock Creek. When I go through there (usually late evening), I see a bicycle heading east in the cycletrack at least 1 out of every 10 rides. Between that, peds randomly stepping off sidewalks, the construction forcing peds into the PBL, and the sparse late traffic on a multi-lane street, I’ve stopped using that bike lane entirely. (Unless I happen to go through in rush hour congestion; in that case I will certainly use it. Otherwise it’s so much easier to just ride down the middle of the street.)

Other spots I recall having at least one such encounter: L St near Vermont/14th, R St near Dupont, Walter Reed between 5th and 9th, S Joyce near Pentagon City, N Lynn in Rosslyn, Beulah between Franconia and Telegraph.

Interesting: one thing those locations all seem to have in common is that they’re fairly flat. On the other hand, I ride Wilson/Clarendon very often between Rosslyn and Clarendon, and I have never seen a salmon bicycle on either of them. Several cars though…

Yeah, that was a serious question – asked out of simple curiosity, not intended to troll.

My old route was Alexandria->MVT->14 St. Bridge->15th to Nat. Mall->Louisiana Ave->N. Capitol St. I haven’t ridden much on the bike lanes you mention.

The only salmon I’ve encountered of late is somebody trying to ride up Jamison where it’s temporarily a one-way, but that’s a sharrow, not a bike lane.

[GovernorSilver]

Nah I’ll just lob the Holy Grenade of Antioch at him.

Or a rubber chicken.

[GovernorSilver]

I was wondering if anybody ever rides the wrong way on a bike lane.

It would be a test of my patience for sure if encountered another cyclist barreling head on towards me in a bike lane. Might need to start carrying another “tool” if this becomes a widespread “thing”

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[GovernorSilver]

@GovernorSilver 159851 wrote:

Ride began pleasantly enough.

About the time I made my first left turn, I heard something snap as I pedaled, and then make a noise in time with my front wheel. Didn’t appear to be a brake or shifter cable but since I was so close to home, I couldn’t resist the temptation to just ride back home and catch the Metro.

The frame attachments securing my brake cable had been coming off one by one, the rear light (dyno hub-powered) no longer works, the brakes squeak intermittently, nd the tires are getting closer to bald, but not quite there yet. So I guess its time to bring the bike in to my neighborhood Spokes Etc. and have it looked at. I’ll probably have them replace the tires w/ Specialized Crossroads. Would have gone for Schwalbe Marathons but the Crossroads appears to be in stock and I want to be back in the saddle for Bike to Work Week. The stock tires are 1.75 – the Crossroads is 1.9 – hoping it’ll fit w/ the current fenders.

Spokes Etc. re-secured the brake cable, reconnected the tail light so it works again, and figured out the noise was caused by a pannier strap caught in the wheel (and untangled it); and advised to stick with the stock tires until autumn.

All this at no charge.

[GovernorSilver]

Ride began pleasantly enough.

About the time I made my first left turn, I heard something snap as I pedaled, and then make a noise in time with my front wheel. Didn’t appear to be a brake or shifter cable but since I was so close to home, I couldn’t resist the temptation to just ride back home and catch the Metro.

The frame attachments securing my brake cable had been coming off one by one, the rear light (dyno hub-powered) no longer works, the brakes squeak intermittently, nd the tires are getting closer to bald, but not quite there yet. So I guess its time to bring the bike in to my neighborhood Spokes Etc. and have it looked at. I’ll probably have them replace the tires w/ Specialized Crossroads. Would have gone for Schwalbe Marathons but the Crossroads appears to be in stock and I want to be back in the saddle for Bike to Work Week. The stock tires are 1.75 – the Crossroads is 1.9 – hoping it’ll fit w/ the current fenders.

[GovernorSilver]

Stopped on Potomac Yard Trail at the pullup bar/parallettes station and took off my helmet, placing it on the bike as usual.

This time the helmet fell to the ground. I somehow managed to step on the plastic band used to adjust the fit on the head, and snapped it.

Thank goodness for Amazon Prime’s same day delivery. The replacement helmet was the cheapest MIPS I could find – a Bell something.

[GovernorSilver]

@bobco85 159493 wrote:

Seconded on the avoidance of the MVT between 14th St Bridge and Four Mile Run, except I prefer to use the following route: Columbia Island -> LBJ Grove -> Boundary Channel Dr -> Connector Rd -> Eads St (I love the protected bike lane) -> Glebe Rd (only 1 block) -> Route 1 sidewalk (half a block) -> 4MR as shown here: https://goo.gl/maps/pNkf1nN8zkm

You can also go the Boundary Channel Dr -> Long Bridge Dr -> Crystal Dr route, but I find the southbound Crystal Dr bike lane to be awful (though not as bad as the MVT; northbound Crystal Dr bike lane is just fine), so I usually avoid it except on the weekends. For reference, that route is here: https://goo.gl/maps/JcsNvxEo75H2

Ooh, I didn’t know about “Connector Rd”. Gotta try it sometime, though I no longer commute to DC.

As for the 2nd route, the answer is “Behind The Buildings”. The disadvantage is Crystal Dr. turning into a 1-way northbound, but I sneak into the bus lane to get around that.

[GovernorSilver]

@hozn 159108 wrote:

Do you get a lot of punctures? I haven’t flatted my G-One tires (tubeless). If you ride over a lot of glass etc. on a regular basis then the tubeless probably won’t be enough to keep you from having to do any trail-side maintenance..

I do ride on quite a bit of debris. I encounter glass shards on the Eisenhower-Huntington pedestrian bridge just about every other day. I’ve been lucky to have avoided a flat for this much time on the Xplors.

I haven’t gone tubeless yet. The G-One Allround is an intriguing option. I heard that the Marathons can be hard to lift out of a rim, even with good tire levers. Do all Schwalbe tires come with reflective lines?

[GovernorSilver]

@hozn 159104 wrote:

Edit: I haven’t ridden Celement Xplor tires, but the Schwalbe G-One Allround are phenomenal tires. (Not sure what you mean by tire liner? There is puncture protection on the G-One sure. Plus, tubeless …) . Yes, you can put a 2.0 tire on the 26″ wheel without needing a new rim.

I’ve enjoyed commuting on the Xplor and I’m sure they contributed to the plush ride I had on the C&O Gap Trail. I’m leaning towards the Schwalbe Marathon line for more puncture-resistant replacement – possibly the Marathon Tour, Mondial, or GT 365.

I’ve been told in “how to fix your flat” classes that installing a tire liner can improve puncture resistance without getting a whole new tire. One of these, for example:
https://www.rei.com/c/bike-tire-liners?r=c&origin=web&ir=category%3Abike-tire-liners&page=1

My closest LBS sells Mr. Tuffy tire liners but the reviews here weren’t exactly stellar.

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