[GovernorSilver]

I forgot to mention that I was passed by a guy on an electric bike on Jefferson in the Mall. Not sure if he was humming/singing to tease the rest of us about how much less effort he was putting into pedaling.

He joined a pack of cyclists a bit ahead of me. They were slowing down a pickup truck that ended up turning right on 4th. I couldn’t help but smile at that.

[GovernorSilver]

Man, what a beautiful morning for a commute ride!

Sorry, TerpFan.

[GovernorSilver]

I average about 10 mph (except on that roller coaster ride down 15th St/Raoul Wallenberger to Maine/Ohio then E. Basin), so I’ll probably be there 6:30 or later.

Looking forward to meeting everyone!

[GovernorSilver]

@Tim Kelley 120081 wrote:

Steve–did you take note of the errant bollard on the ride yesterday?

You mean they can MOVE? 😮

[GovernorSilver]

There was a community meeting in NOMA to discuss proposed improvements to the MBT. NOMA BID at least seems to be serious about the improvements – I think they are the ones who spent the money to not only add the bike lane to First St. NE – M St, but spend even more to make it a curb-protected bike lane.

http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/27209/the-met-branch-trail-could-get-brighter-safer-and-easier-to-get-to/

MBT is quite isolated in stretches, which contributes to the crime problem. Among the solutions to this problem are proposals to open up shops and stuff like that along the trail.

WashCycle has some nice summaries of proposed improvements here:

http://www.thewashcycle.com/2015/06/metropolitan-branch-trail-20-new-trail-connections.html

http://www.thewashcycle.com/2015/06/monroe-street-at-monroe-street-they-propose-improving-the-connection-to-the-east-side-of-the-tracks-9th-street-north-of-m.html

http://www.thewashcycle.com/2015/07/metropolitan-branch-trail-20-neighborhood-enhancements.html

[GovernorSilver]

@CaseyKane50 120046 wrote:

Alexandria will be repaving a portion of the Mount Vernon Trail from First Street to Pendleton Street this week (weather permitting).

[ATTACH=CONFIG]9076[/ATTACH]

Thanks for the heads up. Royal St. it is for me then, on my next commute ride.

I only use Holmes Run Trail for fun rides but it’s nice to see it’s getting work too.

https://alexandriava.gov/localmotion/

[GovernorSilver]

This looks cool too – a tail light that doubles as a camera – somebody claims the rear-facing video evidence helped his case vs. a motorist after an incident.

https://cycliq.com/

[GovernorSilver]

Speaking of Strava, it cracks me up when it describes one segment (“Pendleton St Climb”) of my morning route up Union St. (Old Town Alexandria) as a Category 4 Climb.

I actually use Cyclemeter GPS to record my rides – mainly to see how many calories I burned. I opened a Strava account just to export the Cyclemeter data to it, so I can look at stats like elevation gain and where I hit my top speeds. I may consider other websites for uploading Cyclemeter data. Strava has its own bugs, just like MapMyRide – eg. marking that King St. to Queen St. segment – which is pretty flat – as a Cat 4 Climb and not showing the calories burned, which is more irritating.

[GovernorSilver]

These were also recommended to me as less expensive alternatives than the GoPro:

Drift Stealth 2 ($160-ish)
http://www.techmoan.com/blog/2015/5/24/drift-stealth-2-smaller-is-better.html

Replay Prime X ($299):
http://www.replayxd.com/product/prime-x/

[GovernorSilver]

I only commute 1-2 times a week, depending on the weather. I tend to wuss out at the slightest chance of rainfall. I’m following another exercise program 3x a week.

My hat’s off to those who commute 5x a week.

[GovernorSilver]

@Oldtowner 119833 wrote:

You: Woman in Black Audi behind me on Union Street in Alexandria this morning.

Me: Following slow pick-up truck (15 mph) and stopping behind him at every stop.

You: Honking furiously at me and pulling up parallel to me on my left and trying to pass me, then riding next to me (in the opposite lane).

Lady, seriously? I can’t go any faster than that truck and neither can you.

Reminds me of this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFM5QiAd3QA

After I watched that, i started setting up my iPhone so that the Camera app is the first one that is active when I wake it up. If that were me, crazy lady would soon be recorded to video.

[GovernorSilver]

@Emm 119814 wrote:

I can vouch for everything being safe until you get to Diagonal–Rootchopper showed me the way last happy hour. Valley is hilly, but totally doable. The hills are moreso long, but not super steep. Just make sure your bike has good brakes for the steep downhill on Braddock right before Russel.

Once you hit diagonal it might be great, I have no idea. I’ve just never taken it.

Thanks! I’ve tried Diagonal once so far, including the tunnel under Duke St. to Dulany. I walked it after reading reports about security guards yelling at cyclists to dismount, but it was ok.

Nice to know I have the option of hopping onto the Metro at Braddock if the climb up Valley wipes me out.

[GovernorSilver]

As it turns out, I got home with nothing more than some raindrops here and there falling on me.

The sidewalk along 15th St looked like it had less foot traffic than usual – should have jumped on there instead of staying on the road, where I was waiting behind a bunch of cars, without the cojones to squeeze the bike between them like my colleagues do. Instead of the usual mad sprint down Maine to Ohio/E. Basin, I quickly switched to the sparsely populated sidewalk to take it easy. 14th St. looked like a parking lot – was glad to be on the separated bridge MUP.

Managed to climb portions of that accursed Four Mile Run to Potomac Ave. switchback with a couple of turns. Someday, a nonstop climb on that thing will be mine. I stopped to take a water break and shake my fist at it.

Decided to grab dinner at the Chipotle on St. Asaph and King St. I didn’t see a bike rack anywhere close and my exhaustion-addled brain did not think of trying Rackspotter. So I just walked the bike into Chipotle, got my burrito bowl, and walked it out again.

The climb home was same old same old, ending with me collapsing into a puddle as usual.

[GovernorSilver]

@creadinger 119818 wrote:

School buses are 40 feet long. I looked it up, but considering most tractor trailers are under 50 ft, 100 ft just sounded ridiculous. A 100 ft bus would be awesome! Impossible to drive, but awesome.

Haha, I figured I was off somewhere.

I don’t want to be yet another cyclist who alerts a pedestrian when he’s already one foot behind or less, allowing for little reaction time if said pedestrian does the unexpected. I probably do my first ring well within the 100 ft after all, but definitely farther than 1 ft.

[GovernorSilver]

@Tania 119795 wrote:

On almost every ride on the WOD/Custis, as I’m about to pass and am signaling with my left hand and looking over my left shoulder that I’m about to pass: WHAM! There’s a cyclist overlapping wheels (or just about to) with me. I’ve almost touched their bars a few times with my outstretched arm.

Reminds me of when I walked past a fellow pedestrian (on foot of course – pre-cycling days) at Gallery Place (corner of 7th and H). He suddenly gestured excitedly…

…and backfisted me in the face. It’s a wonder he didn’t knock me out with that classic kung fu move.

I still think about that when I pass pedestrians on my bike – so I ring my bell to reduce the odds of unpredictable moves.

[Author]

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