Greenbelt
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GreenbeltParticipantDCA is reporting 98 degrees with a heat index of 105 at 3pm. Pretty strong sun too. Everybody be careful out there this afternoon, the road temps are going to be blistering. I’m definitely waiting until later.
GreenbeltParticipantI waited until after 7pm to leave last week when it was hot, and it wasn’t bad at all once the sun was lower. Two water bottles and a lot of pre-hydration though.
GreenbeltParticipantI don’t necessarily disagree with dismal scientist — it “generally” is safer to take the lane than to ride on sidewalks for the reasons she (or he) mentions. However, there’s no way in heck I’d ever take the lane on Greenbelt Road. It’s just far too bike and pedestrian hostile. Roads like that are just the exception to the usual rules for me. Plus, the general streetscape on those sorts of roads is so ugly and intimidating that there aren’t many pedestrians on the sidewalk. Of course, you can’t ride fast and do have to just stop for turning traffic — can’t expect them to yield to you ever.
GreenbeltParticipantSafety first, legality second, propriety third, style last. Suburban bike commuting is an huge challenge, and rules and customs and guidelines that may work in other places may not work in areas where pedestrians and bikes were a distant afterthought when roads and commercial areas were “planned.”
My daily commute often includes salmoning up a short stretch of sidewalk alongside Greenbelt Road (another multi-lane suburban speedway like Rockville Pike), going cross country through a grassy area, cutting through parking lots behind some shops and office buildings, cutting through a bus stop waiting area (very slowly and courteously of course), and crossing at cross walks. All this to avoid congested or high-speed suburban roads. It’s just something you sort of have to do sometimes.
GreenbeltParticipantThanks for all the thoughts. Last night, I was riding just ahead of a guy on Arundel Road just past Eastern Ave in Maryland. I heard this horrible sound behind me and doubled back to see if he was OK. He had lost a pannier on one of those (unmarked) speed bumps that I’m sort of accustomed to blasting over with my CX-style setup.
So given the cost, and the difficulty of teaching an old dog (me) new tricks, the issue of the laptop, and the fact that last week didn’t seem too bad, I’m going to stick with my tried and true backpack for now. We’ll see how it goes later this week — supposed to be very hot tomorrow and Thursday.
GreenbeltParticipantI think these problems are likely to be reduced as more and more people use the trail. I ride it every day and have never had any problem. That said, I think for northbound evening commuters anyway, it would be easy to just go up and wait by the NY Ave metro track for another rider to go by and ask if you could join them? Seems to me a couple people go by every minute or two. It’s not crowded like other trails, but pretty steady usage.
GreenbeltParticipant@jrenaut 4190 wrote:
Oops. I “got lost” on my ride home today and went 6.6 miles instead of three or so. How silly of me.
I have the same problem. I keep finding longer routes. Dang!
June 3, 2011 at 2:27 am in reply to: Have you ever pulled a "Sideshow Bob" with your pedals? #926416GreenbeltParticipantOh yeah. Even recorded on camera. About 10-20 seconds in on this video for example. Except instead of shin gash, this one was a crotch bang on top tube. If you have the volume up, you may hear a naughty word. Another time, I unclipped approaching a stop sign and cross walk next to a school. But pushing the pedal forward a little bit more to get a good look, I accidentally reclipped, and then tipped over to that side. Let loose a four letter word, then had to quickly apologize for the bad language to all the little kids crossing the road with their brothers and sisters and Moms. Got a lot of giggles from the older kids.
[video=vimeo;20985885]http://www.vimeo.com/20985885[/video]GreenbeltParticipantIsn’t it awesome to be excited about commuting? I was up early today — couldn’t wait to get out for my morning ride.
GreenbeltParticipantRecorded some more rides on the GoPro last week. Here’s how it looks using the helmet cam/elastic strap approach instead of mounting on the handlebars. (I figured the roads there too rough for bar mount.) Also kind of cool that you can get off the bike and go directly into the water!
[video=vimeo;24392104]http://www.vimeo.com/24392104[/video]GreenbeltParticipantLinson pool in College Park is right off the NE branch trail.
GreenbeltParticipantYep, excellent protein boost for mouth breathers along the rivers on the NE branch trail too.
GreenbeltParticipantYes, just used the headstrap that came with. Forgot about it up there a couple times, though.
GreenbeltParticipantDurable too…
[video=vimeo;24148607]http://www.vimeo.com/24148607[/video]GreenbeltParticipantBike to work day 2011:
[video=vimeo;24019241]http://www.vimeo.com/24019241[/video] -
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