[GuyContinental]

@thucydides 43299 wrote:

My vague memory on the research is that most bike commuters are 5 miles one way or less. That’s surely affected by available infrastructure.

As a “reverse commute rider” (east in the pm) I can attest that the outbound afternoon bike traffic increases gradually towards each town center (Reston, Vienna, FC) and exponentially inside the beltway and then hits critical mass at the Custis. Out in Loudoun I’ll pass maybe 5 oncoming riders even on a nice day (usually the same 5…).

[GuyContinental]

50 miles RT Clarendon to Sterling- Fairfax Blvd to Custis to W&OD to about Rt28

25.5 Miles to
24.5 Miles from (I go an extra mile in the am to avoid left turns in Loudoun traffic)

My time is largely dictated by season- when it’s dark and cold and I’m on the commuter/CX it’s roughly 1:40 each way (slower WB). In the summer, on the fast bike possibly with a tailwind it’s been as little as 1:15, with snow/wind as much as 2:00.

HOWEVER, I rarely do it everyday- the 3hr time commitment, super early rising and the need to take supplies back and forth (no backpack no panniers no way) makes it really hard to pull off more than 4x a week. Summer goal is 3x, winter 2x but sometimes (like this week) I’ll do 4 1/2 trips (leaving car at work) and one RT (which is also good for FS points

I wish it was a bit shorter- IMO 15 miles each way would be about perfect, enough to get a workout but not so much that it becomes a time suck.

[GuyContinental]

He didn’t have pink tires did he?

http://www.arlnow.com/2013/01/31/man-who-fought-thief-for-bike-says-he-had-the-last-laugh/

It would be funnier if it wasn’t 150′ from my house…

[GuyContinental]

@mstone 42681 wrote:

The fact that one thing sucks doesn’t make something else suck less.

It depends on your definition of “suck”- Being late doesn’t bother me nearly as much as traffic hate and stress and the complete waste of time of being behind the wheel. Even crushed into a smelly corner of metro I could do something else with my brain- read a book, magazine or actually attend to a podcast. Driving at least half my brain is engaged in soothing exercises and actually driving at 2mph. Also, I’ve always lived/worked close in so in a Metro disaster I could just walk an hour or so to get home, if I were out farther west I might have a different opinion.

[GuyContinental]

Ha! I am the ghost of commute future- I had my slowest recorded WB commute ever on the W&OD (out of 150+) and that was riding with the indefatigable Hozn. Beautiful day but the wind was brutal. Hozn rode out to 28 just so he could ride the wind sled back to Reston (and to eek out his 1000 miles for Jan- go Ochos!) Have fun on the way home… muhahahaha

[GuyContinental]

I love Metro and am incredibly sad that it is a non-option for me now that I work in the public-transport desert that is Sterling.

So after years of happy inside the beltway metro and living literally 5 minutes from TWO stations, my other bike is a car. Which sucks sooo much more and is sooo much less reliable than hot crowded trains or occasional delays. I’d love to ride 5 days a week but at 3+ hours a day it’s a little much for family and work pressures to accommodate. C’est la vie.

The metro haters should spend some quality time on the soul-sucking awfulness that 495, 270, 395 or 295 can be at rush hour.

[GuyContinental]

@Dirt 42528 wrote:

Pro-link and Tri-flow are different…. Pro-link will probably work fine. I haven’t compared the two.

Yup- Triflow is a PTFE (Teflon) lube and Pro-link a more traditional solvent/petroleum lube. Others will know way more- key fact, DON’T MIX DIFFERENT TYPES OF LUBE. I use Pro-link for everything and buy in bulk. It is lighter and requires frequent re-application but just works for me, probably because I like lubing my bike. I use the Prolink pen needle thing to get into pivots and cables- kind of a silly $5 to spend but it rounded out a free shipping offer and works better than a nail so meh.

[GuyContinental]

Good advice from Dickie but if you haven’t done it in a while I’d strongly consider replacing the whole cable and housing, just lube probably won’t do the trick if the housing is full of gunk and the cable is corroded. Just buy bulk cable and housing from your LBS- $6-7 (although proper cable cutters are worth it IMO and will cost another $15-$20).

I replace the cable & housing on my high mileage bikes every year- the crazy OCD pink folk amongst us do it like every 6-months.

[GuyContinental]

The answer will always be: Pete, Pink or ELITE

[GuyContinental]

@Bilsko 42302 wrote:

Rebalancing you say? Ah. Ok. Then I want this guy on Team V: http://app.strava.com/athletes/830807

Whoa, you’d have to put part of him on another team to keep the handicap… anyone know what he’s doing (besides cheating by riding in FL)? Century a day craziness?

[GuyContinental]

WO&D was mainly slow slush but got really ugly over some of the Reston bridges. Roads were all good, even in Loudoun. My problem was slush turning to ice under my fenders (and between my toes…)

500th post! About Slush! Yay!

[GuyContinental]

@Tim Kelley 41258 wrote:

Was this him?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/43898776@N00/3369248920/

No- it was red and the kids were boys and older (both pedaling)… so there at least TWO of these around as well!

[GuyContinental]

@PeteD 41182 wrote:

Guy: I did see someone yesterday out with a triple tandem, steered by the father on the back with his two children pedaling in front.
http://www.onderwaterfiets.nl/tandemtransporterXL.html

I’ve seen that guy! It’s a cool set-up but waaaay expensive… There’s another family with a traditional triple tandem around and then at least two with bucket bikes. A few years ago there was yet another one with a double double (tandem plus tandem stoker trailer) that I really liked. Once my “little” guy outgrows his iBert he’s off to a single-wheel trailer behind mom (she relishes this thought…)

[GuyContinental]

1995 KHS Montana steel triple MTB- 32#
iBert kid seat- 8#
Michelin baby in iBert seat- 31#
Wee-hoo iGo trailer- 35#
3 y/o in trailer (not pedaling)- 33#
Kid “stuff”- 5#

Total- 144 pounds.

Passing anyone heading up Custis = priceless.

[GuyContinental]

@Tim Kelley 40959 wrote:

I’ve heard that Crank Brothers can be finicky if you don’t maintain them on a regular basis. Has any had bad experiences with this?

I’m going to be in the market for new mountain biking pedals and shoes and was thinking SPD. Anyone have recommendations?

I dunno, I grease mine maybe once a quarter and that’s about it. Never bothered with sending them back in for repair- for $49 at Performance, I’m cool with replacing them when they break or creating frankenpedals out of old parts. As for breakage- I’ve busted one spindle and lots of cages. Usually can/do ride with only 1-2 functional sections but that’s not the best idea off-road. Never had a bearing failure (but I actually DO grease them…)

It’s funny, the Crank Brothers break more than an SPD or a Time (which are truly deathless) but I wouldn’t use anything else, no way no how, I’m hugely affectionate towards my eggbeaters. That said, if you don’t like float then they are NOT for you.

That said, I think that the Ti or other high-end Eggs are a sucker bet and I’d be all sorts of pissed off it I’d broken 8 sets of $350 pedals.

[Author]

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