[GuyContinental]

@dcv 32890 wrote:

thx gc, i just signed up for rookies race because i’m a chicken – only riding a SSCX because that’s what i’ve got. see you and will on race day!

In that case, I highly recommend a leg shave, cycling hat and matching kit so that you can scare the beejeebers out of the poor rookies on your mighty SS steed… muhahaha Sandbagger ELITE!

[GuyContinental]

@Tim Kelley 32880 wrote:

Yesterday I had a conference in Herndon so was commuting to and from using the W&OD. On my way home in the evening I noticed a lot of bug hitting me in the face.

When I got home, showered, and was winding down for the night, my wife asked me if I was wearing makeup. She was convinced I had eyeliner or mascara flaking off. I looked in the mirror and it turned out that all the gnats that hit my eyeballs, got caught, and died, were falling out of my eyelashes.

Neat huh?

Hey! Stop eating/eyeballing my ride-home protein- I ride through there slack-jawed just for a little bit of oomph before the Hunter Mill climb.

Nasty little buggers have been coating my arms/legs for the last few weeks. Yuck.

[GuyContinental]

@dcv 32872 wrote:

guycontinental and will – when you registered did it ask you to apply for a 1-day race license ($10)? Or will you have to pay for one on the day of?

Also – which race do you think is easier, rookie or single speed?

I did the “day of” license- as I understand it, there will be a table set up at registration.

For the second question, I’ve never raced CX before but I chose CAT 4 because I’m a strong, fast off-road rider so I don’t want to be in a rookie mangle with a huge variety of speeds and competence. On SS vs Rookie… the local SS MTB crowd is insane, W@W SS podium finishers (hell, most of the top 10) could have done respectably or even placed in Expert. I race that class and aim (at best) to be in the top 15 (and my times would be competitive(ish) in MTB Sport).

If you’ve even contemplating SS, you’re strong so do CAT4*, way easier than SS and safer/faster than Rookie. Thing is that CAT4 has a field of 125, many of whom are road CAT 3 and 4 at the end of their training season (ie Strong & mean but with dubious off-road skill). My goal is to finish and not crater (too hard at least).

*But what the heck do I know?

[GuyContinental]

@dasgeh 32865However, the 15 seconds that I added to your commute was not cause for you SPIT AT ME as you passed.[/QUOTE wrote:

Whoa… the dude spit at a pregnant fellow cyclist? If karma doesn’t get him first, it sounds like some forum vigilante justice is in order…

[GuyContinental]

@DaveK 32860 wrote:

I hated my cantis but I’ll be the first to tell you that I am terrible at setting them up. I replaced them with v-brakes which stop SO much better but require more work to keep in adjustment. Because of the short lever throw of road levers, you have to make sure you set up the pads very close to the rim and choose brakes that don’t have too long of an arm. I think I’d go disc if I was buying new today.

I’ll admit that this thread came on the wrong day- I swapped out wheels (CX to commuting) late last night and didn’t spend enough time adjusting my front Paul Mini-moto (linear pull, not really canti). After 15 miles this morning (after I’d made it all the way through the N. Arlington hills) I figured out that my brake was at least 30% engaged… yeah, I’m mentally slow in the morning- I honestly thought that I was sick or something. It took probably 15 minutes in the dark at Maple to get them settled- and that’s the problem I can get these brakes totally dialed in and the Paul brake is a huge improvement but it takes oddles of fiddling to get it right. Worse, if it’s not “right” it’s really dang wrong…

[GuyContinental]

@vvill 32835 wrote:

.

With a new CX bike I can’t decide between disc and cantilever brake models. Choices! First-world problems!

I posted something along these lines some time ago- the sagacity of Reverend Dirt aside, after 500+ miles of CX singletrack over the summer I say that that even excellent cantis are merely adequate when dry and pretty sketchy when wet. If I could, I’d go disc in a heartbeat. My CX riding buddy broke his Ti CX frame (ouch) on one of our morning rides and replaced it with the identical frame in disc. It’s one data point, but he’s way faster now on a same trail basis since he can scrub more speed faster than I can. In a race over non-technical terrain this may matter less but for all-around all-year riding/commuting, the reliability of disc in all weather conditions is fantastic.

From what I can tell, the CX community’s animosity towards disc comes on two fronts- general retro-grumpiness and concern about the legitimate costs and compatibility issues with racing discs (you can’t exactly toss a buddy a spare disc wheel unless both bikes are set up identically).

[GuyContinental]

OK, just signed up for DCCX CAT4…

Any suggestions on tires? I’m assuming somewhere between morning wet slippery grass and sloppy wet mud. In either case my busted out Hutchinson Piranha’s aren’t going to cut it.

[GuyContinental]

@Dirt 32759 wrote:

I had one for a while.

Of course you did… why wouldn’t Dirt have had a 36″ unicycle? Hmmm Anything more obscure in cycling that we think Dirt might have owned? Purpose-built Polo bike? hand-bike? eliptical? rowing? Penny-farthing? Triple(+) tandem? Burning-man art bike? Sled dog Scooter? 36″ Beach Cruiser?

lol

[GuyContinental]

It’s pretty common (as common as anything unicycle) on the 36″ touring rigs:

http://www.unicycle.uk.com/unicycles/road-24-36/nightrider36black.html

There were at least 2 of these in Arlington over the last few years one had a crazy 3-speed hub (think about that for a second), in aero position 20mph on flats is not that hard to hit (fastest I know of is 30 with what must have been a blurring cadence)… now hills… hills are exciting and/or awful depending on the direction.

[GuyContinental]

@Certifried 32313 wrote:

I do too, but 24 miles and a bus ride just to get to work (and another 24 and a bus ride to get home) doesn’t always fit in to my max hours in the day I refuse to sleep less!

Was up at 4:30 this morning to stuff 55 miles into my pre-work commute and still have to ride 24 miles this evening to get home in time to feed the ravenous young-uns. Tomorrow, I’ll leave at a lazy 5:30 to catch another 50 miles (RT) toward the challenge and close my month strong… Sleep? Fell asleep at 8:30 last night, passed out on a toddler bed with it’s resident happily perched on my chest… and I still probably won’t complete the challenge. Sigh.

Morning commute by bike on a day like today? Worth the exhaustion.

[GuyContinental]

Wow, just for a second I thought that I was reading ArlNow…

[GuyContinental]

Thanks for all of the replies- at the end of the day I ordered a Chinese ebay special that is amazingly bright, particularly for the price ($13):

LINK

However, I dithered for so long that I ended up going straight from my little Blackburn Flea (USB) to my winter & MTB set-up of bar-mounted NR mininewt X2s, using the Flea as back-up. Consequently, the linked light is currently on household duty. I also bought a pack of the previously mentioned CostCo lights (actually the harbor freight version) but 2 out 3 of them have already died- the PCB is not durable enough for rough handling (but they were super cheap and may actually be different from the CostCo type).

[GuyContinental]

@Certifried 31997 wrote:

that is absolutely adorable!

You should have seen his slack wee-fat arm bouncing off my thigh with each pedal stroke and his forehead honking the frog on the iBert…

[GuyContinental]

@Riley Casey 31981 wrote:

Glad the trip worked out well for you with some very wee ones. One note I would interject for those planning to make the trip with kids who will peddle themselves. My then nine year old grandson and I rode down thru the park from near the Dc line and I realized much too late that even with the downhill ride that energy expended getting there is subtracted from energy left to walk thru the zoo and peddle back. Still had fun but it was a struggle back and the time at the zoo suffered. Too long a hiatus from parent to grandparent I suppose.:o

Yup- even non-pedaling can be rough on the little dudes… (and Custis is rough on anyone towing that much kid & bike weight) my co-pilot conked out in the least comfortable position I’ve yet seen him pull off:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]1737[/ATTACH]

[GuyContinental]

Quick follow up to this- there are three main lock ups in the zoo
-up top at the Visitor’s Center
-base of the Lion/Tiger hill, 35′ from the front door of the Zoo PD (maybe 1500′ of walking from the east gate)
-(informal) at the Spectacled Bears right where the RCT bends past the zoo access road

The last is probably the most convenient but lowest traffic, the first the most exposed to non-zoo evildooers. We used the second one which was pretty much ideal for security. Pro tip, if riding with wee-ones (we had a 1.5, 2 and 3 y/o) rent a zoo stroller near the east gate ($3 for members).

Beautiful day like this and there were only 3 bikes (one family) in addition to ours…

[Author]

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