[GuyContinental]

@brendan 20134 wrote:

Huh, broke a rear shifter cable at the parking lot crossing there. Last broken chain (on the MVT) was farther south next to the airport, though.

I keep cables and proper-sized quick links (along with tubes, levers and patches) in my kit now.

Brendan

Good call on the quicklinks- I see lots of folks with chain tools but no links or pins. All you can do then is shorten the chain.. whereas a quicklink can really save your bacon and maintain most of the strength of the chain (for folks that don’t know a Quicklink / Missing Link snaps in place to replace a broken link- buy one or two next time you are in a bike shop or just pick them up on amazon- LINK Just make sure that you get the right size…)

[GuyContinental]

@paulg 19858 wrote:

I may be reading this wrong and please forgive me if I am but it appears that to pass the pedestrians you moved to the left side of the trail which was being occupied by the runner coming toward you. It also seems that you expected him to yield to you even though you were on his side of the trail. I’m sorry to have to say this, but in that situation (again if I’m reading it correctly) I wait for the trail to be completely clear on the left side before I make the pass. Why should someone yield (biker or runner or whatever) when someone coming at them has decided to make a pass and is now on their side of the trail. They shouldn’t have to in my opinion. I don’t condone the finger gestures etc. but I can see the runners point.

On the center (no line there) with a clear trail and originally a clean passing space- he deliberately stepped/puffed up into me, closing the distance to the center of the trail CREATING the hazardous situation.

[GuyContinental]

@pfunkallstar 19860 wrote:

I’ve also found that you can take any wet (clean) clothes and roll them up with the camping towel. If you do it right you can get a surprising amount of moisture out of things like chamois.

That sounds like something Bear Grylls would say before satisfying his thirst… ewwww chamois water…

[GuyContinental]

@Tim Kelley 19803 wrote:

Just wear it into the shower–a little shampoo will do it good!

Yup +1 for this approach, shampoo does a great job of breaking down hair oils without being harsh on your skin. I’m leery of putting any cleaner on something that’s going to be in contact with my forehead/face

[GuyContinental]

I may have encountered this guy (or more likely his brother given the distance) yesterday as well- EB WO&D right after Maple, I passed a ped gaggle that was owning the right side of the trail. Runner hugging the middle of the WB side (earbuds in of course) not only doesn’t yield but scrunches up his face, mouths f*you, gives me a double finger and actually makes himself wider by throwing out his arms while stepping more into the center of the trail. Trail was otherwise clear (and as wide as the WO&D gets) and I wasn’t riding at all aggressively.

I thought about turning around and eating one of his earbuds… That might make an impression.

[GuyContinental]

@KLizotte 19752 wrote:

Hahaha. I can only imagine what non-cyclists think of seeing a chamois in all its full glory. Hanging things on hangers I think will help speed up the drying process; allows for more air circulation.

LOL- I actually had that conversation with a bemused co-worker soon after the photo was taken. My chamois is now better hiding its “glory.” Usually I have hangers but they went home with last week’s batch of clothes and riding with a few shoved in the back of my jersey just hasn’t happened yet…

[GuyContinental]

@jabberwocky 19750 wrote:

Best way is to hit up some of the easier trails in the area (Wakefield, Laurel Hill, Lake Fairfax, Schaeffer Farms, Rosaryville). Once you feel comfortable there, move to the more difficult ones (Fountainhead, Patapsco) and then onto the seriously difficult ones (Elizabeth Furnace, Gambrill, the Frederick Watershed). It takes a while though.

The regional club is MORE (http://www.more-mtb.org/). They used to have a bit more active ride scene, but its fallen off somewhat in recent years (especially beginner friendly rides). I do lead casual rides for them occasionally though.

I’ll second MORE- they do a ton of good trail work as well. Also, some of the night rides are pretty dang cool- I used to do the Rosaryville one pretty frequently until I was attached by a possum (OK, actually I moved out of SE DC and couldn’t justify the drive)

Wakefield (W Braddock & 495) is probably the most beginner accessible in NoVa but isn’t terribly attractive- still, it’s a good place to learn skills and never be too far from the car. Check out the trail descriptions on MORE.

[GuyContinental]

Jabberwocky- I assume that you are the same frumious one that posts under that name on MORE?

I’d call myself a formerly pretty dedicated mountain biker with low-level racing out in AZ all the way back to 1995. When I moved to DC I became a crazed whitewater kayak guy; when I got tired of driving to WV I came back to MTB (it doesn’t eat a whole day to go for a FH ride…). Now that I have kids 90% of my riding is on road and 90% of THAT is commuting. When I have a “day pass” I refuse to touch a road bike. Did Snotcycle this year and hope to make it out for the WoW series…

I love the endorphins that come from riding of any sort but the adrenaline/endorphin mix of solid, fast single track or the feeling of triumph from busting op some “unclimbable” on a SS just can’t be beat. Road keeps me in shape for the SS MTB (kind of- I’m losing interval strength).

I’ve been trying to get more MTB miles, even went as far as to join the MeetUp that rides out in Reston after work but to date I haven’t made a single appearance- always have either ridden to work or have family commitments in the evening. My wife is super cool about the riding (I’m a nicer human when I get rides in) but Kids. Are. Tough.

I have some hope- my oldest just picked up a Skuut and started charging on it:
http://youtu.be/BwGmVOCAsTQ

I’m hoping that my wife and I can start taking him out to the creek section of WF and then taking turns doing laps- that changes “daddy vanished and went biking” into “family biking adventure (during which daddy vanishes to a place called Accotink)”

I’d love to find a group of similarly burdened moms/dads that does weekend morning MTB rides on a predictable basis… anyone up for a ride?

[GuyContinental]

At least I’m not alone in this quest…

I like those stands- need to keep an eye out on discount sites… For now I’ll keep with the bike drying stand + Febreze + Fan

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1047[/ATTACH]

Has anyone found an air freshener that doesn’t smell just awful after awhile? If I plant it in front of the fan, it will spread its wonderfulness far and wide

[GuyContinental]

Daylight Crazy Ivan! That is rare Ninja style there…

[GuyContinental]

I suppose that a use case would have been good to include- I do the WO&D commute from Courthouse to Sterling several times a week and am really just looking for an alternate body position and a way to better hide from the wind. Also, I’m just getting a bit bored and adding a fixie/SS probably isn’t in the cards this year- the wife says that at 6 (including two unicycles) I have enough bikes… I have no intention of the bars inside the beltway, in fact it irritates me when I see a Tri dude slaloming through bodies- I KNOW their control is limited, braking terrible and their acceleration sucks.

Do I gain much vs being in the drops? (or enough to justify the loss of brakes and shifting…) There are probably only 7-10 miles on that route where it would make any sense at all and even then I’d be in and out because of the innumerable road crossings.

[GuyContinental]

@americancyclo 19315 wrote:

No strobes on trails!

Thing is, I (generally) manage pretty well even with the insane 1800 ln lights by just looking away- a strobe always seems to “find” my retina and sear into my (otherwise benevolent) soul causing much rage.

[GuyContinental]

A rider got me with a wicked strobe on the WO&D this morning 30 minutes after dawn… I thought that strobe season was finally over… guess not.

I. HATE. STROBES. Do what you will when on the road with cars (I’m all for visibility) but there is zero call for a 1000 ln strobe on the trails.

[GuyContinental]

@TwoWheelsDC 19235 wrote:

So do you put on a fresh set of bike gear when you ride home? I just commute home in the same bike gear I wear on my commute in and just let it hang dry during the day in the locker room (just don’t leave it in a locker…it will NOT dry). An alternative for you, since it sounds like maybe you don’t have a locker room, might be a large restroom in your office. Some have coat hooks, so just put your workout clothes on a hanger and let them dry in there during the day.

I wear the same tasty gear in and out (but wash it or rotate it daily!). No shower, no closets and got some complaints when I hung my gear in our communal 2-stall restroom. (On a slight aside- the “Shower Pill” body towels absolutely rule for folks in my facility-less situation. I keep a case under my desk.)

Right now the gear is hanging over my bike frame in front of a air freshener in front of a fan. If I have be-suited visitors I tuck things behind my door and blitz the office with Frebreze… but in general it looks like a lycra-monster blew up in here. I’m looking for a neater solution that will contain both the mess and the smell.

[GuyContinental]

I think that I’d end up with the smell of cooked sweat. Pretty massive wattage requirements (1200) as well, even for the “baby” version… my office power strip would explode.

Amazon has the big ones: LINK And the baby one: LINK

For $80 this might be worth trying…

[Author]

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