[JeffC]

if it changes your mind, the price has been dropped to $120/year. It had been $70 for a long time but was raised to $200 which caused a lot of grief so it was lowered to $120. I just got my annual bill for it a few days ago. Alas, I am not aware of anything similar near Shirlington.

[JeffC]

After this morning when my fingers and toes alternated getting really cold, I contemplated bailing and riding Metro home. However, I stuck with it and biked home. Even though it was only a few degrees warmer and the wind was just as intense, for some reason my body is better at staying warmer later in the day, not sure why. Any theories?

[JeffC]

It was pretty bad this morning, only saw a few riders. I remember biking a few years ago when it was near 17F, think this morning the weather report said 22F. At various times, two fingers on my left hand and a few toes on my right foot would get cold/numb during my hour commute and I would concentrate on moving them around to get the blood flowing to that particular spot. However, no other part of my body ever got that cold. I’m not sure if occasional numbness/coldness in fingers and toes is entirely because of the cold or partly because of bike fit which may inhibit blod flow at some times.

I am a bit more worried by the ride home back west because I will have a head wind that will mean I will need to work a lot harder to get back and while that is fine on most of my body, the some fingers and toes may get a bit cold again.

[JeffC]

It took me several years to realize this (having little kids greatly accelerates the process) but it is ALWAYS, ALWAYS harder to deal with a difficult, stressful situation the way you have in a polite, turn the other cheek, even-keeled demeanor. The easy way out is to scream, shout call the other person a bad name and stomp like an ape. That is the evolutionary path of least resistance like the apes dancing to the obelisk in the opening scene of “2001 A Space Odyssey.” That is not being tough though, it is the easy way out.

The extremely hard path is to take a deep breath, smile and say a reasoned, tactful response in a polite way, try a faux British accent (there is a setting for that on my wife’s Garmin or think John Cleese answering Kevin Kline about Americans in “Fish Called Wanda”).

Having two little kids that push my buttons at least once a week helps one’s patience. In a way the state of mind of a small child is probably (sadly) not that different from a stressed driver in DC–I know I have been a stressed driver in DC sometimes as well.

Keep up the good work and remember the faux British accent.

[JeffC]

I read the WP article and some others before it. Remember when McDonell was running for governor and his plan, in part, was to privatize the VA ABC and use the proceeds on roads. I was very enthusiastic for him then as VA ABC has terrible selection and is horribly overpriced (compared to MoCo and DC) but brings a ton of money to VA. Remember where his idea went there? Nowhere. This is probably where his latest idea will go. Sadly it is ok there for him to sacrifice conservative ideology on the VA ABC when it is expedient.

I see that McDonnell is in part trying to be the least offensive as possible to Grover Norquist and his crowd. I know they met before the latest “plan” was released in an attempt for the “plan” to be sanctioned under Norquist’s convoluted logic. Abolishing the gas tax seems like good window dressing when the sales tax is being raised. Overall though I am also struck by the intellectual incoherence of the plan. Moreover, it relies on potential revenue from an internet sales tax which may, or may not, come to fruition. This was probably another attempt to come up with a “plan” that would pass muster with the Norquist crowd since the additional revenue would have come from a Federal law and not a tax increase done at the VA state level. Overall, McDonnell could point to what was done in VA and say it was revenue neutral with the sales tax increase washing with the gas tax elimination. If you are doing VA prepaid college tuition for your kids, you’ll know how badly VA is cutting back support there and everywhere else. The thought of more general fund cuts when VA only provides 13% of public university costs (down from 40% not too long ago) is scary.

I am fine with car fees being increased. Heck if there were serious fees on bikes that went directly to things like improving bike only trails, I would gladly pay for that.

Some generally seem to find sales tax increase regressive but fail to see tax benefits provided to wealthier people as another form of regressive tax policy. If the government (state or federal) gives incentives such as refunds or preferential HOV usage to “Clean” vehicles, this directly benefits people that can afford a new Toyota Prius, like the wealthy burghers of close in DC burbs, while the rest of us poorer folk drive 14 year old Accords and ride our bikes. In many cases newer cars with great mileage say a Honda Civic might not pollute that much worse than a hybrid, especially when the hybrid is running on gas not batteries at a particular moment. The HOV benefits I find especially galling. HOV benefits should be there for those who make sacrifices to share and thus get cars off the road. Wealthy folks that can afford to trade in older cars for a new Prius and drive alone are not deserving of HOV prefererntial treatment in my view anymore than a poorer person should be subject to a regressive sales tax increase.

The roads are so bad in Virginia compared with what I see in California, even the poorest parts of California that I visit frequently. I have read that payment for roads in VA is done at the state level and that the rural areas benefit from not having to pay for roads which are generally in better condition due to less frequent usage as compared with the wealthier, more urban parts of VA which could afford to pay directly for their own roads (an earlier approach mentioned in this thread) and where the roads see much more usage. This seems like another instance of a rural vs urban type battle.

I think McDonnell is desperate to be seen as doing something to improve transportation in VA. The poor infrastructure is a big problem as VA tries to position itself as an attractive place to do business

[JeffC]

I work in a Federal building across from the EPA. At some point, I think all of us that work in these buildings right next to each other need to compare facilities and get a sense of what works and does not work in our respective buildings to use to lobby our respective building managers. They do listen to us on many things (getting new racks, having clean showers, even with liquid soap) but don’t do much on others (like removing clearly abandoned bikes hogging space in the racks).

[JeffC]

Had to doublecheck, you mean Herbert Hoover (not J Edgar Hoover which is the FBI). I think that is the Dept of Commerce as mentioned in previous post. I would be very surprised if they did not have showers there. I work in a Federal building nearby built about the same time that has showers and indoor bike racks. Contractors do not get access to all the facilities for some reason though. While not perfect facilities, it is about as good as I could expect. In my building even if bike commuters are low on the totem pole, it is a high pole to begin with. Probably less than 1% of people that work here bike though.

All in all a pretty nice ride from Falls Church, about 11 miles one way.

The EPA is at Federal Triangle Metro and many people park nice bikes in those racks, in contrast to the ones parked inside at my building where people apparently don’t have the ideological mindset of EPA employees. I don’t have to park my bike there but when I do take the Metro I am always surprised at the nice bikes there.

[JeffC]

@consularrider 39450 wrote:

But no Hi-Viz options and no reflective bits!

With my two tail lights, two handlebar lights, nite-ize on my front tire, and both rear and front facing “be seen” lights on my helmet, plus the other reflective items on my bike I’m already like a rolling Christmas tree out there.

I’m starting to look like the FCC Santamobile: http://www.fallschurchvfd.org/santa/santa.htm

[JeffC]

You are like me, I ride in Adidas Sambas with toe clips and also use thick wool socks. The best thing for my toes are toe covers, can easily ride with them into the 20s and they stay on quite well with the toe clips blocking any slippage, something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Descente-Mens-Running-Element-Covers/dp/B002DGSVV4

If you could, a thin Merino wool sock under the thick ones might help but not if it makes your shoes too tight. Ditto with a chemical toe warmer. I’ve found that being able to move my toes a bit and not have a chemical warmer is better than having my feet too scrunched. You may have to get larger shoes eventually. Fortunately, I can readily accomodate the Merino wool liner socks, but not a chemical warmer.

I’ve also noticed that the type of toe clips matters, one of my bikes has more plasticy toe clips whereas the other has metal. The metal holds the cold more and that tends to make my shoes and hence toes colder. So perhaps plastic toe clips might help marginally. Still the best improvement is likely to be the neoprene covers like in the link.

On very cold days when I wear street clothes and just bike to the subway (about 1.5 miles), I splurge with a boot called Steger Mukluks (made in the USA and warm into the -20s, these are some amazing but pricey boots), something like this style: http://shop.mukluks.com/Traditional-Short-Brown-Mukluks/productinfo/TSBRN/

These are not good for biking long distances but are extremely warm and breathable and fine for short bike rides. However, they don’t fit in my toe clips because they are too big so I just flip the toe clip over on days when I wear them.

[JeffC]

@FFX_Hinterlands 38674 wrote:

@JeffC 38670 wrote:

I got a 7spd internal hub for my 3spd bike this year, MAJOR improvement, 7 or 8 is highly recommended.

]

Why the 7spd and not the 8spd? Just curious. Seems to be about $15 diff at this point for the hubs I’m looking at.

I do not recall entirely it was in early 2012 that I got it done, believe it was something to do with any or all of these: 1) bike geometry 2) availability 3) getting some small accompanying part to the hub and/or 4) price discrepancy. For things like disc brake pads (for my other bike) and certain obscure tire sizes/brands, availability can be a real issue, find myself stock piling certain small things.

[JeffC]

@FFX_Hinterlands 38637 wrote:

1. Repaving of FFX Co Parkway sidepath
2. Herndon obtaining “Bike Culture”
3. FABB becoming flush with donations and volunteers
4. 8spd internal hub for my 3spd Dutch Bike (can’t hurt to ask)
5. Finding a lugged steel bike on CL (58cm) to turn into a fast fun bike
6. At least 4 really cool FABB social rides this year (all on me if it doesn’t happen)

I got a 7spd internal hub for my 3spd bike this year, MAJOR improvement, 7 or 8 is highly recommended.

I would settle for:

1) widen and repave MVT from Rosslyn to Reagan National Airport.
2) repave the rest of the Custis Trail.
3) Better signage on trails for walkers to stay right.

[JeffC]

I always try and avoid sidewalks on my bike. There is a very small (1/2 block stretch) near my work where it is unavoidable but very rarely dog walkers since it is a commercial area. I have a herding dog that is extremely difficult to walk, he is always lunging at things. It is basically impossible to walk him on a leash, I’ve tried just around our neighborhood and it is a disaster, fortunately we have a sizeable yard for him and as he is older, his activity level is going down.

I usually use a bell but sometimes call my pass very loudly when on a MUP trail and there is a dog walker. One thing I wish that dog walkers would do on MUPs (it is not as important if on a sidewalk) is to walk the dog on your right side. That way when a biker passes on the left it is less likely that the dog get agitated since it will be farther away. I also fear retractable leashes and a dog on the right will be less likely to interfere with a cyclist. Again, I think this type of dog/pedestrian/bicyclist interaction is less likely on a sidewalk but I suppose it would not hurt to walk a dog as far to the right as possible on the sidewalk as well.

[JeffC]

Given my family and work situation, the only riding I do is commuting and my commute is only 22 miles roundtrip. The last 4 years I’ve got around 2000 miles a year give or take 200 miles. It kind of depends on what else is going on at home and work, how much I have to travel for work, other social engagements that take me out of the area, etc. 2000 is always doable for me.

[JeffC]

Yeah, just read the third paragraph of the lyrics to “Stop Me”

http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/STOP-ME-IF-YOU-THINK-YOU’VE-HEARD-THIS-ONE-BEFORE-lyrics-The-Smiths/D3DFC878B31C5E56482568AB002A0F0D

[JeffC]

Hey Guys, thanks for the answer, sounds like the run time is about what I can expect with my other AAA LED blinkies, pretty darn long. Fortunately I already have some CR 2032s at home for a totally unrelated household appliance. Oddly enough I also recently got several CR 2016s for the Spokelit Niteize lights that fit onto spokes for lateral nighttime visibility–asked about those on here awhile back. It would have been great if both ran on the same battery, but whatcha gonna do, as it is some of my other lights use AA and some AAA.

The odd thing about judging a light like this is that since it is rear facing I cannot really tell its brightness. On the trails, I try to run dimmer blinkies or on constant mode just to be seen–cannot stand it when people have overpowered lights on the trail, it’s unnecessary on many stretches of the W&OD and Custis with street lights and is dangerous to others. On the streets, I spare nobody the wrath of my Christmas tree like appearance and go for a battleship coming into port like approach with lights ablazing.

So what would you say this Bike Arlington blinkie is? Is it super bright, spasm inducing for the streets or is it a lower-key, subdued light better just to be seen on the trails?

[Author]

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