[JoeB]

Rode to work today for the first time in more than five years – and it definitely wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t signed up for Freezing Saddles. Granted: today the saddle was hardly freezing, in fact, this was one of the nicest days for bike riding I can remember, but I think that only proves the point. I needed a nudge to get myself out of the car and onto the bike even on a beautiful day, and signing up for this friendly competition provided exactly the right nudge.

Will have to get the office logistics arranged better to ride on the really crappy days, but that’ll come together eventually – and in the meantime, holy crap was it nice to ride to work today! Many thanks to all the Freezing Saddles organizers for helping make this happen!!

[JoeB]

@Tim Kelley 39542 wrote:

I’ve been out there a few random mornings when its been pretty cold. What bike are you on?

I’m pretty easy to spot. Pretty tall and on a black and pink bike.

Blue Ridley. Great bike, but woefully underpowered. The frame and the wheels and the fork and the seat and the shifters and the drivetrain are all spectacular but the engine needs a lot of work…

But I don’t think I’ve bumped into you yet – I’ve only done their hills ride two or three times and I would have remembered that bike!!

[JoeB]

@Greenbelt 39548 wrote:

“Network effects” — geez, another economist! Welcome!

Nope, worse: lawyer. Meaning I throw around terms like “network effects” without a particularly thorough understanding of what they mean. But thanks!!

[JoeB]

@ronwalf 39519 wrote:

Go ahead and sign up: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFBxZUdnZEZuZ2NNbndBc0hhUTZGTlE6MQ
rcannon is making the late assignments this weekend.

Done – thanks!

[JoeB]

@KLizotte 39518 wrote:

Welcome to the group and the cycling community at large. There is a ton of useful info on this site and mostly normal folks who can answer any questions that you might have. We have happy hour and events where you will have the opportunity to put faces with avatars. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend picking up the free bike maps that DC, Arlington, and surrounding counties produce; they really help newbies discover the regional bike network. These maps are available at local bike shops and can usually be ordered (and viewed) online.

Many thanks! Couldn’t agree more – this forum is awesome (been lurking for a while before posting) and those maps are also terrific. I’ve done a couple group rides through Tri360, which may or may not involve people from the forum, but I definitely recommend checking that out for anyone looking for a good hill workout. Saturdays at 8:30am through the winter, and then (I think) a Thursday evening ride at 6:30.

[JoeB]

@consularrider 39531 wrote:

Welcome, always great to have another neighbor on the bike!

Where would you be commuting to?

Thanks! I work at Thomas Circle, so the actual bike riding part of my commuting plan is pretty straightforward. The problem (as always) is getting the logistics sorted out and breaking out of all the network effects that have locked me into commuting by car. I picked up a solid commuting bike in December, and just need to add lights & fenders and get a bag for the rear rack and then I think the hardware should be good to go. I’m a member at a gym across the street from my office (Balance – great spinning classes there, btw), so while it may take a while to get the office shower arrangement worked out I’m hoping to get started with a “once a week” plan just using the showers at the gym. (Which happen to be under construction right now, but are supposed to be back online soon.)

Small confession: when I first got this job back in 2005 I actually managed to bike it to the office several times a week (sometimes every day) for about the first three months. Then I ended up spending about six months working at a client site in Alexandria, with weird hours and random meetings outside the office – which was basically that first small crack rock of car commuting such that I never got myself back into a bike commuting routine to get downtown. Until now…

[JoeB]

Hi group – I think I must have messed something up when I tried to sign up for Freezing Saddles a couple weeks ago. (I’m listed on the contest results page with the right Strava account: Joe Birkenstock, http://app.strava.com/athletes/1154396, but I’m not assigned to a team.)

My signup process seemed to be going along just fine until strangely I ran into a *tollbooth* right in the middle of the Le Petomane Information Superhighway. Guess I must have fouled things up when I had to send somebody back to go get a sh!tload of dimes.

But if it’s not too late, I’d still love to get involved – I’m pretty new to cycling (four months or so) and just starting to dip my toe into bike commuting, and this contest looks like a great way to help motivate me away from the car and onto the bike. So let me know what I need to do differently on my end to get signed up if there’s still time – but no worries if it’s too late, I’m still happy to follow along informally. And to randomly quote Mel Brooks movies (great call on that name, btw)!!

He rode a Freezing Saddle, he wore lycra from head to toe
He commuted on the bike paths, in temps down to ten be-low…

[JoeB]

Hi everybody – brand new to this forum, and relatively new to cycling (started about four months ago). I’ve only been averaging 21 miles a week since then, according to Strava, but that accounts for a couple weeks of zero riding based on work travel and some recent frustrations with IT band syndrome. So I’ll pick a 1000 mile goal for my resolution, and privately hope to go way beyond that. Maybe double it if I can start bike commuting!

[JoeB]

Hello everyone – so I was moving right along last week, getting myself signed up for the forum and for Freezing Saddles but somewhere along the line I must have messed up. I’m listed on the scoreboard (http://www.cs.umd.edu/~ronwalf/2013/freezing-saddles/) but not on a team.

(I think the problem most likely popped up when I strangely ran into a *tollbooth* in the middle of the Le Petomane Information Superhighway. Might not have finished the online signup process correctly, since it turned out I had to send somebody back to get a whole sh!tload of dimes…)

So if it’s not too late to get assigned to a team, great, just let me know what I need to do on my end; but if not, no worries, I’m happy to just follow along informally. I’m pretty new to cycling, and trying to make the leap to bike commuting, so I’m mostly just looking for any added motivation I can get to get on the bike instead of getting in the car. Many thanks!

[Author]

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