[JorgeGortex]

@Judd 181852 wrote:

I wish you were taller.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sorry about that, I will continue to try harder. I hope someone shorter will dig my cool bike… It’s cool and still for sale.

[JorgeGortex]

@pmf 181607 wrote:

Some moron construction workers attempted to drive a piece of machinery under the Roosevelt bridge on the wood raised section and it fell through. If you’re headed south from Rosslyn, the only way across the river after the Key Bridge is Roosevelt.

Something tells me that its going to take a while to get this fixed. Any updates appreciated.

And I thought the stair detour at the 14-th street bridge sucked.

I only wish I had seen this before I went out on the ride! I was going to do the Arlington Loop until I hit this snag… and then had to go up and over TR Bridge (first time on a bike!). I figured my way down to the trail along the Potomac, and then headed over to Lincoln so I cut over to Ohio Dr. and hit Haines Point. Made it! First time I’d done this coming from home. But then… I had to figure out how to get onto 14th and went all the way around and back to the… stairs. So I hit that NPS detour too. Yay. From there it was smooth sailing, other than the constant head wind, back up to home near Westover. So, detours suck, but adventures are fun. That’s my $.02 worth. Sorry commuters, I know it sucks more for you.

JG

[JorgeGortex]

Jumping in as well. Good on you for taking on the challenge of changing your health and fitness. Its not easy, even for those of us who are slimmer… the motivation stay fit, eat healthy, and look to the future is a challenge for most. Time, circumstance, life… all impact how hard or easy it is for each of us.

As for your name… I think you are the best judge of whether you should or not. Maybe you wear it as a badge of pride reminding you of where you started and where that bike took you. Just own. Or, change to something you feel better about. The same motivated, positive individual will be there regardless.

Cheers,

JG (who’s neither Spanish or made of Gortex)

[JorgeGortex]

@jrenaut 180424 wrote:

Reviving this thread because I’ve already broken two spokes on the wheels from TwoWheels.

Is there a good resource for teaching me about all the different parameters you can change on a wheel? For example, I know that more spokes generally means a stronger wheel. Does the rim width vary? If so, what does a relatively smaller width do compared to a larger one? What else don’t I know about wheels?

If you want to learn everything and more about wheels, and from one of the nicest and most knowledgeable out there, then talk to Bill Mould at Spokes Etc. on Quaker. Bob is a master wheel builder and teach classes. You won’t go wrong. He is the Clovis of bike wheels.

[JorgeGortex]

Still here. Could be a fun time for a little one.

[JorgeGortex]

Thanks. Sounds like I have to good options to consider.

Also, thanks for the info about seat adjustment. I’d love to try some other seats… mine are OK, but who knows what is actually most comfortable for an individual without trying them, and that is an expensive proposition.

Since I am doing new pedals and shoes, along with have moved the saddle around, I think I want to get a good baseline again from a pro. I’ve definitely been doing more cycling than I ever had before, so I think things will have changed in terms of my flexibility and such.

JG

[JorgeGortex]

Reviving a dead thread. My go-to guy was at Revolution, and he got out of the business when they became Trek. Anyone have any good suggestions in the NOVA area? I see Clovis’s name listed but don’t know where to find him. I have the fitting numbers from before for my road bike, but I am getting brand new road shoes and pedals, and installed a new seat post and want to make sure everything is dialed in again before I use this bike for a full century (I hope) this fall. Thanks for any suggestions!

JG

[JorgeGortex]

@drevil 173197 wrote:

There’s a peculiar log on the side of the trail that I’ve been eyeing up for a while.

https://vimeo.com/252538104
[video=vimeo;252538104]https://vimeo.com/252538104[/video]

I think I have to adjust my strategy.

Damn you, log, damn you.

[JorgeGortex]

@Steve O 170709 wrote:

I’m pretty certain if you just pour vodka into your cable housings, that’ll solve the problem. I always keep some in stock.

Makes life easier if you have a flat too. The whole bike issue seems a lot less frustrating. Salut!

[JorgeGortex]

@OneEighth 169192 wrote:

If you were interested in/affected by the restriping of Washington Blvd in Arlington, you may wish to hop onto Nextdoor.com and weigh in on the thread “New Traffic Pattern on Washington Blvd Claims Another Victim.”
Got some folks arguing in favor of going back to the way things were.

I’ve lived on Washington Blvd since 1995, and travelled this section of the road since I was strapped in a car seat with the parents… and I have to say that this new stripping is bad. It is confusing, narrowing in a poor way, and downright dangerous in others. I still would not ride my bike through this section. I truly believe that they made the area more dangerous. I don’t blame this on cyclists or drivers, but on the civil engineers who designed it and those that installed it. I’ll also take the highly unpopular (I’m sure) stand that maybe this stretch of road, as it exists now, is not well suited for all the activities its offering at this particular time. Blaming bad drivers isn’t going to change the fact that there are bad and distracted drivers. What the exact answer is I can’t say, but I felt safer as a driver in the pre-striped days than I do now, and my opinion on riding this stretch of road is unchanged- nope.

JG

[JorgeGortex]

@jk22204 169795 wrote:

My friend’s daughter recently told her mother that she doesn’t want to commute to school on her bike anymore because she is uncomfortable with men yelling at her from the road and a more recent incident where a walker tried to stop her and grab her handlebars while telling her “Yeah girl, you ride that bike”. Does anyone have any safety tips or suggestions that I can give my friend and her daughter? She is in middle school and uses the W&OD trail to get to school.

I’m just curious if there is any update to this situation? When i read it I was pretty infuriated like the rest of the posters. As the coach of female HS athletes in Arlington I’d also like to know where on the trail it occured as we train on the trail in the spring, and although we have strict safety procedures in place for the athletes to follow, intel can help avoid a situation. That actually leads me to another point regarding some of the posts (again, the sentiment to which I totally agree) regarding arming one’s self or taking a stand- even the most skilled martial artist in the world knows it better to avoid a situation/confrontation than to engage in one. As noted, this is a teenager we are talking about here. Not Bruce Lee’s mom. Pump-chucks and capsian inhalers aren’t realistic or advisable in all but the most extreme circumstances. Let’s be real- most of us have never dealt with physical violence or assault in any real form beyond watching a Swartzennager movie, so let’s not pretend the andrenline of a confrontation isn’t going to have us shaking in our cleats, let alone a teen girl with limited life experience dealing with an aggressive stranger.

As for standing up and call BS on things, I agree. And I would do that to any of my male (or female) friends and aquaintances… but not strangers. Why? Because you don’t know what level they are willing to take it to if you mouth back at them. Protect those that need protecting (including yourself) by exiting the situation and leave the confrontation to the cops. In this day and age a loose cannon with a hand cannon are often riding together. There is no such thing as a dead hero.

I hope the young lady has gotten past this unfortunate incident and that the police were involved. I hope she is riding again and enjoying the experience. There is a community of really cool people here (and on the trails) and this shouldn’t deter her from doing something she enjoys.

JG

[JorgeGortex]

Wow, nothing like a little negative… Pretty cool engineering if you ask me and I bet at least the power issue was addressed by the designer of something that sophisticated.

[JorgeGortex]

Or simply ride on the C&O on the MD side. (Although there are ways to ride into the park without going through the gate as well…)

[JorgeGortex]

Me: out for an impromptu ride from home in Arlington to a friend’s place in Reston.
You: driving a car at every road crossing without a light.

Outcome: everyone stopped and waved me through with a smile. 15 miles of good cheer. What?

[JorgeGortex]

Although I support additional bike lines connecting our county streets, I can’t support this project. I actually live on Washington Blvd (east of Swanson) and travel along the stretch of road this project designates at least twice a day. The road is narrow, twisty in spots, with poor site lines. The only wide section of the road is at the church, which includes parking for the church out front. I don’t think narrowing the road is going to benefit the citizens that use the road nor the home owners alongside it. This is a major thoroughfare, not a quiet neighborhood street. As someone points out, when the HOT lanes on 66 go live a lot of extra traffic is going to get dumped on our streets. Traffic that can’t move smoothly is going to make it a nightmare for everyone, and squeezing an already narrow road with a bike lane doesn’t make sense. It don’t think it will make things safer for cyclists either. Even with the bike lane in front of my house, I usually get off Washington Blvd as quickly as I can and hit the back streets b/c I don’t feel safe. Heck, a mother and child were struck in a crosswalk, at a lighted intersection and nearly killed last month.

I think there is a time and a place for making our streets more bike friends and giving better access across the county, but I don’t think this is it. The road simply wasn’t design to accept the level of traffic it sees, vehicular or otherwise, and making it narrower (or stealing parking from the honest home owner that they very well may need) isn’t going to help.

My $.02 worth… let th flames from anti-car people errupt. I have my nomex undies on.

JG

[Author]

Posts