[jrenaut]

@DaveK 7704 wrote:

Plenty of 250-lb guys ride road bikes, you should be fine. Also consider that you won’t be hopping curbs and whatnot with your child on the bike. The only weight limit I’d make sure to check is the rack itself.

Yeah, that makes sense. I think I’m going to try to get to a bike shop this weekend and take a look in person.

Thanks for all the advice.

[jrenaut]

I didn’t see any info on methodology aside from “number of accidents”. I’d rather be in 1000 fender-benders that don’t injure anyone than 1 accident that sends someone to the hospital – does this include things like that?

It’s probably just Allstate’s justification for setting higher rates in certain cities.

[jrenaut]

I didn’t get a paper manual. Maybe I can get a hold of someone at Giant. Rider + rack + carrier + child + laptop + whatever else I need to bring to work are going to get close to 250.

Maybe I’ll just have to tell my daughter that bumps build character.

[jrenaut]

I hate seeing bike cops on the sidewalk. If they don’t feel safe biking on the streets, we either need to train them better, or fix our streets. I know it’s legal to ride on the sidewalk in most of the city, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. They should be able to effectively and safely do their jobs while riding on the street.

[jrenaut]

@mstone 7688 wrote:

Remember to also check the bike’s weight rating for racks…

How do I do that? It’s a Giant Defy 3, and it doesn’t list any rack weight rating on their website.

[jrenaut]

The grocery basket is nice. I’m currently 100% backpack, but that has its drawbacks, like biking 6 miles, mostly uphill, with a watermelon and a cantaloupe wedged in your back.

[jrenaut]

Your videos always make me want to get out and bike more.

[jrenaut]

@dasgeh 7618 wrote:

. . . both times the Spotcycle app showed empty docks at my location. . ..

I’ve wondered a few times if this is a bike that’s not pushed all the way in to the station, so the person who left it thinks it’s in the station, and the station doesn’t. It happened to me a few times when I was doing CaBi every day to work.

If that’s the problem, it’s more an education issue than anything – people have to wait until the dock light turns green.

[jrenaut]

I was out around 245 to go to the grocery store – I figured it would be crowded, but that bike parking would be easier than usual. I was correct. Rain and wind kept me cool coming home up the hill, too.

[jrenaut]

I blame the earthquake for my flat yesterday. I found out about it when I was going to bed and went to hang the bike on the ceiling. Awesome to change my first tube when I thought I was going to be asleep in five minutes. But I was successful – made it in to work this morning uneventfully. Next up – trying to patch the tube I took off the wheel.

[jrenaut]

Traffic-free? I wish. I was on my bike when it happened, down at the Navy Yard, waiting at a light. The PA Ave cycle tracks were FULL of clowns, and on 15th St I had to cross the street because the tracks were impassable. Then I had to walk my daughter 15 blocks home from her first day of preschool with the littler daughter on my back because the buses were so full they weren’t even stopping. But we’re okay, so that’s the important part.

[jrenaut]

Quote:

Let’s see, a 25 MPH speed zone with camera enforcement that automatically launches missiles.

There, I fixed your spelling error.

[jrenaut]

From the article CCrew linked

Quote:

If there’s a safe way to slow down the traffic in that 40 mph zone without creating a new hazard, I hope the National Park Service will do it. A HAWK signal brings traffic to a stop whenever people who want to cross hit a button. Any device requiring frequent traffic stops on such a busy commuter route should raise concerns among all people who travel in the area.

I love how the response to “it is important to realize that motorized traffic is not an uncontrollable force of nature” is “motorized traffic is an uncontrollable force”, and that the convenience of commuting drivers is prioritized over people’s safety.

The response to the second letter is great, too – “everyone breaks the law, so there’s no point in even trying to do anything. We should just plan to build a new intersection sometime in the next decade”.

How about this – put a couple of police officers there who will aggressively ticket EVERYONE who breaks a traffic law. Cars, cyclists, walkers, runners, whatever.

[jrenaut]

@Tim Kelley 7290 wrote:

Unless you’re wearing flip-flops! Speaking of which, is it just me and my flip-flops, or did the 105 degree temps a few weeks ago make the 90 degree temps completely bearable and the 70/80 degree temps in the morning downright chilly?

Yeah, the weather has been awesome since the heat wave.

I’m a little surprised that none of the articles mentioned CaBi – that was my gateway to buying a bike, and it’s changed the way I look at the city. Even though I rarely ride one anymore, I wouldn’t be biking to work if not for CaBi. And I think the increase in cycling that it’s helped cause is beneficial for everyone.

[jrenaut]

The 15th street cycletracks are nice, though I find the lights to be timed pretty badly for southbound traffic. Note that the southbound lanes start V St NW and go down to Pennsylvania Ave (with a short and poorly signed detour past the White House) to connect with the cycletracks there.

You will certainly not have the issues you mention on 15th, but there’s a lot of distance between V and Silver Spring that you still have to cover, and I don’t really know the roads for biking north of Columbia Heights.

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