[Justin Antos]

Hint: it’s inside the Beltway. (People who follow my strava feed are disqualified

[Justin Antos]

Suits and briefcases

[Justin Antos]

Last week I caught this impressive lady climbing up Capitol Hill:

And then this week by Canal Park – 2 kids and 2 bikes… on a bike. wow!

[Justin Antos]

Nice riding yesterday on Constitution Avenue – no cars anywhere!

[Justin Antos]

A couple of the the Tour riders are uploading to Strava, which is kind of fun. It’s crazy to see their rides displayed in the same format as all of my pokey noodling around town.

I rode this segment last summer at 11mph. The Tour riders today took it at 36mph, but I think that’s because their bikes had a stronger top tube than mine did.

[Justin Antos]

@83(b) 56518 wrote:

It’s particularly irritating when the person is (a) someone you just passed and now have to wait to safely pass again,

This really is pretty irritating, mostly on East Capitol in the morning. The worst is when they do it repeatedly until you get to the Capitol. My strategy? Sip coffee, sigh, soft-pedal until I can pass again, and try to find zen. And at the next red, act wide

The problem usually goes away around Daylight Savings Time.

[Justin Antos]

Let the healing begin.

[Justin Antos]

@4st7lbs 55038 wrote:

one HUGE issue for me (and I’m sure a few other larger riders) is that their weight classes stop at 200lbs.

And their maximum bike weight of 25 lbs. Heck, my groceries alone can be 25 pounds .

Also, Strava doesn’t appear to know how hard it is to pedal into a headwind!

[Justin Antos]

@birddog 54900 wrote:

Seriously – NE DC is one of the most dangerous places in the mid-atlantic.

Um…

[Justin Antos]

Oakwood Rd. under the Beltway by Van Dorn St. always felt kinda secret to me

Heading out to Cheverly, New Carrollton etc. there’s a bike-only link at Marblewood Ave to partly avoid Sheriff Rd

From the Anacostia trail to get to Hyattsville, avoiding RI Ave by taking 41st Street

Bilsko’s connection to the CCT from Potomac Ave NW and Norton St NW by Delecarlia

The little link from the back of Westchester Park Towers to Greenbelt Park Road, that ronwalf helpfully pointed out lets you go from Pontiac Rd in Berwyn Hts into Greenbelt Park:

[Justin Antos]

This is great advice which I flunked in today’s heat. By dinner at the end of the ride, I was NOT feeling good and didn’t want food until about a half hour had passed and I’d guzzled a ton of ginger ale. I should’ve added Gatorade to the mix during the ride; water alone wasn’t cutting it.

For the last few miles, I was thinking, “Man, I don’t feel good, I think I need more water. I should really go read that thread on the Forum about hydrating, they’re on to something”

[Justin Antos]

Feel free to swing on by the West Hyattsville Metro station pitstop for some cool swag too, even for those not registered. Also try out a bus bike rack!

Right off the Anacostia trail!

[Justin Antos]

Thanks Jeff and Ron – I ended up taking Pontiac to the little trail to Greenbelt Park there. On the way back, I took the road through Greenbelt Park down to Good Luck Rd. I preferred the Pontiac Rd. route. The little dirt path is only ~100 feet, and the route generally keeps you off of traffic-y roads.

The road in Greenbelt Park is a super nice bikeable road, lots of hills, but Good Luck Rd. is rough, I stuck to sidewalks at rush hour. Greenbelt Rd. is basically un-bikeable – Sidewalk only on the north side, no sidewalk on south side.

Here’s the entrance to the little trail at the back of the parking lot at Westpark:

The road in Greenbelt Park is nice:

[Justin Antos]

@consularrider 51859 wrote:

It’s not like I’m going to be drinking a piping hot beverage while riding.

Oh dear. Sipping hot (or iced) coffee at red lights on my morning commute is pure heaven – it’s like half the reason I ride a bike to work.

[Justin Antos]

I have a Thermos Sipp, works great. Fits snugly in a water bottle cage.

[Author]

Replies