[jwfisher3]

@acc 36521 wrote:

Yeah, a runaway dump truck went over his head.
He’s still alive.
Wonder what brand of helmet.

http://www.arlnow.com/2012/11/27/bicyclist-survives-after-dump-truck-rolls-over-his-head/

I had a work buddy (now retired) who was my role model as a bike commuter, and who had the most incredible story, as he got HIS head run over by a truck in the spring of 1999 right at the crab shacks on the SW waterfront while riding his way to work one day. Not only did he survive, but he didn’t even want to go to the ER (DC EMS and MPD insisted) His helmet? A Louis Garneau. When he contacted them with his documented story, he got the response “well, we are pleased our helmet worked as designed.” Not even an offer from LG to replace it. But he never wears any other brand.

[jwfisher3]

@vvill 35753 wrote:

Maybe? I don’t know, I don’t really like flashy/gaudy designs on my bike. Or anything about a king.

Funny that SSCX is all the rage now. I spent some time over the weekend looking at some of them online for no particular reason. The full Spot build is supposedly <19lb which is nice for steel + disc brakes although their warranty isn't that generous for a $1400 frame. The All-City Nature Boy and Masi Speciale looked nice too although they're heavier, and Felt and Redline make Al SS CX bikes. I guess I should actually figure out if I do want to ride a SS let alone a SS CX first though... :rolleyes: I figure if I get a SS it should be a SS CX for the versatility of wider tires.

SSCX is pretty great, esp. for winter commuting. I had a Bianchi San Jose for a couple of seasons, and really wish I still had it, all the more since they discontinued building it

[jwfisher3]

@jabberwocky 35442 wrote:

I’m pretty good on layering. I’ve been winter commuting since 2006, and have a sizable collection of various weight base layers, socks and tights. I also have an old set of Lake SPD boots that are great, and several winter gloves. What I really need is a shell; something windproof as a top layer in cool/cold weather that also gives some water resistance when its cold and raining. For the past 5 or so years, I’ve been running a showerspass elite 2 jacket. It works well; the eVent fabric does breath reasonably effectively and the design of the jacket is good. My only complaint is that the build quality is terrible; the glued seams are constantly coming apart, the pocket zippers fell off (not the finger pull, the entire zipper). And at this point, the fabric is well worn out and no longer waterproof anyway.

I’m looking for something as similar as possible, but NOT from showerspass. A high-end rain/winter cycling shell.

I was hesitant to weigh in with my .02, since my winter shell cost an almost unreasonable amount, but since Dirt broke the ice with a sound exposition of why spending serious $$ is merited, and you put the phrase “high-end rain/winter cycling shell” I’m going to go with – my Rapha softshell jacket (Rapha has since come out with an even more weather proof jacket, the hardshell, for even more $$) My Rapha softshell has great build quality, loaded with features – ventilates nicely, close fit to prevent flapping, pockets galore, and great wind and water resistance. I admit I’m not totally enamored of the signature offset zipper, but it’s there, and it is distinctive. Combining this with various wool layers and jerseys allow for comfort going from the high 20’s to high 50’s. Only bummer is the price (get it when they have the sales) and the fact that I can’t carry a nice bottle of California cabernet in the pockets. Least I don’t think so.

[jwfisher3]

@Greenbelt 33433 wrote:

Only 4 flats in 8 years? Dang, I need to lose some weight or something. Even with the superduperest tires I can find, I get 3 or 4 a year.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the delta on flats between the two of you may be due more to the routes taken, with broken glass, and other road flotsam and jetsam. I know that my flatting is in direct relation to how many broken MD20-20 bottles are lying about on the Douglass bridge.

[jwfisher3]

@Dirt 34228 wrote:

I’m heartbroken. They nuked the Globe Live III… and it would have been recalled and sacked anyways. The world hates me.

(Oh! And I make it a practice to never buy more than one $3000+ bikes without riding or seeing it first each year.)

Right, then – how about this one? With the Rohloff hub, and high-end lights, etc. this bike would be $5K+, but this is the commuter bike I covet

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/ttmetro.asp

[jwfisher3]

@Dirt 34212 wrote:

It isn’t often that I find a bike from a major manufacturer to put on a covet list… Here’s the exception: http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bikes/multi-use/source/sourceeleven

I’m not happy because Specialized isn’t a company that I really like very much, though some of their products (particularly their helmets) are EXTREMELY good.

That is a very cool bike. Me likey.

Dirt

Dirt – I, like you, took a liking to this bike, even as, like you, I tend to shy away from The Great Corporate Behemoth that is Specialized. Talked to a couple of the high-end Specialized shops earlier this spring, and it turns out the Source Eleven is not really all that available. If one could even be ordered (and who buys a $3K bike without riding it first? Not even me.) there was no guarantee that one could be gotten. So I ride a much less cool (and undoubtedly heavier by orders of magnitude) commuter with a dynamo hub, etc. I’d just like to see more commuter bikes built up by bike companies – how about a Ridley cross bike with fenders and a dynamo hub, and that wonderful Supernova light? Oooo -sweet! Are you listening in Belgium?

[jwfisher3]

@Mark Blacknell 26387 wrote:

Would a DC, Fairfax, or [shudder] Maryland member like to step in and explain?

Mark, I’m one of those dreadful MD riders (why are we bad? I forget. . . .) Well, seems like everything in my home state has the Maryland flag design involved ) think Terrapin uniforms, or better yet, Ravens or Orioles arm patches/seals. But really, I’m with Ann on this one – the characteristic that suits all of us best is that we ride bikes. Period. I enjoy the tri-municipal nature of our gang. And one last thing – Castelli is very good, but Giordana also makes a nice trade jersey. Rapha does not.

[jwfisher3]

The eagle sticker indicates that the DoD sticker for the vehicle was issued to an O-6 (a senior field-grade officer of the rank of Colonel (USAF/USA/USMC) or Captain (Navy/Coast Guard) Making a lot of assumptions, if the vehicle belongs to the driver, and if the driver was under the influence, his career is over. The military has zero tolerance for DUI/DWI, which is as it should be. Enough said.

[jwfisher3]

Aw, all right, I’m gonna admit it – I love this movie – my DVD copy is about worn out – it has Eddie Merckx (who doesn’t like firing a starting pistol), Specialized bikes made out of steel (!), Kevin Costner in a Seven-Eleven kit (apparently, Costner hated riding the bike, but was athletic enough to make it look halfway authentic), grunting Soviet goombas (spin, you numbskulls!), Rae Dawn Chong and Alexandra Paul as the love interests. Breaking Away might be a better film, especially if you really love cycling, but there’s something about this movie, admittedly reeking of bad acting, which evokes the days of Greg Lemond’s greatness, the Coors Classic, etc. for me, that just draws me in time after time.

[jwfisher3]

@acc 22257 wrote:

Rather than contaminate yet another sport, this needs to stop now. He needs to clear himself before taking on the triathlon world.

Contaminate is a strong, and arguably pejorative word, Ann, don’t you think? I’ll admit, as a cancer survivor, my thoughts and feeling about Lance are complicated, and I don’t always like him, though I sometimes admire him, but my ire is raised by the idea that the USADA (populated as it is with people with feelings that bruise when the force of nature that is The Lance fires at them) is going to spend millions (yes, millions) of our tax dollars on a hunt to take away titles that were earned years ago, when the DOJ has declined to pursue criminal prosecutions using much of the same investigative material – well, it just rubs me raw. (And I apologize to the writing professor for my run-on sentences. . . .) Now, as a cyclist, who admires athletes who compete fairly and cleanly, I want the sport(s) I love so much to emerge from a culture of doping, so I support the idea of vigorous testing and transparent reporting (can anyone say Garmin-Barracuda? ) without the sub rosa leaks and lab screwups that call the validity of the results into question. What does it mean, after all, that Mr. Armstrong, who admits he’s not the world’s nicest guy (champions rarely are) has tested negative more than 500 times? Did he beat the tests? Maybe. Maybe not. We operate under the rule of law on the presumption of innocence, and his clean labs seem to indicate that all the hate and persistent prosecution is at least partly based on the fact that he’s a bit of an *ssh*le and is pretty full of himself. So what? If he’s clean, let him race until he posts a positive result. The “suspicious” results of 2009-2010 are likely based on the biological passport concept, which is still notional. Since USADA is going to go with this regardless of what I say/write, let’s at least hope they don’t spend tax money like a drunken sailor, and that they keep the sanctity of the process intact.

[jwfisher3]

Certifried – I’ve been a semi-regular on the CCT over the last 4 years- I commute from Chevy Chase MD to SE DC (about 17miles). I start at Oh-Dark-Thirty, and ride the CCT about 3 times a week, when I’m not recovering from broken bones or other life challenges (yes, I broke the wrists on the commute – watch out for those pedestrians!) The previous warning about deer is a good one – I ride with good lights (now a dynamo light set up) partly because I’ve had close encounters with deer, especially on the stretch of the CCT between Dalecarlia tunnel and Georgetown. You will see some wonderful things as you ride through the four seasons. Welcome to our gang.

[jwfisher3]

@off2ride 16745 wrote:

My experience with dynamo lights decades back was they always tore up my tire. Not sure what the technology is on them now but I think I’ll stick with my battery operated LED’s.

I agree that the sidewall dynamos were horrible – hard on tires, and the drag was noticeable. The dynamos I’m interested in are the more advanced hub dynamos (Schmidt, Shimano, and the like) which connect to lights at the fork ends.

[jwfisher3]

@OneEighth 16712 wrote:

Y’all do realized the odds against, yes?

I do realize the odds are long. Then again, I have a co-worker who’s been struck twice, and though she’s lived to tell the tale, she is also the only forty-something I know with a pacemaker – her body’s electrical system is so haywire she suffers from cardiac arrhythmia.

[jwfisher3]

I do realize the odds are long. Then again, I have a co-worker who’s been struck twice, and though she’s lived to tell the tale, she is also the only forty-something I know with a pacemaker – her body’s electrical system is so haywire she suffers from cardiac arrhythmia.

[jwfisher3]

Greenbelt – you are another of the venerated commuters I had in mind, and I appreciate your perspective. I guess my predicament is that, for example if I get myself stuck out on the CCT between Fletcher’s Cove and Bethesda, there’s no place to bail and go inside. Thanks so much for the links to the weather radar. As we all know the microclimates in our Mid-Atlantic neck of the woods can mean one county is bright and sunny, while 4 miles away somebody’s getting Tornado Warnings.

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