[Kitty]

Oh man! I really wish the timing was such I could participate. I do this on my own.

I am weird and play my own “Bike Census” game while riding home from work. I count all the bikes I see (CaBi only counts if in motion, not docked) and if I hit “Census” or 100, its a good day and everyone wins! Today for instance I counted 107, we all win!

[Kitty]

I heard about this today and my first thought was “Ooo! Closeout sales! I want cheap bike clothes!” So I’m going to keep my ear to the ground on that one.

When I lived in Pentagon City it was the closest thing I had to an LBS and it was handy for the occasional emergency fix or purchase (like post-accident new helmet required NOW sort of things). However its also been good for when I’m shopping around for something in that retail blob and can’t find what I’m looking for anywhere else. Just a few weekends ago it was the only place I could find women’s athletic sandals after two different DSWs and other places failed me.

PC is a surprisingly isolated bubble in Arlington, being cut off by all of the highways makes for getting to other parts of the area difficult if you don’t have a car. Starting from there, the best way I could get to Phoenix or the other LBSs would be by bike and if its broken well…

[Kitty]

“My other car is my bike”

Which is true in nearly all cases where I’m not needing to go 2 states or more away and/or my husband needed to come with.:p

[Kitty]

I’m still trying to figure out what a “Fred” is… :confused:

All that aside though, it is sad to hear that one of the many who ride with us acted less-than decorously in the middle of a friendly rivalry. My supposition is that it might have come from one who isn’t part to this particular online community, (who knows full well the vernacular meaning of cracker) and probably thought they were safe under the veneer of anonymity that comes from being on the internet.

The sad part is, I don’t think anyone in this community bears ill-will to Gainsville. On the contrary, I’m honestly impressed by their output, but know so little about the city I’m genuinely curious as to what makes it clearly a nice place to ride. I think we can always learn from cool cycling cities. After all, the NBC has made me want to visit Madison, Wisconsin!

[Kitty]

@Steve O 122779 wrote:

I’m not clear on why you couldn’t ride your bike to the game? Is it the ride home after dark?
Even if so, you could ride to the game, then ride your bike afterward to Capitol South (or another station not named Navy Yard) and take Metro from there.

Believe me, it wasn’t comfort with the route after dark. Frankly I’ve come to enjoy night riding and probably have an unhealthy sense of safety of being out after dark on two wheels opposed to two feet. It was a matter of having to lead a group of staff/interns to the stadium via metro before, and then giving my non-cycling husband some company for the metro-ride home. Ha ha.

@dbb 123011 wrote:

Graphics below. While we took the lead in late July, Gainesville appears to have recruited a bunch (a bigger bunch than WAAS) of riders.

Note the surge by Gainesville.

While we have fewer points, the team members for the WAAS are riding more consistently. I’d attribute that to the fact that many of the team are commuters or utility cyclists.

I was pretty bummed to see this. You can really see the effect of the gap in riders. It makes me wonder what’s going on down there. Really awesome bike-friendly infrastructure? Or simply a larger population?

In any case, heading into this last month, it looks like I’m going to hit my distance and points goals for this year’s NBC. The 2000 miles I think will happen on its own, but to hit Diamond, I’m going to need to make it an effort to not skip a day.

[Kitty]

Well thanks to your info and inspiration, I set out yesterday and rode the W&OD all the way to Pucellville yesterday! 😎

[ATTACH=CONFIG]9475[/ATTACH]

I started out from Mile 0 of the Custis Trail in Rosslyn (largely to get counted by the bike counter – #10 for the morning!) in lieu of going down to Shirlington for the W&OD trailhead as both routes are about 4 miles until the converge.

Following LotM’s suggestions I made the GreenLizard my first stop for a smoothie (and was probably the only one who bothered to lock my bike…), rode on to Purcelleville where I chatted with nice folks for a bike before returning to Ashville for the famous BBQ and a visit to Old Ox. (If you haven’t had their seasonal raspberry basil, it was amazing!). From there a final stop at Cafe Amouri where the only thing better than the cold drink thing they made me (too brainfried by midday heat to care, asked them to make me something good) was the classic rock soundtrack!
The hit of caffeine. and the adrenaline of familiar territory convinced me to not take Custis home, but instead go down to Shirlington so I could say I did the whole W&OD, and sucked it up and took MVT home. When I hit the Rosslyn bike counter I was no. 1647!

Best part was at the end of it all, I did a full century. A great way to spend a Saturday and add another trail to my “Conquered in Full” list.

[Kitty]

Mine came in the mail last night! I can’t wait to go through it carefully as well, but I had to laugh. On my quick glance through I’ve ridden most of the “difficult roads”, largely from moving in from far away and then trying to use Google’s “recommendations” to get places.

@ginacico 122842 wrote:

I think there could be a Use Caution mark near the Chain Bridge exchange. Between the freaky little trail detour coming down from N Randolph, the wicked steep hill on 41st, and the traffic light at N Glebe I think it warrants a heads up.

That. Hill. I would like to find the sadist who labeled that steep-grade driveway as a “bike trail” and give them a piece of my mind. Lord knows the VDOT cycling map feedback program got an “earful” on that one. I love the Chain Bridge view but that “bike route” is about a bike friendly as Courtland Milloy…

[Kitty]

I won’t be able to do this one because of 50 States, but I just wanted to vouch for Venture Point trips! I did their Wine on Wheels in Shenandoah last fall and the Harper’s Ferry Trip over Memorial Day weekend and they were a BLAST! The girls are accommodating/encouraging to all types of riders and the food is plentiful and fantastic!

[Kitty]

I won’t be able to do this one this year, but I look forward to hearing all about it! I’m plotting for next year’s Century Schedule. 😎

[Kitty]

@consularrider 122627 wrote:

I rode the 50 States the past seven years, four of them as a marshal. I believe there was at least a little rain on each and every one of those rides.

As far as Summer riding is concerned, I decided that getting rained on was better than 95 and humid. (Or at least that’s what I told myself to get through June/July)

[Kitty]

@PotomacCyclist 122765 wrote:

Is your office near a bikeshare station? If so, you could use CaBi on days where you will only be riding one-way. It’s early enough that the in-demand stations in downtown DC (if that’s where you work) would still have available docks. They tend to fill up after 8:30 on weekday mornings.

But there are also two CaBi bike corrals, one near Foggy Bottom and the other near 13th & New York Ave. NW. They have unlimited docking on weekday mornings.

It’s also good to check bike and dock availability on the CaBi website and the free Spotcycle smartphone app (iOS and Android only, no Windows Phone or Blackberry).

You know, I hadn’t considered that. I’ve always had my own bike so the CaBi system is largely unknown to me. I mean yeah, those 3 speeds and frame-that-weighs-more-than-I-do would be an adjustment, but it would probably still beat the Metro!

[Kitty]

The things this challenge makes me do… because my office is going to the Nats game tonight (and no one else rides so no bike valet for me ) I am going to have to metro in this morning rather than commute by bike. Soo… I’m up an hour early to arbitrarily ride Custis on my “rest day” so I can still put up points.

Not a bad way to start the day though!

[Kitty]

Aside from the horse-yielding, which made me pause for a season, I’m pleased to report a 10/10. However the way it was worded, even if you didn’t know the trail rules in many instances the correct answer was easy to guess: it was the one that didn’t make you sound like a jerk! (Splashing everyone, “clothesline rule” etc.)

[Kitty]

I’m go glad I brought this up! Such fantastic inspiration from folks doing but crazy feats and errends like me! (Also some great tips on the Root Beer Beer–which sounds as polarizing as the concept suggests. I want to make floats…)

@ginacico 122712 wrote:

Vaya needed a bath this morning to rinse off the towpath dust.

Same! Only going as far as Great Falls required a good rinse down of the bike, water bottle, everything! Thank goodness I discovered a random hose in our apartment’s garage…

@consularrider 122713 wrote:

Three day weekend in Kyiv (Ukraine Independence Day) and beautiful weather here too. Photos from Sunday and Monday rides are posted in the photos thread. Also rode a west loop on Saturday, a 300 km weekend.

Sir, you are living my dream. Someday I will make it through the FSO process and when I do, I see “worldwide availability” as a wonderful opportunity to bike in new places.

@Rod Smith 122744 wrote:

Saturday 168 miles most without rear shift cable. Over 10,000 feet of descending. Included a baker’s half dozen gravel roads; Sugarloaf Mountain Road, Peters, Poffenberger, Bennies Hill, Quarter Folly, Featherbed and Clover Hill. Three mountains, Sugarloaf, Catoctin (via Mountville Rd. plus Mar Lu Ridge Rd.), and South Mountain via Arnoldstown to Gathland. This ride put me in the top 60 in the National Bike Challenge and within 150 points of first place for the State of Maryland.

Sunday, no ride. Ended my streak of Sunday centuries at 14, dropped about ten places in the NBC and back to 200 points behind Brad Francisco.

Annnd officially, you win the weekend. 😎

[Kitty]

@Brendan von Buckingham 122574 wrote:

It’s a big ride with people all over the city all day. Individual results may vary. Trust me. It was torrential for me and my group right before the Takoma DC pit stop around 1:00-1:30. Like, “couldn’t see” torrential.

Yeah, the rain really picked up in the early afternoon. There was a really nasty crash in Rock Creek Park where a rider slipped and was badly injured. It put a bit of a pale on things thereafter…

[Author]

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