[KS1G]

Getting to and crossing the river: Rt 15 business and the short section of Rt 15 until White’s Ferry Rd is rideable (watch for the rumble strips!) north from Leesburg (see the conclusion of Dirt’s route). Then take Whites Ferry and proceed west on the C&O. Not skinny-tire-friendly, though. Rt 15 north to Point of Rocks is unrideable (no shoulder + 50mph+ traffic). You might be able to manage the Point of Rocks bridge (I’d walk it on the “sidewalk” such as it is) coming from Rt 672/Lovettesville Rd (somwhat busy but rideable). Dirt’s 1st-hand experience is probably better vs. my opinion. I see this is the way his route gets to Point of Rocks. The Brunswick bridge is probably the easiest all-road crossing based on what I have heard/read (no 1st hand experience). 287 north from Purcelville is busy (not as bad as Rt 15), rideable (I’ve done it part-way) but I’d prefer a quiter road.

I’ve heard of folks using Harpers Ferry Rd to get from the Purcelville area to HF. Road seems a bit too narrow and fast, but no 1st-hand experience.

[KS1G]

3rded. A road-morph (older model, but not quite as grizzled a veteran as jw’s) lives on my commuter. All my bikes are presta-valved, so I have not experienced dealing with the other valve type.

[KS1G]

I prefer SPD for commuting (easier to walk in shoes, pedals clip in both sides); Eggbeaters would work well, too. I discovered a few years ago that Shimano SPD and the Performance/Forte brand SPD-equivalent are almost cross-compatible. I forget which combination of cleats and pedals worked in both, however 😡

[KS1G]

One more vote to make sure whatever you decide to buy fits you before buying anything. I am helping a friend buy her 1st road bike (has a hybrid and is ready to make the move up). Over several visits to different shops, she has figured out she prefers woman-specific geometry, her frame size (which varies with make), top tube length preference (10mm makes a huge difference), likes SRAM action but preferes feel Shimano brifter hoods (going to have to pick one or the other), and prefers carbon to Al/carbon mix. And narrowed it down to 2 shops and 2-3 bikes. She’d be unhappy and have wasted a lot of money if she’d gone out and bought what she initially thought she wanted, and be wondering if she’d gotten the best deal for the right bike if she bought what she saw at the 1st shop (although that is one of the bikes she’s considering, so it’d have been a good choice).

[KS1G]

Sorry about your crash!

4) I have 28 or32s on my commuter – lower pressure is a little more forgiving, too. Although I’ve stuck with 23s on my road bike (which I used yesterday and plan to again tomorrow)
5) No
6) Maybe. See above. Extreme case – I overlaped wheels and crashed @20mph towards end of Civil War Century last fall. Didn’t break anything (bust some interesting bruises and road rash). Why? I didn’t have time to let go of handlebars and went down (sliding) basically braced on pedals and handlebars. So the fall was taken by my thigh, arm, and shoulder – spread the load out just enough, I think.
7) Yes. Possible.
Wives are always right (if in doubt, I ask mine, she reminds me she’s right ). But unless they ride, they don’t always understand the situations we face.

Definitely get the finger looked at by a real ortho. Eons ago, I broke 2nd kunckle in right pinky (bare-hand fielded a baseball in the pizza & beer league – team’s shortstop was our ringer and threw it too hard for me to handle. I was “designated Out”). Local walk-in quack thought it was sprained and had me splint it. Was broken & joint froze – sticks out a little if I try to make a fist.

[KS1G]

I missed the original thread. My commuter is a ‘cross-style frame, and I use cross-width & road wheels/tires without major issues. The mix includes 28 and 32mm road tires for normal riding (I’d call these good for year-round use), studded 35mm for snow/icy conditions (used them a lot last winter!), 23mm for summer/try-to-go-fast days when I didn’t use my road bike (which will not take anything larger than a 25mm or seriously underinflated -can you say “pinch flat”? – 28mm).

[KS1G]

I have a 600L Dinotte on my commuter, a 200L I can use on my road bike, and a “Joystick” (bought after reading a post by Dirt) on helmet. I can aim away the helmet light and usually remember to shield the fixed light. 600L is more than I really need for the W&OD sections I use, but comes in handy for revealing jogging and walking ninjas before I’m on top of them. I’ve noticed, that the changing reflection from having a light on flash (or moving the helmet light around) helps alert walkers I’m overtaking that someone is coming up behind them.

[KS1G]

My favorites have already been mentioned. Reston Century (I can bike to the start), CWC (in spite of crashing @ mile 95 last year!), PPTC, Seagull. I was thinking of doing the Gran Fondo in Harrisonburg, but the CWC crash (nothing broken but th road rash & bruises still hurt) ruled that out. Oxon Hill Bike Club has a good list at http://ohbike.org/events/index.htm

[KS1G]

For Bluemont, I don’t think you really need one – take one of the roads heading south out of Purcelville to Snickersville Pike & head west. S 32nd/Sillcott Springs Rd would work. Just remember what goes down is “up” for the way home. (And visa versa) There is a nice little general store in Bluemont that is bike-friendly (especially on warmer days when you can sit out on the deck). You can continue up the hill and via Rt 9 to get to Mt Weather if you want some serious climbing and a view.

I’d have never found out about Catoctin Creek Distillery (need to visit there sometime – but I’ll need a way to carry product home) but for this list, and I discovered several Loudoun County wineries thanks to various bike rids and events. If you find some old cues for Reston Century, MS150, Tour de Cure, they all cover various pieces of western Loudoun. ALso many routes in the PPTC library.

[KS1G]

Hard to say – I changed commutes in March (new work location) so I’m not on the W&OD as much and mine is usually the only bike on the rack @ work. Especially now with shorter cooler days. Although the other day, my timing must’ve been perfect – there were 5 of us on the W&OD heading west out of Herndon center. All well-lit (it was dusk), too. Now if the trail ninjas would just take a few weeks off….

[KS1G]

Indeed, a beautiful morning. ‘course I was overdressed for the ride home.

[KS1G]

3rd the chocolate milk. And for those of you without children (and may not be up on what’s available), it now comes in 8oz ultra-pasturized packs (Coscto, of course, sells it by the case). No refrigeration needed until you want it chilled for drinking and lasts for months. Very handy to toss into a lunch bag (kids) or backpack/pannier (my commute) or have in a small ice chest in car (post ride). I suspect convenience stores may have these as well (emergency mid-ride refueling).

250 mile weekend. Word. Wondered how Seagull was – except for the year there was remnants of a hurricane (windy & wet!), something has always come up. I’m now hoping for 2012.

[KS1G]

This is more of a deal with cold than deal with wet solution, but layers, layers, layers. Make sure the top one is windproof. Even a lightweight one will add a noticeable amount of warmth to whatever else you are wearing. For a budget, Target’s Champion line is a lower price knockoff of Underarmour, Nike, and similar. Watch for sales. I keep an extra pair of gloves at work in case the ones I wear in the AM are still wet 8-9 hrs later (I can scrounge only so much newspaper from colleagues). I seem to have had better luck than Dirt does with Sealskinz waterproof socks, and my lightweight/packable endura jacket seems to have reached the end of it’s life after several seasons of use. We’ll see if the heavier one I got last year does better than Dirt’s experience. Like D said – fenders rock.

Once the rain intensity and ride duration get big enough, you are simply going to get wet. But the drivers will give you a wider berth, as you are obviously crazy and might be dangerous.

[KS1G]

Thanks for the tips.

elcee – I’m going to see what I can find out about that mall parking you mentioned.
eminva – sorry about your bike, and that’s a reason I’m trying to avoid using the metro station. And the place I’m going has no parking, at least for the training classes – they advise metro or use the mall garage.

[KS1G]

Some neighbors clip a cheap bike blinky to the collar or leash on or at the dog’s end and have some other illumination/reflective vest they wear. This lets me know where both the person is and the dog is – very handy to be able to see clearly what the dog is doing (usually less predictable than the people).

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