[Left Field]

@NovaEbike 164778 wrote:

Thanks!
So I’ve been looking at nearby drycleaners too, but I seem to be in a dead zone and it’s a good half mile or more to the closest one, thought about doing a cab/uber but I hate the thought of making it an odyssey to handle drycleaning every couple weeks (and with a LOT higher prices than by my house). So I’m thinking it’s not worth the effort for higher prices if I can just squeeze it in a garment bag once a week or or lug a trailer in every 2-3 weeks.

Congrats on the weight loss as well! I had a performance suit bag/panier until it wore out after about 4 years. I found that I could fit about 2/3 suits, 4 shirts, and stuff a lot of ties in it. As you are taking them home and don’t care about wrinkles, you can use the exterior pockets and up the number. The only issue I had is that if it is raining hard, the seam will leak a little. But that can fixed with an extra adhesive rubber strip around the exterior zipper and that solved the problem. I use regular panniers now (mix of 1 Ortlieb and 1 Transit) and find that I can generally fit 3 suits and if I stuff, 4 shirts in 1 pannier bag, with nothing else in the bag. Folding/rolling the suits tightly is the key to fitting them.

[Left Field]

@Judd 164761 wrote:

Where do you commute to? If it’s in to DC and the timing works, there’s a coffee club at the Crystal City Waterpark on Tuesdays from 7ish to 8 and on Thursday at the Whole Foods in Pentagon City also from 7ish to 8. Feel free to stop by if it’s on your way, even if it’s just to say hi.

Strava shows 3,278 feet of climbing for the ride last year. There’s one sharp steep climb before one of the rest stops that has a payoff with a great view. Other than that, I only remember one other climb from last year.

I’ll shoot you a PM with my phone number to find us on Monday. Most of the folks in our group will have a green Freezing Saddles tag hanging from our saddle bags that looks like this:

Unfortunately, I commute to the west side of Alexandria and am on the road early, but if I get the chance I will stop by.

Well, at least there is a good view after a climb, that is always a benefit. I will look for the green tags and thanks for the phone number. I am riding a green Surly cross check, silver fenders, and alarmingly bright yellow handle bar tape.

[Left Field]

@lordofthemark 164750 wrote:

Though I now live in the CITY of Alexandria, I would like to mention FABB (Fairfax Alliance for Better Biking) which is the main bike advocacy group in Fairfax County.

Thank you for the reference and while off-topic to this thread, FABB does great advocacy, and that is why I joined here, to hear about bikes, riding, and thoughts about approaches to thorny issues like Sharrows, bollards, wooden bridges and other concepts designed by dark side (looking at you bollards at the bottom of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge on a dark morning in the rain and you first bridge headed North after the stone bridge in the rain, in fall with freshly fallen leaves).

[Left Field]

@CBGanimal 164747 wrote:

Oh you are talking to the right people! Someone will tell you about Freezing Saddles on the 100 mile Indian head ride…[emoji2]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

After I found this forum, I thought I might have found the choir to preach to. I saw the Freezing Saddles posts and the only drawback is I have a flip phone, a bike computer from circa 2006, and no Strava. The Stone age does have advantages however.

[Left Field]

@Judd 164700 wrote:

Welcome to the forum Left Field. There was a big group of Forum folks that rode together last year. I think we left right around the start time of 7. Looking back at last year’s ride on Strava, it looks like most of us averaged about 15.5. I’d be happy to have you along if you want to ride with us.

Judd, thank you for the welcome. I will definitely be there at 7. 15.5 should be manageable as I think the course is reasonably flat, but then again I have never ridden this ride, and hey, being dropped will only help my fragile ego issue.

As a quick way of introduction, I am a bike commuter type. 30 miles round trip from south of Alexandria. I have been riding solo on both commutes/rides and wanted to get more involved in rides and the biking community. I am very interested in helping to integrate biking into our community and ensuring riding is both safe, fun and an alternative to cars. Yeah, getting on a bike and riding to work in rain, snow, cold, heat is not for everyone, but it should always be an option.

[Left Field]

New here to the forum, but have been reading through a number of posts and the community is quite impressive.

Signed up for the Indian Head 100. Haven’t done a century in a long time, but this one looked like it would be fun and it appears the rain should be gone. Humidity, well…you can’t have everything.

Is there a group considering the ride at a time certain?

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