[lordofthemark]

@Sunyata 226398 wrote:

I think you might eventually find that actual therapy ends up being cheaper than bikes…. #NPlusOne

I mean you may just find that you end up telling your therapist a LOT about bikes, including about Freezing Saddles. Hmmm.

[lordofthemark]

Since we have newbies, welcome to one of our weirdest threads.

A few things have changed –

1. about a quarter of electricity in Va is renewable, and most of the rest is nuclear or natural gas. Electric is clearly much better than gasoline at this point

2. There are a LOT of ebikes all over – a game changer

3. Va has, IIUC, adopted the California 3 class system. This means a vehicle able to get assist at over 27 MPH is not a bike.

4. De facto, ebikes are on all trails. (Can someone remind me if there are still de jure rules banning class 3s on the trail that allow ebikes?)

5. Lithium is getting scarce and is a big issue – but its pretty settled I think, that ebikes use a LOT less lithium than E cars, etc

6. We have a lot more non trail bike infra than we did in 2015, though perhaps still not a great route from Sterling

7. I can’t recall seeing an ELF or anything similar in the years since. If its still a thing it hasnt taken off like all those ebikes, has it?

8. We no longer have a shortage of aggregate demand! (thanks Joe Biden!) So the whole mercantilist trade thing is different? China has had its ups and downs, to say the least

9. I have become a whole hearted fan of lycra, though I still find many uses for khaki pants.

[lordofthemark]

@kwarkentien 226285 wrote:

Nice deals at REI going on now. This article summarizes some of them quite nicely: https://www.singletracks.com/mtb-gear/take-20-off-one-of-these-rarely-on-sale-items-for-mountain-biking-at-rei/

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I just bought a merino wool base layer on sale from REI (original suggestion from Karen, coffee club affirmed the wisdom of it)

[lordofthemark]

To be clear getting a fancy coffee mug will wait till I have added a second bottle cage to the bike, which project will wait on several other projects – right now repairing my broken Ortlieb, repair my windstopper jacket, getting a new light and some other new bike clothes. For now I use some old swag coffee container, and it serves well enough to get coffee from Best Buns to Jenny Dean Park (on those days I just don’t take a water bottle).

[lordofthemark]

Last Sunday I rode on the new Pennsylvania Avenue SE PBLs (I had ridden on them before, but this was my first time after they were officially open) Pretty decent.

What’s impressive though is the growing connectivity of the network. My next stop was in Adams Morgan with a stop at REI along the way- I rode back up Penn to 3rd – no infra on 3rd, but not terrible. From REI I rode on M Street NE PBL to 1st NE, then on that PBL to K Street PBL, to New Jersey, then on the New Jersey PBL to R Street (door zone bike lane to Adams Morgan)

From M Street by the MBT all the way to New Jersey and R Street it was PBLs the entire way. Still room for improvement (like on R Street!) but better than any other jurisdiction in the region, better than it was only a few years ago. The fruit of patient but persistent advocacy.

[lordofthemark]

Someone has removed part of the tree, so it’s possible to ride (or walk) around, rather than under. Do still be careful there.

[lordofthemark]

https://www.ffxnow.com/2023/10/24/road-diet-and-bicycle-lanes-proposed-near-dunn-loring-metro-station/

Note, with the I66 trail opening, this will be a more bikeable area. And not too far from the W&OD of course (and hopefully improvements on Gallows)

And thanks to Supervisor Palchik (and FABB?)

[lordofthemark]

Idea. Suppose the ask was NOT a sign saying “Pete Beers Bridge” but a sign with the quote “We should all go for a bike ride – Pete Beers” so not implying naming the bridge. The only issue would be NVRPA’s signage policy, rather than naming policy(and no need to for VDOT or ArlCo involvment)? Would this be an easier ask?

[lordofthemark]

As of this Tuesday, October 10th, Tuesday Crystal City Coffee Club will return to the newly reopended Water Park, weather permitting.

My understanding is that in the event of bad weather we will go back to Mah Ze Dar.

(By the way, what does Mah Ze Dar mean in Arabic? Mah Ze in Hebrew is “what’s this?” )

[lordofthemark]

This is not within scope for the Abingdon project. Maybe when the nearby Alex Renew project is done.

[lordofthemark]

@kwarkentien 226213 wrote:

On a weekday, take the train to Savage (Annapolis Junction) on the Camden Line. You can ride the Patuxent Branch Trail to Guilford Road in the Kings Contrivance area but need an all-terrain/adventure/gravel/mountain bike as it’s unpaved.

If you need to go on a weekend and take Penn Line, you can use Maryland Bike Route 32. You’ll need to drop down from BWI rail station but not too difficult to link up with this route: https://www.google.com/url?q=https://ridewithgps.com/routes/2114739&sa=U&sqi=2&ved=2ahUKEwiD_bDXgNmBAxXkEVkFHcJLALoQFnoECA8QAQ&usg=AOvVaw2lRrIzm6CpY2D9U334F5ih

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Thank you Karen. My friends are east of 29 and south of 32, so your route from BWI looks doable. I will be either riding my road bike or the Cannondale Road Warrior, so looks like not worth taking a Friday off for this.

[lordofthemark]

@Judd 226177 wrote:

It’s not officially abandoned though it hasn’t served any customers since around 2013 after the power plant shut down and WaPo stopped using Robinson Terminal for paper storage. He HRP folks intend to redevelop the corridor into trail and park space as envisioned in the area plan. It’s going to be a while before that happens.

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IIRC there was talk of using the spur for construction materials for the HilCo development.

[lordofthemark]

@lordofthemark 117441 wrote:

Actually the lead agency is DDOT, since the Long Bridge is actually in DC, though I expect most public dollars will be federal (not sure if CSX will be pitching in anything) The street car connection is dead, I think – they could reserve a transit only lane for buses or they could add general travel lanes, or just save money and make it railroad plus bike/ped only.

While we are necromancing this thread, interesting that this last idea is what is actually to be implemented. But I was wrong about the lead agency, it’s the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority.

[lordofthemark]

@LhasaCM 226114 wrote:

Progress so far isn’t very widespread, so I can’t blame you for missing the start; the focus has been on building out the floating bus islands. The one at 4th SE is pretty much done.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]30860[/ATTACH]

I took a walk around today from 4th to NJ, and yes, I saw the work on the floating bus islands. It’s not clear from looking that this will mean a change to bike infra (from the existing shared bus lanes), but I will take your word for it.

[lordofthemark]

@CaseyKane50 226142 wrote:

LOTM, your more than 10 year wait is almost over. As of Friday, the new trail connecting to the Mount Vernon Trail at the Humpback Bridge is nearly ready for you to ride.

Path going towards Boundary Channel

Path blocked northbound towards the MVT

Same barricade, but looking towards Boundary Channel

Exit before the Humpback Bridge on the MVT towards Boundary Channel

And this, my friends, is why all the posts on here need to be preserved forever, at least in some kind of archive.

Thanks for the pictures Casey. As is my approach to the i66 trail, I have enough places I have yet to explore, for new infra I will wait till its officially open (usually).

I do pass the end of this regularly and quite eager to see it used.

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