[Meh]

AlanA, great thread idea.

I should probably apologise to my team in advance also. I hate cycling. No, that is not a joke. I despise it, and the only thing I hate more is being on medication while fasting. Which is why I continue to ride.

I think about gear a lot – and I spend unjustifiable sums on it because I keep deluding myself that different might be more fun. It isn’t.

Motivational speeches? Rubbish and lies – and the proof is I go ride when the motivators don’t. No it won’t be awesome. It will be absolutely miserable and my genetics have cursed me to it. Group rides are pointless because I don’t want to be a mood killer by being honest. Solo rides are – solo, and just as bleak as that sounds.

[Meh]

@Nadine 212929 wrote:

Rod & Sunyata, you guys really think it’s worth $100 bucks for heated insoles?

[emoji3] Nadine
[emoji3063][emoji2186]

I am neither Rod nor Sunyata, but I will say they definitely work, work fast, and work well.

The downsides (after a week of use – there might be more) are:

– The heels are TALL. You need at least 16mm (more than 5/8″) vertical room available in your heel cup. This might be a problem for really low cut shoes or for ones with very defined Achilles tendon slots.
– The forefeet are thick (8mm+) and you cannot thin them
– There is no defined heel cup and no arch support – don’t expect to be able to use them in alpine ski boots. Don’t expect to be able to use them in really loose footwear unless there is a really good way to tension the instep.
– On really tight shoes and really vented shoes they have trouble getting the heat all the way down to the toe. Yes, it is possible to have a hot heel and a cold-numb toe. Tight is bad. Overshoes/toe caps are good.
– DON’T lose the remote (too many pocketses? dark handlebar bag?) ‘coz manual reset means taking them out of the shoe.

Otherwise, they’re a value product. Lenz heated socks will cost you double what these go for; Hotronics socks will cost you triple (or more).

[Meh]

Credit to Fairfax County – the really packed gritty grey-white aggregate they used on walking trails in parks like Daniels Run really seems to have cut down on the ice. In comparison the cross-county trail is a series of slush puddles with cratered ice chunks in between – with several trees down. None of the water is draining off the CCT, expect deep ice and deep slush tomorrow.

[Meh]

@Mongo 212140 wrote:

Am I missing something, or is there no connection to any trail on the Virginia side of the bridge?

It looks like we can expect Balls Hill to Westmoreland to get a lot more popular – it’s about the only existing connection down there unless they do a flyover to the Scott’s Run/Swinks Mill side.

[Meh]

@ginacico 212122 wrote:

Oh, they’ll build a path on American Legion Bridge during its planned expansion. But stupidly (maybe typically?) they don’t want to connect it to existing bike routes.

.

I kinda don’t mind that, honestly – putting the connection to MacArthur just means we’ll all be using the connector to the east side of the aqueduct bridge. Yes, I know it will mean hike-a-bike for most.

@scoot 212123 wrote:

Amazing how topography that is too hostile for a trail can somehow be conducive to a four-lane divided automobile raceway.

Eh, I’ve only hiked the PHT bits below Chain Bridge, how is it upstream of that? (Not sure I want those paved, either, they’re fun in an urban scrambling way).

[Meh]

If the choice is between front basket and a pannier on the rear rack, and the object is to reduce vibration and peak shock, I would totally stay front basket.

<- currently on team messenger bag because I hate the handling changes with panniers.

[Meh]

Must be people/persons?

[Meh]

*wonders how hard it would be to do heated keyboards*

[Meh]

I wound up ordering a pair as well. We’ll see. If nothing else, they’ll go in the XC ski boots.

[Meh]

@cvcalhoun 212001 wrote:

You can come to happy hour, and still make it to NY for the next day.

That’s a lot of overnight riding

[Meh]

@Rod Smith 211955 wrote:

Pssst, they’re on sale now! The six hour run time might be a problem but most days the air temps are manageable after six hours.

Have you used them? Can they be recharged on the fly (like in a frame bag) off a power pack?

[Meh]

Just for clarification – repeat visits to the _same_ boutique coffee shop on different rides do or do not count? I think the answer is ‘no’ but there’s no harm checking.

[Meh]

No one likes the Soapstone to Foxclove to Stuart Mill redirect, keeping OP off Lawyers Rd? Depending on the W&OD departure point, there’s a bit of Sunrise Valley to deal with but it might be less whizz-by hairy than Hunter Mill?

[Meh]

I’m not near there, sorry, but I know there is a Strava club out of the Woodbridge REI? https://www.strava.com/clubs/295449

[Meh]

Ok, newbie question – what is the primary intent of the identifiers, beyond waving and saying hello?

[Author]

Posts