[mello yello]

even 9:00 – 9:30 isn’t too bad with the tourist crowds, although it’s starting to fill up. I come east-west, so by way of Maine Ave to Ohio Dr. Sometimes I hop on the sidewalk in front of the fish market from Maine, and sometimes I take Case Bridge from Banneker Park to Ohio Drive.

After the 14th St Bridge, you could double back (hard left, take the road) toward Ohio Drive and head left toward Hains Point, then take the Case Bridge to get over to G street, over to 4th, and then north…

Or, vice versa.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]11326[/ATTACH]

[mello yello]

@Raymo853 137219 wrote:

Confirming the ride for this week, Wed March 23rd. The forecast looks grand, 70, sunny and dry.

mmm I might have to ditch work early… I ran out of steam on my 29’er build but I might come give it a shot on my commuter.

[mello yello]

Yay. That’s my neck of the woods (haha) and I’d love to meet up and do some trail riding, it’s been almost a decade since I’ve done single track but I’m building up a rigid 29er for the summer.

[mello yello]

I had another fine commute on the Riide e-bike. I am not loving it, but it sure is nice on the hills. Had a jogger crazy-ivan on the MVT northbound right before it turns into boardwalk. Luckily he was far enough ahead we didn’t come all that close to catastrophe. He may have glanced over his shoulder before the U-turn, but I didn’t see it.

[mello yello]

@creadinger 136427 wrote:

So my first commute of 2016 saw a lot of the same, and some new….

Guy I passed politely going northbound on the MVT north of gravelly point said, “ooh oh oh oh a big guy”… What? Hard to tell by your tone, but you kinda sounded like George McFly.

DC waterfront is still a mess, but slightly worse than it used to be as construction guys are taking up more space than ever before.

Whoah, there’s a bike lane on 4th St. SE south of M St. now. Kind of unnecessary, but I’ll take it?

Douglass bridge still sucks balls and passing joggers on it is still a pain in the ass. Especially ones who refuse to acknowledge my existence after a few dings. You know my dog ignores things she doesn’t like or is scared of. Are you a dog? I’m passing you anyway.

And DC is finally fixing the sidewalk/curbcuts along Pennsylvania Ave SE where the 295 ramps are. That’s great! But did you leave space for peds or bikes to get around the work by NOT walking in the highway? No.

Asshole driver in the big F-ing SUV going up Mass Ave SE almost hits me with his side mirror… I’m awake now and looking for someone to throatpunch. And also see 2 cars driving in the bike lane on Alabama Ave because drivers in SE don’t give a shit about a little paint on the road.

Overall not terrible and a little weird, but I hope the return trip goes better than this morning. At least the weather could not be better!

Sounds like you have almost my commute in reverse! How do you get up to Alabama SE from Pennsylvania and 295? I hate the Penn/295 intersection on a bike, I avoid it when possible by coming up Nicholson St, or coming up Good Hope Rd to Alabama. Of course, on the VA side I’m going to Rosslyn, so other direction on the Mt.Vernon.

[mello yello]

late commute this morning – set out across the city to 9th & U NW to borrow a riide bike for a few days… then part 2 I rode down through G’town and over the Key Bridge to the office. The riide is pretty heavy compared even to my steel fixie with racks, fenders, trunk, and leather saddle. Twist the handle and it feels like a 12 lb bike, though.

My next few commutes will be on the riide bike and I’ll let you know how it is.

[mello yello]

Windy. Rode the Bus/Metro. Took an hour. Biking saves time but last night’s commute was a little blustery and my deep V’s felt like sails. The wind this morning was much stronger and I felt like not riding home in the cold wind after a happy hour.

I am testing a riide bike next week. any electrified commuters on here?

[mello yello]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. It looks like there is a panolpy of scenic and relatively straightforward routes that I can take. I like some of the options over Memorial bridge vs. Key Bridge because, honestly, the Mt Vernon between those two has some serious issues. Especially at night. I may try Ohio Drive to Jefferson and Maine / M Street from there. I also have not tried the MLK bridge, which is new and nice and not scary damaged like S. Capitol Street bridge. There must have been a serious wreck there a few weeks ago. The trade would be M Street for Anacostia Riverwalk trail, though, which is really quite nice. On the other hand, I could fill a growler at Bluejacket.

Maybe this morning’s route will turn into a Friday thing to include Coffee Club. Maybe it’ll be a good way to bypass the cherry blossom crowds at the tidal basin.

[mello yello]

Cut across the city this morning because Strava. I am not sold, but I also did not follow the directions (Phone is in the rack trunk, relatively inaccessible). Pennsylvania from EOTR to Capitol Hill is pretty awful, as it is a major bus and car commuter corridor. The Pennsylvania Ave protected cycle track from Cap Hill to the White house is also not my favorite. This is where I deviated from Strava’s route and zigzagged toward Georgetown on sidewalks and through GW… avoid cycling through GW campus at 9:30 am, folks.

I may try the actual route on the way home and see if it’s any better. It’s going to be a lot of filtering through traffic.
https://www.strava.com/activities/506103894

I will think about Friday Coffee Club… but snow… so maybe, maybe not.

[mello yello]

This morning was my third commute to this location – and the first time recording on Strava. It’s shorter than I was expecting looking at Google Maps… 8.6 vs an even 10. I wonder why. https://www.strava.com/activities/505379482/overview

I just found flybys on Strava… pretty amazing. I passed Ford on his way from Glover Park to Mt. Vernon, I passed Abby as she made her way from Falls Church to downtown, and at the same place I passed Melinda as she got into the city after starting in Reston.

I crossed against a signal coming off of the S. Capitol St bridge as the cross traffic on Potomac Ave was almost all turning on to the bridge… which was a mistake because one car decided to go straight and the intersection is basically gravel. My braking of course made me skid all over the place and I was able to unclip before I went over entirely, but felt very foolish. Next time I wait for the walk signal.

[mello yello]

@Tim Kelley 135612 wrote:

Welcome to the neighborhood. See you at District Taco for lunch!

I haven’t yet explored the neighborhood… is District Taco a regular meetup?

[mello yello]

My office moved to Rosslyn from L’Enfant Plaza, this morning was my 2nd commute. First was Monday. Mt V between the 14th St Bridge and Key Bridge still has muddy slick spots and standing water. The river is very high right now.

It felt good to get back on the bike but it’s going to take a while to get used to riding for longer – 10 miles each way vs 5. Not insurmountable – faster than Metro (#metrosucks) and faster than yesterday’s drive, oh, and cheaper.

Thinking of going the electrified route. My last mile on the return is a 380 ft climb up Good Hope Road to Skyland.

[mello yello]

Not your 25 mile ride, but…
A nice half-day ride that is close, flat, (mostly) newly paved, and relatively less crowded than comparable trails in N.Va is the Anacostia Riverwalk trail system loop from S. Capitol St. Bridge to Benning Road Bridge. I like adding Kingman Island for some gravel, and it adds a mile for a 10-mile loop.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=6092821

Once they complete the trail through the Aquatic Gardens you can connect up with the rest of the Anacostia Tributary trail system / NW Branch trail, which would be a great all trail loop with very few roads / crossings.

[mello yello]

@@BikesToBorrow 61832 wrote:

Just wanted to inform the forum that Bikes to Borrow has them for rent.
bikestoborrow.com

Cool. I saw the bikestoborrow.com Nissan Leaf with bikes on top, yesterday evening on M. St. What is the connection with the Bike Rack? (prominent / distinctive logo placement)

[mello yello]

Swiss Tandem, $350

looks really nice

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/mld/bik/4011928876.html

[Author]

Posts