[Popsicleian]

Thanks for the recommendations. It seems like Commonwealth has pretty much cornered the market. I have to go out of town for the holidays anyway, so I won’t be able to get an MRI until I get back. I think I will ask for a different doctor next time, however.

[Popsicleian]

If you read the recall notice, only the black La Cruz forks are affected. As long as it’s a La Cruz frameset and not a Vaya, he’s fine.

[Popsicleian]

@JimF22003 65339 wrote:

I rode up on Skyline Drive on Saturday, thinking it might be my last chance for awhile because of the coming (probable) government shutdown. I figured traffic might not be too bad because the leaves have really only just started to turn. But it was pretty bad. I can’t imagine what it will be like during the peak period. I rode from Elk Wallow south to Loft Mountain and back. Traffic was worst around Big Meadows/Skyland, and a little better south of there.

The worst was not distracted leaf peepers though. It was the horrible car clubs. There was a group of about 20 Dodge Chargers that would come by revving their engines, passing too close, and just generally acting like jackwads. They must have passed me 9 or 10 times. There were other car rally clubs, including the Corvettes, and even a clan of Suzuki Samurai’s, or some weird thing. Then of course there were the usual obnoxious loud motorcycle riders.

The weather kind of sucked too. It was supposed to be 70 and mostly sunny, but it was overcast the whole day, and the temperature never got above 55. I ended up with 111 miles, and 10.3K of climbing.

Thanks for the report. I think I’m going to wait until November (assuming we have an operating government by then), before it gets too cold but after peak visiting season. I have it on my bucket list to ride the whole thing before I move away, and I really want to get it done.

[Popsicleian]

@rcannon100 65094 wrote:

Look at the welds. This past summer we bought a new bike for my son. We went to REI to try out the cannondales. But we also tried out the novaras. First, the welds on the novaras were down right sloppy. Second, it just was not a comfortable ride. My son test road it for seconds before he got off it and said no. In the end it was a choice between the Trek 1.3 (or 1.2 I dont know) and the the Specialized Allez. In general, the Treks were excellent bikes. A quality brand.

Just in terms of brand, I would take Trek over Novara.

I’ve had pretty good experiences with Novara bikes, personally. I had a lower-end MTB (Aspen?) that I loved until it got stolen when I lived in Oregon, and earlier this year I bought the Trenta, which is their higher-end road bike. I love the Trenta, it’s holding up quite well, and it was a wonderful value for the money.

You’re probably not going to find gorgeous welds on a commuter bike in the $400-500 range, and on that kind of bike they don’t really matter. The frame is not going to be any less durable than a similarly-priced bike from a major manufacturer.

I have no experience with the Transfer in particular, but it looks like a pretty good value for the parts spec (especially at the sale price). As others have mentioned, it will be pretty heavy.

[Popsicleian]

I take the lane on Independence from 15th to around 10th every morning, but only because I work right on Independence. It’s really not bad at all, but if my destination wasn’t on Independence I’d definitely go up a block to Jefferson. There’s not a lot of thru-traffic in the rightmost lane on Independence in the mornings–it seems to become a de-facto right turn only lane.

[Popsicleian]

You: Dude in a white Lexus station wagon, northbound on Kenwood Ave between Osage and Fern (behind the plaza with the Spokes, Etc.) this morning.

Me: Guy on a bike, riding safely and legally outside of the door zone.

As best I can tell, you were angry that I was not hugging the parked cars, so you laid on the horn while intentionally buzzing me with your mirrors. You came within inches of me, even though you had plenty of room to pass, nor any real need to pass since there was a stop sign right ahead and you were turning left. I yelled at you at the stop sign for being reckless, and you proceeded to flip me off.

I think you are a jerk, and I do not like you. I hope you feel that idiotic maneuver was worth the fraction of a second (literally) that you saved getting to the stop sign.

[Popsicleian]

My Garmin strap had me at well over 200 BPM for a significant portion of my ride this morning (a leisurely commute). Somehow I don’t think it’s working properly…

[Popsicleian]

Someone here needs to get on this, quick:

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/bik/4033294230.html

You could do a hell of a lot worse for a solid commuter.

[Popsicleian]

@KelOnWheels 62343 wrote:

It’s got special teeth profiles shifting! You don’t get that kind of feature for free, y’know! SPECIAL TEETH PROFILES!

It seems fair, I think that’s about what my dentist charges for special teeth profiles.

[Popsicleian]

Surely someone here is willing to pay $1500 for a used hybrid with Alivio components:

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/bik/4029434433.html

[Popsicleian]

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/bik/4005759328.html

Who’s going to get it first?

[Popsicleian]

@mstone 61214 wrote:

Yeah, make sure they weren’t just slowing down because of the light…

Very important to remember. It seems to be a pretty common occurrence that people shoal me just because I’m not racing to an obviously red light. Drives me nuts.

[Popsicleian]

This is great!

Now if only they would turn the subsequent crossing into a stop for cars, rather than trail users…

[Popsicleian]

@MattAune 60122 wrote:

Me. I don’t have a waterproof backpack yet, and the thought of getting to work and having all my work clothes soaking wet sounded like no fun.

If you have a regular backpack, and a garbage bag to put inside of it with your clothes, you do have a waterproof backpack.

[Popsicleian]

@TwoWheelsDC 60030 wrote:

Did you notice what type of bike it was? My wife’s cousin, who is staying with us for a couple of weeks, would’ve been rolling through at about that time. Since he’s just with us temporarily, I don’t think EMS would contact us if he was hurt.

I did not, unfortunately.

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