[PotomacCyclist]

I bring those individual antiseptic wipes in the bento box. You can find them at any drugstore. The individual packets are about the size of a credit card. Good for cleaning up minor scrapes.

I don’t know about bringing anything else. Maybe gauze? Hopefully someone else has a better answer.

I’ll have to disagree with the post above about cycling shorts. While you certainly don’t need to wear a bike jersey (I never do), bike or triathlon shorts will help quite a bit on longer rides. Cycling in running shorts can result in a lot of chafing… down there. I’d also recommend something like Chamois Glide, Body Glide or a similar product, to protect against chafing.

[PotomacCyclist]

If you’re riding in a group, you can split up some of the bike repair tools. For example, you don’t need a separate bike multitool for each cyclist. If there are six people in the group, maybe you could just bring two multitools for the group combined.

A Camelbak might be a good idea. It’s going to be difficult to bring enough water bottles for such a long ride.

A bento box on the top tube is handy for carb gels, ID, Kleenex, and so on. Definitely bring some food, whether it’s carb gels, carb chews, energy bars (Clif Bars, Power Bars), bananas or whatever your stomach can handle. You should test out different foods on shorter rides. You don’t want to be 60 miles from home when you realize that your stomach doesn’t do well with bananas in the middle of a long ride.

A GPS-enabled smartphone would be useful. Keep it wrapped up in a waterproof bag, in case it rains. (I lost a smartphone last year when it got fried during a heavy downpour.) Bring a paper map and a cue sheet as backups.

Bring sunscreen and sunglasses. A jersey with rear pockets can be convenient for carrying some of these small items, or even an extra bottle of water or sports drink. You may also want to bring a light cycling jacket, especially if you’re going to be riding up in higher elevation. The jacket will also help if it rains.

Increase your riding this summer so that you are prepared for the long trip. You’re not going to enjoy the bike trip if your legs start tiring out after just 30 miles.

Scout out the route online. Ask other people who are familiar with those trails and roads. Is the route suitable for skinny road bike tires? While you could handle short stretches on gravel and crushed stone, would you really want to ride for 40 miles on those surfaces? Would your road bike tires hold up on that surface? Would you hold up to all of that shaking on a rougher surface?

What are the neighborhoods like en route? Will you be riding through some dangerous areas? At what time of day? Riding through a high-crime area is always tricky, but it’s even worse if you’re riding there in the late evening.

Plan ahead and your trip will go much more smoothly. It may seem more fun to be spontaneous, but it wouldn’t be so much fun to get caught out in the middle of nowhere on a flat tire with no food or water and no cellphone reception.

[PotomacCyclist]

Any way to shrink the size of the “Post Thanks/Like” feature? It takes up an additional line below every single post of each thread. A drop-down box within the message would be cleaner and take up less screen space.

There’s also a weird wrap-around bug. When I type in the message box and the text reaches the end of the line, the word will split apart, with part of the word on line 1 and the rest of the word in line 2. Once I post the message, the “split” word shows up normally. It looks very odd.

[PotomacCyclist]

This is a neat project. Had no idea they were building a trail there. It will come in handy for riding over to the baseball park.

[PotomacCyclist]

No stations near the Mall, as I was hoping for. I guess it was a long shot to expect a station near 15th St. SW and Maine Ave. That would have been a nice waystation between the Arlington stations and the downtown stations.

But I’m glad to see that the system is being expanded. There will be a lot of new docks in Columbia Heights and the U Street area. Bikes are in high demand there. But not many new docks downtown. I’m puzzled by that decision. Those stations fill up quickly in the morning rush hour. Then they get emptied out in the evening rush hour. There’s definitely a lot of demand for extra spaces at McPherson Square, Farragut Square and Metro Center. I do see that the Metro Center station will be expanded. That will help.

I’m really looking forward to the new Arlington stations. I hope they move quickly with the Clarendon stations in particular.

[PotomacCyclist]

Is the top of the wood box completely flat and smooth? It might be better to have a small concave piece on top, to help keep the bike from slipping. Other than that, it’s an interesting idea.

[PotomacCyclist]

I’m still hoping the police catch these guys because they are likely to commit more violent crimes in the future. Two less thugs out on the street will make life a little better for the rest of us.

[PotomacCyclist]

@5555624 6382 wrote:

From Nationals Park to Arlington? After a game, if you stick to M Street SE/SW the neighborhoods are fine.

I guess M St. would be better. I tried the P St. and riverside path mentioned in the thread. Seems like that area wouldn’t be a great place to ride after a night game.

[PotomacCyclist]

I scouted out the route today. Pretty straightforward on the way there. Had to take the bike bridge to Hains Point on the way back.

How safe is that neighborhood at night?

[PotomacCyclist]

Thanks. Looks like an interesting site. I may get some of the foot warmers too.

[PotomacCyclist]

Maybe one of those Go Pro cameras might have helped with identification? But maybe they don’t work so well in the dark.

[PotomacCyclist]

What are some recommended brands for the rechargeable heated ski gloves? While it rarely gets down to 0F here, the wind chill did get down that low a few times last winter. I generally get pretty miserable any time the temperatures get below the mid 20s. (I’m really not a cold-weather person, even though I grew up in NYS. It’s been a long time since I’ve lived up there.)

[PotomacCyclist]

@acc 6233 wrote:

Yes, and will there be rankings and prizes?

ann

I hope so. He mentioned the Arlington Bike Projects thread that I started up. I’m hoping to win a fleet of new bikes.

[PotomacCyclist]

Congrats to Cadel Evans as the first Australian ever to win the Tour de France. He deserved the win for his smart strategic planning throughout the entire race. He knew when he had to chase and when he could afford to lay back and let others tire themselves out.

Andy Schleck may have put too much into that long solo breakaway on Galibier in the Alps. Thomas Voeckler had a great run, but he too made a tactical error in the Alps, trying to go it alone for a long stretch on the last Alpine stage. So close.

Can’t wait until next year, when the competition should be good again. In addition to current favorites like Evans, the Schleck brothers, Contador (if he survives the UCI appeal of his doping test from last year) and maybe even Voeckler, rising stars like Pierre Rolland could challenge for the title.

***
If you need to see more elite road cycling action, tune in for the inaugural USA Pro Cycling Challenge, Aug. 22-28, from Colorado. Both Andy and Frank Schleck have confirmed that they will participate. They are trying to convince Cadel Evans to join them for the new race up in the Rockies. Versus will cover the race.

[PotomacCyclist]

I slogged through the Sat. evening 5K. Probably my slowest 5K in a couple years. I lined up at the back of the main pack because I didn’t feel like fighting my way closer to the front. With the heat and humidity, it was just too easy to ease off and treat it like a tempo workout. A heck of a lot of fast runners at the race. Some guys ran it sub-15:00! Plus a 76-yr-old woman posted a time of 32:00. That was incredible.

I didn’t ride at all over the weekend. I plan to ride today. Hope I can avoid the thunderstorms that are predicted for today. At least the temperatures at back to normal (upper 80s/low 90s).

[Author]

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