[PotomacCyclist]

I didn’t know about the bike valet either. I found this description on the MLB/Nationals website:

There’s a special place for you and your bike at Nationals Park.

Bicycle riders can cheer. Nationals Park is bicycle friendly, with over 250 bike racks all around the ballpark.

For the convenience of our bicycling fans, Nationals Park offers a FREE bike valet located in Red Garage C at the corner of N & 1st Street, SE. Access to the valet is on N Street just left of the entrance.

The valet will be accepting bikes two hours before game time and will close 1 hour after the last inning.

http://mlb.mlb.com/was/ballpark/directions/index.jsp?content=biking

(And with this post, I now become a Senior Member, with 100 posts! Does that mean I’m awesome? Or that I need to spend less time posting here?)

[PotomacCyclist]

@consularrider 5698 wrote:

I have to assume you mean just that portion of the 4 Mile Run Trail with the sharp climb and subseguent descent. I will frequently take the 4 Mile Run Trail over the W&OD from Bluemont through Shirlington to enjoy the shade (it’s almost all under tree canopy), for the undulating topography, and to avoid the stoplights and street crossings between Columbia Pike and Shirlington. Just can’t do it during heavy rains because the steam crossings flood.

It’s the turnoff from the small parking lot on FMR, up to Harrison St. It’s hard to see on the Google Map image. There’s a faint gray line. FMR Trail continues to the NNW, but there’s a 2nd path just to the west of that path. Both routes are very steep but the Harrison St. entrance is a bit steeper than the other one.

[PotomacCyclist]

In addition to a solid U-lock, you could use an older bike for trips where you need to lock up the bike outside. If there are nicer bikes nearby, a thief will go for those bikes instead of a shabby-looking one. Some people will take the seat post with them after locking up the bike. While this won’t prevent the lock from being broken, it might provide some disincentive for the thief to choose your bike.

With Capital Bikeshare around, I try to limit how often I have to use locks. For training rides, I never leave my bike alone. For short errands and some commutes, I use the CaBi bikes.

I would never leave a bike on a porch or balcony. If it’s a nice bike, a thief may take notice and wait for a good opportunity to steal it.

[PotomacCyclist]

Sorry to hear about this, Ed. (DC Tri, correct?) I hope someone is able to track the bike down.

By the way, you can upload pictures on this website. People post photos on the forum all the time.

[PotomacCyclist]

I definitely notice an increase in particulates and nasty chemicals the closer I get to buses, trucks and cars. I usually try to hold my breath while I pass near them. If there isn’t room to pass quickly, then I’ll back off and get away from the exhaust. I’ve probably extended my life by three years by not breathing in all of that junk. (Well, maybe only 2 1/2 years.)

At the other end of the spectrum, the air in Zermatt in the Swiss Alps is almost pristine. It doesn’t get that hot. More importantly, they prohibit all gas-powered vehicles. Only electric vehicles are allowed. I guess someone is burning coal somewhere to generate much of that electricity (or it could be hydroelectricity or nuclear). But none of those emissions are found in Zermatt.

[PotomacCyclist]

The W&OD is mostly flat, with a couple modest hills. But if you’re itching to try a short but steep hill, turn off onto Four Mile Run Trail in Glencarlyn Park. (FMR runs side-by-side with W&OD in the park.) Take the steep path up to S. Harrison St. It’s not very long, maybe 200 ft total, but it’s very steep. I think it’s the only place in the DC area where I actually thought I might flip over backward on a hill.

Other than that steep hill, there’s no reason to take that side path (unless you happen to live in that neighborhood). But that hill is definitely not boring. Gut-busting, but not boring.

Here’s the link on Google Maps: Glencarlyn Park hill

[PotomacCyclist]

You might see Tyler Clippard or Drew Storen out on the bike paths. Both of them often use bikes to get around the city. In one recent pre-game TV segment, they said that they enjoy riding around the National Mall in their spare time, to tour the monuments and memorials.

The two relievers are also apartment-mates. This MASN video shows Clippard in his bike helmet and Storen showing off his commuter bike:

http://www.masnsports.com/drew_storen/2011/07/an-insiders-look-at-the-storen-clippard-household.html

Clippard won’t be at Nats Park tonight, however. He is the only Nats representative for this year’s MLB All-Star Game.

[PotomacCyclist]

I tried out the PC-Court House trip a couple months ago. I rode over to the Court House Rd./Columbia Pike intersection (partly on the sidewalks and partly on the roads). Then I took Court House Rd. north to the small bike trail. That trail loops around before heading north next to Arlington Blvd. I’ve since read that the Pershing Dr. crossing is no longer an option because of ongoing construction. Hopefully that intersection will be improved as the construction project moves along.

There are going to be other short-term problems with 10th St. N. and the area around the intersection of Arlington Blvd. and N. Courthouse Rd. VDOT is rebuilding the interchange in that area. That will likely take quite some time, at least two more years according to the VDOT website. Probably a lot longer than that. The construction plan includes improved bike access through that area. But for the next two years, it could be very difficult to ride through there.

http://www.arlingtonva.us/departments/EnvironmentalServices/dot/page69233.aspx

I guess it would be more convenient to ride over to Clarendon, once those CaBi stations have been installed. Even if they don’t go with my Pershing Blvd. idea, I hope they add a station or two near 10th St. and Washington Blvd. That’s close enough to the Clarendon Metro, nearby businesses and residential buildings to be useful. It should also be possible to ride to that intersection from Pentagon City within the 30-minute time limit, even on the slow-moving CaBi bikes.

[PotomacCyclist]

I bought a pair of the Pearl Izumi inner-liner/pad-only “shorts” last year. I thought that I might use it with regular non-bike shorts on CaBi rides and some of my mountain bike rides. But I found the padding to be too thick for my liking. They have a road bike pad, not the much thinner triathlon pad that I’ve gotten used to. I’ve only used the Pearl Izumi liners once.

I looked into the baggier “mountain-bike” shorts but I didn’t like the look either. And I don’t think I can ride with any of the shorts that have the thick road bike pad. I always feel like I’m wearing an adult diaper with the road bike shorts. (I haven’t worn my regular road bike shorts in two years.)

On some days, I ride on the CaBi bikes while wearing regular shorts or pants, up to 25 minute trips. For longer rides on my own bikes, I wear triathlon shorts. But I don’t go for the full lycra look. I almost always wear a looser-fitting tech running shirt on top. Unless I’m in a race, I don’t care so much about the aerodynamics of my shirt. The running shirts are comfortable. If you don’t want to go for the usual road cyclist look, a running shirt might be an option. They wick moisture/sweat but they aren’t as tight as most bike jerseys are.

[PotomacCyclist]

Fuel up before the ride. If you plan to ride fast, then eat a little earlier than usual. Make sure you get your usual amount of calories and water in the days before the long ride too. You don’t have to “carbo load”. Just don’t start fasting that week.

Start fueling soon into the ride. I like to wait until I’ve warmed up, maybe 20-30 minutes, before I start eating anything on the bike. I don’t seem to be able to handle gels on an empty stomach unless I’m warmed up. After that point, I can take in regular amounts of gels, carb chews, sports drinks, Clif bars, etc., depending on how long the ride is.

While there might be some reasons to delay calories in some longer rides (to help teach your body to better utilize fat as fuel), that plan can also result in low energy on those rides. I would figure out a regular calorie schedule, maybe every 30 or 45 minutes. The harder you are pedaling, the more calories you’ll need. The heavier you are, the more you may need. Your fitness level will also come into play, with experienced cyclists better able to burn fat during long rides.

Once you start getting into the really long rides, you may want to separate calories from hydration, i.e., don’t rely on sports drink for both hydration and calories. You might drink a lot more on a hot day. If you’re drinking sports drink, this could cause you to take in way too many calories. That would lead to bloating. On a cool day, you might not drink that much because you aren’t sweating a lot. If you don’t eat anything, you might not get enough calories from the limited quantity of sports drink that you consume.

So for the long rides, you could bring plain water for hydration, and rely on other sources for calories (gels, carb chews, bananas, granola bars or whatever). Eat on a regular schedule, and drink when you are thirsty. If it’s really hot out or you tend to sweat a lot, you may want to consider adding electrolytes. Some carb gels have extra electrolytes (like GU Roctane). Gatorade Endurance has higher amounts of electrolytes than regular Gatorade, if you choose to bring sports drink.

You’ll have to experiment a bit, both with the types of food and also the amount. There is no set formula that works for everyone in every situation. Start out with a rough plan and see how it goes. Keep a few extra gels on hand, just in case.

Last summer, when I was doing some long rides out on the W&OD, I would run out of Gatorade Endurance and water about halfway out. So I would stop by the 7-Eleven near Herndon (?) to re-load on Gatorade and/or water. I have two bottle cages on my main bike.

When you try out new distances, it might be better to have a little extra water and calories with you, instead of not having enough.

Remember sunscreen for the long midday rides.

[PotomacCyclist]

I was watching the final miles of a sprint stage of the Tour de France on TV earlier this week. On a relatively flat road, the front guys like Fabian Cancellara were pushing about 40 mph! That’s insane. While they can’t sustain that kind of speed over long distances, it’s astonishing that they can even get up to that speed on a flat road.

On the mountain stages, I think some of the riders approach 60 mph or even faster. You’ve got to be fearless to be doing that on a bike.

[PotomacCyclist]

@CCrew 5379 wrote:

Bunch of rookies I’ll tell ya. GPS doesn’t lie. Mach 3 on a bike :

Max Speed: 2,401.5 mph

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/52498466

And don’t ask me how the heck I did it !

But all seriousness, 40mph is possible on Wilson Blvd coming down the hill from 15th St. Pretty desolate about 3am

I’ve run faster than 100 mph according to the GPS on my smartphone. Funny though. I’ve never been able to match that speed when using my Garmin.

[PotomacCyclist]

I saw one of the penny-farthing cyclists near Gravelly Point last summer. Others said that he rode in the Air Force Cycling Classic-Crystal Ride last year on that bike. I think a lot of area cyclists have seen him. He had a true penny-farthing, the really tall ones. Someone at Revolution Cycles has a smaller one. The seat is much lower to the ground.

Maybe the Crystal Ride guy inspired the others to get penny-farthings.

I’ve also seen the occasional unicyclist on the trails and also at East Potomac Park (Hains Point).

[PotomacCyclist]

“Slow the —- down!”

[PotomacCyclist]

Re the balance issues, is it related to any physical condition? If not, she could do some balance exercises to help improve in that area. A very basic exercise is the one-leg stand. Just stand near a wall and lift one leg up. Hold for 30 seconds if possible, then rest. Then shift to the other leg. The wall is only there in case she loses her balance. As she improves, she can add a 2nd set on each leg and/or extend the time of the exercise.

After a month or two, she could move onto more complicated and advanced exercises, such as one-leg bodyweight strength exercises, such as lunges, Swiss ball leg curls and eventually one-leg/pistol squats (but those can be tough for many people). Frequent balance and strength work, along with core exercises, can improve her balance on the bike. She will have better body control and a sense of equilibrium, on the ground and on the bike. That can help to avoid future bike accidents.

[Author]

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