[PotomacCyclist]

Nice bike. But keep the mtn bike too. Two bikes are always better than one. (At least most of the time.)

[PotomacCyclist]

Make sure the fenders are compatible with your bike. I bought a set of inexpensive fenders last year and found that they didn’t fit on my mountain bike. I couldn’t return them because the store has a no-return policy for bike equipment. (I was only out $10, so not a big deal.)

[PotomacCyclist]

Good bike (or tri) shorts are important for longer rides. (Not as important for 5-min. CaBi or beach-cruiser rides.)

But bike jerseys are not necessary if you aren’t as concerned about speed. I do a lot of training for triathlons but I wear regular tech running shirts on most rides. I find them more comfortable and I don’t care so much about aerodynamic clothing in training rides.

If you have a really long commute or you just want to help cut down on the time of the commute, then tighter-fitting jerseys might help.

[PotomacCyclist]

View it as a rite of passage. The only way to get comfortable with clipless pedals is practice. The doorway tip is a good recommendation.

Many beginners forget to lean to the correct side. If you unclip your right shoe as you approach a stop, you have to lean your body to the right as well. If you lean to the left, then you’ll do the slow tip-over. (This is based on what I’ve heard from others. I never had this problem myself. Well, maybe once. Or twice. Or three times…)

The good news is that once you get used to the pedals, you shouldn’t have many more problems. I had a lot of issues during the first 2 or 3 weeks with clipless pedals. But none since fall 2009. Fortunately, even when you do have issues with the pedals, it only happens when you are stopped or almost stopped at an intersection. It’s unusual to have a problem with the pedal when riding at faster speeds. Normally you wouldn’t be trying to unclip in those situations.

[PotomacCyclist]

Arlington is planning to build/designate “bike boulevards” on a couple streets that are parallel to Columbia Pike. But that probably won’t happen right away.

Central Arlington isn’t as bike-friendly as FMR and Custis/Wilson/Clarendon Blvd. I haven’t even found any good north-south routes through that area, between Pentagon City and Clarendon/Court House. I’d be interested to hear if other people know about good routes.

[PotomacCyclist]

Holy smokes!

I guess it might have some use as a bait bike. Then again, I’m not sure even the bike thieves would be interested in that one.

[PotomacCyclist]

Couldn’t you just take that access road from Royal St. to the trail? It also looks like there are many direct paved connections from Royal St. to the parking lots and the MVT. I think all of the dark gray areas will be paved asphalt. This is just my interpretation of what I’m seeing on the map. The cars would need to access the parking spaces under the bridge from Royal St. I doubt there will be a barrier between the street and the parking lots. The barrier seems to be located to the south of the bridge. There are no indications of a barrier between Royal St. and the park.

[PotomacCyclist]

@arltodcdaily 4649 wrote:

Ugh it was the 14th and Constitution accident that got me shook up and prompted me to join the forum to seek some advice…scary — between that yesterday, the cyclist killed at Walter Reed and Four Mile Run in S. Arlington last month, and the runner who was killed last month waiting to cross GW parkway by Memorial Bridge, I’m a little concerned, as these are all either on or very close to my normal cycling/running routes. I suppose anything can happen anywhere, but I’d prefer to minimize my risk…the Ellipse seems like the perfect solution, hopefully it will work out!

I wouldn’t be as concerned about the crash at Walter Reed Drive this year. It seems like that cyclist was going way too fast and making a blind turn at speed. If you maintain a safe speed and look for cross-traffic at the intersections, it doesn’t have to be a dangerous crossing.

[PotomacCyclist]

I hope they upgrade the trail during the construction. That trail needs some work.

[PotomacCyclist]

Did anyone take pictures at the happy hour? You do realize that if there are no pictures, it didn’t really happen.

[PotomacCyclist]

Did anyone take pictures at the happy hour? You do realize that if there are no pictures, it didn’t really happen.

[PotomacCyclist]

I’d like to see 1 or 2 stations near Pershing Drive, perhaps at Pershing and Washington Blvd. The trip between Pentagon City and Court House/Clarendon is not easy to make in the 30-min. time limit (before incurring per ride fees), especially on the slower CaBi bikes. A station in between the two areas would encourage more riding between the two main CaBi areas in Arlington.

The other alternative route is to go over to the Mt. Vernon Trail and head to Rosslyn. Then ride over to Court House and Clarendon (and eventually Ballston). That’s not ideal in many cases. MetroRail does not offer a direct route between Pentagon City and Clarendon. This is a chance for CaBi to offer up a new direct path for those who don’t or can’t drive.

Perhaps next year, some stations could be added to the Columbia Pike corridor to further increase direct north-south CaBi trips in Arlington. In addition, the bike infrastructure could be improved. There aren’t many good bike routes between Pentagon City and Clarendon.

[PotomacCyclist]

This would be nice, especially if they include some stations in Old Town and maybe to the north, by Potomac Yard. That would make it easier to ride between Crystal City and Old Town within the 30-min. per ride time limit (before incurring add-on fees).

[PotomacCyclist]

I did manage to find this picture a couple weeks ago.

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

It’s a recent picture and it’s not Photoshopped, although it kind of looks like it is.

[PotomacCyclist]

I notice that the gnats (not the Nats) tend to come out around dusk and sunset. A lot of them at Hains Point. I’ve also seen huge clouds of bugs in the area by the 14th St. Bridge and the Jefferson Memorial. Some of them hide out in your hair for the rest of the ride.

What’s even worse than eating a bug is breathing them in. I don’t think it’s recommended to get bugs into your lungs, but I’ll have to check on that.

[Author]

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