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@Tim Kelley 2492 wrote:

Another option might be to see if you can use a loading dock and freight elevator to get to your office. A bike isn’t any more dirty and doesn’t take up more space than a UPS of Fedex handtruck/delivery cart.

Clearly you haven’t seen my bike after the winter commuting.

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You would have to take it up with the building managers. The building I’m at doesn’t mind at all, but my boss got whiney about it. Luckily I was able to pursuade the facilities people to put a nice new bike rack in the covered parking garage.

Maybe work out a compromise with the managers to store it in a secure and out-of-the-weather area.

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They are done “PAVEING” between SV and Buckthorn. It’s nice and smooth!

They will probably do Buckthorn to Hunter Mill in the next few days. They left the paving machine at the top of the hill, so I wouldn’t even be surprised if they did it today.

In other news: Trail is now virtually snow-free, and should definitely be clean and clear as of tonight.

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That “PAVEING” sign still cracks me up, hahahaha! Wonder if they’ll have it solid for tomorrow morning’s ride.

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Bummer man, but I’m glad you’re mostly alright! Could have been much worse.

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@amsa 2465 wrote:

I have 700×28 gatorskins. Seem to be fairly good at warding off flats.

I had a million flats on the Gators. Was expecting better of them.
Wonder if I just got a bum set.

Went to Specialized Armadillos. 2,000 miles so far, no signs of wear, and *knock on wood* no flats!

700x28s Armadillos. Was on 700×32 Gators.

MTB is on 26×2.1 knobbies for the mud or 26×1.9 studded tires for the snow.

Wife’s Scott is on 26×2.x Continentals. They’re like big steamrollers, she loves em.

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Oh man, couldn’t be any easier. Head east to the end of the trail, take 4 Mile Run underneath 395 all the way to Mt. Vernon, then take your choice of bridges into DC. The rest I don’t know though, since I avoid DC like the plague.

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@CCrew 2427 wrote:

Definitely! I commend you though. Those 35 degree days with it spitting rain I don’t hold high on the “pleasure” list. Nor the 40+ mph gusts today.

Today’s 40 mph gusts were definitely more enjoyable than the 11º windless mornings…

acc: Thanks man!

eminva: Been searching Craigslist already. I had a few moments where I thought that wind was going to launch me. Mother Nature is absolutely awesome.

Followup: I talked to the friend I was chasing… he hit the caboose at 602, I hit it at 603. Yet again, missed it by that much!

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Attempt #3: Final Go At It

If you’re this far into the thread, you know the story. Once again my friend left at 445, I left at 515… The BRUUUUUUTAL winds today would make this a nearly impossible task, but I just had to try one more time.

Well, long story short, the wind was victorious. Despite giving it dang near every bit of “go” I had at my disposal, but the winds were just too much for me. I am but a mere mortal… Crossed the Caboose at 603, with no sign of the Road Runner… Rolled into the garage at 615 with my head held high. I didn’t defeat my friend, but I held my own against a Mack truck of wind.

All of this really just serves as practice. My wife is due in about 3 weeks, so any day I’m going to need to get home RIGHT NOW! Glad to know I can.

Hope you enjoyed. If anyone wants to race… no. I’m exhausted.

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@CCrew 2422 wrote:

You and him.. LOL

I probably have you all on mileage, but I’m not calling it a fail if I drive or metro so I don’t have that unbroken streak. I ride most days though, but have one of those erratic schedules… Like having to be in the office at 2am yesterday erratic.

Hey, to ride is to ride. The numbers are all just superficial.

I’m off to a decent start this year. 826 miles so far spread over 24 workdays.

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@consularrider 2416 wrote:

I’m impressed with those ride times and with your dedication. I’m on my 529 bike commuting day since May 2008. Only missed one day in that stretch (that the office was open) when I had a flat develop while I was at work and wasn’t carrying the appropriate repair items (last time that happened). Had to take Metro home that day and into work the next.

Awesome man! Wonder how you’ve managed to work 50 days more than me… maybe I take too much leave.
Definitely admire your dedication as well. I wonder how many of us die-hards there really are out there.

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@WillStewart 2407 wrote:

I used to time myself and see how much progress I could make improving myself each time out. Sometimes I would make less than wise decisions at stopsigns and crossings, however, so had to steel myself to practice restraint in those areas.

Even when I’m in a hurry or an impromptu race against a friend, I’ll still yield to the stop signs. I might do a standing-pause-n-go or slow roll it, but I never blast through em. That’s really just foolish. In the case of last week, I lucked out at the crossings and never had to pause for long. It really ain’t worth getting pancaked to save a few seconds.

BigAgnes: A legend, ha! Maybe in my own head. Nah, I’m just some guy. Glad I can inspire others to ride though. Today is my 479th consecutive day biking to work, dates back to May 2008.

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@CCrew 2400 wrote:

Put the magnet on the 180 opposite of the valve stem. Since the valve stem will usually find “bottom” with the bike on a stand it’ll slightly offset it somewhat.

You’ll never notice it and it’s no issue at all really, but it soothes the OCD in us

Funny you say that. I always align mine with the spoke nearest to the valve stem so it’s easier to find.

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If the 0.00001 grams of the magnet is off-balancing your wheel, there may be a bigger problem with it. I’ve got the little magnet on my front wheel, and it doesn’t send me tumbling when I’m over 30-35 mph, so I’m fairly certain it’s a total non-issue.

As far as the calibration issue goes, honestly the computers are guessing to the best of their abilities based on outer diameter assuming a standard inflation rate. GPS’s are highly sophisticated systems based on satellites. My navigation GPS and the speedos in my cars don’t always get along. Mechanical vs. satellite. Really, it comes down to how accurate does it really need to be? I’ve checked my bikeputer vs. MapMyRide vs. a Garmin mounted on the bars. Honestly they’re so similar it doesn’t matter that much to me.

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Glad you enjoyed it. I’ll throw out the disclaimer that I’m purely a commuter. I don’t race or train, just log along on my heavy commuter bike. Today was a much more normal 80 minute cruise home, however it felt so good to be above freezing!!!

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