[rcannon100]

I have two ringers looking for a team. One is from Arlco. The other may be too. Any teams looking for ringers? And we are looking for serious offers here: you know, in the form of beer or onion rings tonite (I take a 10% finders fee 😮 )

[rcannon100]

And for those of you playing at home the danger signal is 5 short blasts not “hey watch-it A–hole!”

Cannon blasts off the port side have also proven quite effective.

[rcannon100]

Beer and Bikes!

But… but… it’s the long way home! Oh wait, last day! Rack up those miles!

[rcannon100]

Cooling shirt….

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1121[/ATTACH]

[rcannon100]

I don know Kel, that “bicycle” your sitting on in your pic – it looks like it has motor assist. Doesnt that thang result in miles getting subtracted? :p

[rcannon100]

Well you can always tell the secret service guys. They are the homeless guys, wearing spit polished black dress shoes and have a radio earbud going into their ears (this use to be true – I think it was in the 1970s, until someone enlighted the service that they stuck out like sore thumbs). I think the Service has used little pins on people’s collars to identify who is authorized to be inside a zone, and who is not. We could standardize some graffiti mark on the back of our helmets. Something like and anarchy symbol, only its BA – so BA in a circle? Which also stands for Bad Attitude for added bonus. Also apparently stands for British Airways.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]1117[/ATTACH]
Of course anarchy symbols on helmets might make getting into fed buildings a bit more difficult.

[rcannon100]

Here are the #NBC scores for local teams, based on their national scores.

Explanation: The NBC makes an arbitrary division of communities. In the local screen, team members from NOVA are counted separate from team members from MOCO. If you are in MoCo, and you look at the local scores, you will only see scores reflecting other team members from Moco. The only way to see team scores for local teams, where team members might be in DC, or NOVA, or MD, is to look at the National scores for the local teams. Not sure I see every local team – and this is a scan of all national scores.

We have a number of new teams this week, including the Friday Coffee Club!

Bike Arl B is in 9th place nationally! Bike Arl A is in 17th place nationally.

Team / Natl Score 6/28/2012
Bike Arlington B 9628
BikeArlington 8247
Bike Arlington C 7974
Friday Coffee Club 6625
Bike Club Yo! 5563
Team Finra 4755
FABB 4722
The Bike Rack DC 4516
Federal Cyclists Commission 4405
IDA-3 4394
NIH 4118
Silver Cycles Night Riders 3593
Friday Coffee Club 2 3520
IDA-1 3165
US DOT 3133
Farm and Rural Bicycle Branch 2996
IDA-2 2874
VOA DC 2514
HUD 2459
Crystal City 2131
IDA-4 2099
Oxon Hill Bicycle and Trail Club – Team 3 1900
Hobsons 1646
Arlington Car Free Diet 1587
WABA 1317

[rcannon100]

That would still make me eligible for some of those bikes!

Correction. Life time supply of toilet paper. The bikes are mine! 😡

Have learned that Shirlington is just the perfect distance for a casual weekend ride to go get frozen yogart!!

[rcannon100]

It is probably dangerous to flip this, nevertheless

“Your ride would be so much better if” you avoided these two mistakes I see out on the trail: cadence and flat tires.

Particularly it seems with mountain bikes, or maybe its just more obvious, I’ll look back at the back tire, and the tire is under inflated – or even barely inflated. Tires should be checked regularly, like before each ride. Low tires means the cyclists is working harder to get that mushy tire moving, and the bike is less responsive.

Cadence: Sometimes going up a slight hill, like a ramp up to the 14th street bridge, I will see a cyclists stuck in a high gear just struggling to get up the hill, barely getting the pedals around. You dont want to do that. Get a good cadence, a good rhythm, and let the gears do the work. You should find a cadence that is comfortable for you. It should be an easy but rapid cadence, and that cadence should be relatively the same in different conditions.

Here is an explanation from that authoritative source, wikipedia

Cyclists typically have a preferred cadence at which they feel most comfortable, and on bicycles with many gears it is possible to stick to a favourite cadence at a wide range of speeds. Recreational and utility cyclists typically cycle around 60–80 rpm. According to cadence measurement of 7 professional cyclists during 3 week races they cycle about 90 rpm during flat and long (~190 km) group stages and individual time trials of ∼50 km. During ∼15 km uphill cycling on high mountain passes they cycle about 70 rpm. Sprinters can cycle up to 170 rpm for short periods of time. The professional racing cyclist and Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong is known for his technique of keeping up high cadences of around 110 rpm for hours on end to improve efficiency.

You provide the power; let the bike do the work.

[rcannon100]

Dont mind the old folks as we snicker as you go by.

Seriously, here is my dress code: the brightest damn colors I can find. I have only one goal: visibility. My bike jerseys are high vis yellow.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1104[/ATTACH]

So a guy walks up to the bike rack in my garage. And he his a great bike jersey on. And great spandex shorts. And he had the hottest damn bike. I mean everything was perfect. And I was entirely intimidated. Who is this guy???? Then he hopped on his bike and I saw his calf muscles… Poser! This werent now lance armstrong. This were a spandex king. Spending lots of money dont make you a cyclists, any more than buying expensive golf clubs makes you tiger woods.

You know how you can tell a veteran bike commuter? Nothing on their bike matches.

[rcannon100]

Yeah, gotta say, you totally can answer this favorable to bicyclists. Just answer every question
* Improve bike routes
* Improve bike infrastructure
* Improve bike safety
* Fix Lynn St and Lee Hwy Intersection

Frequently taking advantage of the OTHER field in order to do this. Yes, take this survey.

[rcannon100]

Is “touring” what I want? I think so… maybe? A relaxed geometry, maybe flat-bar, road bike with fatter tires?

Dismal’s summary was most excellent. Particularly about Fixies.

Even tho we are giving you information, you still have to decide. What do you want the bike to do. Here is what I want out of a bike:

* Big (I am 6’5″) (aka fit matters)
* Takes an urban beating – able to hop curbs, path bumps, and other crap
* Bigger tires that wont blow out – but not so big that they are heavy
* Flat bar – as an urban rider, I like having my hands in a position with brakes and gears right there, and a bit more upright so I can see traffic. I put extensions on the bar so I can stretch out a little on the open trail. I also have lights, and GPS, and bells on the bar.
* Can carry a load on racks
* Is fun to ride

For me, that’s a hybrid. Someone criticized hybrids above as being ‘poser mountain bikes or something. And that’s right. A lot of them are. My hybrid is closer to a road bike, its strong, and stiff. It is made for urban riding.

Now that you have your bike, you can make adjustments. Hybrids use to come with nobby tires. I always swap them out for slicks. Slicks give a smoother ride for those doing primarily bike path / asphalt riding. I found tires that Michelan makes that are urban slicks. Its a smooth tread. Its a bit tougher rubber to take road abuse. And it has a refletive strip built into the sideway (like the CABI’s).

Bottom line: Find a bike you love to ride. I alway wanted a Canondale (guess why). When my old bike got run over, I got a black, made in the USA, XL Canondale Bad Boy urban hybrid. Other than the stupid name, I just love the thing. It is huge, and had really stood up to an urban commute.

Consider all these factors folk are talking about, and then buy a bike you love.

[rcannon100]

I am an old geocacher. I have a Garmin 550. Its big. Not a bike GPS. BUT!!!! It has a full, lit, color screen. If you are going touring, you can have a map, you can have your route, you can have mileposts, and points of interest. The screen is fully customizable. One screen can be the map, another screen has 6 statistics – any statistics. Current speed. Average speed. Max speed. Distance traveled. Time traveled. Distance until arrival. Elevation. Flight patter of an African Swallow. Its great.

It took this thing on a C&O trip. There is a handle bar attachment. It was great! Showed where we were, where we were going, how long till we got there. I just loved it.

You create and download all your trip route data. Many people before you have already created it. You can also buy and install maps. Just like a car GPS, you can have a GPS on your handlebar giving you directions.

Final plug. I am an idiot. After hiking at Occoquan, I left the garmin on my roof. Reaching 45 mph, I heard clunk clunk clunk. I knew what that was. Did a U turn, found the GPS in the middle of the road — and it is working fine!

This is not a tiny cyclists GPS; but if you like going on long rides and want a map, its great.

[rcannon100]

Ha ha! :p I’m there, with Ed Fendley. Of course the bright orange helmet I was wearing aint no longer here. My chain jammed and with my new clipless pedals, I fell down and went bump. Now a proud owner of a cracked helmet.

I am psyched to Bike Arlington!

[rcannon100]

Yeah, that is land owned by very very very rich people. I doubt the county could get a CM of extra land along 123 there.

[Author]

Posts