[SilverSpring]

In my Tour de PitStop, I plan to start at Silver Spring-Discovery around 6:50am, then Bethesda by the tunnel perhaps 30 minutes later, then Freedom Plaza maybe 50 minutes after that (perhaps with a stop by CycleLife if they have their usual mini-stop).

[SilverSpring]

@StopMeansStop 16252 wrote:

Your father smells like elderberries

And, of course, your mother was a hamster….

[SilverSpring]

Greenbelt, you intrepid cycling explorer, you. What’s the signage like? I recognized part of the trail from the shop ride from Proteus, but there seemed to be a lot of ins and outs and arounds which would challenge even a homing pigeon. Mike

[SilverSpring]

Howsabout “Loop d’Arlington” (which I think I first saw in an area cycling book)? When I was living in Alexandria, that was my usual fun excursion ride and I always felt a touch faster knowing that I was in a French-themed ride, a la Le Tour de France.

[SilverSpring]

Folks,

Many thanks for the good advice and the recommendations.

DCAKen,

That was indeed me. Thanks much for asking if I was set. Several folks did and it was quite friendly and reassuring (or, alternately, I looked so deranged pumping away that they were contemplating a call to Animal Control).

[SilverSpring]

By way of preamble, I meant to ask this earlier, but by the time I got around to it, the thunderstorm season had mostly ended. What with Spring springing and variable weather, I’m trying to anticipate Summer biking quandaries.

Last year, on the Junction and Breakwater Trail between Rehoboth and Lewes, I got caught in the Mother of all thunderstorms many miles from the beach house and obvious shelter. Scared (really terrified more than scared) of Zeus-like bolts falling from the sky, I pulled over under a bunch of trees in the foresty bit for protection (along with a couple of other bikers) and then thought (and this is a very rough paraphrase in light of possible younger readers), “Golly! This is stupid, I could be hit by lightning.” So, I pedaled on as the lightning got more and more lightningish, thought to myself “Golly! This is stupid, I could be hit by lightning” and pulled over again. Then, while waiting for the storm to pass (which it wasn’t), I realized I was at the edge of a huge cornfield and could see the lightning eyeing me lasciviously and thought, “Golly! This is stupid, I could be hit by lightning” and started pedaling again until my beloved bride came to get me at the trail head. When caught out in lightning with no proper shelter (like a bridge overpass or, better yet, a brew-pub not given to overly-hopped beers), is it best to, KLizotte-like, bike on or throw myself and the bike to the ground or what?

[SilverSpring]

I commute in from Silver Spring just near the Takoma Park border (so we’re allowed to have nuclear weapons in the basement) and a few blocks from the Montgomery College campus. I take 14th, too, although sometime what I perceive as the hills are a bit much. I vary it with 5th/6th which is a pretty straight shot downtown to 10th and Penn. There’s a bit of bike signage and perhaps a mile or two of bike lane, but I’ve never found it too trafficky either morning or evening (save for crossing New York by the Police station). Either way is 7-8 miles (although I take the CCT for a longer ride on nice days).

[SilverSpring]

(Again, with apologies to POEM)

The intrepid pedalars left the bike shop,
College Park to the Hill, not a short hop,
The band split into two,
And then added a few,
With the bike ride complete, let the snow drop

Many thanks for a great ride on a beautiful day

[SilverSpring]

2) I love zooming down a big hill (with requisite caution and obeying all traffic rules and regulations, natch) and feeling like a kid….

[SilverSpring]

An ode to winter clothing, again with apologies to members of POEM:

A MAMIL who loved his iZUMi
On cold days was not seen to be gloomy
“My Pearls keep me so warm,
If not flatter my form,
If I look like a sausage, so sue me.”

[SilverSpring]

Excellent suggestion (and a favorite Mass of mine when I was a kid), but our current Parish only runs one big Mass on the weekends and my Bride sings in the choir. As much as I love biking, I love the Bride more….

[SilverSpring]

I very much enjoy this very helpful and welcoming forum even though I’ll never be as fast or stylish as AmericanCyclo, Dirt, Rhinestone Cowgirl, and the rest.

All this talk of spandex versus street clothes had me composing a limerick as I rode the CCT home (trying not to pass out going uphill after a month off the trail and having trouble matching the rhyme scheme with my cadence). Just, please, forgive me in advance, especially if you’re a member of Garrison Keillor’s POEM.

A middle-aged male in lycra
Kitted up to commute on his bike-a
“I’m so happy,” said he
As he pedaled with glee
“For my old shorts were hard as formica.”

[SilverSpring]

Greenbelt,

I think this is a great idea (I really enjoyed the Holiday shopping ride in December). My only regret (Dear Lord) is that Mass will spike my ability to make any Sunday events.

[SilverSpring]

“No number is too small”…which I appreciate, since I seem to have taken a great many trips, but all itty-bitty by everyone else’s benchmark….

[SilverSpring]

I thought yesterday afternoon was pretty bad, but this morning (despite, I should note, ample Christmas eggnog-focused efforts to create my own personal base layer), I just about froze my keester. Time to start tripling my gloves and doubling my socks….

[Author]

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