[sjclaeys]

I imagine that hidden bottles are worse, but yesterday I twice almost went down due to hidden acorns under the leaves. I am sure I heard some squirrels trying to not laugh too loud.

[sjclaeys]

Looks like a fun route, but they are going to eventually run into the roadwork on Williamsburg.

[sjclaeys]

I’ve biked the C&O and I have led bike rides with Scouts, but have not done both at the same time. Taking Scouts on training rides is a real challenge because they vary in cycling skills, abilities and experience. You are right to be concerned to ride on the trails on weekend, though we have had good luck on the W&OD west of Vienna. An option is the Prince William Forest park, which has a nice paved 7-mile circular road. The traffic is not that bad, no worries about running into on-coming cyclists and pedestrians, and no one is far from finishing when they get tired. The C&O is very different north of Harper’s Ferry or so. It can be muddy single track through knee-high grass for many miles, so I think doing it on a road bike would be a challenge. I rode it in three day increments, stopping in Hancock (go to Weaver’s for the pies) and Harper’s Ferry. The C&O south of Williamsport can be very wet and is sometimes flooded. An option is to go on the road at Williamsport, go through Antietam and rejoin the C&O.

[sjclaeys]

Here are some of my photos from the Seagull:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1821[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]1822[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]1823[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]1824[/ATTACH]

[sjclaeys]

Yesterday’s Seagull Century was great. Perfect weather, except for a nice headwind the last 30 miles. The pie and ice cream at mile 85 were perfect. The only not so fun part was the road into and out of Assateague. The vehicle traffic was heavy and rumble strips along the side of the road made the bicycle riding congested.

[sjclaeys]

The weather is looking pretty good for tomorrow’s Seagull Century with maybe some rain around 4:00. I’ll be wearing my yellow and brown Dogfish Head jersey and hope to start around 7:30.

[sjclaeys]

@Tim Kelley 32613 wrote:

I asked the same question here: http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?2910-Doctor-Recommendation-for-Active-People

I ended up going here: http://www.gimg.com

It’s just around the corner from where I live and my first visit seemed good.

I go to them also and like them very much. Dr. Lin is great.

[sjclaeys]

@consularrider 31359 wrote:

How many of us are in that general area? I don’t have enough little gray cells left to learn the beer list at Westover.

Maybe we should have a Bike Forum meet up at the beer garden to find out.

[sjclaeys]

@TwoWheelsDC 31297 wrote:

Speaking of off-bike activities…my wife and I just bought a house in Westover, so we’ll be newly minted ArlCo residents next month. I’ve noticed that the rec facilities at ArlCo schools are much superior to DC’s, meaning they actually exist…are these facilities (running tracks and outdoor bball courts, in particular) open for public use? Growing up, this was the case, but I don’t know if there are restrictions nowadays and I can’t find any websites with that kind of info.

Welcome to Westover! Other important facts to learn are the beer list at the Westover Beer Garden and the menu at Lost Dog.

[sjclaeys]

On one hand, I am glad to see article like this to help address the subject and kudos to the Post for keeping it fairly evenhanded. However, on the other, these articles just make those mad at cyclists even more angry. Reading the comments on the article is depressing.

[sjclaeys]

Well, I think that this thread has certainly validated the original question, we can be whiners. In addition to Dirt’s wisdom, it is worthwhile considering Bike Snob NY’s suggestion in the Enlightened Cyclist to try to complete very commute without getting mad. We are all people just trying to get somewhere, so let’s give each other a break. Life is too short and cycling too wonderful to always have a chip on your shoulder. Now, if I can only be the change that I want to see.

[sjclaeys]

I strongly agree with Dirt about slowing down. From my perspective, a lot of dangerous situations both during the day and at night could be avoided if folks just kicked it down a notch. I totally understand the desire to make the most of the commute for getting exercise, but often I see the drive to finish that interval or keep that heart-rate up as causing people to take unacceptable risks on MUPs that are not designed for such purposes.

[sjclaeys]

Given the darkness and blind corners of the paths and many path users not using lights, I am not sure what “another strategy” would be as an alternative to using lights bright enough to cycle safely. Of course, they should be at the lowest level required, angled down and perhaps to the right, and not in strobe mode, but I do not see any other alternatives. I do have to say that I don’t agree with the cyclingeconomist having aerobars on a hybrid, but that is just my pet peeve about people using aerobars while on MUPs. I guess I just whined then, so I will stop.

[sjclaeys]

Was that Dirt who kindly let me know he was on my left this evening by the Jefferson Memorial before going on the the 14th Street bridge?

[sjclaeys]

I am also not going this year (doing the Seagull instead), but it is a great ride. The second half is harder than the first, especially the nice long climb at around mile 85.

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