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Less and less sympathy for CaBi this week. I have been met with full docks at Union station in the PM, and empty docks in the morning.

I welcome the dockless bikes. Maybe CaBi needs some motivation to start providing better service.

Not a bike in sight this morning!
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The Mobike app is a mess on my S7. I basically force close it or a bunch of Chinese writing pops up if it stays up in the background. The Lime Bike app is pretty stable, but I wish they had the reservation feature like Mobike, which I used today. Although, I could see the reservation feature getting abused as you can only cancel 5 reservations per day. If i leave at 4pm, I will just start reserving at 2:45 😀

The Lime Bike felt heavy to me, and I feel like the gear ratios could be better. Third gear was kind of tough, but second gear was too.

The Mobike was a good ride, I enjoyed it. In the first or second day of the trial, I took one to work and locked it, but it never came back on the map. I emailed Mobike and they took care of it.

Availability of a dockless bike is not 100% but either is CaBi, be it no bikes at a dock, or no empty docks. I have been riding in DC for years, but I just started a new job where CaBi fits (until I get my bike parking permit and i start long hauling it from home again), but both the no CaBi bike and no dock situations have happened to me several times in the short time I have been a regular CaBi user, which is 2 weeks.

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OK, really striking out on this one. GPO is at N. Capitol and H.

Are there any gyms nearby? I could bird bath it, but 20 miles is freaking long. And from my past experiences, you feel 100% better after a shower.

There is also the bike station at Union Station, but that just has a changing room.

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Anyone? Bueller? Any agencies nearby have a partnership with GPO for bike commuter needs?

I know when I was at Reagen the bike room had an agreement with I think EPA who was close by.

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@Crickey7 115728 wrote:

The towpath is perfectly passable for anything with tires as wide or wider than, say 700×32. I’ve seen narrower on the path, but would not recommend. As for the trailer, it will be a somewhat bumpy ride, though not unbearable.

The trailer is a pretty nice chariot trailer, with adjustable suspension and tires that are certainly wider than 1-1/4 (not sure off the top of my head).

Another question- Will the trailer hog the entire towpath? Basically, will I be inconveniencing others? I don’t want to be pulling this trailer down a single track or anything. :p:p

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I have done this a few times.

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/7482872

A tad hilly, but it isn’t that bad. The climbs where the route crosses various streams are….interesting. Gear down!

From Lockwood to Lanark, I would just ride on the sidewalk on the Northbound side of 29. You could legally ride on 29, but that is virtually suicide.

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Well, the adjacent building is a no go, only people in that building can use the fitness center/locker room. Fitness center is behind a locked door Weather is getting damn nice, too!

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@JimF22003 111926 wrote:

Golds Gym in my building at the corner of Rt 7 and International Drive.

Do they offer a “I just want to shower here” package. I have no intentions of going to a gym. Know what I am saying brah?

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@brendan 111819 wrote:

Yikes.

Action wipes work well for this largish very sweaty man.

Finding a large/accessible bathroom stall for cleanup/changing after arrival is key, preferably in the common area. I shower before I leave, use industrial antiperspirant spray, always put clean cycling clothes on in the morning, carry all of my clean work clothes/shoes in rubberized drybags* on my cargo bike, cleanup (with actionwipes/otherwipes) and change in the largest bathroom stall I can find.

I end up putting the sweaty (and/or rained-on) cycling clothes/shoes back on for the ride home, but no one other than me has to deal with that (well, except for the occasional bike commuter evening meetup), and then I shower again when I get home.

B

* a non-cargo bike could probably do something similar with the waterproof ortlieb panniers. But you might want some smaller waterproof drybags for keeping sweaty clothes separated from other things in the ortlieb (or vice versa).

That was my MO before I discovered the bike room/showers at RRB. I had access to a small server room where I would hang the sweaty clothes to dry. I did that for a few months. One day some other people were going in there do something and the one guy said something like “We can go in here to [do whatever they were going to do], but it smells like a gym.” 😮 After I overheard that I just started leaving the sweaty clothes in my bag.

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@Phatboing 111813 wrote:

Yeah, well, it’s Tysons. Optimism comes to die here.

Worst case, I’ve heard good things about these: http://actionwipes.com/

I have to tread lightly here. I work for a small company, but I am new to this particular contract. Apparently the had to let a guy go the other week due to his hygiene issues.

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@Phatboing 111808 wrote:

Maybe check with building management in an office near yours? There seem to be a reasonable number of companies with gyms; maybe they’ll be nice if you promise not to do any corporate espionage.

So the building next door is “Park Place I” and I am in “Park Place II.” Apparently there is a fitness center in the other building. I might wander over and see if being in one building gets you access to all amenities.

I love it, here I am voluntarily willing to take an auto off the road (a big ass, full size, 5.3L Chevy 1500) but there is no place to shower.

They should start requiring office towers to have a shower facility. How many people would start biking if the shower issue was fixed?

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Does anyone have any info on somewhere to shower in Tysons?

Last year, I was daily commuting from SIlver Spring to Federal Triangle. In June, I became aware of the glorious bike room in my building (RRB), complete with showers. I use to not shower, and just wipe down, but after having access to a shower, it made the post ride 10x better. That commute was 20 miles one way..

Fast forward to last monday, I have begun working in Tysons. The commute is like 28 miles. Not sure I will want to do this every day, but maybe a few times a week. I am fairly certain my building has no shower, and before I start cold calling area gyms, I wanted to see if anyone had any ideas. There is a Hilton Hotel next door, and I might go over there and ask if they have anything I can use (for a modest fee of course).

I need to shower after a 28 mile ride. I tend to ride hard too, and there will be stink.

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jabberwocky;99558 wrote:

honestly, if you’re going to be accidentally shot in this country, its much more likely to be by a cop or a criminal than a chl holder.

lmftfy…..

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Guns aside, I am not sure how to fix the MBT.

Start by getting rid of the benches near S street. There are always kids loitering there.

Next, install The Mosquito under New York Ave. Again, another area where I see kids loitering. There have been several times where they are standing on the entire width of the trail. I try to get in the right state of mind as I come up on them and try to keep an eye on their hands.

The problem is that there are not a whole lot of solutions that do not cost a lot of money. The best solution would be to have a cop on the MBT everyday during rush hour, but that is not happening.

Shitty thing about the mosquito is I am sure that someone is going to say it infringes on the rights of young people.

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@Dickie 99344 wrote:

[IMG]http://bikearlingtonforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7005&stc=1[/IMG]

Now this is hardcore drafting!

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