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@Judd 182446 wrote:

Current forecast is a high of 50 and sunny. I hope it holds. I was at the Marine Corps Memorial this morning and wanted to blurt out random trivia about it that none of the five year olds that I was with would be interested in.

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It just might. Rebecca Rusch’s ride on the 10th may have weather to deal with.

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Rolling out on the 11th month, 11th day, 11th hour.

Perfect.

Sunday…I might be able to make this one.

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Aha! Deputy Barney Fife, Mayberry, NC.

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I test-rode a road bike with internal transmission (Pinion or Rohloff? I forgot which one…) at Bikenetic a couple of years ago. Loved the utter simplicity of a single shifter for the entire range. This drop-bar bike had a twist shifter on the bar end, but one adapted from a flat bar setup. As such, it had rather pointy edges transitioning to the bar. Were it mine, I would’ve taken a file to it. I will trust that someone has resolved that complaint by now.

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@dasgeh 182343 wrote:

It’s the stairs I fear the most, when I’m biking in the Virginia-bound direction with my kids.

I am more than happy that no one went *down* the stairs during my shop rides! Especially at night!

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I will pass on good news- confirmed OPEN! Saw it in passing, but not through on the bike…yet. Definitely comfortably wider. One detail I’m not happy with- there is still wooden curbing on the edge. I *should* risk being called a wimp and ask for fencing so someone does not fall down into the backside of George Mason’s memorial.

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@Steve O 181994 wrote:

I dunno. Here’s its companion:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]18485[/ATTACH]

(FYI – this was taken walking to Obama’s first inauguration. The TR Bridge was closed to vehicular traffic, making it possible for me to take this photo of the sign that I had been noticing for years.)

To be realistic and simple about it- wide enough for 2 pedestrians = comfortably wide enough for 1 bike only. Explain to power accordingly.

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Erin: If my verging-on-50-hours-a-week work days allow me, Columbia Pike on the 7th, with the Olde Trek (in dynohub demo mode).

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More thoughts on tires- One direction are the fast road tires with extra protection- the Conti Gatorskins and such. Another direction, if you value durability above all else, would be a touring/commuting tire with flat protection. From Continental, that would be their *Plus* series, and from Schwalbe, any of their Marathon tires. They *will* be heavier, true, but they have the extra puncture-resistant layer under the tread. Ideal if you don’t want to be slowed going to work by having to repair a flat in the field. Most have smooth tread centers, with just enough tread/lugs on the side to be useful on Canal gravel. I have experience with Conti Touring Pluses (since superceded by Conti Contact Plus), then went with the vaunted Schwalbe Marathons. Which I found to be one gear faster with the same effort on the olde Trek.

Highly puncture resistant, but not puncture-proof. Once, I crowed about the Touring Plus’s ability to stand up to everything short of a snapping turtle. Then I met a roofing staple. Humility check.

A sizing note- Continentals tend to run small for their size. Schwalbe Marathons, true to size, but the original Marathon 32-622’s on the Trek are actually a taller profile- they have the rolling diameter of a 35, but still fit my bike with fenders installed.

One more thing to consider- you can get 28’s in these touring/commuting tires from Conti/Schwalbe/Vittoria, but there is a trend toward fatter tires, even amongst the road racing pros. Rivendell, whose business is aimed at touring cyclists, recommend as large a tire as will fit your bike. Lower rolling resistance, cushier ride, extra grip, and you likely won’t encounter an aero penalty unless you’re in time trail mode.

Reflective sidewalls are a *wonderful* visibility advantage at night in urban/suburban traffic. Enough so that the German StVZO road traffic regs will allow them instead of wheel reflectors. Most touring/city tires will have that. Of note, Larry Behery (The Old Bike Shop) runs Schwalbe Kojak slicks on his Cannondale “Lefty”, and those have reflective lettering instead.

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*This* quote from the article- “Seven pedestrians, including cyclists, scooter riders, and those walking, have been killed in D.C. by drivers since June 23. A woman struck by the driver of a truck by McPherson Square on Friday morning is currently in critical condition.”

“Vision Zero” is, at this moment, wishful thinking and a joke…at best.

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@dbehrend 181845 wrote:

DC police made an arrest: http://dcist.com/2018/10/police_arrest_man_in_september_hit-.php

Book ‘im, Danno!

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@peterw_diy 181754 wrote:

Thanks for that. The maintenance/lifespan angle is very interesting, especially that both the Lime electric scooters and the Jump electric bikes seem to have an average service life of only a couple months,if I’m reading the later graphs correctly. (The author clearly states that initially the scooters averaged a service life of about three weeks.)

I’d love to see a comparison to CaBi, and a closer analysis of repairs vs replacements. While getting people out of cars has clear spatial benefits, I dislike the idea that these devices might be so disposable, which reinforces what I witnessed in California, with fatally wounded scooters lying about the sidewalks like mundane packaging litter.

Well, this is the memory Ofo leaves behind, pretty much everywhere: [ATTACH=CONFIG]18450[/ATTACH] I gather the e-scooters are no better. This bothers me- it is just plain wasteful.

Curious- Have any of the abandoned/reclaimed dockless bikes shown up at a Local Bike Shop? Repairable? *Worth* repairing?

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@consularrider 181749 wrote:

In the two weeks I been in the area this time, I’ve been across the Potomac into DC twice. I have yet to see a “dockless” bikeshare machine on this trip. Did they all disappear when the e-scooters showed up?

Pretty much yeah. A couple of vendors walked away (if you see the distinctive Ofo yellow, it was a bike abandoned and claimed), others pivoted to all E-scooters. The only dockless bike remaining is the e-assist Jump.

Again, here’s the Greater Greater Washington study: https://ggwash.org/view/69307/who-killed-dcs-dockless-pedal-bicycles

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Ofo is (im)famous for the piles of discarded bikes it leaves behind. You’ll still see some on the streets in DC. They have been abandoned and *claimed*.

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@accordioneur 181691 wrote:

I noticed a couple of new boards – but seemingly a smaller area than the damage shown in photos posted online. I suspect NPS has a storage tank filled with spare boards marinating in slime that they draw on for Trollheim repairs

Slime marinade. Yum, yum, yum.

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