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Good morning. From WTOP, road closures for the weekend, for those who wish to compete with Rolling Thunder. No word on any trail closures… http://www.wtop.com/41/3628672/Expect-lots-of-road-delays-this-weekend

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Gee, back in the day, we used a deck of cards clamped to the fork by clothes pins.

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@cyclingfool 84298 wrote:

Threaded to threadless adapter. I have the one linked here on my 1995 Trek 830 MTB drop bar conversion. Nice piece of kit. Allows me to take advantage of the whole array of modern stems.

Bingo! Precisely the one. Mine came from QBP c/o my local bike shop (Papillon, Arlington). The only adapter I found that allowed for significant height adjustment. I had run a long & low Tioga Tange Prestige MTB stem on this arguably one size small frame for a long time. After two decades, I found I no longer fit it as well. I needed 1″ further back, 2″ up. There is the Nitto Technomic- beautiful traditional forged aluminum, but I thought the traditional straight “negative rise” extension was ridiculous for a stem intended to sit you more upright. So…
[ATTACH=CONFIG]5455[/ATTACH]

More pics of this old Trek are elsewhere on the “Show us Your Bike” thread.

And if anyone is lusting after that Tioga Prestige stem, talk to Larry @ the Old Bike Shop. I donated it to him…

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[ATTACH=CONFIG]5441[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5442[/ATTACH]

Throwback time: 2 bikes, same location, 22 years apart.

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[ATTACH=CONFIG]5439[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5440[/ATTACH]

For the archives, the 1981 Trek 412, onetime commuter warrior, in its 2014 configuration.

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[ATTACH=CONFIG]5438[/ATTACH]

The ’81 Trek 412.

Normally I prefer the computer on the right side, but with the taller stem I needed to install a year ago, you see the problem. The Dia-Compe brakeset is one of the few remaining OE components on this bike (though with the Kool-Stop salmon pads I prefer).

Things were even more cramped in decades past, when I ran a Nightsun Commuter lightset clamped to the handlebar.

[Starduster]

@cyclingfool 84047 wrote:

A quick Google search suggests that the DC output is the same 3W that come from a dynohub, in which case I’d highly recommend the Busch & Muller Lumotec IQ Cyo (N) Senso Plus I used to have. It’s currently available for $70 from Peter White. Senso is nice — lets the light run as a daytime running light with varying brightness depending on ambient light conditions. Go into a tunnel, it goes to full power, back into the sun it steps back a bit to just make you more visible. All the B&M lights have a good vertical cutoff, too, that avoids blinding oncoming traffic (i.e., it conforms w/ German law)

I’d say you can’t go wrong with any of the Busch and Muller lights. The whole line is discussed here:

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/b&m-hl.asp

Disclaimer: I could be way off base about compatibility w/ an ebike.

Off base? Nope. Peter White carries Euro lights from B+M, Schmidt, and Supernova, who by now all have lights designed to run off an E-Bike’s electrical system.

[Starduster]

@PotomacCyclist 84263 wrote:

Some swim coaches include what is known as hypoxic training sets. The swimmers practice swimming more strokes before breathing, the idea being that you are developing your lung strength. I don’t know if that’s really possible, but many coaches still hold to this practice.

Anyway, every time I pass those porta-potties, I prepare myself by holding my breath before I reach the Miasma Zone and continue holding my breath until I’ve passed the dark cloud. I always think of it as hypoxic training on the bike!

Maybe there’s something to hypoxic swim training. I can hold my breath for much longer than I could six years ago (when I was first starting to bike as an adult and when I started training for triathlons). I can make it past the porta-potties at a slow speed (because of all the pedestrians), holding my breath and without gasping for air.

***
There were plans to move the porta-potties and the pedestrian path away from a separated bike path. Or the path would be widened through Gravelly Point. However, nothing has happened with these plans for nearly two years. I don’t know if the Gravelly Point project will ever get underway.

http://www.arlnow.com/2012/05/30/changes-proposed-for-gravelly-point-roaches-run/

http://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?projectID=23571

Thank you for the links. Good to know that someone has at least tried to address this, including the safety of the runway section of the trail. My least favorite part- NO protection for a falling rider from parkway traffic at speed (supposed to be 40 mph- but we know better…)

So, Gravelly Point is NPS. Has anyone here already tried complaining to them about the health issue?

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@KLizotte 84255 wrote:

FYI: For clean facilities your best bet is to go to Nat’l Airport, Crystal City, the marina located on the trail, Old Town (Torpedo Factory), or NPS facilities located under the Wilson Bridge.

Or, on this day, the Harris Teeter at S. Glebe & Jeff-Davis Hwy. (Unexpected benefit of the Four Mile Run detour)

So… this was not an anomaly, huh?

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Drove by this evening, and there *is* major repaving work at this intersection. Not sure how W&OD traffic is being detoured…

[Starduster]

Some might be skeptical about the Euro-spec dynamo taillight’s brightness…

This is my wife Sue’s wheels, running: Bontrager Ion 2 battery headlight (thank you BikeArlington!)
B+M Relite D battery taillight
Planet Bike Rack Blinky
[ATTACH=CONFIG]4042[/ATTACH]

The Relite D on the chainstay meets the same StVZO requirements as the Toplight Line Plus on my bike. With seriously good reflector. Bright enough?

And good light output to the side:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]4043[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]4044[/ATTACH]

The Bontrager Ion 2 on the road at full brightness:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]4045[/ATTACH]

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just a couple more pics, please…

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Now, with flash on, and the NiteRider CherryBomb for extra “see me!” on the Pike:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]4040[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]4041[/ATTACH]
That is reflective striping on a Pearl Izumi jacket and my helmet, and the bright-as-can-be BikeArlington zipper tag.

On the *do* list for winter will be replacement tires with reflective sidewalls. (Three good choices from Continental, and the Schwalbe Marathon…)

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My turn…

It’s been some 15 years since I was a bike commuter, but the old Trek is still set up to the same philosophy (It *will* be set up to run *fast* at night!), even if the lighting has been upgraded repeatedly since then:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]4034[/ATTACH]

The current setup: B+M LumoTec IQ Cyo Plus, from a B+M dynamo
BikeArlington white blinky, as a low speed(!) close-in supplement
B+M Toplight Line Plus tail light
NiteRider CherryBomb, as an on-street supplement

This current generation of dynamo/generator lighting has a standlight function, so that both lights stay on for about 4 minutes at a stop light.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]4035[/ATTACH]

On the road (at about 11 mph):
[ATTACH=CONFIG]4036[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]4037[/ATTACH]

These B+M lights are in compliance with German traffic safety regulations (StVZO), which besides specifying minimum light output and coverage, require that they don’t dazzle & blind oncoming traffic. What you see is a lot like a good automotive low beam headlamp with a sharp cut-off at the top of the beam. Which is a good thing for riding the Mt. Vernon or W&OD Trails- being kind to oncoming traffic. For reference, Ronwalf’s Cyo R has a slightly different beam pattern- sacrificing a little range to fill in a dark sport directly in front. And the newest product from Busch+Muller expands beam width to over a full car lane wide.

Without flash, just the B+M lights:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]4038[/ATTACH]

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If you are looking for a light that puts more light ON the road than a “blinkie”, but don’t want to blind oncoming riders on the trail (W&OD or Mt. Vernon), there is this option- lights designed to the German StVZO standard. They will share a headlight beam with a sharp cutoff- just like a good low beam headlight. Sorta important as LED emitters continue to progress well beyond halogen bulbs in brightness. USB charging ports on many (not all, just yet). Lights from Busch + Muller, Supernova, and Phillips from here: http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/index.html.

Um, OK, not necessarily cheap, but you do get what you pay for…

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