[Tania]

Just got almost bowled over TWICE in a half a block by two different cyclists on the @*#&#$ sidewalk. Next one to come anywhere NEAR me is getting pushed.

Yes, I’m cranky.

[Tania]

I ordered the November wheels Sat am. Am now waiting impatiently for the “your wheels have shipped!” email.

[Tania]

Provided my new wheels have come in and my drive train is (re)-adjusted and everything is (mostly) shifting ok, I’m in.

[Tania]

@reji 118051 wrote:

I’m a middle-aged female and wasn’t worried about safety, though I was more alert to my surroundings than usual and used both headlights at full power in certain stretches.

Thank you for chiming in on this, I’ve been wondering about riding home after dark in the winter. (On a side note, want to really piss me off? Make me have to think about stuff like this solely because I’m female and thus considered an easy target.)

[Tania]

@consularrider 117973 wrote:

But they don’t have red nipples!

I’ll take “Words I Never Expected To Hear consularrider Say” for $400 please Alex.

[Tania]

I just parted out a wheelset with Pacenti SL23, sapim lasers and White T11’s and it came out to MORE than the prebuilt set that November has (and it turned out to be the same parts, coincidentally).

I think the prebuilt November set is the winner. Gold star to jabberwocky. I shall buy him food tomorrow after we ride.

[Tania]

Or I could just say “forget all this bother” and just buy these and be done with it.

http://www.novemberbicycles.com/alloynimbus/

[Tania]

I’m slowly building a list of components and then I’ll throw them into a spreadsheet with weight and cost etc. Gotta say, the Kings R45’s are looking better and better weight-wise. There are just so many options it’s making my head spin. So far on my preliminary list are DT Swiss 440’s, Kinlin XR-270 (light and CHEAP!) and Mavic cxp 33. 28 spokes in rear, 24 in front.

And I’d totally get red spoke nipples.

[Tania]

@ShawnoftheDread 117929 wrote:

Tania, isn’t it just the free hub that’s broken?

I think so, Bikenetic is backed up so they can’t even look at it til Tuesday.

[Tania]

I’m leaning towards Hopes (half the cost of a CK) because that’s what I have on my Titus . And I love the noise it makes. 😎 But I have no idea what rims etc I’d use.

Not sure what happened to my hub. My wheel is at the shop now and they’re going to see if it’s salvageable at all.

[Tania]

I biked over but you all were inside and I didn’t have a bike lock.

[Tania]

I make that left onto Walter Reed from 4MR a few times a week and it’s sketchy as a driver. There aren’t any left hand turn arrows and oncoming car traffic usually is going WAY faster than the posted speed limit (high number of taxis too, oddly). Also, bikers headed east don’t slow down – not that they really need to because they DO have the right of way, but it’s so easy for the driver to look to the left for bicyclists, see it’s clear, look straight ahead to make sure traffic is still clear, start to turn and BAM! There’s a biker all of a sudden.

I hate making that turn in a car and I hate going straight through there on a bike. A left hand turn arrow is needed.

[Tania]

This about sums it up.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]8834[/ATTACH]

TL: DR: people are awesome.

Thanks to everyone (ArlingtonRider, Dismal, Dread, Matt A, FastFriendlyGuy) who pitched in to help me this am, especially Matt Aune who made sure I got to work and is schlepping my broken wheel home with him this afternoon to drop off at Bikenetic. Another HUGE thanks to Matt’s friend Glenn who loaned me a wheel so I could keep riding. You all rock.

[Tania]

Rumors of my doing hills are greatly exaggerated.

[Tania]

I had a lovely allergy-induced asthma attack this am so I took it really easy coming home. As I was coming down from the TR bridge, a nice guy in an orange charm city jersey who was coming up the MVT actually stopped to let me go through. Then at IoD it looked like he was going to shoal me but he waited and gave me the “after you” gesture. Thanks bearded charm city dude! You rock.

Then I stayed behind some guy the whole way on the Custis/w&od to little falls (or great falls). Thanks for keeping me company even though you probably didn’t even know I was there and if you did then I enjoyed your pace. It was nice to have an easy ride and enjoy the weather, sights and honeysuckle along the trail. You rock too.

[Author]

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