[Tania]

It’s bad enough that you don’t call your passes, run red lights and don’t signal when you’re turning but for the love of god, please don’t text and bike. Or read anything on your phone causing you to weave all over the place. Leave those phone shenanigans to pedestrians.

[Tania]

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[Tania]

@consularrider 113288 wrote:

And since you lift weights anyway …

True. I just added up last night’s working sets (not including warm up etc) and it was over 3,000 total lifted.

A backpack that weighs a few pounds more than normal carried maybe once or twice a month on my mostly downhill ride into work isn’t exactly taxing.

However an extra 2# on one of dcv’s 30 mile “rolling hills” ride would like kill me. It’s all what you’re used to.

[Tania]

I do a lot of climbing and mountaineering – some climbs require an approach of several hours (a few have been days) with at least 50 pounds on my back (I weigh 120). The weight of work clothes and food on my back on the days I need to carry such items isn’t really something I’d even notice.

[Tania]

@dkel 113170 wrote:

Wait—what?

Fixed. Better?

[Tania]

I just saw a bicycle cop in DC with a rack attached to his seat post so I stopped and chatted with him about it. Turns out this wasn’t his usual bike, which has a frame mounted rack. He said he prefers the frame mounted rack because the seat post rack interferes with his leg as he gets on the bike, it moves from side to side (it really did! The clamp was loose) and that they’ve had issues with the attachment snapping. All of which could be mitigated I guess but I’m glad I stopped and asked him.

Anyway, a second backpack really is the best choice for me, right now. Biking is not a way of life for me yet, it isn’t my primary sport and I can’t have it interfere with my primary sport – so having a dedicated, tricked-out commuter bike in a stable full of other bikes isn’t realistic. Which isn’t to say I don’t WANT 11 bikes but then I also want an Audi RS7 even though I drive like a granny. What I can USE is a bike that lets me do commuting, coffee rides, the occasional rolling hills ride (ugh) and eventually at some point I’ll do one of Dirt’s gravel rides (it is a cross bike after all). I understand that a jack of all trades bike that excels at it all isn’t realistic but I’m ok with that (for now).

Not ruling out adding a rack at some point. I’m glad I posted this though, I’ve now got lots of options!

[Tania]

You know, I think I agree with you Cyndi. The more I research racks, the more I realize I need to keep researching racks. The easiest solution for now is just to run to REI and get a roomier pack. My 33L is really just too big for day hikes/climbs etc so it would be multi-purpose.

BTW, you are now my official Bike Accessory Guru.

[Tania]

@dasgeh 113119 wrote:

I’ve used this on a bike without mounts (does yours have them?)

Um….yes? Maybe? Er…I think so? I know it has mounts for a rack but not sure if these are the mounts you are looking for.

@dasgeh 113119 wrote:

But, you may realize that you like getting stuff off your back, and then you’ll want to be able to use panniers.

dcv informed me that I’ll never be a “real” roadie while I continue to use my hydration pack. But I loathe squeezy bottles and you don’t want to be biking near me as I struggle to get the bottle out of the cage and drink and then drop it on the ground as I struggle to get it back into the cage. So I’ll likely always have a backpack (I’m used to it).

[Tania]

The Arkel trunk bag velcros on – if I can Velcro/bungee it down securely to a Tubus Fly them I’m all set. The Fly is light enough that I won’t care that it’s on there full time.

The Cargo would give me more bag options I guess. But you’ve ridden with me: I’m slow-ish, and I often struggle. So the weight IS a consideration.

[Tania]

Ha! Me, as I’m leaving this house this am (which is super close to the hospital): “I mean really, what are the odds of me getting bike-jacked by this guy?”

[Tania]

@dcv 112692 wrote:

The ride .gpx file says it’s 1,600 ft of elevation, but our Strava data recorded just over 2,000 ft over 22 miles.

I’m pretending you didn’t write that.

[Tania]

My commute is 14 miles each way. I bought my bike specifically for commuting. (When I lived in Frederick I used to drive to Leesburg and bike into Herndon on a hardtail mountain bike so I had an idea of what is involved in commuting to work.)

Today I had to take metro. I left the house at 8:15, walked to the metro (half mile? Maybe less) and arrived at work at 9:10 because of various metro delays that occur daily.

When I bike in, my average travel time (in the morning) so far has been around 1:05. And that’s most likely because I’m slooooow – there are parts where I could ride faster but I enjoy looking around at the various trail critters and birds and saying “good morning!” to people and just taking the time to be outside.

I absolutely loathe my commute home. Getting out of the city and then dealing with the foot traffic on the W&OD plus other aggressive bicyclists means more often than not I metro home.

[Tania]

@Birdstrike 112194 wrote:

I hope I gain your courage with more experience. Seems like when I have taken the lane, I’m too preoccupied with the car way too close behind me, need to be able to block that out and act/ride like I know what I’m doing. I’m working on it, smaller roads first then building up.

First, I am a big chicken. Huge. Second, my experience is limited as I just started commuting with any kind of regularity last month!

My bike commute is half a mile on a road with no bike lane, then maybe 3/4 mile of bike line to W&OD. Then I’m pretty much ALL protected bike path (w&od, custis, MVT) until I get into the city. Maybe that’s where my courage comes from: my first handful of trips I was chaperoned by dcv and/or Dirt and I just did what they did and became comfortable biking in traffic. I really thought biking in downtown DC would freak me the *@&#& out but all of my close calls have been due to crazy insane bicyclists or pedestrians – not cars.

[Tania]

@Birdstrike 112146 wrote:

Yep, that’s up there. One part of my brain is always saying, “Take the lane, you have every right!” but then the other side responds, “But I want to live!” and reminds me that I have every disadvantage against dysfunctional motorists. So I’m wary and torn, I want to ride more but…

Really? I take the entire lane when I WANT to feel safer (as in, I ride right down the middle of the lane). I get on Gallows in Merrifield about a half mile before the start of the bike lane. I usually ride slowly on the sidewalk for that half mile (I know, I know but I yield to pedestrians) however this winter with all the snow, the side walk was impassible so I had to no choice but to ride in the (busy) road where I didn’t have a bike lane. I took the lane and pedaled hard. Granted, Gallows is two lanes each way.

[Tania]

Def try to find a ride buddy. It made all the difference for me my first few trips. Also I did a test run on the weekend as someone suggested so it wasn’t completely new on my first day.

[Author]

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