[vern]

Thank you all for your kind words about my husband, it means so much to us. And thank you to those who were able to join us for his life celebration. It was lovely getting to meet you. Thank you also for riding his morning route in memory of him, it touched our hearts deeply. For those who don’t know the story behind “Vern”…when we were dating I used to say to him, “Know what I mean, Vern?” and he’d say, “I know what you mean, Ernestine”. He then made his email address, “imnotvern” and it was sort of a joke with us.
Sincerely,
Wendy
(I’m not vern either)

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[vern]

Granted, that light pole is in the way, but I don’t understand why it’s so important to be able to make a turn without stopping so that a bike can cross at the crosswalk, instead of turning on Walter Reed and crossing on the road, assuming that one wants to go south on Walter Reed. It seems odd to argue that bikes need better access to pedestrian infrastructure.

[vern]

@sjclaeys 189856 wrote:

But that avoids the “fun” of the ACPD cyclist sting at 19th & Van Buren. The ACPD officer will be so lonely.

Jefferson > Washington > Westmoreland/19th, and then you roll thru the stop sign as you turn right on Van Buren, and you can high-five the cop as you go by. Duh…

[vern]

It is difficult to properly flip off a scofflaw car driver when wearing lobster mitts.

[vern]

There is a tree down on the WOD about 1/2 mile east of Clark’s Crossing that completely blocks the trail, with no way around it. I managed to lift my bike and myself over part of the obstacle and pushed through and under other parts. I didn’t take a pic because it was raining and, well, you’ve seen trees.

[vern]

@Tania 175235 wrote:

…Sand. There will be lots and lots of sand. I like the idea of a bigger volume tire so that I can run lower pressure. The RnR’s are 43 or 44, and my G Ones I think are only 33’s (? maybe…not huge). Still a few weeks to vacillate on choice.

It looks like the guy in the video is rolling slicks and he seems to be doing ok.

[vern]

@gswim18 170860 wrote:

I go with a plastic bag to help with the cold. Normally directly on my foot and then add the sock. Foot is a little damp by the time I get to work, 11 miles, but not cold. Kind of a vapor barrier.

i’ve read other forum members posting the same advice in the past. It sounds sooooo uncomfortable. I don’t know how you put your foot in a plastic bag without the bag wrinkling, and those wrinkles would drive me crazy, especially if they were on the bottom of my foot.

[vern]

No problem riding 30 slicks from Reston to Crystal City on the WOD and 4MR. The WOD was actually brushed between the Custis interchange and Columbia Pike. That’s a first, and a welcome change.

[vern]

@chuxtr 168843 wrote:

Ritchey Comp bar (40 cm wide, compact bend) and 4 Axis stem (-6 degrees, 12 cm). Ridden less than 100 miles, so almost like new. Wear marks from mounting bars to stem and putting on/taking off brake/shift levers. $25 each or $40 for both. Cash and carry in Arlington.

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I might be interested in both, but esp the bars. Let me take a look after I get home tonight.

[vern]

@FFX_Hinterlands 169614 wrote:

Yes, In Reston there’s Lawyers Road, Soapstone, Colt’s Neck, Glade, Twin Branches (?). These all have some sort of bike lane.

North Shore now also has a bike lane for most of it’s length.

[vern]

@hozn 169270 wrote:

$36 for GP4000SII 700x28mm is almost tempting enough to switch back to tubes. I jest, but that is a great price for a great tire.

That’s a pretty standard price at Merlin. Right now you can get 2 700×28’s for $76, and with that price you get two tubes.

*oh, and free shipping to the US.

[vern]

@Bob James 168989 wrote:

Retirees should get double points for making the effort to get out of their PJ’s and comfy recliner to go out and bike when they don’t really need to go anywhere.

au contraire…retirees should get 1/3 points because they have all day to ride unlike us working stiffs.

[vern]

@rcannon100 168731 wrote:

Standing desks are all the rage.

Of course another solution is cycling at your desk. Has anyone tried contraptions for pedaling at your desk? Like for example the Deskcycle??

Did you like it?? If so, what was the benefit?

I saw an article about this a while back (maybe here on the forum) that suggested these types of desks were very beneficial for kids with ADHD (so I suppose adults, too). A deskcycle wouldn’t do anything to address osteoporosis issues that a standing desk does help with.

[vern]

@Emm 167690 wrote:

This is my thought exactly. I’d rather be on a team with my friends who I like riding with vs people who ride the most (although there is definitely some overlap between the two groups), but then again I see FS more as a friendship building/encouragement to ride when it sucks out/advocacy tool than a cutthroat competition. Honestly, FS was a big motivator for me while healing from surgery last year, and most of what I loved about it was how I made a great group of friends, and received alot of encouragement to keep riding from the people I did group rides and happy hours with. Sure I didn’t ride every day because I still hurt, but it got me out riding 100% more than I would have ridden otherwise. And although I participated in the forum for a year or two before Freezing Saddles, I did not become a regular attendee at coffee clubs, group rides and happy hours until the competition.

What I would like to know is how prevalent is it that people sign up, and really don’t participate? Can someone run the numbers from a few of the prior years and show how many people per year were below a certain threshold (maybe however many points would equate to 3 shortish rides a week average or something?). If we’re just debating kicking off 5 out of 250 people a year, this doesn’t seem like a big enough issue to debate even if it’s something emotions run high over. But if it’s 20-30 people, I can see a reason to institute some minimum threshold.

go to the website. last year’s data is still there.

[vern]

@Subby 167419 wrote:

Instead of having to track minimum participation, would it be easier if scores where just comprised of the points from the top X number of riders on each team? As an example, each team has 10 riders, you only take the top 8 scores, so teams that lost a rider or had someone flake out wouldn’t be penalized.

I like this a lot. A competition within the competition. Essentially, competing to be relevant. A primary component of this game is to encourage winter riding, and I support that. But I don’t think this game should be like so many kids activities are now where every participant gets a prize – there are no losers; we’re all winners! – because we must protect everyone’s precious self-esteem. Frankly, I’m not worried about protecting the self-esteem of someone who says they want to play the game and then takes 4 rides in 77 days. Maybe the competition within the competition would serve as an added, and different form of motivation to encourage more people to ride through the Winter.

[Author]

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