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@Certifried 34581 wrote:

My Jamis Bosanova

Is this the same bike you’re trying to go faster on??

I know bike weight isn’t everything but unless you’re on a descent a 42lbs bike isn’t going to be easy to get up to speed (unless you’re Dirt).

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@Megabeth 34332 wrote:

giant ball of f-bomb dropping fun

Sounds wonderful… I’ll consider it. Looks like you can get a refund before May 2013. I should know by then if I have a chance of completing it.

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There’s a fun sign at Fort Myer/Custis saying something about “CONSTRUTION” right now. I stared at it for a while as I waited for the light on the way home today.

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200 miles is a bit of a stretch for me. 200 kms I could probably do but I don’t know how much fun I’d have.

@Tim Kelley 34278 wrote:

I’m trying to see who will join me for a Total300?

At Hains Pt?

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Thanks for the article link. I’ve been curious about these since I first saw the kickstarter promo video.

It’s a little bit too novelty for me since it’s not going to light up enough dark pavement to see a good distance in front of you (some streets in my area have very little lighting). The hub mounted battery is a bit clumsy, but their site does mention a future hub dynamo powered possibility.

That said, imagine what a group of riders with these on doing Hains Pt at night would look like!

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If you do really want to stick with headphones while biking (I don’t recommend it), Koss KSC 75s are cheap, attach securely and comfortably on your ear (imo), are open (outside sound can be heard) and also quite good in terms of sound quality. I own a couple pairs with one left at my work desk (easily replaceable if stolen/run over by an office chair wheel).

I have biked with them on the upper W&OD as personal “speakers” as well – with the clips/hooks hanging off the front of my shirt near my collar.

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@Greenbelt 34222 wrote:

I think this would be my next commuter bike, if I needed a new commuter bike, which I don’t!

I really like the brakes and I’m fine with Tiagra — seems to work pretty reliably well when dirty/commutery/not-often-cleaned (although I’ve been having some issues since last Friday’s rainstorm).

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1903[/ATTACH]

That was on my recent shortlist but I couldn’t get past the 130mm rear spacing (seems like manufacturers are split about 50/50 on 130/135). I want to be able to run 29er wheels (and possibly even 26″ though not sure how that will turn out). I ended up with a 2013 Kona Jake with some upgrades. The other bikes on my list were the Redline Metro Classic (a bit heavy, no stock to test ride) and something based on Soma’s Doublecross DC frame (frame warranty was only 2 or 3 years as compared to lifetime on the other brands). I think the straight round steel lines on both the Soma and Redline do look more pleasing than the tubing shapes on modern aluminium frames but I had to remember I bought the bike for riding. Besides, there will always be more covet.

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@dasgeh 34194 wrote:

Today I was riding with the 2 year old on a street, and there was a dead squirrel in the middle of the road. She pointed it out, and I explained that, yes, that’s a squirrel and it’s in heaven now. She asked about the squirrel 3 or 4 more times on the ride.

I was riding with the 1 year old this afternoon and just as I decided to pedal a bit faster on a downhill for some fun, a squirrel darted out and we almost hit it. She was oblivious to the near miss and instead pointed it out and waved and said “bye” to it, as she did for every squirrel we spotted on the ride (probably 10 or so).

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@Arlingtonrider 34080 wrote:

Update: Apparently the Haymarket/Seavs team brought its own Mariachi band! Gwadzilla’s blog has a link to a fun video of the band playing while the racers race and the crowd cheers them on. Fun to watch, but I don’t have the technical skills to add a link here. Maybe someone else can?

(Someone else’s) video compilation of the mariachi band:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151282722681042

You don’t need a facebook account to view it.

@Mark Blacknell 34108 wrote:

Also, I give you people a crash, and I get no photos of it? Ingrates, the lot of you.

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I had a great time too, and enjoyed all the support out there (I heard it, even if I was mostly too busy looking down trying not to slide out or crash). I’ll probably race CX again, although I have to admit I don’t quite get the point of drops on CX bikes? I used them only a couple times and I often wished I could get better braking grip/leverage than from the hoods during the bumpier downhills (I wouldn’t want to grip any narrower and use crosstop levers). I feel like bullhorns with reverse levers would make more sense, but then I’m a newb at it all.

Nice to meet you, dcv. Amazing effort on your SS with that gearing.

The event was really well run. My only tiny gripe was that the rookie race was so short! I was finally getting into how the laps were laid out and collecting beer hand-ups… when it was all over.

That was probably the most BikeArlington folk I’ve seen other than at a happy hour: DaveK, MB, TK, Dirt, dcv, culimerc, acc, arlingtonrider, eminva, jrenaut, and I think Riley Casey (sorry – didn’t say hi).

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I like the model number. “skrape-15”

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Wow, I didn’t expect a lap would be so long. I might finish 3 of them, I guess? I have yet to attempt a leap o’ faith and probably won’t on Sunday either.

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@mstone 33821 wrote:

Likewise; I use the same bike for both. You can generally cover a couple of categories with one bike as long as they aren’t on completely opposite ends of the spectrum, like road racing and downhill mountain.

Agreed. I think commuting is probably the most flexible kind of riding in terms of what type of bike you want to ride.

If you’re only looking to save money, a cheap bike will probably work fine for awhile.

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Can’t make this one.

Have fun people!

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@baiskeli 33510 wrote:

make eye contact with drivers turning right coming from the south.

I second this. I end up treating this intersection almost like there’s no light at all, and that drivers are giving way to you even though you are crossing on a green pedestrian light.

Some days I’ll head along M St a bit so I can be on the other side of Key Bridge and avoid this and the next crossing.

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