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The smell of burgers from BGR and the pizza from the Italian Store gets me as well! Especially after doing that Rosslyn hill on the Custis.

I usually eat and drink a lot every day. I need to stop eating so fast though, that’s the main thing that causes me to eat too much in a meal. I’m fortunate that my weight never varies too much but as I get older I’m sure my metabolism will slow down.

I usually have a quick bite before heading out on my morning commute, and then I eat breakfast ~8am, lunch/elevenses ~11:30am (great for beating the lunch rush crowds), sometimes a snack before my afternoon commute, and then dinner ~5:30pm. Often I’ll snack on something around 8/9pm as well since by then the kids are usually in bed and I can take out the cookies/chips/etc and only set a bad example to myself.

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@Dirt 23396 wrote:

I’ll be leading a ride out to Happy Hour if y’all want to join. I’ll be rolling from East Falls Church Metro

Oh, figured I should check – what time is the convoy leaving East Falls Church?

Is the meeting point at the trail near the metro station?

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It was a tad chilly but I left late and had a backpack on so I warmed up fast.

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There are a few pros on Strava who publish their ride data. I follow Laurens ten Dam (he posted his Tour of California and Tour de Suisse ride data) and Joe Dombrowski (although he didn’t have HR data on there for the last ride I looked at).

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@ShawnoftheDread 23477 wrote:

Yes, I was five minutes slower today with the headwind. And 0 of 7 roadies passing me called it. But it was still 100x better than the drive portion of my commute, which was hideous.

This morning I got passed with no call going down the S curve o’ death by a guy on a fixie (or perhaps SS) who I then overtook shortly afterwards (after we both passed a few slower cyclists – he called none of his passes). On the way down the Rosslyn hill, I heard him behind me and then saw him speed off to the right onto the road and salmon down the rest of the way. A very smart guy.

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@americancyclo 23469 wrote:

Dear everyone in a car crossing the Key Bridge and heading in to DC,
On M St., after crossing the intersection of 34th st, the lanes all shift left. This is so you don’t drive in a parking lane. It’s also so you don’t run me over. Stay in your damn lane.

Yeah I got yelled at by a lady in a car a couple commutes back there – “I could’ve hit you!”. I was pulled up alongside her on her left in my own lane (I often take the lane on M St in the morning) at the next red light but didn’t say anything. I think signage needs to be a lot clearer for cars. Maybe they can put some bollards on the road.

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I’d guess either it’s erroneous data or yeah, the rider is just really fit. Most of my commutes I top out near my max HR which means yeah, I’m not in that great shape.

@TwoWheelsDC 23463 wrote:

Son of a…see, this is why I shouldn’t hang around the forums. I’m perfectly satisfied with my Garmin 200, which doesn’t have a HRM, then a simple thread like this pops up and I think “hmmm, it would be interesting to know what my HR is…maybe I should upgrade to a 500.” Argh.

Now I just hope there are no upcoming threads about how carbon is soooooo much better than aluminum. That may push me over the edge.

Depends. Is it hydroformed alumnium?

Yeah I got a 500 instead of a 200 for both the HRM and the cadence. And yes, as Tim notes, the ability to add power later, maybe.

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@Dirt 23396 wrote:

This is the route: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1303020. It is about 12 miles each way. It does use some of Old Lee Highway which has a fair amount of traffic on it. The shoulders are pretty good. There’s a short section of gravel trail to get to the CCT. I ride it regularly on my road bike and have never had a problem.

I’ve never tried grilled coyote. Can you get that on the nachos? I should be able to make it and join your convoy.

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I used to run cross country as well, until my knees started hating me.

Hains Pt is valuable because of the combination of low-traffic open road and central location. The wind is also interesting as some have mentioned. With all the hills in Arlington I tend to be relatively well sheltered from wind. One time I was riding Hains Pt thinking “jeez, I’m really fast today” until I went up the back stretch and realised it had all been tailwind. It is a bit boring but it’s better than a parking lot or a corporate office loop.

I don’t go often to Hains Pt but if you’re training for an event or just training in general it’s very handy to have. If you want some mileage, say for some kind of bike challenge it’s an easy way to get that too. The weekday lunch rides are tough too. Lots of keen cyclists in their local team kit pacelining – even in January. I’ve never managed to keep up with them. At best I’ll catch up to someone (else) that’s gotten dropped, and that’s my accomplishment.

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Not a CX bike, but I have Tektro mini v brakes hooked up to Shimano brifters on my folder (actually just one brifter – the right side, Tiagra). I haven’t been particularly happy with the performance esp in the wet though that might be just that they’re not well adjusted.

My next bike may well be a CX/commuter mostly because I would like something with disc brakes for going downhill in the wet – I’m only going to look at ones with disc mounts. My MTB had disc brakes back in the early 2000s – it’s sort of strange that road/cross bikes have taken so long to catch up.

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Flats in general are not predictable, assuming you are riding the right tires for your conditions and have the pressure in the correct range. (Or you have a fat bike )

It is possible that the rim tape wasn’t installed properly at the factory or got moved when the tube was installed. Combined with the spoke issue it resulted in pinch flats – or the loose spoke issue alone was the main culprit. My hybrid went through a spate of similar flats early last year until I put on new rim tape. No flats since then. I like the self adhesive Velox cloth rim tape. The factory thing that was installed on my hybrid wheels was basically a large thin elastic band that moved around easily.

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@KelOnWheels 23171 wrote:

I think that was me on the way to work this morning. :p

Definitely hot and humid out there this morning!

@maverick 23120 wrote:

am i being a wimp?

Nope! If thunderstorms are possible I will shorten my commute (I drove in halfway today), and keep my eye on the radar to time when I leave the office. And I rode my heavier, wider-tired bike and left the road bike at home.

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@elcee 22461 wrote:

For the hill-aficionado, there is a short but very steep road on the 4000 block of 22nd Street North, just off Military Road across from Cherrydale Library. It’s narrow, rough, and the sharp right turn is guaranteed to kill any momentum.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=4000+22nd+Street+North,+Arlington,+VA&hl=en&ll=38.899183,-77.107769&spn=0.007164,0.009688&sll=38.899139,-77.107745&sspn=0.001799,0.002422&oq=4000+22nd+stre+arlington+va&hnear=4000+22nd+St+N,+Arlington,+Virginia+22207&t=m&z=17

I tried this out on the way home today. I didn’t expect any traffic but first a car in front of me stopped dead in the road before the sharp right turn and people started getting out. It is a VERY narrow road so I don’t blame them (and they were probably wondering what a cyclist was doing there, assuming they live there or know someone who does). After I’d gotten around them (I passed on their left), a big white Verizon truck came down the turn! So definitely 0 momentum going up. It was steep indeed but very short. I think N Pollard or N Lincoln (both sort of parallel) are tougher climbs.

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@Tim Kelley 23102 wrote:

Heading up Military and doing varied loops along 35th to Glebe. Should be about 15-20 miles without any real flat sections.

Sounds good! I’ll try to make it. (Although I wish there were some group rides that did hills somewhere other than North Arlington!)

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Sounds good. Any idea what the route is?

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