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Sorry to hear that ann. I have days like that where I end up wondering if I should really be commuting by bike given the quality of drivers in the area.

The GW crossing is ridiculous. The first time I came across it (sometime last year) I was amazed that it was indeed a bike crossing across the GW Parkway. People routinely drive 70mph on that north of Key Bridge (I would often drive it as part of my commute). It’s one piece of bike infrastructure around here I always avoid.

I talked a bit to a NPS representative at the Rosslyn BTWD pitstop about it. I walked away with a NPS branded bell and an information card.

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I love the teak wood on the wheels and the matching orange cages.

I’ve liked fake wood finishes on vehicles ever since seeing the 1946 Ford ‘Woody’ Station Wagon in The Muppet Movie as a kid.

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As much as I like shiny new stuff, I also hold some sentimentality with my things, especially bikes. They never stay shiny and new for long anyway. Therefore, I’d upgrade. The other reasons I like upgrading are a) you get to tinker with the bike and increase your mechanical knowledge/skill (although it can also be frustrating)
and b) your bike will be more personal + unique.

I have a rusty GT MTB I bought new in 2006 when I moved to the USA for <$300, and it served as my only bike for awhile. It's definitely not the best bike and for a while I stashed it outside on an apartment balcony (hence the rust) but I've probably put $300 into "upgrading" it - a new wheelset, front BB7 disc brake, new tires (2x sets), new cassette (+ spacer - it's a 7 speed), and I might still upgrade it more. It's my beater/rain/ice/snow bike but it's aluminum and has never really been ridden as a MTB so I imagine the frame has plenty of life left. (Also, when I was growing up and started really riding, 90s MTBs were all the rage and GT was one of the really "cool" brands to me at the time, even though they're just another arm of a big conglomerate now.) All the advice offered in this thread seems sound to me.

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@GuyContinental 21347 wrote:

At least with my app (Cyclemeter) ANT+ speed/cadence data will trump gps data in the ride record thus reducing gps coverage errors- it would have recorded my actual speed up the hill not the time between GPS samples.

Oh yeah, sorry, I misunderstood what you meant. I think speed/cadence + GPS data is generally more reliable than just GPS data.

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@GuyContinental 21342 wrote:

Bummer- I couldn’t find a way to flag just the segment, had to flag the entire ride which had 3 legit PRs. Looks like it worked. Sigh, easy come, easy go.

My bad for not using a proper GPS or even ANT+

I haven’t tried it but Tim’s link sounds like it might help for cropping just a part of a ride:
@Tim Kelley 21336 wrote:

FYI–there is this: https://strava.zendesk.com/entries/20950153-flagging-a-false-kom-qom

ANT+ doesn’t make a difference I don’t think? I thought it was just a protocol for wireless data transmission.

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@eminva 21334 wrote:

I notice that vvill is right behind you with six seconds and only 59 watts of power. Honestly, I think I may be more impressed that will got up so quickly with so little effort.

Hehe, yeah I used to be KOM on that segment due to similar GPS weirdness/false data. That ride was recorded before I had my Garmin 500 using a car GPS so it was probably interpolating data or something. It’s a silly segment anyway because it’s just too short for accuracy – there’s a well-known one on Hains Pt where everyone regularly gets clocked at ~60mph.

@Tim Kelley 21335 wrote:

I had the same issue at that spot. I show have a 6 second time there, but it doesn’t show up in the Full Leaderboard. I have to click on “My Results.” I think it just gets flagged and takes care of it itself.

Yeah I remember you also had a 6 second time there. Maybe someone flagged your ride?

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@Certifried 21319 wrote:

It’s only cheating if you get caught being pulled by a motorized vehicle of some sort. Para sails and helium balloons are totally legit (so are clowns in clown cars pulling you, but that’s too scary for me)

I saw a guy being actively motorpaced by a van at Hains Pt the other day. But I would think a lot of the best times there involve close pack riding.

@Dirt 21324 wrote:

I think my main KOM is pretty safe… not because of any amazing prowess of my own… mostly because of its somewhat secluded location.

Yeah I have one like that… “Ridden by 1 person 24 times”

I recently lost this one but don’t think I have a chance of re-taking it:
http://app.strava.com/segments/1052919
Maybe Tim could claim it for BikeArlington

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@jrenaut 21290 wrote:

Anyway, good day to be on a bike, or a hill. Preferably both. And beer. Or something to that effect.

Agreed! Enjoying a bottle of Sierra Nevada Torpedo right now. As for the bike/hill part, yeah, I wussed out today and actually drove my car part of my commute*. Still leaves the Rosslyn hill climb on the way home at least.

* which is actually great motivation for commuting more when you’re in stop-and-go traffic at 7:45am

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I’m going to guess it was a combination of momentum (how fast were each of you going before you started coasting?), aerodynamics/position (probably poor on a MTB) and rolling resistance (wide knobby tires).

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I’m also planning to be around – hopefully arriving a bit before midday on Saturday for the Clarendon Cup, most likely with the family. I have a bell (not actually a cowbell), BikeArlington vuvuzela and will probably wear my yellow Socceroos shirt, though I don’t expect Hilton Clarke can win a third in a row.

Sunday I’m going to try to finish the 6 laps of the Crystal Ride on my folder.

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@consularrider 21235 wrote:

I’m probably one of the few with a bell on every one of my bikes, no matter what kind. I see very few road bikes with bells, you know it adds weight and spoils the aerodynamics. :rolleyes:

Time for someone to bring a carbon aero bell to the market!

I have a bell on every one of my bikes too.

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@ronwalf 21133 wrote:

I’ve got a segment or two where I had Tim on the bike seat…. then we stopped for a snack. Go go 1.7mph average.

Yeah I wouldn’t worry about it. Some of my rides are really slow and some are with a trailer or baby seat, or whatever.

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@Megabeth 21134 wrote:

Left in between storms. Managed to make it home dry, save for the last 1/2 block when the skies opened up.

Everyone be careful out there!

I also attemped the same, and also mostly succeeded. I even went the most direct way I could (K St under Washington Circle to Key Bridge), and my GPS signal got lost – an ominous sign I thought, and I hit rain before I was out of Georgetown. But barely a couple blocks into my drive home it really poured – <15mph, low visibility, full blast wiper stuff, so I think my timing wasn't too bad. A(nother) good thing about commuting home by bike a lot is learning more backstreets. 309 was stop-and-go so I turned off and drove home smoothly via quiet neighborhoods.

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My stock road tires are some sort of Vittoria slicks and I’ve been pretty happy with them. Of course, I’ve had nothing to compare to really.

@Dirt 21095 wrote:

More documentation of my superpowers:
1) Cause OneEighth to get flat tires
d) Cause destruction of all Toyota Priuses
9) Make beer disappear.

A Prius parked in front of Swing’s this morning got a parking ticket before you showed up.

I flatted twice this week. (First one was due to me being stupid and leaving my bike out in the heat which blew a sidewall in my tire. Second one was due to me being stupid and not checking the sidewall before putting in a new tube and riding off.)

I don’t think there were any undrunk beers left last night.

😮

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@GuyContinental 21083 wrote:

Out of curiosity, is anyone else tracking climbing? I hit 18K in May (a personal high) but did only one N. Arlington tour that could classify as a “Hill Ride”

I don’t specifically track it but I looked it up. Since I’ve had my Garmin 500: 36k in March, 30k in April and 29k in May. Jan and Feb were 20k and 12k according to map elevations (instead of barometric pressure) so probably a bit inflated. There was a climbing challenge on Strava in March/April so the elevations there were probably my highest.

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