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I didn’t realize that was culimerc. Was everyone on the ride a forum-er?

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@creadinger 18816 wrote:

Speaking of Purcellville – is Route 7 rideable near Bluemont? I wanted to ride the section between Snickersville Turnpike and Williams Gap Rd in a new loop, but looking at it on streetview I’m not sure if the shoulder is wide enough for a bike.

Sorry, I have no idea. I was riding purely on the W&OD.

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@eminva 18697 wrote:

Hello All — I just had to drop off the Bike Arlington A team

Our loss is their gain!

That’s a cool response though. I do see a lot of cyclists around K St but rarely one entering/leaving my building and I only know a couple others in my building that commute by bike (part-time, I think).

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Welcome!

Just wanted to drop the name of a bike shop in the area (Falls Church) – Bikenetic, if you are looking at buying a new bike. They offer lifetime free adjustments on a bike you buy from there which is a great policy if you don’t want to do that stuff yourself. They also have a really good range of different bikes for different riding purposes – unlike stores where they carry 90% racing oriented (road or MTB) bikes. I’ve only been there once but the staff were very friendly as well.

A hybrid like the Jamis Coda is a good choice for a first commuter (not sure of the value for money – I haven’t looked at hybrids much lately). After you’ve been riding awhile you’ll know yourself what your riding style is like and you can upgrade parts or get a new bike. My hybrid has around 2500kms on it – nearly all from commuting in London/DC. (Of course now I have a road bike with 2000mi+ on it in less than a year – I’m hooked.)

Steel vs aluminium *shrug* Steel is supposed to provide a better ride quality and be longer lasting, but I’ve had no issue with aluminium myself. My last 5 bikes have been aluminium.

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Interesting differentiation between “Cycling, sport” vs “Cycling, transport” – are miles on both counted towards this challenge?

And yeah they will be clearing off all warm-up points before the challenge starts in earnest.

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Mad Fox often have Tuesday tappings where you can bring a growler and a get a refill for $9!

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Easy solution to all this: get myself an AirZound. Might help with the traffic (both and peds) in Georgetown that likes to dart in front of you and no one can claim they didn’t hear me coming.

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Ok so on my way home today I called *every* pass but at one point another guy on a road bike flew by me with zero warning. *shrug* There just doesn’t seem to be much consistency with calling passes. I also experimented between the bell and calling passes. The bell seemed to get more attention instantly but also startled people more. Except in one case where calling the pass startled someone enough to move to their left. I’m not convinced on this one.

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I wonder how many stops I can hit up. Might have to come into work late…

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Going west:
Lynn St:
Between N Oak St and N Quinn St: A few small but deepish potholes. All on the northern side of the trail just over the centerline (so on the right going westward).
Just after N Scott St: The gap between the concrete blocks is not evenly filled. The painted parts are particulary slippery in the wet.
After N Scott St, by the park: roots making trail bumpy. More of an issue going east when you’re going downhill.
Bridge adjacent to Lee Hwy, crossing I-66 : uneven transitions
Shortly after turning right to go under 21st St N: bad mogul from tree roots, particularly on the right side going westbound.
near Lyon Village before the S-curve: There is a slight channel in the asphalt near the convex mirror that often accumulates dirt/gravel – a bit hazardous going eastbound since you are going downhill and want to stay as right as possible since the line of sight isn’t great and there is that big concrete retainer on the left forcing westbound cyclists to move more towards the centerline.
Southwest side of bridge passing over the I-66 exit to 120/N Glebe: could use a convex mirror with the handrail and narrow trail/poor visibility.
Somewhere between N Abingdon and before the downhill going under the bridge to join the W&OD: Serious moguls due to tree roots. Tough on the knees, especially if you are climbing out of the saddle clipped in going west. This is probably my least favourite part of the Custis.
near N Jefferson St – a couple of “pothole”s due to a low seated drainage covers, near lightposts, going downhill westbound. Would never want to hit one of those.

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@JeffC 18273 wrote:

LOL, the slow masher was probably me. What’s wrong with saying you are passing every time? As has been stated here many times, the Custis has parts in poor conditions and is treated as a de facto one lane trail in certain locations with many riders veering in the other lane to avoid rutted spots. Maybe the other biker sees something like glass or debris or something ahead that somebody coming up behind does not, maybe the other biker is going to turn but is too lazy to signal and does not think anybody is behind them. Even if the trail appears clear to you, it might not be to somebody with better visibility, nothing wrong with saying you are passing and lots of good reasons to do so so, this coming from somebody who gets passed a lot.

I guess the only excuse I have right now is the pollen in my throat every dang ride and I’m generally a quiet person. But yeah there is nothing wrong with calling every pass, I just sometimes feel like it’s not necessary and is more likely to be obnoxious/startling than beneficial.

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@pfunkallstar 18269 wrote:

I never try to startle anyone but it is a fine balance.

Agreed. Generally if there is not much trail traffic and the pedestrian/runner is going slow and steady I will go as far left as possible and just ride past. I’ll call or use my bell otherwise. With cyclists I’m still not sure. I passed someone mashing really slowly on a Custis hill one time and got a “call your pass!” or similar but there was no one else around and I passed well clear from them. Often I will call for cyclists and get zero acknowledgment. And of course I’ve been passed with no call many times – which I don’t mind except when it’s a group of 3+ pacelining downhill.

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5 of us from work went down to the mall near the Monument to see it (2 of us on bikes). Saw about 3 passes with decent visibility. I couldn’t figure out was the escort plane was – it looked smaller than a typical jet.

Also – I saw a guy on a fixie fatbike, but it wasn’t Dirt. About 5 mins later, I saw another guy on a fixie fatbike with a bright shirt. This time, it was Dirt! I think he got quite a few photos.

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Just another thanks for organizing. Had a great time, and I enjoyed the venue (and happy hour specials) too.

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I did it once towards the end of last year – there was a guy who did it on a Cannondale 29er. I had my lights but was amazed how many people didn’t!

Anyway I plan to try it a bit more this year and get some free food, although I found the ride route a bit boring (I guess just because I ride through N Arlington hills so much anyway) and I don’t really like Baja Fresh

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