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Yep, and that finally means I can get a dedicated CX/commuter bike! Didn’t want one without disc brakes.

But it’ll have to wait until next year at the earliest.

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I usually don’t bother saying anything, as I figure they’ll realise if they spend more time on the path, or they won’t because they’re out-of-towners, etc. I was crossing Key bridge this afternoon, and three young dudes were in conversation walking towards me, three abreast, in the middle of the path. None of them ever moved or did anything. It also happened about 15 seconds earlier with three ladies, but at least the one on my right moved a little bit (whilst looking disgruntled).

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Nope, but when I was cycling down 16th NW towards K St NW this early afternoon I also had to detour as several blocks were cordoned off with tape, and there were flashing sirens on vehicles and cops all over. I heard one cop talking to the manager of a restaurant/bar that had outside seating telling them that all patrons had to go inside.

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Yeah I pretty much assume that if I am on the right side of a car that’s turning right to join traffic that the driver will not look right far enough or satisfactorily enough to see me, as they’re concentrating on the left. It’s not really an issue in some places, but at this intersection the visibility is already bad for both drivers and cyclists.

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If you don’t mind using facebook, maybe ask on Bike Rockville – http://www.facebook.com/bikerockville

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@Dirt 8032 wrote:

Kill Bill Century Loop is starting to take form. I had to split it into 2 GPS routes since most GPS can’t handle all the turns needed to navigate this. It is questionable whether the first part can work in my Garmin Edge 705.

Part 1: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/710705

Part 2: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/30554466

I will at least try to get the 2 routes mapped in the same system later this week. I have a few tweaks to do on Part 2, which I will do using RideWithGPS instead of MapMyRide. MapMyRide’s elevation projections are not accurate.

I think our current plan is to ride this October 9th. People are welcome to join in on this, but please come prepared to navigate and support yourself. I can try to keep the group together, but it will not be easy. This will likely be a 10+ hour ride, most of it in Arlington. I’ll post up details as we get closer.

Niiiiiiiiice. I recognise quite a few parts of Part 1, but I’ve never strung them into a 60 mi ride, let alone 100 mi. Usually < 20mi is plenty! Don't know any of the riding around Lake Barcroft. October 9th – I might be interested. I also prefer ridewithgps to mapmyride. Actually I prefer anything to mapmyride.

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I went from a triple to a 50/34 this year and was a bit afraid of not having enough range, as I like to ride steep hills. I calculated the gear ratios (on Sheldon Brown’s site) and figured with the drop in weight (25 => 20 lb bike), the difference on the granniest gear wasn’t too bad. I was right – still managed to conquer the steepest of the hills I regularly ride.

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Thanks all. I saw my orthopaedic dr. today and am going back to work tomorrow… on public transport No doubt I’ll cycle slower through there next time, and especially in the wet. That was my first accident (excepting one instance of not clipping out in time) in 6 years, although I never really rode more than a couple hundred miles a year at most.

Are the concrete slab grooves/slippery medians worth “fixing” somehow? I guess it doesn’t sound like there have been too many cases of accidents, and most seasoned commuters are aware of their threat as least.

@CCrew 7017 wrote:

Painted lines = ice in the wet. Similar experience on the Custis, but at the west end where it goes under 66. Downhill into the tight left under the bridge and hit the line. Next thing I remember was someone trying to help me because I was knocked out cold. Seems I hit my head on the rail going down based on the marks and helmet. They fixed the dent in the rail the next day

Road rash and a slight concussion, but it was a lesson.

Ouch! Sounds like you almost had it worse off than me.

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I think the tunnel is the best option really, but who knows how long it’ll be take. Cars >> bikes – this is America after all. Can’t really blame Arlington co engineers/planners for that.

A temp. solution might be to make it easier to access the north/west side of Key Bridge from under K St. That way a lot of trail users could get into G’town without needing to cross Key Bridge or Lynn St at all. Although obv it wouldn’t help those going further south in VA.

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@WillStewart 5863 wrote:

Thanks for sharing this. When I went to the site and drilled down for more detail, it seems to focus on particulate matter down to 0.3 microns, which is far below the level of the 2.5 micron standard, so the PM protection looks outstanding.

I didn’t see anything about ozone control, did I miss something?

Thanks again for running down a number of masks, btw.

No problem. I researched a bit myself due to concerns about commuting pollution. I added a couple more options to the list.

Sorry, I missed a bit in my original post. Should’ve said “both particulate matter and gases/vapors”.

Anyway, here is a bit about gases/vapors that mentions the “Dynamic ACC (Activated Charcoal Cloth) filter” that’s in that mask’s filter.
http://www.respro.com/protection-faqs/#q2

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Yeah today is yellow, which isn’t that bad but peaks around when I do my home commute. Bleh.

I usually keep a browser tab open on weather.gov’s forecast ozone levels for my location, and refresh the page before heading out. Here’s Rosslyn, VA:
http://www.weather.gov/aq/probe_aq_data.php?latitude=38.89&longitude=-77.08

An easier to read handy one is:
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/living/environment/airquality/
although it’s only a 2 day forecast, I think – the third day is always gray.

I wear a Respro Techno mask on orange days, for as long as I can. It is hard to get enough oxygen with this on. (link: http://www.respro.com/products/industrial/urban-environment/techno_mask/ )
This mask is supposed to filter out both particulate matter and gases/vapors such as ozone.

They’re a UK company which seems reputable to me (they were carried in many stores in UK) but do have some limited distribution over here.

On orange days I also drive most of my commute and just ride 3.5 mi (each way).

Red days I probably wouldn’t ride…

Here’s some other pollution masks I’ve considered too.

I would consider trying this one, it closely resembles the Respro but don’t know how good it really is:
http://thefilt-rmask.com/

Another couple of similar options, websites are a bit basic though
http://www.gflowmask.com/
http://icanbreathe.com/store/page15.html

Don’t know anything about this one, it looks unwieldy, and there’s not much info on the site about what it actually filters out:
http://www.thinkbiologic.com/products/pollution-mask

Love the design of this one, but it doesn’t filter ozone or CO afaik:
http://totobobo.com/

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Thansk guys.

Yeah sorry, I meant DC not MD. I guess there’s 0% chance of it ever getting upgraded then!

I like dirt riding too but my main hybrid commuter always seems to get punctures easily so I try to avoid offroad bits, even with knobblier tires.

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@StopMeansStop 5730 wrote:

Everything you need to know about locking your bike.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/lock-strategy.html

This ^

I do find it annoying when rack space is taken up by people’s locks though. I always take mine with me, as I might ride somewhere else and need it.

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I ride through here both ways on my commute. It is pretty bad considering what a hub it is for both cyclists and motorists. I wish it was easier to get from K St to the other (northern) side of Key Bridge so I could skip it at least one way but this still wouldn’t help cyclists coming from further south in VA.

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@Brcire 286 wrote:

So far I’ve collected:

• Monroe Street – short and steep, enter from Lorcom Lane
• 24th Street N. to Upton – Off Taylor Street, across from Woodlawn, long and very steep out of the saddle grind.
• 41st Street – Under GW Parkway
• Lorraine Ave – enter from Kirby. Short steep climb, then some good narrow road riding, minimum traffic

Appreciate what you can add.

Went through the list, and eliminated the four climbs I already know well That 31st/26th climb is steeep if you come from Military Rd. Might try that Monroe Street one tomorrow, it’s only a short detour to my regular commute home on Lorcom Lane.

Not in Arlington, but going SE on Old Dominion (309) from where it meets Kirby until it hits 120 is a decently long climb, but it has a lot of traffic… might as well do the Lorraine Ave one you mentioned (which is also not wholly in Arlington). Any of those parallel street (e.g. Powhatan) will give you a good climb + descent.

What I’d really like is a long tough hill but I haven’t found one yet (that’s relatively traffic free). Otherwise just taking 29 outbound from DC until it hits 309 is a decent climb.

Two short steeper climbs to add:
1 – Lee Hwy junction with Military/Quincy/Old Dominion going west til it hits Upton
2 – After crossing Chain Bridge from MD/DC, go up the bike lane/driveway that goes up 41st to N Randolph. Super steep climb, but short. Some days I commute home via the Capital Crescent Trail just so I can do this climb.

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