Happy BTWD Eve!

[KelOnWheels]

I was just thinking this morning about how there will be people doing BTWD for the very first time tomorrow and it will be all new and scary and fun and awesome for them!

I'm a little jealous ;)

[creadinger]

One of those people will be my wife. I'll be escorting her up to Suitland for the first time. She is plenty nervous and hoping there's a teeny bit of fun and awesomeness. We will see.

[Honeybadger6]

Tomorrow's my first BTWD and I'm super excited. Mostly because I like free stuff... But also because I love seeing everyone out on the trails! The more I get into the forum, the more I find myself staring people down as I pass them, hoping I can post to the "sighting" thread! Haven't had a chance yet but tomorrow it's ON!

[jabberwocky]

I'm actually kinda disappointed that I took off work tomorrow... but I took off so I could drive up to Dirtfest and spend the weekend camping and mountain biking. So thats a nice consolation prize. Annoyed I won't get my shirt though. :)

[Dirt]

Volunteering at BTWD is a cool way to enjoy the Bike To Work Day first-timers. It warms my heart to see so many people getting to work under their own power.

A few weeks ago when Tim, Chris and Zanna let me tag along to distribute hi5s, I was amazed by the never-ending parade of people commuting by bike. it was cool!

I love you all!

Dirt

[ebubar]

Took it easy on the bike today and did a mixed mode commute. Legs should be nice and well-rested for a good, long, multiple pit stop tour of the BTWD festivities!
Just started commuting a few months ago and am giddy as a kid on Christmas eve! Hope to meet some of you on the trails tomorrow!

I'll be on a black trek 7.2 fx hybrid with bright yellow jacket, white helmet. Feel free to stop me to say hello!

[scott930]

Tomorrow is my first time biking to "work-work;" in past years, I've done a ceremonial ride, stopping at the pit stop and putting in 5-10 miles in business casual before rolling home and working there. Just never felt safe enough trying to enter Tysons on bike. I'm going to go for it tomorrow morning, getting in pretty early, and then having my wife pick me up in the PM since afternoon rush hour is insane. Unfortunately my office is in one of the worst spots in the middle of Tysons, so it'll be an adventure after getting off the trail and bike lanes.

Sadly can't make this a regular thing since I have to drop my child off at daycare every Mon-Thurs and can't make it there with a bike trailer. I'm really exited to roll into work tomorrow and really jealous of you daily commuters who can abandon the car.

[jtcallahan]

I'll be doing my second bike to work day tomorrow riding from Mt. Vernon to Fairfax. It's a 28 mile ride each way, so I don't do it very often. Looking forward to it!

See you guys out there!

** edit: Adding this crosspost to a thread I just put up about Fairfax County's interactive bike commuter map:
http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?5008-Fairfax-County-releases-interactive-bike-trail-map



Jim

[consularrider]

Took it easy on the bike today and did a mixed mode commute. Legs should be nice and well-rested for a good, long, multiple pit stop tour of the BTWD festivities!
Just started commuting a few months ago and am giddy as a kid on Christmas eve! Hope to meet some of you on the trails tomorrow!

I'll be on a black trek 7.2 fx hybrid with bright yellow jacket, white helmet. Feel free to stop me to say hello!
So which pit stops will you be hitting?

[KelOnWheels]

Volunteering at BTWD is a cool way to enjoy the Bike To Work Day first-timers. It warms my heart to see so many people getting to work under their own power.

A few weeks ago when Tim, Chris and Zanna let me tag along to distribute hi5s, I was amazed by the never-ending parade of people commuting by bike. it was cool!

I love you all!

Dirt

Next year I want to take the day off and volunteer and then cruise around and visit lots of pit stops!

[lordofthemark]

So far I have celebrated BTWD eve, by bring a plastic bag containing two towels (the gym here will allow cyclists to use the showers tomorrow, but they have no towel service) and a chang of underwear on the metro.

This will be the first time I've bike commuted to work since I was in college (and rode to a summer job).

[dasgeh]

Sadly can't make this a regular thing since I have to drop my child off at daycare every Mon-Thurs and can't make it there with a bike trailer. I'm really exited to roll into work tomorrow and really jealous of you daily commuters who can abandon the car.

You should come to Kidical Mass (http://kidicalmassarl.blogspot.com/) on Sunday (and if you can't make this month, June, July and September await). You can bring the kid and it will be awesome!

[Amalitza]

If the weather and my nerves both hold out, I'll be riding home this evening in preparation for riding back to work tomorrow.

I tested my legs out a couple weeks ago with a 30-mile ride on day 1 and a 37-mile ride on day 2. Legs passed with flying colors-- new PR climbing the hill to my house in the last mile of day 2. ;) Nerves and traffic skillz I'm less confident about, but I've only been plotting this out for the past year or so-- I believe it's put up or shut up time. :p

Depending on how many times I almost die on the way home, I do have the option of chickening out riding back in tomorrow, though I expect the uglier parts to be somewhat less ugly at 6:30 in the am than at 8:00 in the pm.

[scott930]

You should come to Kidical Mass (http://kidicalmassarl.blogspot.com/) on Sunday (and if you can't make this month, June, July and September await). You can bring the kid and it will be awesome!

I'll keep in on the radar for later this summer. According to my reading, my little girl is still a bit too young for me to take out in the trailer. But she's getting close to being included on runs and rides.

[Drewdane]

Have fun, folks! A last-minute family matter is taking me out of town tomorrow - first BTWD I've missed since I first heard of it several years back... :(

[dasgeh]

I'll keep in on the radar for later this summer. According to my reading, my little girl is still a bit too young for me to take out in the trailer. But she's getting close to being included on runs and rides.

Thanks! We did a lot of agonizing on when to take our little ones (now 2.5 years and 6 months) on bikes. I found this site (http://totcycle.com/blog/baby-on-a-bicycle.html)to be very helpful. We have a front bike seat, so we waited til 8 months with our daughter and haven't taken our son out yet. BUT He might make an appearance on Sunday in a car seat in the Bullitt. We'll see.

[lordofthemark]

shoot! I forgot to take long pants in with me. And looks like tomorrow will be warm enough to make the idea of biking in long pants particularly silly. This will, thus, be my first time in a long time wearing shorts to work.

[PotomacCyclist]

I like Bike to Work Week. But I'm not jealous of being a newbie. I'm glad I'm no longer a newbie. I made plenty of dumb rookie mistakes in my first month or two (although it had more to do with my sport training approach than with being a bike commuter). I try to provide tips to new cyclists where I can, including at work. But jealous of being a newbie -- nope. Never. I don't need more bumps and bruises like that.

[ShawnoftheDread]

shoot! I forgot to take long pants in with me. And looks like tomorrow will be warm enough to make the idea of biking in long pants particularly silly. This will, thus, be my first time in a long time wearing shorts to work.

I find that properly folded work pants keep nicely in a small backpack or messenger bag in the amount of time it takes to ride to work.

[lordofthemark]

I find that properly folded work pants keep nicely in a small backpack or messenger bag in the amount of time it takes to ride to work.

Currently my only choice is a large backpack - I was very much planning on making things as easy as possible tomorrow by riding with no back pack.

[jrenaut]

I find that properly folded work pants keep nicely in a small backpack or messenger bag in the amount of time it takes to ride to work.
I have a little holder (I'm not sure what to call it) that I put the clothes in and it works pretty well. It's in my locker downstairs or I'd grab the brand, but I'll have it with me at happy hour if anyone is curious. I generally bring clothes for a couple days at a time to work in it, inside my backpack. I'm a sloppy folder, and it still does a pretty good job.

[BobK]

I started commuting last October, so this will be my first BTWD, and I am really looking forward to it. I plan to hit the Old Town Alexandria (tee shirt stop), Crystal City and Rosslyn pit stops. I've been stopping at the Crystal City stop all week, and will be missing my mid-ride banana and bagel next week!

[PotomacCyclist]

I think it would be cool to have a more limited Bike to Work Day event on a regular basis, in addition to the bigger one this week. Maybe a few key spots in Arlington and D.C. on the first Friday of each month, starting with this week and going into June, July, August and September. Or maybe just June, July and September. (I think most of the casual cyclists stop riding in October and November and pick up again in March or April. Many people are on vacation in August.)

[rcannon100]

I've wondered about pitching a tent next to the trail, at some convenient spot - and putting up a big sign that says ASK ME. I see SO MANY cyclists making mistakes. Yesterday I was following a guy who had a back rack for panniers... he had it attached horizontally to his seat post... but he did not have it attached vertically to the stays. This meant his rack's vertical bars were just bouncing there, precariously near his spokes.

Anyway, have essentially a Two Wheel Tuesday type event... but right there on the trail... where you can answer people's questions and maybe help them not install things upsidedown. Show people their tires are under-inflated. Show people cadence. Adjust seat heights. Etc.

[consularrider]

... and maybe help them not install things upsidedown ...
I still can't get over the guy riding with his seat/saddle backwards and the nose (now a tail) pointed almost straight up! That and the all too frequent helmet on backwards.

[culimerc]

I still can't get over the guy riding with his seat/saddle backwards and the nose (now a tail) pointed almost straight up! That and the all too frequent helmet on backwards.

I've seen that guy!! I didnt know what to make of it other than "hey if it works for you...."

[jabberwocky]

The worst I ever saw on the W&OD was a guy with a department store bike with the fork installed backwards. I'd bet it probably came that way.

[KelOnWheels]

Jan kindly pointed out that I installed my seat clamp backwards :D I should really fix that one of these days.

[baiskeli]

I've seen that guy!! I didnt know what to make of it other than "hey if it works for you...."

That one is so obvious that it has to be deliberate. I hope.

Maybe it's really comfortable and the rest of us are the suckers. I'll have to try it some time.

[ebubar]

So which pit stops will you be hitting?

Depends on how the morning goes, but hoping for a quick stop in Silver Spring around Discovery Plaza (around 6:45/7).
Cruising down GBT and CCT to Bethesda (free TSHIRT time!).
Continuing along CCT to either the Chain Bridge connection to CCT (see my video!), the connection to the C&O a little further down of, if time permits, all the way down to Key Bridge for another stop at Rosslyn and finally rolling along Custis until getting off around Old Dominion (near Big Wheel Bikes) to cruise to work at Marymount University. Have to arrive by around 8:45 AM so I have time to dress for the day. Thinking i'll end up having to skip Rosslyn.