Pit Stop Reviews

[Mantadiver]

The Columbia Pike stop was good, especially for being a first year stop. They had cheery pie and doughnuts which was nice.

[eminva]

I'm surprised I didn't see more of you, but I got a late start (for me) and took an immediate detour off my usual route to get to my first pit stop. Still, it was fun to see dkel and his wife and all the folks in Rosslyn. I'm sorry the weather depressed turnout, but completely understandable.

I stopped at five pit stops:

Mosaic District:

Good: sheltered, the Freshbikes folks were friendly and refreshed the lube on my chain, I was only the fourth person there so I like my chances in the raffle for the $300 Freshbikes gift card
Bad: only two sizes of tshirts, tea instead of coffee (what can I say, I'm lowbrow) and the Freshbikes guys looked a bit lonely.

Merrifield:

Not sure if this is good or bad, but they had little cartons of Chinese food takeout -- chicken of some kind. Also: coffee!

Falls Church/W&OD:

Good: Bikenetic crew's excellent Rule 9 compliance
Bad: Falls Church City's poor Rule 9 compliance

East Falls Church Metro Station:

Good: sheltered, they had goody bags of swag for the people who registered there. I had not registered there, but they fished all the swag but for the t-shirt out of a bag for me. Metro police guys were nice. It was explained to me that you should register all your bikes with them even if you don't ride to metro, so if it is stolen and later shows up on metro property, they can get it back to you.
Bad: Didn't appear to have coffee or fresh food (might have missed that though)

Rosslyn:

Good: Saw many people (RCannon, Dirt, dbb, Shawn of the Dread, americancyclo, Dismal), they gave me the tshirt in the size I wanted even though I wasn't registered there, they were practically throwing swag at us by the time I got there, and I got interviewed by Channel 7 news. I'm gonna be on TV, y'all!
Bad: My shoes filled up like a sinking submarine every time I stopped in front of one of the tables.

See below for all my swag. Thanks to everyone who volunteered and all the organizations that made it possible.

Liz

[DanB]

Stopped at Merrifield on the W&OD where they were well-stocked with edible swag. (Can you call it that?) Especially appreciated the large Gatorade and the caffeine gels.

Then Falls Church where I only saw one other biker during my short stay. Thanks to the group at Bikenetic for the $20 gift card for the few and faithful!!

I went down the hill from the trail at the East Falls Church Metro and looked down Sycamore St, but I didn't see the pit stop, so I kept going. Wish I would've looked harder. That "I bike to Metro and Metro to work" t-shirt looks pretty neat.

Rosslyn has all the good reflector stuff (thanks, Bike Arlington), but no flashy lights this year ...

Breezed by the Georgetown Meigs Park stop, because all I saw was a vacant tent.

Sounds like next year I'll have to swing by Nat Geo, too.

[culimerc]

I'm soooooo going to hit Nat Geo next year.

[mstone]

Not sure if this is good or bad, but they had little cartons of Chinese food takeout -- chicken of some kind.

The breakfast chinese food was great!

Falls Church/W&OD:

Good: Bikenetic crew's excellent Rule 9 compliance
Bad: Falls Church City's poor Rule 9 compliance

On the upside, since FCC cancelled bike to work day, they didn't have a bike to work day stop sign ticket cop in place.

[Rockford10]

[QUOTE=mstone;85656]The breakfast chinese food was great!

I stuck to the coffee and bagel.

[eminva]

All right, here's my 15 nanoseconds of fame:

http://www.wjla.com/articles/2014/05...ms-103205.html

Nice report overall, setting aside my contribution.

Liz

[Drewdane]

Rosslyn: I was hoping for my annual replenishment/replacement of blinky lights, but they must have run out by the time I arrived at ~8:30. They were out of coffee too. OTOH, I got to see my good friend Dirt, and got a couple of t-shirts and a handy guide to cyclists' legal rights in addition to the traditional water bottles and patch kits.

Falls Church: Officially cancelled due to weather, but Bikenetic hung around to offer moral support and trailside repairs anyway - Props!

[americancyclo]

All right, here's my 15 nanoseconds of fame:

http://www.wjla.com/articles/2014/05...ms-103205.html

Nice report overall, setting aside my contribution.

Liz

You can see Shawn Dread and I leaving in the beginning of the video. His disdain for reporters is obvious.

[dkel]

http://www.wjla.com/articles/2014/05...ms-103205.html

Did that one guy say he rides in "anything but ice or snow"? Someone recruit him for Freezing Saddles!