[americancyclo]

@CCrew 5377 wrote:

I do M to the Key Bridge, but that would be out of the way for you. People that care about me have some issues with my splitting traffic on M in Georgetown though.

That’s the way I used to go, but even with splitting traffic, M St seems to bog me down too much. It also shot the nerves of my commute buddy, so we started going the G St. route.

Anyone else find Penn Ave westbound extremely frustrating with the timing of lights?

[americancyclo]

The newly paved section between Vermont and Quincy is really nice. Very smooth under the parking structure. Repave more!

[americancyclo]

@eminva 5375 wrote:

Do any local bike shops sell them? Could they demo them one evening when it starts to get dark early?

CycleLife in Georgetown sells the NiteRider MiNewt lights. I work on Capitol Hill and live in Falls Church, just off the trail. I’d be happy to meet up sometime if you want to see what the MiNewt 250 USB is like.

@eminva 5375 wrote:

I am reluctant to increase the wattage since I have already gotten complaints.

Ignore them. If you can see them and they can see you, then you’re both safer.

[americancyclo]

Damn! We were at least hoping for some office shredder confetti. maybe we’ll bring our own. Any decent places to eat in Purcellville, or should we just chow some bars/gel and head back to civilization?

[americancyclo]

Trees were clear this morning coming in, but still some leaves scattered about.

[americancyclo]

@phatpat 1296 wrote:

I’ve had good luck using a helmet mounted Niterider minewt mini usb. About $100, but well worth it.

I’ll second this. For about $100 you get a solidly bright light that slips off and easily fits in your pocket. no extra batteries or cabling. I use this in the winter and recharge it by USB at my computer each day. It’s done charging in 4 hours, and there’s always a spare USB cable around. No special chargers or battery packs needed.

[americancyclo]

@Dirt 4278 wrote:

I ride on Constitution west to Virginia Ave. Pete

What’s the traffic situation on Constitution like? I usually come up Penn Ave from the Capitol and either go through to Georgetown or more recently, G St to Kennedy. Looking for alternatives that are quicker, preferably with timed lights.

[americancyclo]

@Dirt 3697 wrote:

I’ll be the huge guy with jingle bells on his handlebars and likely wearing pink. I wasn’t planning on stopping at Rosslyn… Usually I roll past there before it is open. Listen for the jingling noise… that is a dead give-away that it is me. I’ll either be riding a painfully green fixie with black fenders, or a lovely pink fixie with pink and white fenders and a girlie mudflap on the rear fender.

Definitely take a moment to introduce yourself.

Pete

Now THAT sounds familiar, I was following you (slowly) over the bridge over broad st in Falls Church a few days ago. Are your fenders pink AND white? I’m on a big purple specialized I affectionately call ‘Grimace’

[americancyclo]

I do this commute a few days a week from the W&OD mile marker 7.5 to Independence and 1st SE. I would consider myself a seasoned commuter, so I prefer taking the key bridge to Penn Ave, following those lanes all the way to the capitol and then up the hill. I’ve found it to be shorter in time and miles than going over the Arlington Bridge and down Independence Ave (which I would avoid at all costs, its not pleasant). Let me know when you grow frustrated with the tourists along the mall, and I’ll be happy to ride my route with you. Feel free to send me a PM and I’ll let you know where and when we usually ride.

[americancyclo]

I take my regular bike on the metro there all the time on weekends in the winter. I’ve never heard objections to standing my bike up on one wheel. I usually do that to cram in to elevators, and I’ve never heard objections from other passengers either. I can’t imagine that they’d give you a hard time for just passing through the station. It’s a major commuter hub, and they’re used to all sorts of people coming through, like those with tons of luggage to get to the Washington Flyer. I’ve never had a bad interaction with metro staff there either.

[americancyclo]

@Joe Chapline 1358 wrote:

I’m posting another plug for 180s ear coverings. They’re ear muffs that fit around the back of your neck and don’t interfere with your bike helmet.

Just saw this, if y’all need some 180s for cheap
http://www.buy.com/pr/product.aspx?sku=218869046

[americancyclo]

WABA forums are joining now too, just moved over from there, and I think this is great since my commute takes me from Falls Church to DC. Looking forward to a place to keep up to date on trail conditions and event info.

[americancyclo]

Those moose mitts look awesome. I was just talking about these to a fellow commuter who complained he could never find ones for drop bars, I hope he sees this!

[americancyclo]

I know this is an old thread, but thought it could use a bump up with new members joining from the WABA forums. I picked up a Nite Rider MiNewt 250 just recently http://www.niterider.com/prod_minewt250.shtml , and it lights up the parts of the W&OD quite well. The USB charging is nice too, since i had a spare cable to keep at work. I’m also a fan of the green/red charge indicator, but have yet to see it change color, since I only have a one way hour commute and can charge it at either end of my ride. I chose this one mostly b/c i wanted a bright, easily removable, USB charging light. Strobe during the daytime makes me feel a bit safer when dealing with DC traffic too.

[americancyclo]

glad to see these back in a better place in the road. now if we could only get some trail lighting, we’d really be in business!

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