tour de fat

I don't know what to say other than New Belgium Brewery's Tour de Fat was unbelievable. I had an amazing time. The games were cool, entertainment fun, atmosphere party, and of course, the beer was delicious. The event was equal parts bike event, carnival, and party. We had a fun group together for a really great Saturday. The weather certainly didn't hurt. Here are a few pics that hopefully capture the great time we had!

friday ride

As I've been saying lately, I'm really enjoying casual riding this year. That being said, sometimes it's fun to go work hard on a bike. I put in a nice 30 mile ride on my day off. It was great to get out and ride hard. The weather was absolutely perfect. The wind was low. And the trails were fairly empty. I rode the Capital Crescent Trail for the first time in a while. I forgot how beautiful the ride is. I also rode part of the Georgetown Branch Trail for the first time ever, but turned around when it became gravel. On the way home, I did some exploring and rode under the Humpback Bridge and north to take the bridge over to Boundary Channel Drive. From there I rode up to Henderson Hall and onto Ft. Meyer. I rode out the 2nd St. gate and up to the Thomas Jefferson Center. I went over the green pedestrian bridge to cross 50 and then up Irving to Ballston.

It was a really enjoyable ride. Being out on the trail alone is so much fun and so peaceful. It was a great start to the weekend, getting ready for Tour de Fat.

clarendon cup

I had a great time Saturday at Clarendon Cup. The racing was great. Breakaway after breakaway went out and were pulled back in. Early in the race, we were leaning by the barrier and a rider clipped the leg of the barrier. The loud clang nearly gave everyone around us a heart attack. All in all just a great and exciting day. Here are a few pics of the race.

Can't wait for Tour de Fat next weekend!

Happy riding.

the sad part of cycling

The following post is about the cyclist struck by a car yesterday crossing the GW Parkway. The article is here: http://www.arlnow.com/2012/06/05/cyclist-struck-injured-on-gw-parkway/ .

I ride this area a decent amount, including my commute to work when I ride to work (admittedly I go a flatter route home, what can I say, I'm tired). It's damn scary. I really hate seeing and reading this. I've been out on the W&OD before and seen the aftermath of a wreck that killed a cyclist turning off of Walter Reed. It shakes you up. When I read this, I was so scared that the fiancé might be involved in a wreck like that. Then I worry a little myself.

This wreck highlights a real difficulty we have in the DC area, and that is multiple jurisdictions. To highlight, that small section of trail is fed by the Mount Vernon Trail, which is in Virginia. However, that section is in DC. Still yet, the National Park Service is in charge of that land. This all leads to no real ownership of problems or solutions. The crossing is dreadful. Cars fly through, despite the low speed limit. By cars, I include myself. There is no business having crosswalks under the current speed conditions. It simply isn't safe. No one is sure who has the right of way, no one is sure who is going to do what, it is just a mess. Something has to be done about the intersection.

In my opinion, some of the lanes must be reduced. This would reduce overall speed but likely have little impact on throughput. Crossing less lanes makes thing so much more predictable, due to the removal of the danger of one lane stopping and another roaring through. Furthermore rumble strips and crossing ahead signs would help to reduce speeds and alert drivers of the oncoming crosswalk. This should help to dramatically increase safety.

I am by no means an expert in this area. I simply like to ride, and try to examine what I think could help. There are so many people at WABA, Arlington BAC, and Bike Arlington that know much more about it. I know they will advocate for better conditions as they always do, which is why so much cycling in this area is great.

It's a sad and scary day to read about a wreck like this, especially when we all know it's such a bad intersection. But let's not forget, cycling is a safe, healthy, and great activity. One bad story shouldn't scare anyone off the bike.

Safe riding everyone!

(thanks to ARLnow.com for the great reporting)

bamboo bike in old town

This is actually the first time I've seen one in real life. A pretty cool bike if I do say so.

bike dc

It's been far too long since I last wrote. Bike DC was this past Sunday, and I wanted to make a few comments. Bike DC was great. There were a few hiccups, with the roads by Iwo Jima and the early openingof the Roosavelt Bridge, but all in all it was a well run and greatevent. One quick note, Iwo Jima did not just become underconstruction. Those steel covers have been there a few weeks (I ridethrough there on my way to work). But whatever, it was a minorinconvenience on a 24 mile cleared route. I think people forget howmuch road Bike DC got shut down for their cycling enjoyment, some ofthem major roads. I can't express my gratidue enough to all thevolunteers and efforts of those who made the event happen. I thoughtthis year's route was much better with the Rock Creek Parkway detour.It eliminated that GW Parkway double back before the Air ForceMemorial, and was really a fun ride. The complaints I read about BikeDC are sometimes commical. It's not meant to be a race, it's not meantto be wide open. It is meant to be a group of cyclists enjoying a slowand fun ride around the city, seeing the sites, and enjoying thecollective nature of cycling. It should be a celebration of our jointpassion for cycling, not a stage to get in a pace line. Go to HainsPoint after work or during lunch if you're looking for that. Thisevent is about community. Try to enjoy it. It is in this spirit that Iask people to relax out there. I like riding fast as much as anyone,but the streets are full of cyclists of all different abilities. Itisn't the time to show how good you are. If you really want to, getthere early and go out off the front. But if you don't go out until7:30, then don't try to fly by people and weave in and out of traffic.Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the roll.Again, thanks so much to everyone for the efforts. What a great day.Here are some pics taken from the ride (nearly all taken while moving,so bear with me):

a few pics from today's commute