I missed it! - One Year of Blogging

Some blogger I've become... not only did I miss the one year anniversary of my first post (and first commuting ride to work), I even posted several days later and didn't realize it.  Ah well, I've been missing a couple other time/date related things lately so I guess I'll give myself a break on this one.

I had it in my head that early March was the start of commuting, but I think that is just because I didn't want to give myself credit for having biked all through Feb since my first day was actually Feb 26, 2013... particularly in discussions about whether or not I was a 'year round bike commuter'.  I think I'll go ahead and give myself that distinction now, though I've definitely found some boundaries both in my own sense of what is tolerable and what I'm equipped for from a gear perspective!  We certainly weren't sitting at 5+ inches of snow this time last year with prospects for more on the way and continued sub-arctic temps...

I'm focusing a bit on the weather here not because it's novel (at least this year) but I've been wondering to myself about how my journey in becoming a bike commuter would have been different if I'd been getting started this year on Feb 26th...  the weather all season has been much colder and with more ice/snow, and then the first full week would have made riding difficult if not impossible right out of the gate.  Would I have just soldiered on once the weather turned?  Or would I have gotten into the groove of driving to work and never broken free?

I'm glad I didn't have the extra challenge of breaking the car-commute inertia of this kind of weather, and I hope anyone out there (is there anyone?) that is just getting started and is impacted by this tougher winter keeps at it.  I've found the last year of biking to work to be incredibly rewarding and truly a lifestyle defining change.

So happy birthday to DR2DC, here's to more miles beneath the wheels in the year to come!

I think this was my first Friday commute in, the Trek still had 700C wheels, this could have been the very first day for my Topeak trunk bag w/ pannier fold-downs.

Wrapping up the 650B wheelbuild for the Trek conversion project... very satisfying!

The Trek in fine form, 650B'd, front basket, dyno headlight, front fender (no rear), and fancy upside down-Hokie colored handlebars

Under the Rt 1/GW Pkwy/Metro/CSX bridges has been an interesting scene to pass by coming and going to work this year.

Another from under the bridges... the light, shadows, water and reflections make for an interesting tapestry

I've loved this shot from the first time I took it, showing (not very clearly) the Trek cockpit switched out to noodle drop bars w/ interrupter levers... the scarring from the bad job I did mounting the handlebar stem... and of course the basket hanging a bit to the left from the crash I had on my first 50 miler.... amazing how many stories can be told in a photograph (or by a bicycle)

Bikes and coffee go together right!?!  Swings, both in my Del Ray neighborhood and at the #FMCC G st location has probably been the most impactful new vendor in my life this year.

Gotta have one of me right...?  And the Atlantis of course, this was a short lived configuration with the rear basket and sad to say the Atlantis has now gone on to it's new (taller) owner.  But there will be more Riv content in the coming weeks!

Of course the single-speed and M-Bar's must be represented... this is a great looking, great riding bike.

Lot's of Trek pictures... lots of memorable rides I guess.  

Quite recent... but I liked the way the sky turned out in post so here it is again!

Coffee Outside

It was a cold day for the second 'Coffee Outside' experiment here in DC... those CA guys make it look a bit more appetizing this time of year.  That being said Thursday morning was inestimably better for the hour or so spent outside brewing some delicious coffee.  I brought a real camera this time and we returned to the LBJ Memorial Grove.  Joining me was my friend Wes who rode the hour from Mt Vernon particularly early and through some pretty darn cold spots to be there and Bike Arlington member Dana whom I have met at at least one previous morning coffee stop.

The sunrise was pretty subtle, masked in heavy overcast conditions that began to break up as we were finishing up.  It was about 26 degrees at my house when I left...

Potomac River at sunrise ~0643

LBJ Plinth, mirroring the Lincoln Memorial

I've taken some liberties with this one... but the blue sky and break thru of the sun did feel pretty glorious

To prove I wasn't there alone, Wes and Dana discussing the morning's coffee!

Sunday Rolling

Every bit of warm weather is precious these days... I'm glad to look back at Sunday and know I made the most of it!  I met up with my friend Erl on the Georgetown waterfront and we had a great ride up the C&O/CCT to downtown Bethesda. I introduced him to the culinary treat of Taylors Gourmet Deli and reserved a half a sandwich for the ride back.  Great ride all around, at over 30 miles it is by far my longest single speed expedition to date and I even threw in some steady if not super-steep elevation this time.

The XO-3 continues to impress, the Brooks B67 is a suprisingly good match with the moustache bars and I was very comfortable with the couple hours in the saddle.  My gearing right now is running 45x19 which ends up being pretty darn close in gear inches to the 40x17 I was running before.  I'm pretty ok with this ~ 61 gear inches but I'm trying to decide how best to utilize my 17x19 White Industries Dos Eno freewheel... I'd like to go with two chain rings that are a matching 2T apart to give me a hi and lo option.  Right now i'm leaning towards 42/44...

Oh, and I rode the last mile or so of the canal on the towpath, the 2" Big Apples laugh in the general direction of that muddy mess. Honestly can we not clean up the surface for the final lap of the trail!  

I can't wait for more weather like this!

Good spot for a snack and taking in the day.

Sackville out for a snack off the bike overlooking the Key Bridge and Rossyln

Sunrise Coffee Club - MV Trail Style!

LBJ Memorial Grove offers a great view across the Potomac to the DC Monuments, at this time of year though the sunrise is actually well south of the general view (right of frame) so I'll pick a different spot for the next sunrise!

Inspired by many of the postings about Sunrise Coffee on the RBW list, and also by Ocean Air Cycle's early morning adventures I finally pulled the trigger this morning on a sunrise cup-a-joe.  

Location - LBJ Memorial Grove (off the Mount Vernon Trail in Arlington)

Bike - Bridgestone XO-3, singlespeed

Coffee - Ethiopia Amaro Gayo, Roasted at Swings in Del Ray

Brew Method - Pour over

I'm hoping to establish a semi-regular sunrise coffee club, I'll be posting about my rides over at the Bike Arlington Forum but I'm not sure it'll always be the same day, and the location will definitely rotate.  Stay tuned.

The XO-3 is sporting fore and aft storage for the occasion, the rear trunk bag was for the coffee gear.

Not just coffee, not just brewed on the spot, but pour over, single origin, hand ground coffee! :)

Waterford Precision Cycles - A visit

Not alot of riding to speak of lately and there is a significant re-shuffling in the works on my daily rider front but more on that later.  I'm actually home relatively briefly between trips and had to get up some shots of a very brief visit to the friendly and amazing Waterford Precision Cycles in (where else) Waterford, WI.

Waterford is 8,000 sq ft of American manufacturing, and it might be the highest volume MUSA steel bike shop in the country. (anyone have an idea of who might be larger?)  Not only are they bigger than the average custom bike shop but they put out some extremely high quality frames for some very hi profile customers... Rivendell (Atlantis, Hunqapillar, A Homer Hilson to name a few), Boulder All-Road's, Gunnar (house brand), small batch Schwinn Paramount Anniversary editions, and of course the Waterford branded custom bikes.  Quite an impressive brag sheet in my mind

I checked in via phone and email ahead of time and let the good folks at Waterford know that I'd love to stop in and see the place as I'm a current Rivendell rider and they very kindly obliged. I got a spectacular walk-around with Richard who really knew his way around the shop.  Given that I didn't and haven't ridden an actual Waterford product (my Atlantis is a Toyo built frame) I can't give any feedback from a rider perspective.. so the pictures and captions really just give you my wide-eyed, curious view of a really cool bike shop.

Thanks very much to Richard for showing me around and Johanna for taking my calls.  This is a cool shop with good people and gorgeous bikes coming off the line!  Enjoy the pictures.

TIG welding at a very hi level.

A pair of seat stays being miter-cut for the frame in the next image down

As each frame moves through the work floor it is paced by its spec sheet that gives the geometry, materials, customer and other information.  Every frame, even the 'stock' Gunnar's go through as a single item built up from scratch.

Brazing station

A future Waterford in paint

If I remember correctly these are all Gunnar's but I'm not sure...

Here's what I was hoping to see!  post-paint Riv's and Waterford's all lined up and ready for final touches!

Here's what I was hoping to see!  post-paint Riv's and Waterford's all lined up and ready for final touches!

The chrome frame is one of 25 Schwinn Paramount Anniversary editions... a very rare bike at the very start of its lifetime!

Hunqa - hunqa - hunqa

I wonder who's lovely orange Homer this is!

And a gorgeous blue Homer getting worked on

Round Alexandria... Take 2

I'll call this the 'Alexandria Loop' for now... highlights include the option for a stop in Alexandria, a drive by at Port City Brewery, and the option for shopping/drinks/food in Shirlington... really a route you can plan a day around!

I think it came up briefly in a previous post... but can't find it just this second... that during the first shakedown of the new Burley Tandem I captained my Wife and I the wrong direction and ended up with a critical flat tire resulting in the need for a vehicular pickup... wah wah wah.  But early in January I sought to even the score with that route and this is the proof!

The feat mastered during this ride was making the connection between Holmes Run Trail and Four Mile Run Trail via Beauregard St.  There is a short but steep hill involved and while I did it very slowly and in my granny-ist of granny gears I did stay on the bike.  More importantly I completed the loop.  Lesson learned, know where I'm going before involving the tandem!

Holmes Run has a great highlight of going through this cool tunnel

The 650B'd Trek continues to impress.  I'm having a bit of a bike/gear identity crisis right now but the Trek has continued to post excellent rides every time I take her out.

I'm not doing enough b/w conversions... so here you go.  

National Mall Snow-Ride

After  a week of not riding much (no rides since Monday) due to the cold or trail conditions or both I was itching to get back into the saddle.  Sunday morning provided a great opportunity for Erika and I to throw the bikes onto the car rack and head into the city to check out the National Mall.  I wanted to pick a nice sunny place that still had some loose, non-icy snow to ramble around in and the Mall worked in both requirements.  Not a serious or grueling ride, just some fun on bikes with my wife!  We followed it up with a stop in one of my favorite winter-time DC museums.... the US Botanic Garden.  Need a break from cold, snowy reality?  Check out the lush, humid, warm and GREEN in the USBG... I always think it woudl be a great place to come read a book, or the paper.  Haven't made that happen yet but we'll see!

Enjoy!

Erika took a much better photo of me than I did of her...

Union Market, up in NE DC off FL Ave... really cool.  It's definitely grown since I was there last. These tea pots/warmer stands are sweet.