Neil_B

A couple of weeks ago, near the partially flooded Perkiomen Trail:

Sixty Fiver

Yesterday... the bike did it all.

Did some off roading on the singletrack...



Hauled 100 pounds of sewing machine and cabinet...



... and got a bunch of small errands done too.

qmsdc15

Very nice. Page number 12, the best so far!

Javal, why no cars on the 40k road? Are your people too highly evolved to drive cars? ??

Historian and 65er, don't know which looks nastier, the brown floodwater or the creepy blueish scum, what is that, ice? Brrr! Nice pictures.

I rode to Virginia today. The Potomac River and Arlington National Cemetery

Sixty Fiver

That there would be ice on the creek... despite that it was warm enough to wear a t-shirt and shorts yesterday.

qmsdc15

That's odd. No ice around here, but the roadies are already sporting shoe covers and head bands to cover their ears, not to mention jackets, tights, full-finger gloves...

Sixty Fiver

What is odd is our daytime temperatures... it has been exceptionally warm in the daytime and I have seen many people cruising around in shorts.

Mind you...I wore shorts until the beginning of December last year... my cutoff for wearing those is about 5c and at that temp tend to wear knee warmers and long socks.

javal

Javal, why no cars on the 40k road? Are your people too highly evolved to drive cars? ??

this time a year even the tractors are few

qmsdc15

Don't know which is more odd. DC bikers wearing neoprene face masks when it's 45ºF or BC riders wearing shorts at 5ºC?

I'm relatively tolerant of cold (by local standards, not compared to a Canuckistani). I used to wear shorts in the winter time, but after struggling with some knee problems, I try to keep my knees warm. My understanding is cold knees are much more prone to injury vs. knees that are warm.

qmsdc15

Too highly evolved to winter above the Arctic Circle then? Fine, open roads make better bicycle riding for the few less highly evolved members of the tribe riding around on deserted roads wondering where everybody else went.

We have a lot of Canadian Geese here in Maryland that have quit migrating. They understood why to leave the frozen wasteland of Canada in the Fall, but seem to have forgotten the reason to return in Spring.

TwoHeadsBrewing

To work, like every day! I told myself this morning I was just going to take it easy and not pay attention to my speed. Ha! I looked down about halfway through the ride and saw I was doing 20mph...which is 2-3mph faster than I normally ride. We had a good rain here last night, so it must have been the crystal clear air!

Sixty Fiver

BC riders are wusses...

I live in Edmonton, Alberta.

Knee warmers are the best investment if you want to ride in cooler temps.

qmsdc15

Alberta sorry, I forgot. I told myself you were from Vancouver for the alliteration. I'll look into the knee warmers. I tried using leg warmers my first or second winter, but my quads were too skinny to keep them from sliding down.

bjjoondo 

Most of the ice has melted off the roads and paths, well except for the patch that I did a fall on today slowly got up, checked out the old body and found it could still go under it's own power, looked over the bike, it seemed ok, did find a bent the outer edge of the pedal so I road it over to America The Beautiful Park (photo) and then over to my LBS. Had them check it over and as I thought the only damage with the bent outer cage of the pedal so I'll be forking up funds for new pedal's, this weekend. A sunny day, the best so far since Saturday but still a bit of slush and yes, some ice on the trails and roads thoughout Colorado Springs. Since I still haven't gotten around to getting a new bicycle computer since mine went beszerk back in May, I figure it was a total trip of 10-15 miles. Lucky for me I wore a helmet as I did bung the left side of my head a bit, helmet looks ok but I may just go ahead and buy a new one, left upper hip is a bit sore and I'm a bit slow moving but that seems to be all the problems so I got off lucky I'll be WAY more careful crossing the "slush" patches at speed, sometimes it's not as melted as it looks.

qmsdc15

It sounds like you are OK and the pedal is probably still fully functional. Unless it feels bad to your foot, I'd save my money and keep using it until the bearings go. The helmet on the other hand should be replaced.

qmsdc15

I rode my Cannondale CAAD1 H300 to Arlington, Virginia again. This time North Arlington, Rosslyn. I could see Washington, DC from there.

MorganRaider

Nice pics lately Mr Q !! I kind of miss the graffiti, but these will do. Do you have a path for the entire ride ?

qmsdc15

Thanks! I'm sorry to say, vandals have painted over some of the graffiti. Haha. Notice these three pictures are all of the same place. Serious bureaucratic obstacles stand in the way of completion of this bike trail. Even this section isn't open yet. When it's done, I'll ride it, although it's out of my way. Until then, I will continue to ride mostly on the road during the week. On weekends, I stick to the bike paths.

Condorita

No pics yet, but I took the busses down to the LBS and took possession of The Black Pearl, a Trek Allant, today.

cc_rider

Were those picture from yesterday/Saturday? I had ridden up to Silver Spring and, based on your photos and reports. decided to try to find the MBT. Above Fort Totten I stuck with Blair Road, then took Bates to the tracks. Found what I guess is called a trail. Disappointed on how little is finished. I rode the gravel bed where it looks like they're ready to pour asphalt. Switched to 3rd St after a while. That was about 2 pm.
Bit of a dismal ride. Don't know if I'd take that way even when it is finished, except maybe for the graffiti. Stick with 4th Street.

qmsdc15

So comparing my discovery of that little section of bike path to Columbus' discovery of America was a little over the top, is that what you're saying? Man, I'm glad tulip didn't take the bait and come up from Richmond to ride two sections of trail total length a tenth of a mile or so! I feel bad enough that you came all the way from Falls Church. Sorry for making it look like more than it is.

It's about expectations. I was expecting to find nothing, while you expected to find something. I found more than nothing and you found less than something.

Hey, I tried to make it clear that the only paved sections that I found that were not on the road were the bit from Franklin St. to Rhode Island Ave., another section from south of RI to 3rd and R, and another short piece going north from M St that deadends at New York Ave. I guess I forgot to say that the paved section Between RI and R is only two blocks long. If you made it to 3rd and R, that's as far as it goes for practical purposes. It is possible to bushwack past tresspassing signs, over pushed down chain link fence, down a dirt path, and through homeless peoples' living space to access another block or two of completed bike path, but certainly not worth it.

Were the pictures taken Saturday? No, actually those are before and after pictures, same wall, different day. The after shot was taken Friday on my way home from work.

Dismal? That's my favorite section! I rode it again today in the rain. Before and after.




Notice the retaining wall to the left of the trail in background of today's picture. That's new, but needs to be extended in both directions. There is another problem with that section, which is that the bridge needs renovation. Metro had agreed to let construction equipment access the bridge from the east side, so they would not be crossing the bike path, but since then have rescinded that decision. So there may be a conflict between trail users and construction equipment in that area, which might delay the trail's opening.

cc_rider

No problem. I was riding to Bethesda and Silver Spring anyway. Only difference was choice of return route - 14th ST NW, 4th St NE, Eastern to 18th St or MBT - and I had been on all but the MBT several times this season already. I always like to try out something new on every ride.

OwnRules

My daily stomping grounds. Taken yesterday, Sunday 11/22 in the afternoon.



-- park & ride.

-- what's left of me.

-- Gatorade stand. Yay!

-- you can ride the inner trails as well, even if you kill a pedestrian or two while at it.

-- some buildings along the route.

-- used as location for scene in The Godfather II

-- turn around point including a coconut water refresher.

-- finish line. 10 km round trip.

qmsdc15

To Lake Artemesia, the back way. Started the ride in gray drizzle. Stopped to take a picture of a train stopped on the tracks.


Shortly afterwards, I realized the train was parked on the tracks I had intended to carry my bike over. Because I couldn't go right, I went left. Discovered a greasy singletrack that runs along what I believe was once a trolley line. This area used to be the country, and city folks would travel by rail from the city to country homes out here. It was fun slip sliding though the wet clay on my Gatorskins.




Got a little muddy.


Reached the lake as the skies cleared and late day sun broke through.




Happy Thanksgiving!

bjjoondo 

Just a quick ride up and down some of the Pikes Peak Greenway Path, in Colorado Springs, CO. Sorry about the crummy "phone photos", for got my camera! It was quite chilly going north but when I turned around I met the winds from a weak cold front head on, BURRRRRRRR! Even put on my barclarva, LOL, made my pace a bit quicker going home. Photo's are 1. A look at Pikes Peak over the city water storage pond. 2. A bridge over Fountain Creek on the Path and 3. My bike against the "PPGW mileage sign at Critrieium Bicycles Shop, which is right on the path! Happy Thanksgiving!

Doohickie

The wilds of Fort Worth. I followed a decommissioned rail spur that used to feed the Lockheed Martin plant and Naval Air Station Fort Worth. The rails have been pulled up an much of the route is becoming feral. For more about the ride, read my blog entry about the whole 39 mile trip.









The end of the line (bridge is out):