balto charlie

You worked?? You boys are tough. DC gov shut down. I just hung out today, shoveled, walked the dog, had a few beers Tomorrow, different story. Commute start temp looking like 6F. Studs might not be enough, I'm looking at 7-8" outside. Plows slow to clear. Going to be interesting tomorrow.

greaterbrown

Made it to work via foot/metro/taxi this AM. Hoping to use the bike to get myself home this evening. Brrrr.

balto charlie

Since feds called off work yesterday I was unable to mount the studs on the Beltsville bike. Thus this AM's commute was rather interesting. "Slip sliding away" for the small streets but once on the main arteries things got better except for the fact I HAD to take the lane. Shoulders were still full of the deep stuff. I did see a set of skinny tire tracks. I wonder if the belong to Tom Fed(rando rider). He rides the same route as I. Train was late so I had cold toes upon arrival. Waiting for a train in 5F is not fun. The rest of me was comfortable though. Studs going on at lunch today.

NoRacer

I avoided all of that by camping out at work overnight.

Today, unfortunately, the food service people decided to take the day off, so our cafeteria is closed. We're relegated to vending machine food.

greaterbrown

Mmm.. what's for lunch: pink wafer creme cookies or toastchees?

maxine

mmm mmmmmmm GOOD!

We were not shut down yesterday (we're *different* than those Feds just down the road, haha!!), but they ended up relenting and letting the non-emergency folks depart at 11:00. Late arrival authorized for today. A lot of the satellite building cafeterias are closed.

Of course, despite my ownership of a pair of studded tires, I've been driving to work . . . unlike you hardcore guys. I didn't see any bikes on the rack this morning, but there are definitely a few year-round commuters in my building.

Be safe, everyone!

balto charlie

You riding Rt40 home tonight??? Any shoulders cleared? You might be stuck up there for a quite awhile Good luck tonight. Eating leftovers.

Seriously: Isaias is a Little Debbie man.

I agree the Feds are wusses. Last storm we closed and there was no snow. I think they are still frightened over the storm that iced the beltway and folks had to spend the night in their cars. Early 90's I believe.
Max, You could have been a beast by being the sole cyclist at the Meade. I was the only cyclist on the train as i could tell. No tire tracks at my stop until I came upon the skinny tires along Rhode Island.

greaterbrown

You got me there.

Ben Bassett headed to Proteus, I'd guess.

NoRacer

I am not even going to touch that comment about eating Little Debbie with a ten foot pole.

Bob, I had a delightful helping of:

Party mix pretzels, chips, cheese puffs
Peanut butter crackers
Snickers
Butterscotch snack cake
Beef jerky bites
Creme cheese pastry


The menu will probably be the same tonight. I've elected to stay, again.

greaterbrown

Please tell me you're paid hourly.
No pizza deliv. to APG?

NoRacer

Pizza delivery could work for tonight, but not last night.

Nobody was in the building last night. Tonight, the cleaning crew is in catching up.

.

balto charlie

If your eating Little Debbie then your 10 foot pole will not be needed.

I can see why you are staying again. Meals like that are hard to find.

balto charlie

7F for the start of the commute, gonna warm up a bit today. SHould hit 23F.

maxine

I am literally LMAO right now. No, seriously, I had to chase my A around the office and re-attach it.

It's a good thing I'm the only one in the suite today to hear me, they'd be sending the guys with the strait jackets and butterfly nets.

Two bikes in the rack this morning. Neither of which was mine. About two hours ago I walked back from a meeting in the main buildings -- the sidewalks fronting the military buildings are not yet shoveled.

NoRacer

It's going to be a heatwave this weekend! Yay!

CycleRail

Pylesville Winter Warmer. The third time was a charm for this ride. After two failed attempts I was able to complete this fun ramble to Pylesville in Harford County. It was a gloomy day, but the temperature eventually rose to the 50s. Sunday was a rare break from the bitter cold temperatures this winter. I especially enjoyed Bottom Road and riding over the green bridge often pictured on the Baltimore meet up site. Long Green Pike seemed trafficky to me, but manageable. There were a few off road sections, but the dirt was packed and we could travel over those parts quickly, as long as we avoided the divots. We arrived at Pylesville before noon, and stopped for lunch at Amaroso’s. Dave 2 was there to greet us and we had the place to ourselves. I will say that it was a little strange eating Italian food while watching a reality show about alligator hunting in the bayou. Ken showed up a bit later and witnessed this. Jack and Dan left lunch first so that they could reach their prior engagements.

After lunch, I pretty much rode by myself to the ¾ rest stop off Ashland Rd. The roads were quiet and I enjoyed the scenery. I’m kicking myself for not taking a picture of the old Paper Mill Road Bridge. That thing is awesome! After a quick break at the 7-11, John and Bill left. A few minutes later Bob, Mike and Tom and I rode the last stretch together back to the ride start at Lake Montebello. By this point, I had racked up about 96 miles. It was early, so we decided it was a good idea to grab a post ride beer. Mike and Tom were both nice enough to offer Bob and me a ride to the bar, but I was being nit-picky and wanted to reach 100. So I rode to the bar and Bob was nice enough to join me. The four of us had a couple of rounds at Alonzo’s and then headed home. Nicole had homemade Buffalo wings, sausage bread and beer waiting for me so we could have a little Super Bowl family celebration. I was loving life. We let the kids stay up late to watch the game (if you want to call it that) thinking they would not have school due to the forecasted snow. Sorry kids, school’s open.

Cyclemeter says: 100.07 miles; 5,735 feet of climbing; 15.28 avg. mph. Lone Peak handle bar bag worked well.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/8917725...7640480895765/

greaterbrown

Great riding for sure, snuck in between snow storms.

5735ft. of climb seems really low. Ride w/GPS calculates 7400+ which seems closer.
Maybe that's how PJ managed to be in front of everyone else- he figured out how to ride the same route, but climb 1600 fewer feet.
Pretty sneaky.

pgerhardt

Bike Florida?
Looking for a ride sharing opportunity from MD/DC area to Bike Florida. Anybody have a spot they would like to fill? Will pay full share of expenses. I am signed up to go.
Paul in Centreville, MD
phone H 410-758-4996
email phgerhardt@gmail.com

CycleRail

I thought I would have taken the studs of the Surly by now. I'm ready for Spring.

NoRacer

I've been ready since February.

CycleRail

Last Saturday, I drove up to Philly to pick up a friend from work to ride the 2014 Hell of Hunderton in Lambertville, NJ. It was a wonderful day. 80 miles and over 5800 feet of climbing on NJ's back roads. 18 or so dirt sections with gravel and large pot holes. It was a lot of fun. Riders were friendly and the event was very well run. Route was well marked, too. No need for a cue sheet. One of the sponsors put together the very good video. The link is below.

Hilltop Bicycles at the Hell of Hunterdon 2014 cycling video on Vimeo

CycleRail

Rode through wind and snow flurries last night. It's the middle of April, right?

greaterbrown

No flurries, thank goodness, but enough wind and floods on my commute home last night to make it quite an adventure.
It was fun... no, really. I swear.

CycleRail

I'm glad the sun is finally out. On my way in this morning, I almost did not see the open man hole in the pool of water that collected on Falls Road. That would not have been fun. Sewer caps were everywhere. Last night, there was a lot of traffic south on Guilford. I guess they were diverting traffic from the tragic mess on 26th Street. I took Falls Rd to avoid possible Guilford traffic.

greaterbrown

Lot's of long riding options this weekend. I'm planning to roll Baltimore to DC, keeping it nice 'n easy on the Surly SS.

The Monument to Monument Ride:
Monument to Monument, the little big ride. | The Rando Ramble

My plan this year is to keep the riding slow and the stopping short.