Wednesday Evening Commute - Don't call it a comeback

It's funny what a dead harddrive, work travel, holidays, 15-hour work days and a 33% drop in childcare will do to your blogging. On the upside, I did get to (have to) bike all the way to work and back for the first time in months. Did you know they're putting a traffic circle in on River Road near UMD? I approve.

• D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray announced emergency rulemaking to prohibit drivers from making illegal U-turns acorss the Pennsylvania Avenue bike lanes at all times. Thank you WABA. "In 2010 and 2011, 11 of the 14 bike crashes on Pennsylvania Avenue involved vehicles making those U-turns," 
• More about the street smart campaign kick off. "As Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman spoke to the crowd, he raised his voice to be heard over the noise of passing cement trucks. Behind the podium, a biker paused and waited for two oncoming vehicles to slow before he attempted to cross the road."
• You can bike all winter. Lake bicycle boots is my top recommendation. And those snap to activate heat pads for when you have to change a tire or something.
• Here's a video of the then incomplete L Street cycle-track - if you haven't ridden it yet. 

Comments

[SJE]

Welcome back: I must admit I was concerned you had a run in with a car.

re: cycle boots: I have found that thick wool socks and couple of newspaper bags will do wonders, especially since most bike shoes do not fit giant feet.

[TurbineBlade]

I find winter cycling easy and pleasant. Just getting your butt out there is about 90% of it. I wear jeans, regular shirts and just vary layers. I never wear boots -- just heavy wool socks when it's really cold. The facemask comes out when it's in the low 20's, but otherwise a couple of stocking hats work fine.

Cheap, off-brand ski gloves work for me when it's really cold. My wife likes mittens because she runs colder than I do.

It's not hard -- the darkness bothers me more than the cold.

TB

[oboe]

Welcome back.

Now, can someone explain to me WTF this means:

"The mayor clarified the existing rule that mid-block U-turns that cross over the bike lanes are illegal on Pennsylvania Avenue NW between the White House and the Capitol, even when cyclists are not there."

So, in other words, there's a law on the books, MPD was writing tickets, but DDOT was completely ignoring it until the Mayor explicitly "clarified the existing rule."

Is it the case that every law in DC is unenforceable until the Mayor says, "No, seriously. This should be enforced." Or just the ones that protect cyclists?

[Crikey7]

Lake is one of the few brands of cycling shoes that come in wide widths, though they can be hard to find.

[DaveS]

Oboe, it was the DMV that was messing things up.

For reasons that haven't been explained, DMV was dismissing citations for these particular U-turns, upholding them only if a crash resulted.

Was it because there's only a bike lane when cyclists are in it? Was it because the bike lanes are painted and signed in a non-standard way? Not read into the record under the correct incantations? Was it because the end-block posts had mid-block gaps? None of those arguments make much sense, but they could be enough to give the DMV pause.

By ruling this way it doesn't matter and now all U-turns on Pa Ave from 3rd to 15th NW are prohibited because they are.

(I'm plenty peeved that it took this long to clarify, and I don't think anyone in DC.GOV gets full marks for handling this well. But IF the laws aren't clear somewhere I think it's a sign of the system working that we can't just ticket them anyway - and a sign that the system needs a fix if it takes years at risk and a mayoral order to get around it.)

[SBG]

That traffic circle is now complete on River Road in Riverdale, MD. Now if stupid drivers don't keep running straight through it hitting the submerged transformer and causing power outages in the adjacent buildings, we would be better for it. Still riding on the River Road (Raceway) in Riverdale is not recommended. Use the the sidewalk like I do on the west side of the street. Nice to have you back in the land of the living

[BlooEyedDevil]

I second the Lake winter shoes/boots. The only problem is, they look sorta funny with my shorts. :)

[antibozo]

Welcome back!

Where can one find Lake boots around here?

I really like my Pearl Izumi lobster claws for when it gets down to the 20s. Also, the Novara cycling base layer (REI item number 834856 (men's) or 834857 (women's)) is awesome, IMO.

I've been okay with my SPD shoes with booties, a couple of sock layers, and plastic wrap between the booties and the shoes to cut the wind, and toe warmers if i'm out for a couple of hours or more. But the fundamental problem with most SPD shoes is that there's a hole in the bottom so it's hard to really keep the feet warm if you're out for a long time in really cold weather. So i'd be interested in the boots if they solve that problem, especially if they're waterproof, which my setup is not.

[Crikey7]

Lake shoes are one thing you pretty much have to buy on-line. I think LBS' found that the supply chain was too tenuous when the company nearly blew up last year.

[antibozo]

Crikey7, thanks for info.

Any Lake users have model and sizing recommendations?

[Crikey7]

They have European sizes. People say you're supposed to buy them a half size small and let them stretch, but I just buy my usual size.

My current pair are 9 years old and still running strong.

[washcycle]

Yeah, I got mine on the internets.

http://www.wintercyclingshoes.com/content/lake-mxz302.htm

[dynaryder]

For gloves,I wear these when it gets super cold:
http://www.discountsafetygear.com/waterproof-leather-gloves-hi-vis-memphis.html

Google around and you can find them for super cheap. Can't speak to how waterproof they are because when ever I wear them,it's too cold to rain.

For socks I shop at SportsmansGuide.com. They got all kinds of cheap wool/blend socks. They also sometimes have SealSkinz type waterproof liners(which work quite well as long as you're real careful taking them on/off).

[antibozo]

dynaryder, i've been thinking about SealSkinz. What happens if you're not careful?

[BlooEyedDevil]

One thing that helps with the cleat hole in the bottom of any shoe (including the Lakes) for anyone interested is to fill in the space around the cleat (flush to the sole) with this stuff:

http://eclecticproducts.com/ag_adhesives.htm

Also keeps out the wet!

[antibozo]

BlooEyedDevil, thanks for the tip!

[dynaryder]

antibozo:if you just jam your foot into SealSkinz like they were normal socks,you'll tear the GoreTex membrane and they'll leak. Ruined my first pair the second time I wore them because of this.

[antibozo]

dynaryder: thanks; i'll bear that in mind.

[John]

I biked all last winter and was perfectly fine, but then, even in the dead of winter I'm sweating within 5 minutes. Honestly, these mornings where it's been in the low 30s I start out cold and within 5 minutes my wind jacket is half unzipped and my sleeves are pulled up because I'm sweating already. The only time that I was really a bit chilly was when it got down into the teens last winter, but even then with my hiking base layer bottoms under my bike shorts, a base layer upper, bike shirt, wind jacket, light jacket, wool socks, and gloves I was solid. It's totally doable even if you generate less heat than I do.

I've actually given up entirely on the idea of trying to wear any sort of waterproof gear when it's raining. I figure that I'm either going to be soaking wet from the rain, or soaking wet because I'm sweating inside my rain gear, so I'll just take the rain.

[antibozo]

Another trick i use to deal with the cold: a thin layer of Neutrogena Norwegian Formula hand cream on my face. This is a waxy lotion with no fragrance, and it really takes the edge off the cold, especially if i'm dealing with a headwind.

[dynaryder]

When it gets below 50 I rock one of these:
http://www.maxit-inc.com/products/headgator.html

Not only does it protect my face,but it prevents me from getting sore throats,which I'm prone to get in low temps and dry air. I usually get 2 seasons out of them before they get really stretched out.