Cherry Blossoms and Cold Fingers

3.19.2016
32m
mtd:88 ytd:222

Rode today from Leesburg VA to Falls Church, VA along the W&OD in cold rain. I have a formula to determine "what sucks" and the answer is: cold, wet, dark; 2 out of 3 sucks. Today was cold and wet.

In Leesburg I stopped at Plum Grove Cyclery, which has just relocated from the outskirts of town into the core of town. I think they're the closest bike shop to the hotel complex. They were excellent; I went in complaining of too much play in the front wheel, which I couldn't diagnose, and they found the culprit, fixed a few other things that needed attention, and asked a very reasonable price. I was so appreciative they'd take a walk-in off the street. They started off in downtown, moved out to the perimeter, and now they've moved back into town, so they're presenting as Plum Grove (Re)Cyclery during the transition. Very nice people; recommended.

The entry from the hotel complex to the W&OD Trail was extremely easy. The W&OD is a paved, signed, well-marked trail. The only problem is: there's an at-grade crossing about every two miles. There's lights and crosswalks, and the locals were very courteous. When in doubt, they stopped.

I got to see cherry blossoms in Reston. (I have it on good authority that wet cherry blossoms on the street are very, very slippery).

It wasn't a very bad day, it just (whine) hurt. I didn't bring waterproof, low-temp gloves and I suffered from it. This is my paradox; I carry too much stuff, and I end up wishing for some gear I intentionally left at home. Operator Error in Judgement.

I did stop at GreenLizard Bikes and Coffee in Herndon, immediately on the W&OD trail. Hot soup and coffee on a cold day; so excellent. Nice people here, too; celebrating their third anniversary.

This section of the W&OD has three new breweries adjacent to the trail, and they each have a sign out: Water, Bathrooms, Tools. That's really tremendous. (Caboose Brewing, Old Ox Brewing, Loudoun Brewing Company). And there's a Whole Foods, what more can you ask.

Today I'd ride for an hour, and then find a place to get warm for probably the same amount of time. The traditional problem with the W&OD, that it's unshaded and very hot, just wasn't a factor today.

In the news today: autonomous Google car chases cyclist for three miles after obscene gesture. (hat tip: KC)

Smart Phone Handlebar Mount

8/23/11 #223

Rode 26 miles on the Montour Trail, my "old reliable" route starting at Boggs. Experimented with a handlebar mounting for a smart phone that I purchased at Performance in Bakery Square yesterday.

Because, if nothing else, I need more gadgets on my bike.



I don't make a habit of watching my phone while I'm riding, but I'm thinking about an effective way to refer to the phone (in map mode) for navigation while riding - something more effective than dig it out of a jersey pocket, try not to drop it, trying to open the App while pedaling, etc. I think this may be useful.

I felt a bit underpowered on the ride today, like I was tired. I'll have to see how that progresses.

Bike Geek Fetish: GPS, ewerk, Droid phone, Busch & Muller dynamo

7/21/11 #223

1100 western omelette 1700 chocolate ice cream 1930 chicken, succotash

I took Tuesday and Wednesday off from riding for a few convenient excuses — Tuesday my gear was still soaked from Monday; Wednesday I worked and did an excellent family dinner in anticipation of being on an overnight bike trip Thursday-Friday — but the temps were so high on Thursday that we cancelled the overnight trip.

So on my third day off the bike, with "feels like temps" of 104F, I am left to obsess about bicycle equipment.

My main bike fetishes this year are GPS and lighting. My previous Garmin GPS died recently, and it seems that the rationale for a stand-alone GPS unit have dwindled in the face of smart-phone capabilities, so I've invested in a Droid X2 to replace my dedicated GPS. The main drawbacks of the SmartPhone so far are (1) difficulty in placing the device on the dashboard, and (2) short battery life.

Why put the (expensive, fragile) SmartPhone on the handlebars? Two benefits - the ability to look at the moving map in unfamiliar areas, and the ability to see/discern weather alerts. I'm looking at two options for placing the GPS on the bike, I need to try one out.

The Arkon SM532 is a general smartphone-handlebar mount. I like the bungee strap that promises to keep it in place. One downside is there's no weather protection, so if the skies are threatening you've got to use a Ziploc.

The Topeak iPhone Dry Bag is a new product that seems very interesting. It can clip onto the stem bolt, which is a great location, the fact that it's a dry bag is compelling, and Topeak makes great stuff.

After mounting the phone on the bike, the second problem is battery life, which is dramatically shorter with a smartphone than a dedicated GPS.

The first thing I'm trying is a supplemental battery power pack, which I can feed with ubiquitous AA batteries. It's not an elegant kludge, but it'll work and it only cost $6 (plus an ongoing stream of batteries). I won't be able to put a powerpack in the dry-bag, though.

The elegant solution would be a device like the Busch & Muller e-werk, an adaptor that draws power from a bicycle dynamo and regulates it for a variety of USB-powered devices, including smart phones and tablets. Peter White has an excellent article on the ewerk. I'd like to eventually use this.

The e-werk requires a dynamo on the front wheel, and having a dynamo on your bike is like leveling-up (as they say) in Fred-ism. If I took that step and bought a front wheel with a dynamo in the hub, I could also use it as a power source for front and rear-lights, and then I'd be out of the AA and AAA business altogether. That appeals to me and seems to be more in the cycling aesthetic.