When the first diamond frame bicycles became popular in the 1890s they were often called "wheels" - the national cycling association was called the "League of American Wheelmen." We have moved from "wheels" to "bikes," but the bicycles have remained remarkably the same over more than 100 years - elegant in their efficiency and simplicity. And many of the issues that we think are new? They were around then too.
Thursday, February 4, 2016
Jefferson Memorial on Ride Home
Jefferson Memorial floating in ground level fog
One of the pleasant parts of riding rather than driving is that it is easy enough to stop and enjoy the view.
Sunday, January 31, 2016
Starting Up Bicycle Commute After 2 Feet of Snow
Snow in Washington DC, January 1922 (from the Library of Congress)
Last weekend two feet of snow (give or take) fell from the sky, closing the government completely for several days, then various kinds of delayed arrival and the like through Friday. I teleworked through Thursday, returning to work on Friday - using Metro.
I am not crazy about using Metro, but I didn't feel like experimenting with the snow on the trails that day.
Yesterday, Saturday, I went about a third of the way to work, to see what conditions are like on the bike trails between my house and the Potomac river where I cross the 14th street bridge into DC.
Bicycle trail plowed by Arlington County
The trail for about a half mile from my house to the Four Mile Run Trail was not plowed, but it was mostly clear anyway. The Four Mile Run trail near Shirlington was plowed, continuing on in all the way to the Potomac near the south end of National Airport. Arlington County uses a Gator or something similar; it is difficult for them to stay on the trail consistently, as you can see by the tread marks in the grass where the small plow was off the trail for a while.
Mt Vernon trail near south end of National Airport
Once the trail leaves Arlington County and runs into the Mt Vernon trail, the plowing stops, and the conditions are much more mixed - that is, there is more snow and ice. I can route myself through Crystal City to avoid some of this; I'll see how it goes tomorrow.
Sunday, January 3, 2016
1896 Bicycle Map for DC and Area
Roberts' [bicycle] road map of the District of Columbia and adjoining portions of Maryland and Virginia.
Cover title: Bicycle road map : Roberts' road map of the District of Columbia and adjoining portions of Maryland and Virginia : with tables of distances ... character of roads.
Created / Published - Washington : W.F. Roberts, c1896
Library of Congress, Geography & Map Division
http://lccn.loc.gov/88693356
Click here for zoom view of this 1896 map
Detail showing Washington DC and then-Alexandria (not Arlington) County
Indicators for quality of roads (for use by cyclists)
Runs (ie, rides) into Virginia from downtown Washington
Distances are from the U.S. Treasury Department building and not the U.S. Capitol.
I found a similar, but not the same, map from 1896 published in the Washington Times that I blogged about.
Cover title: Bicycle road map : Roberts' road map of the District of Columbia and adjoining portions of Maryland and Virginia : with tables of distances ... character of roads.
Created / Published - Washington : W.F. Roberts, c1896
Library of Congress, Geography & Map Division
http://lccn.loc.gov/88693356
Click here for zoom view of this 1896 map
Detail showing Washington DC and then-Alexandria (not Arlington) County
Indicators for quality of roads (for use by cyclists)
Runs (ie, rides) into Virginia from downtown Washington
Distances are from the U.S. Treasury Department building and not the U.S. Capitol.
I found a similar, but not the same, map from 1896 published in the Washington Times that I blogged about.
Saturday, January 2, 2016
"Charmless" Signage in Arlington (VA)
I was reading a story in the Washington Post about changes coming to Arlington County council in the new year.
There is this, with a quote from Council member Libby Garvey: Garvey warned that local government should not “overstep our role and risk stifling innovation,” particularly in regulations such as the sign ordinance, which took more than a year to revise. “Part of the charm of Arlington,” she said, “. . . is how not standard everything is.”
I am not sure what "sign ordinance" is being referred to, but I don't much care for non-standard, inconsistent application of signage to traffic control affecting cyclists - but I don't have to go far to find some, given a recent change to the trail near my house.
Down the street from my house on South Dinwiddie Street, there is a trail that is an offshoot of the WO&D trail, that is parallel to the Lucky Run (stream).
The trail is shown in the image above, with the red line. Somewhat unusual I would say, there is a standard sidewalk and crosswalk at the intersection, then 40 or so feet back on S Dinwiddie, there is the crossing for the trail. It is not painted as a crosswalk with zebra stripes, but there are some dashed lines to show it is there to drivers. There are yellow yield signs controlling pedestrians and cyclists on the trail who would cross S Dinwiddie St.
Meanwhile, just a quarter mile away, the trail crosses S Wakefield St in a similar way but the traffic control is completely different.
These stop sign appeared about a month ago - previously there was not signage here controlling pedestrians and cyclists on the trail where it crosses S Wakefield St. (Yes, the stop sign are not full size, but sort of toy size for some reason.) And the crosswalk is painted with full zebra stripes.
Here you can see the situation, much like at S Dinwiddie St, with the trail crossing set about 40 feet back of the crosswalk that is the intersection.
I don't understand how it is that Arlington County thinks these intersections are supposed to work successfully. In general, if a motorist sees me in the "not quite a crosswalk" for the trail crossing, they stop - but I can't count on it. And apparently at one of the intersections (Dinwiddie) I am merely to yield, but the other (with full zebra stripes!) requires a full stop! WTF, to use the vernacular (or vulgar - whichever).
Consistency in these matters could be a good thing, even in quaint Arlington County. This is a real safety issue, after all.
There is this, with a quote from Council member Libby Garvey: Garvey warned that local government should not “overstep our role and risk stifling innovation,” particularly in regulations such as the sign ordinance, which took more than a year to revise. “Part of the charm of Arlington,” she said, “. . . is how not standard everything is.”
I am not sure what "sign ordinance" is being referred to, but I don't much care for non-standard, inconsistent application of signage to traffic control affecting cyclists - but I don't have to go far to find some, given a recent change to the trail near my house.
Down the street from my house on South Dinwiddie Street, there is a trail that is an offshoot of the WO&D trail, that is parallel to the Lucky Run (stream).
The trail is shown in the image above, with the red line. Somewhat unusual I would say, there is a standard sidewalk and crosswalk at the intersection, then 40 or so feet back on S Dinwiddie, there is the crossing for the trail. It is not painted as a crosswalk with zebra stripes, but there are some dashed lines to show it is there to drivers. There are yellow yield signs controlling pedestrians and cyclists on the trail who would cross S Dinwiddie St.
Meanwhile, just a quarter mile away, the trail crosses S Wakefield St in a similar way but the traffic control is completely different.
These stop sign appeared about a month ago - previously there was not signage here controlling pedestrians and cyclists on the trail where it crosses S Wakefield St. (Yes, the stop sign are not full size, but sort of toy size for some reason.) And the crosswalk is painted with full zebra stripes.
Here you can see the situation, much like at S Dinwiddie St, with the trail crossing set about 40 feet back of the crosswalk that is the intersection.
I don't understand how it is that Arlington County thinks these intersections are supposed to work successfully. In general, if a motorist sees me in the "not quite a crosswalk" for the trail crossing, they stop - but I can't count on it. And apparently at one of the intersections (Dinwiddie) I am merely to yield, but the other (with full zebra stripes!) requires a full stop! WTF, to use the vernacular (or vulgar - whichever).
Consistency in these matters could be a good thing, even in quaint Arlington County. This is a real safety issue, after all.
Monday, December 28, 2015
Legends of the Tour (Book Review)
Legends of the Tour by Jan Cleijne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I don't read many graphic novels - this is in fact a graphic work of non-fiction, documenting some highlights of the Tour de France's history.
Graphic novels can vary widely in amount of text included, and this is at the (very) low end. That was fine for me since I have read at least a dozen different books about the Tour, but I'm not sure that this would be so good for someone who isn't already familiar with the Tour.
The author's style is mostly dark and for the most part he focuses a lot of attention on the dark aspects of the Tour's history (dark in the sense of forbidding and/or foreboding) but the Tour takes place in July, in France, and much of it doesn't have the look and feel of most of this book. That says more about the author than about the subject, I suppose.
The low-text graphic novel approach results in some simplification of what you might read elsewhere - the competition with Hinault and Greg Lemond ends with the two of them riding hand-in-hand, celebrating their sort-of-joint-victory - hmmm. Published in June of 2014, he deals with the problem of doping and Mr. Armstrong's interview with Oprah at the end while expressing hope for redemption for the Tour's future - that the challenges will come from road and the race and not the challenges of doping without discovery, I suppose. Well maybe it will work out that way.
The nice thing about a book like this is it is possible to read through the whole thing in several sittings. It is also interesting to go back and page around and look at it later.
View all my GoodReads reviews of cycling books.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I don't read many graphic novels - this is in fact a graphic work of non-fiction, documenting some highlights of the Tour de France's history.
Graphic novels can vary widely in amount of text included, and this is at the (very) low end. That was fine for me since I have read at least a dozen different books about the Tour, but I'm not sure that this would be so good for someone who isn't already familiar with the Tour.
The author's style is mostly dark and for the most part he focuses a lot of attention on the dark aspects of the Tour's history (dark in the sense of forbidding and/or foreboding) but the Tour takes place in July, in France, and much of it doesn't have the look and feel of most of this book. That says more about the author than about the subject, I suppose.
The low-text graphic novel approach results in some simplification of what you might read elsewhere - the competition with Hinault and Greg Lemond ends with the two of them riding hand-in-hand, celebrating their sort-of-joint-victory - hmmm. Published in June of 2014, he deals with the problem of doping and Mr. Armstrong's interview with Oprah at the end while expressing hope for redemption for the Tour's future - that the challenges will come from road and the race and not the challenges of doping without discovery, I suppose. Well maybe it will work out that way.
The nice thing about a book like this is it is possible to read through the whole thing in several sittings. It is also interesting to go back and page around and look at it later.
View all my GoodReads reviews of cycling books.
Thursday, December 24, 2015
"The Best Gift of All"
1922 Bicycle ad before Christmas
chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88064020/1922-12-14/ed-...
The herald. (New Orleans, LA), December 14, 1922, Christmas, Image 23
I like that the bicycle is said to be "right up to the minute." The prices seem quite reasonable.
The ad is from the same period as this bike, the early 20s
Note headlight connected to battery under one of the two top tubes, horn, and tire pump. Pretty nice.
Sunday, December 6, 2015
New Old Bike - Trek Singletrack from 1995
I happened to read in a blog post (elsewhere) that a "bicycle cooperative" (non-profit) in Alexandria (Virginia) not far from where I live would be having a "house cleaning sale" of old used bikes, at Velocity Bicycle Cooperative. I went over yesterday morning and found a 20 year old Trek mountain (sort of) bike for $60 and bought it.
The condition was remarkable - it was missing one pedal and also the seat post and saddle, but otherwise everything was there and worked. The bike was incredibly dirty, however, and with the missing seat and uninflated tires it looked pretty sad. The front of the bike frame is green and the back part is blue. This sort of paint scheme was common in the 1990s. A quick check suggested that little work would be necessary to make the bike ride-worthy. Put on some pedals and a seat post and saddle plus clean it up and off you go. The bottom bracket and headset both seemed fine and the derailleurs and brake systems appeared OK too.
Just purchased Trek Singletrack bike after some cleaning and refurbishing
I wasn't too sure about the age when I bought this but it seems to be a 1995 model, looking at a 1995 Trek catalog someone has helpfully digitized. This has one of the two color options offered that year; "dry ice green-dry ice blue fade."
A simple bike that will do what I want it to do (but at a more reasonable weight)
I had a CroMoly Giant mountain bike from one of my sons that has shocks on the front fork and is rather heavy - over 35 pounds. It hasn't aged very well, unlike this bike, so I wanted a replacement - ideally one that was lighter and without the (pointless) shocks in the front fork. This bike is just about exactly 30 pounds, which isn't too bad, although it too is CroMoly (steel) frame. Something that I can ride in snowy weather, to use with some studded mountain bike tires I already have mounted on an extra set of rims. This bike will work great for that. (I need to clean it up after such riding, though, to avoid components rusting.)
It is hard to know what to think of a used old(er) bike like this. It was extremely dirty and the rings and cogs showed some wear, but I'm guessing they were original. The wheels were original, in fact pretty much everything except the tires seems to have been part of the original bike. The 20 year old wheels were absolutely true, so even it was allowed to accumulate too much greasy dirt it wasn't abused. Nice that it all works well.
I had a seat post that works and an (ugly) saddle and some pedals, so I had little to do before taking it for a ride. I was pleasantly surprised that the tires and tubes hold air fine. I did a first pass at cleaning the worst of the dirt but I'm going to have to make another go at cleaning the thing.
60 bucks! Good deal!
The condition was remarkable - it was missing one pedal and also the seat post and saddle, but otherwise everything was there and worked. The bike was incredibly dirty, however, and with the missing seat and uninflated tires it looked pretty sad. The front of the bike frame is green and the back part is blue. This sort of paint scheme was common in the 1990s. A quick check suggested that little work would be necessary to make the bike ride-worthy. Put on some pedals and a seat post and saddle plus clean it up and off you go. The bottom bracket and headset both seemed fine and the derailleurs and brake systems appeared OK too.
Just purchased Trek Singletrack bike after some cleaning and refurbishing
I wasn't too sure about the age when I bought this but it seems to be a 1995 model, looking at a 1995 Trek catalog someone has helpfully digitized. This has one of the two color options offered that year; "dry ice green-dry ice blue fade."
A simple bike that will do what I want it to do (but at a more reasonable weight)
I had a CroMoly Giant mountain bike from one of my sons that has shocks on the front fork and is rather heavy - over 35 pounds. It hasn't aged very well, unlike this bike, so I wanted a replacement - ideally one that was lighter and without the (pointless) shocks in the front fork. This bike is just about exactly 30 pounds, which isn't too bad, although it too is CroMoly (steel) frame. Something that I can ride in snowy weather, to use with some studded mountain bike tires I already have mounted on an extra set of rims. This bike will work great for that. (I need to clean it up after such riding, though, to avoid components rusting.)
It is hard to know what to think of a used old(er) bike like this. It was extremely dirty and the rings and cogs showed some wear, but I'm guessing they were original. The wheels were original, in fact pretty much everything except the tires seems to have been part of the original bike. The 20 year old wheels were absolutely true, so even it was allowed to accumulate too much greasy dirt it wasn't abused. Nice that it all works well.
I had a seat post that works and an (ugly) saddle and some pedals, so I had little to do before taking it for a ride. I was pleasantly surprised that the tires and tubes hold air fine. I did a first pass at cleaning the worst of the dirt but I'm going to have to make another go at cleaning the thing.
60 bucks! Good deal!
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