Re: [pedalers] Digest for pedalers@googlegroups.com - 4 updates in 2 topics

[Stephen Szibler]

Is there a way to complain about the current plan for this roundabout? It sounds like there should definitely be infrastructure for cyclists in the 21st century. Multiple lanes or a bike lane with warnings for drivers that cyclists have the right of way?

Stephen J. Szibler

SAG-AFTRA, MA, BA, BS

On Fri, Aug 22, 2025 at 9:42 PM <peda...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

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• Carters Run outside Marshall - 2 Updates
• chain lube - 2 Updates

Carters Run outside Marshall

Mariette Vanderzon <mariette....@gmail.com>: Aug 22 08:24AM -0400 I was trying to find out what is going on outside Marshall at Crest Hill (Rt 647), but still don't know.   However, in searching, I see that VDOT is planning a roundabout heading south of Marshall on Rt 17/I-66. At Carters Run there will be an R cut with a U turn rendering Carters Run essentially unusable as a northbound cycling road.   Carters Run southbound would still be accessible after navigating a potentially tractor-trailer filled roundabout. I cycled Carters Run, which I love for its rollers, low traffic, and views, the other day and am sad to see this on VDOT's site.   I tried to attach photos of planned interchange from VDOT's site, but I got a nastygram back saying the attachments are too large. ;-)   Tailwinds,   mv

Dan Lehman <dan_l...@hotmail.com>: Aug 22 07:12PM > I tried to attach photos ... ________________________________ Why photos, when a URLink will do ::   I-66 east at U.S. 17 (Exit 28) interchange improvements, Fauquier County | Virginia Department of Transportation<https://www.vdot.virginia.gov/projects/culpeper-district/i-66-east-at-us-17-exit-28-interchange-improvements-fauquier-county/> I-66 at U.S. 17 (exit 28) interchange improvements, Fauquier County - Virginia Department of Transportation<https://www.vdot.virginia.gov/projects/culpeper-district/i-66-east-at-us-17-exit-28-interchange-improvements-fauquier-county/> Design Public HearingTuesday, May 20, 2025, 4:30-6:30 p.m.Marshall Community Center4133-A Rectortown Road, Marshall, VA 20115Inclement weather date: Tuesday, May 27, 2025Public comment period ends: Monday, June 9, 2025 This SMART Scale project proposes to modify the existing rural unsignalized diamond interchange where U.S. 17 (Winchester Road) intersects with westbound and eastbound ... www.vdot.virginia.gov

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chain lube

Doug Scott <doug...@gmail.com>: Aug 21 09:23AM -0400 T-9 is great stuff and after the solvents and carriers have evaporated, what's left is mostly paraffin. I used it liberally on a bike my daughter stored outside at UNC. Four years of daily use later it returned for a visit and was mostly ok.   Waxing chains has been around for a long time. I began sometime around 1975. In that era “the” secret was to mix in a couple of tablespoons of chainsaw bar oil.   I still use plain old Gulfwax and keep two chains in rotation. I have moved to Connex chains. The quick link connection is super easy and the chain wear rate is some fraction of Shimano's - like half.   I boil the chain and brush it for cleaning in one pot and a Goodwill sourced crockpot handles the wax. Temperatures are not critical other than to leave the chain in the melted wax long enough to come up to roughly the same temperature. I tend to throw chains on the solidified block and let them come up to temperature together.   The chains are good for up to 500 miles and will tell you when more wax is required. I do carry a bottle of Squirt in the car to top up in a pinch.   While I love the fact that Josh Portner and Silca have parts to my old Track pump, I am of the view his chain wax system represents an excess of marketing.   Sent from my iPhone   On Aug 20, 2025, at 11:51 PM, Rudi Riet <rdr...@gmail.com> wrote:      Ah, chain lube. The blessing and bane of many a cyclist's existence.   I'm now firmly in the modern chain wax club. I strip that infernal shipping grease off my new chains and immerse them into a small Crock Pot of wax (Silca Super Secret, for those curious) and then top up with either Silca's drip or CeramicSpeed's UFO drip wax.   The stuff works well. My chains last a long time.   I used to be a wet lube user, but the stuff would not stay clean over time and it would accelerate the wear and tear on the chain, cassette, jockey wheels, and chainrings. Since switching to wax I've seen longer life on all of these. Yes, it's a bit of a faff to hot wax a chain. It's also a faff to try and immediately dry a chain after riding in wet weather (they can, and will, rust, though it's just cosmetic). But once you're into the routine it's great.   I still use wet lube on one bike that's stored outdoors (that gets Boeshield T-9). I also have some Silca Synergetic that I use in a pinch in the winter months (it plays nicely with wax). And I have some bottles of Lilly Lube, NixFrixShun, and Muc-Off Dry around for times when I need them for non-chain use.   Mineral oil is an interesting choice. I can't argue with cost. But it will attract grit and grime - something wax doesn't do at all. And that grit and grime will wear things out as a grinding paste develops. If you are good about wiping down your chain after application - and only applying to the rollers of the chain, rather than slathering everything in lubricant - it should work fine. Is it the lowest friction solution? No. Is it budget friendly? Yes.   But I find hot wax to be even more budget friendly. One bag of Silca lasts me 2+ years and many chains. The drip wax isn't too pricey, either, and a bottle tends to last a while if applied correctly (ie only to the rollers, no excess) onto a wiped-down chain.   Just my $0.02 - your mileage may vary.   Rudi   On Fri, 18 Jul 2025 at 17:14, Mike and Joan Divine <mikeandj...@erols.com> wrote:   Over the years, I have used just about everything, including bike specific tubes like White Lightning, Finish Line, WD-40, and a PTFE tool oil. They all work fine, but they all have disadvantages. Some would build up on the chain which I didn't like. I decided to try something out of the ordinary and I think this will be my choice from now on.   I have started using mineral oil and it seems to work very well. Here are the advantages as I see them.   Safety – by a long shot, mineral oil is probably the safest lubricant sold. You never think about it since it is sold in the in the pharmaceutical sections of stores since it is in fact a drug. Mineral oil was created as a laxative decades ago and is listed in the United States Pharmacopeia which means it must conform to the standard outlined there as a drug. Anything that is safe to drink has got to be safe to handle.   Cost – I doubt any other lubricant that you might use for your chain costs less and is easier to find than anything else you might choose to use.   Performance – I find shifting very smooth using it.   Hope this info will be helpful   Thoughts?   --   --   You received this message because you are subscribed to "Pedalers".   To post a message, send email to: peda...@googlegroups.com   To unsubscribe, send email to: pedalers-u...@googlegroups.com   To post a message to the group owner, see:   http://groups.google.com/group/pedalers/post?sendowner=1&hl=en   For more options, see:   http://groups.google.com/group/pedalers?hl=en   ---   You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Pedalers" group.   To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to pedalers+u...@googlegroups.com.   To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pedalers/182001dbf828%24fae36b30%24f0aa4190%24%40erols.com.   --   --   You received this message because you are subscribed to "Pedalers".   To post a message, send email to: peda...@googlegroups.com   To unsubscribe, send email to: pedalers-u...@googlegroups.com   To post a message to the group owner, see:   http://groups.google.com/group/pedalers/post?sendowner=1&hl=en   For more options, see:   http://groups.google.com/group/pedalers?hl=en   ---   You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Pedalers" group.   To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to pedalers+u...@googlegroups.com.   To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pedalers/CAHWH0HdJFW%2Bewh6-YFMCfSSpj9O4u2ECuguby0rMhufKO8VSxg%40mail.gmail.com.

Steve Palincsar <pali...@his.com>: Aug 22 07:33AM -0400 I like Connex links, too.  They're re-usable, and they're available separately.  I use mine with Shimano chains.   On 8/21/25 9:23 AM, Doug Scott wrote:

-- Steve Palincsar Alexandria, Virginia USA

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[Mariette Vanderzon]

The meeting date is past and the plan is completed.   

I will ask a VA cycling advocacy, but I confess this was not on my radar.  Kinda dumb of me since obviously the current stop sign wasn't a permanent plan. 

On Aug 26, 2025, at 12:08 AM, Stephen Szibler <sszi...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Allen Muchnick]

Although no pedestrian or sidepath facilities are proposed for this project, the proposed roadway cross-sections seem adequate for experienced, traffic-tolerant vehicular cyclists.  The typical section for the R-Cut includes 4-foot wide paved shoulders, and the safest way for a cyclist to negotiate the roundabout at the interchange (where all traffic is slowed and entering traffic is supposed to yield to traffic already in the roundabout) would be to control whatever travel lane is designated for through travel.  

Moreover, the proposed design calls for generously wide travel lanes (12-feet each for the R-Cut and 12-16 feet each [plus 4-foot buffers] for the Roundabout) that could be narrowed at any time to reallocate additional space for the paved shoulders or to create a bike lane through the roundabout. 

While the public hearing closed on June 9, construction is years away, and the design is not yet set in stone.  Proposed design tweaks may be more likely to be accepted if requested by a local elected official (Fauquier County supervisor or member of the Virginia General Assembly) or by a member of the Commonwealth Transportation Board. 

Allen Muchnick
Manassas VA
allen22204@gmail.com
703-625-2453 mobile

[Mariette Vanderzon]

Thank you very much, Allen, 

I'll look to see who the members are Virginia General Assembly and Commonwealth Transportation Board.  As for Fauquier, Ike Broddus was my rep in The Plains, and I have a cycling friend who knows him well. And Regan Washer's dad is (was?) a cyclist.  

And good to know we get to continue to risk our lives with the stop sign tractor-trailer crossing onto I-66 for a while yet 😉

Tailwinds, 

Mariette