HOT here in DC

As anybody in the area knows, we've been stuck with a heat wave here, with temperatures right around 100 degrees, with a "heat index" of 105 to 110 some days. Add to that some lousy air quality, and it really hasn't been great riding weather.

But that doesn't stop everyone. Folks are still getting out there on their bikes... some by riding in the wee hours of the morning. One customer told me the other day he had plans to go riding at 3 in the morning! I can't say I've ever resorted to that for weather reasons, but I have been on my bike at all hours.

Customer trying out M6R Brompton

One pleasant surprise has been the number of people coming and test riding bikes and trikes at our shop during this spell. We take pains to make sure folks don't overdo it, and we ply them liberally with water, and off they go, trying bike after bike. Granted, I think fewer of them are taking LONG test rides, but they are at least getting enough of a ride to help decide.

On my own part, yesterday my girlfriend and I took a 30 mile round trip ride into DC. Why, you might ask? Well, there's an exhibit at the National Geographic about the 1911 expeditions to the South Pole by Roald Amundsen and Robert Scott... and what better way to spend a few hours on a blazingly hot day than to learn about the struggles of polar explorers? Seriously though, it's a riveting tale, and told very well by the exhibit. If you don't really know much about the "Race to the End of the Earth" as they call it, I highly recommend checking out the exhibit, if you're in the area. If you can't make it, there's also a book published by the curator of the exhibit that looks likely to be excellent: Race to The End: Amundsen, Scott, and the Attainment of the South Pole.