CaBis in weird places

Our Community › Forums › Capital Bikeshare › CaBis in weird places

  • Creator
    Topic
  • April 17, 2013 at 3:30 pm #913188
    creadinger
    Participant

    I swear this thread already exists, but I couldn’t find it.

    While CaBi is a great way to get around the city, sometimes its users are a bit clueless about getting from point A to B. But instead of asking questions, they boldly go where no bike should probably ever go. They’re usually spotted on the MUPs or in bike lanes but this sometimes leads to seeing them in places that they really should not be….

    This wasn’t so bad – About a year ago in the early morning darkness I saw a lady riding a CaBi on the Key Bridge from DC to VA. The look on her face seemed to be, “Oh shoot, I missed the curbcut for the sidewalk!” It was dark, but there wasn’t too much traffic at that time. On the other hand, the only bikes I ever see ON the Key bridge are really fast people who can almost keep up with the traffic.

    This was worse – Two days ago during the afternoon rush I saw two 20-something women riding CaBis northbound on Route 1 in Crystal City passing 18th St and hopefully they took the exit for 15th St. or else they would have found themselves entering 395, or merging over 2 lanes to stay on 110. That’s not a good place to be, especially when almost every road in the area BUT route 1 is pretty bike friendly.

  • Creator
    Topic
Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 15 total)
  • Author
    Replies
  • April 17, 2013 at 3:42 pm #967555
    dasgeh
    Participant

    I’ve seen a CaBi on Spout Run getting on the the GWMP.

    April 17, 2013 at 3:49 pm #967557
    TwoWheelsDC
    Participant

    @dasgeh 49399 wrote:

    I’ve seen a CaBi on Spout Run getting on the the GWMP.

    I saw an older couple doing that a couple of months ago, but not on CaBis. I was in a car, so I couldn’t exactly stop and point out their error. They were basically on the GWMP, where it’s three lanes at the onramp, when I passed them.

    Weirdest place I’ve seen CaBis was a couple headed outbound on Chain Bridge…I’m sure they didn’t appreciate the Virginia Welcoming Committee on 41st St.

    April 17, 2013 at 4:13 pm #967559
    brendan
    Participant

    Posted this sighting a while ago…

    A smallish woman on a CaBi, spotted on the towpath just west of Great Falls, cycling like a bike out of hell back towards DC.

    I suspect someone gave her a heads up about the rate structure right before she turned around and headed back into town…

    Brendan

    April 17, 2013 at 5:09 pm #967565
    KLizotte
    Participant

    @creadinger 49398 wrote:

    This was worse – Two days ago during the afternoon rush I saw two 20-something women riding CaBis northbound on Route 1 in Crystal City passing 18th St and hopefully they took the exit for 15th St. or else they would have found themselves entering 395, or merging over 2 lanes to stay on 110. That’s not a good place to be, especially when almost every road in the area BUT route 1 is pretty bike friendly.

    Wow, I can’t even fathom how they made that mistake. It’s not like Rte 1 suddenly goes from a country lane to a highway. Ouch.

    That’s one of those times when it would be good, if one has the time, patience and opportunity, to get behind the cyclists with your car (with hazard lights on) to provide some protection till they get off at the next exit. Of course, one doesn’t usually see these types of folks until one is driving by.

    April 17, 2013 at 5:12 pm #967567
    KLizotte
    Participant

    Last Sunday I saw a couple on Cabis on the Capital Crescent Trail just north of the rail tunnel. They had stopped on the side of the trail so I couldn’t tell which direction they were heading but if they biked up from Georgetown, that’s a long haul on those heavy bikes.

    April 17, 2013 at 5:46 pm #967573
    creadinger
    Participant

    @KLizotte 49411 wrote:

    Last Sunday I saw a couple on Cabis on the Capital Crescent Trail just north of the rail tunnel. They had stopped on the side of the trail so I couldn’t tell which direction they were heading but if they biked up from Georgetown, that’s a long haul on those heavy bikes.

    With CaBi expanding in MoCo, I wonder how long it will be before someone is spotted pedaling a CaBi on the beltway, Connecticut Ave*, or E-W highway*.

    *I’ve ridden on parts of these roads before, but some segments are not bike friendly, and definitely not big, slow, CaBi bike friendly.

    April 17, 2013 at 6:10 pm #967578
    DaveK
    Participant

    14th St Bridge in the regular lanes. Both with and against traffic.

    SE/SW Freeway in the right lane.

    April 17, 2013 at 7:18 pm #967584
    creadinger
    Participant

    @DaveK 49423 wrote:

    14th St Bridge in the regular lanes. Both with and against traffic.

    Oh yeah! I saw that one time too. That is crazy! It’s like the person was riding on E. Basin Dr and forgot to take the MUP up to the bridge and just kept going for some reason.

    Who the hell, as they’re riding up to the bridge ON 395 would not have the situational awareness to pull over and stop to think for a second, “Now something about this doesn’t feel right!” It makes me think that if DCA airport didn’t have fencing all around it CaBi riders would ride up and down the runways.

    April 17, 2013 at 7:24 pm #967585
    TwoWheelsDC
    Participant

    @creadinger 49429 wrote:

    It makes me think that if DCA airport didn’t have fencing all around it CaBi riders would ride up and down the runways.

    Tim Kelley would claim that KOM in a heartbeat.

    April 17, 2013 at 7:25 pm #967586
    baiskeli
    Participant

    Clearly we need a CaBi excluder device. We could call it a CaBollard.

    April 18, 2013 at 12:34 am #967606
    MM2
    Participant

    CaBi – trying to Cross GW Parkway, at-grade and over guardrails, just north of 14th Street Bridge. This is the spot in the Mount Vernon Trail that has a couple side-trails, leading to underpasses, beneath the parkway, right at humpback bridge. But the underpass nearest to her location only leads to an irregular dirt trail, toward the Pentagon.

    I was in a car heading from DC on the 14th St bridge, onto northbound parkway, and it looked like such a dangerous situation, I paused in the merge lane to re-direct her to the underpass. Discovered she was hearing impaired, as I waived her back to the trail, behind her, to cross UNDER the parkway. Thinking on it, she probably was trying to get to Crystal City, and didn’t know where to get to the Crystal City Connector. Hope she was ok with that heavy bike on that narrow dirt track.

    April 18, 2013 at 5:10 am #967610
    KLizotte
    Participant

    @MM2 49451 wrote:

    CaBi – trying to Cross GW Parkway, at-grade and over guardrails, just north of 14th Street Bridge. This is the spot in the Mount Vernon Trail that has a couple side-trails, leading to underpasses, beneath the parkway, right at humpback bridge. But the underpass nearest to her location only leads to an irregular dirt trail, toward the Pentagon.

    I was in a car heading from DC on the 14th St bridge, onto northbound parkway, and it looked like such a dangerous situation, I paused in the merge lane to re-direct her to the underpass. Discovered she was hearing impaired, as I waived her back to the trail, behind her, to cross UNDER the parkway. Thinking on it, she probably was trying to get to Crystal City, and didn’t know where to get to the Crystal City Connector. Hope she was ok with that heavy bike on that narrow dirt track.

    Another example of why maps/signs are needed on the MVT.

    April 18, 2013 at 9:28 am #967611
    JimF22003
    Participant

    On Monday evening I saw two young women on Cabis heading WEST on the W&OD at Sandburg St near Gallows. It was actually getting a bit late. I hope they had time to get back before it got dark. Actually I hope they were heading the right direction…

    April 18, 2013 at 12:53 pm #967618
    PotomacCyclist
    Participant

    All these posts also remind me of that woman from France who tried to cross from one Metro station platform to the other, by stepping down onto the rails, over the electrified rail and across the median. Others shouted the danger to her, but not until she was standing on the median. Officials told her to stay still until they could turn off the power to the rails. Fortunately, she wasn’t injured, except maybe her pride. (I wasn’t there. I read about it on local news websites.)

    April 18, 2013 at 2:20 pm #967634
    baiskeli
    Participant

    @KLizotte 49456 wrote:

    Another example of why maps/signs are needed on the MVT.

    YES!

    Not only do they need signs and maps showing how to get certain places safely, they need to put them at the places where people tend to cross unsafely, such as north of the Memorial Bridge.

  • Author
    Replies
Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 15 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.