Maybe I’m tougher than I think

WaPo is one of those sites that should just eliminate comments. They are a cesspool of idiocy. E.g., the first top rated comment complains about the lack of stations between EFC & Tysons, and between Tysons & Reston. Have any of the people voting this up ever looked at a map? OF COURSE they aren’t putting heavy rail stations in low density suburbs and/or stream valley parks. The second-rated comment calls for the execution of planners who want livable cities. There’s a pretty big set of people who have a complete inability to think through 100 year infrastructure as well as a frightful disconnection from reality, and a lot of them comment on WaPo.

Speaking of that top commenter on the Post article who calls for shooting smart growth planners, that fits in with other recent articles and comments on other sites where some of the aggressive single-occupancy driver advocates see violence as acceptable if one is driving a car. It’s bizarre really. Some deluded individuals think driving is somehow inherently “patriotic”, even though it burns up petroleum products, thereby propping up worldwide prices and revenues for oil-producing countries, some of whom are among our key enemies and antagonists.

It’s also hypocritical when some of those same people talk about how other cultures have dangerous values because they don’t respect the value of human life. But then they go around and try to run pedestrians, cyclists and other car drivers off the roads, or make hysterical comments about executing transportation planners.

@lordofthemark 70583 wrote:

I think Tysons is going to be a huge battleground for biking advocacy, IMO. I feel a need to ride there just to better know the current biking there for advocacy purposes. So many of the folks kvetching about the redevelopment, the metro, and the need for better auto access/parking live within a mile or two. I dream of them seeing huge streams of folks riding in, and thinking “why can’t I do that?”

I completely agree. Maybe we could get someone who’s more familiar with the area to lead a advocacy tour?

I rode to Tysons from Arlington for about a year, and on Friday’s I’d ride via Herndon’s FMCC III. So I’m fairly familiar with the east and west approaches to Tysons. In my opinion it’s surprisingly bikeable. It’s really on the last 0.5 to 1 mile of your trip that is a little dicey to ride on the road. Good news is, that Tysons is so pedestrian unfriendly that the sidewalks are empty and work well when you’re not comfortable on the road.

I’m not at all familiar with the North or South approaches to Tysons but I’d be happy to lead a ride from the W&OD at Clark’s Crossing to the Tysons malls and out to the W&OD / Gallow’s intersection (or the reverse of that). That ride involves some riding on quiet and busy roads (w/ and w/out bike lanes), trails, and sidewalks. I think most cyclist who are comfortable riding around cars will find riding in Tysons better than they expect, I know I did.

@TwoWheelsDC 70605 wrote:

“The reason places like Bethesda are popular is because you can drive and park,”

You mean the same Bethesda that sits atop a Red Line station of the same name? Yep, definitely driveability that makes it popular….

Does the guy who said that realize there’s a giant hole in the ground where one of the main public parking lots used to be in south Bethesda? Man, every time I ride up the CCT and see the CARnage on Bethesda Ave I think how un-driveable Bethesda is. I guess he figures wasting tons of money paying to park is acceptable too.

Though, at this rate, the Silver Line may not be open until we all have hoverboards anyway.

@lordofthemark 70662 wrote:

And what do you know, the first commenter on Bruce’s letter is already complaining that if you bike to a metro station (we are talking biking from adjoining neighborhoods – like a mile from the station) in the summer it will leave you drenched in sweat.

Like I said, I am SO FAR ahead of these folks on rule #5, its really heartening.

Well, there are mornings in the summer around here where you’ll be soaked with sweat just stepping out of your front door in the morning. I guess what the commentator really wants is to go from his airconditioned garage to a Metro airconditioned garage in his airconditioned car to an airconditioned Metro station, etc, etc. Tough, life doesn’t work that way.

I’ve only ever biked to the Volkwagen dealer in Tysons from West Falls Church and it’s not so bad. never tried to get to the mall, or an office building, though.