Are we just a bunch of whiners?

[bobco85]

I hear the pain on the blinding lights as I’ve had instances where I felt like I was going to be hit by a train or the sun or both (a train carrying a sun) and have gone off the trail having been unable to see anything in front of me. It hasn’t happened very often, but I know to slow down when I see a brighter light coming my way. I think that people using lights can manage it with the angles they shine their lights, using strobe only on streets, turning their lights away when approaching people in the opposite direction, and generally being aware of how bright/distracting their lights can be. Strobes can work on trails only if they are tiny (like Xmas lights).

On the other hand, I think that people not using lights should stick to trails that have streetlights. Or sit on the side. Or sit in a corner. Bad people.

@thecyclingeconomist 30740 wrote:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNPl2-1-fTQ

I zoned out for the entire video. It’s really cool being able to recognize the different paths you took. I have only one question: why didn’t you stop at Gravelly Point to watch the planes take off/land? If I had your commute, I’d have to leave an extra 15 minutes to account for stopping and staring at the planes (I’ve been biking through that area for over 10 years and still have to stop every time)!

[MV Clyde]

@txgoonie 30727 wrote:

The alternate route I take from Alexandria paralleling the MVT goes down Potomac Ave., which, being relatively low on traffic, is an awesome place to do intervals and links back up with the MVT on Crystal Drive. I see people riding back ‘n forth doing workouts out there all the time.

This is a great idea. Hard to believe how traffic free Potomac Ave is. Probably the 25 MPH speed limit deters cars. Either that or drivers don’t know it’s there yet. It has nice smooth pavement, too. A few bits of construction to watch out for, but otherwise a very nice stretch.

[sjclaeys]

Well, I think that this thread has certainly validated the original question, we can be whiners. In addition to Dirt’s wisdom, it is worthwhile considering Bike Snob NY’s suggestion in the Enlightened Cyclist to try to complete very commute without getting mad. We are all people just trying to get somewhere, so let’s give each other a break. Life is too short and cycling too wonderful to always have a chip on your shoulder. Now, if I can only be the change that I want to see.

[SilverSpring]

@krazygl00 30634 wrote:

We had a HUGE pressure-cooker way back when I was a kid. The pressure gauge broke on it, and my mom opened it up and the damn thing pretty much exploded (she was OK). WORSTFEARSREALIZED!!!!!

Apparently, in my Mom’s early days of cooking, she miscalculated something essential on the pressure cooker and it exploded upwards (no one was hurt, thankfully) propelling a recently deceased lobster to the kitchen ceiling….

[KelOnWheels]

@SilverSpring 30758 wrote:

Apparently, in my Mom’s early days of cooking, she miscalculated something essential on the pressure cooker and it exploded upwards (no one was hurt, thankfully) propelling a recently deceased lobster to the kitchen ceiling….

Stock Lobster!

[rcannon100]

And hey, the sun rises over the Lincoln Memorial have just been fabulous!!!

This

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[Certifried]

Yesterday, during my serene commute, I was contemplating the lack of traffic on my route. I was thinking about how many more people there are in “the south” compared to “the north” (DC area trails), and how to encourage people to bike more up this way. I really wish I could participate in this thread, but I could run nuclear powered strobes, high-beams, and mirror balls, and probably only piss off 1 or 2 people.

So, I don’t have all the experience of interactions with other cyclists up here on the Sligo Creek Ghost Town Trail, but I do jump out on roads, and cross high volume roads, enough that I don’t always remember to turn off my back flashers (I don’t run strobes in the front, my lights are as visible as a car). So, I guess it depends on each persons commute really. Are you crossing or going in and out of a lot of traffic? Or are you primarily on a path? It seems that the people who are stating their opinions one way or the other each have unique commutes.

[ShawnoftheDread]

@thecyclingeconomist 30740 wrote:

Probably not smart considering the hostility since you can now track me home…:confused: but I don’t think that the following commute video shows any close-calls. It also shows the actual amount of riding traffic I see in the AM.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNPl2-1-fTQ

As an FYI: if you can’t see my hand, then I’m upright with hands on the brakes.

Cool video. But if that dance music’s still in my head later today I may have to whine about it.

[Certifried]

@thecyclingeconomist 30747 wrote:

Thanks guy for lightening this back up… too serious for online forums for me. This is a bit different than the forum I am used to at home… I guess I should have sat around longer without getting involved. And…I knew I was getting into murky water, I just didn’t realize how murky. 😮

Time to run to REI and wash out the murkiness with the penguin wash that Dirt recommended…

This forum is quite unlike most other forums I’ve been on. It’s a very tight group of people (which is typical of other forums) but it’s VERY welcoming. I’ve seen plenty of passionate discussions here, followed by an announcement and invitation to a get together to have some beers. As long as you’re not a constant troll (Kel!) then you’ll fit in fine. Welcome!

[DismalScientist]

@Certifried 30772 wrote:

So, I guess it depends on each persons commute really. Are you crossing or going in and out of a lot of traffic? Or are you primarily on a path? It seems that the people who are stating their opinions one way or the other each have unique commutes.

This is entirely too reasonable for this thread. Be gone! :p

[Dirt]

We’re “special”. At least some of us are.

[consularrider]

@MV Clyde 30756 wrote:

This is a great idea. Hard to believe how traffic free Potomac Ave is. Probably the 25 MPH speed limit deters cars. Either that or drivers don’t know it’s there yet. It has nice smooth pavement, too. A few bits of construction to watch out for, but otherwise a very nice stretch.

Enjoy it while you can! Eventually the housing will fill in and Potomac Ave will be filled with cars.

[KelOnWheels]

@Certifried 30775 wrote:

As long as you’re not a constant troll (Kel!) then you’ll fit in fine. Welcome!

Hey, some days I don’t start talking until after 10 AM!

[dasgeh]

Glad to see that reason has prevailed in the thread.

My only concern with thecyclingeconomist’s position is that you seem to be saying: “this is my set up to be safe on the roads. I often forget to tone it down when I get on the trails. But it’s more important to be that I be safe on the roads than for me all the time than for me to figure out how to tone it down on the trails”.

If bright lights on the trail were just a matter of discomfort of others on the trail, I could see how weighing your safety all the time over the comfort of others some of the time would make sense. What I tried to point out is that bright lights aren’t just a matter of comfort — they’re also a matter of others’ safety. I would hope that you would take that into consideration, and adjust appropriately. That could mean adjusting your set up to have an easy-access switch for the lights that aren’t trail appropriate. Or stopping when you get on and off trails to adjust your set up (a pain, I know). Or even adding some sort of reminder thingy to the part of your set up that you see to remind you to adjust your lights when you get on the trail (kind of like the advice for not forgetting your baby in the back seat of a car).

And before you go back to “I only see a few people on my commute” argument, think about the lady who died after the freak collision and fall with a cyclist on Four Mile Run, and the cyclist who hit her. How would you feel if your lights blinded an elderly pedestrian on the trail, and that person fell over a wall into traffic (or whatever is relevant to your commute) and died. Yes, it’s very unlikely, but also completely foreseeable, and preventable through adjustments. Is it worth it to you to not make the necessary adjustments, because you see this as so unlikely? Maybe. It’s your call.

As far as the training on the MVT, sounds like you have other options: get a heavier bike, train on the roads, use a trainer after kids have gone to bed. Yes, these have costs, but you’re imposing costs the rest of us with your speed.

[jnva]

Best workout I get is riding my heavy ebike without motor assist.

[Author]

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