ArlNow reports a "collission between two bicyclists" on Custis

[bobco85]

I think that having poor sightlines is the biggest issue for the Custis trail. The blind curves combined with sections where you have the wall on one side and a trench/fence on the other (like near the Glebe Road bridge) create dangerous situations because they provide no place to bail.

[oldbikechick]

I like the Custis – for the same reason mentioned previously, very little stopping required. Also, everything is relative. I like being able to ride on the a trail instead of the road. And for a big portion of the year, or when there’s a little drizzle, it is not very crowded at all. While I’ve witnessed several bone-headed moves over the years, I’ve really only had one close call. It’s not so much the trail that is flawed, it’s those who operate unsafely on it. When there’s a blind corner, folks need to slow down and not pass. Simple enough.

[Dickie]

All complaints aside, the fact that I could ride 107 miles on Sunday… 105 of them entirely on designated bike trails is still AMAZING… It took DaveK pointing this out on my Strava page to be reminded of how good we actually have it.

[OneEighth]

@Dickie 56190 wrote:

bike trials

What, are you Danny MacAskill?

[Dickie]

@OneEighth 56192 wrote:

What, are you Danny MacAskill?

Bugger me!

[jopamora]

What, are you Danny MacAskill?

@Dickie 56195 wrote:

Bugger me!

Is that the name of the new video? I want to see!!

[mikoglaces]

I have been commuting to work on the Custis almost every day for umpteen years and have no complaints. Yeah, the sight-lines around corners are not good. That’s why you stay right and only pass when you can see that it’s safe.

[JeffC]

Custis is a MUP, not a bike trail, but we can hope can’t we?

I have no problems in the morning. In the afternoon in spring, forget it. I started getting to work so I could leave earlier or if it still looks crowded evening being on it an hour earlier, once up the hill in Rosslyn I take an alternate route.

I don’t mind slowing down on the trail as long as it is not to a walking pace, otherwise the more one does this, you might as well walk to work. After years of biking on our MUPS, I am an expert at judging speed and distance. I know when to speed up or coast to make my pass or faciliate another’s pass, so that me, a pedestrian, and an oncoming biker are hopefully not all lined up at the same time, that’s what I try to avoid.

What brings me to a walking pace is people walking two abreast, especially at bad curves. I even see people walking abreast, as if conversing, that are both wearing headphones. If walking/running two abreast or in the middle of the trail were somehow magically stopped, most of my problems would go away.

[Nubbs]

I will take Curtis over MVT any day of the week.

I live in Crystal City right next to the Pedestrian tunnel so I take MVT every day to get to anywhere I want to ride. It is such a mess especially if you want to head north to Curtis or Georgetown passing through Gravely point. Strava has now within the last week marked Gravely point ha sto hazardous. The problem with the MUPs in this area is people do not have any level of mutual respect for each other. Families let their kids run all over the paths, Runners do not pay attention to others or have both headphones in and turned up so loud that you can hear what they are listening to when you pass. Running groups take up both lanes. Tourists walk on the wrong side of the path because they are used to their country. Cyclists do not slow down at times where we really should slow down. If everybody just paid a bit more attention and thought of others it would be fine.

With all that said I am extremely grateful we have the MUP system we have. It is amazing to go and ride for miles on end without having to worry about a car hitting me from behind while the driver is testing. I have a much better chance walking away from an impact with a runner than I do with a car.

[NicDiesel]

@Nubbs 56668 wrote:

The problem with the MUPs in this area is people do not have any level of mutual respect for each other….If everybody just paid a bit more attention and thought of others it would be fine.

That’s really the problem more than anything though – people on the MVT, specifically the part from the Airport/Gravelly Point to the 14th Street Bridge, are driven to total distraction and take a “I don’t care about anything other than me” approach to that space. I rode the W&OD on Saturday from Four Mile Run to Dunn Loring and didn’t have a single incident the entire ride. By contrast, I mistakenly decided to ride from Crystal City to the Mall and back yesterday and just about ate it both times I passed through the “Danger Zone” of Gravelly Point. The W&OD not having any car friendly picnic areas makes it my new riding spot from now on.

The first time (heading towards DC) there were at least seven people in folding chairs blocking 3/4 of the path just completely unaware of the chaos they were creating. We’re not talking about the usual space cadets walking four abreast oblivious to the coming and goings of other MUP users, we’re talking about people that were camped out on the actual trail itself without a care in the world. On the way back (in the pouring rain no less) there was a group of 12 people blocking the entire path just staring at people as the unclipped and walked around them or almost came crashing into them. I stopped and tried to explain that they were going to cause an accident and they just started laughing and ignoring me and went back to land of the oblivious.

@Nubbs 56668 wrote:

I have a much better chance walking away from an impact with a runner than I do with a car.

While this is somewhat true I would much, much, much rather ride with car traffic and take my chances of getting t-boned than deal with that stretch of the MVT again. Hell, I’d take getting honked and being told to ride on the sidewalk than deal with the bozos on the northbound side of the MVT ever again.

I’m all for everyone using MUP and enjoying it equally but that area of the MVT is completely insufferable for everyone involved except for those that are clueless and oblivious.

[pfunkallstar]

Late chiming in, but yeah Custis v. MVT is not even a contest. With the exception of cars randomly pulling out on Rosslyn Hill, that can get a little sketchy.

[Author]

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