Attention ELITE Cyclists in Rosslyn

[TwoWheelsDC]

@arlrider 33610 wrote:

Yes, I am referring to the deadly crossing eastbound on the Custis across Lynn towards the confluence with the Mt. Vernon. Every single morning when the light is red, I and anywhere from a couple to a couple dozen other cyclists queue up on the Custis along Lee Highway waiting for the light. Much like “cars” would do on a “road”, MOST of us stay to the right of the clearly painted line down the middle of the trail. However, certain ELITE cyclists have received an exception to those rules which allow them to fly by the entire line of waiting bikes to the very front by using the left lane of the trail. It seems to me that using the “left lane” of the trail would be very similar to driving in the “left lane” of a “road”, which in the presence of solid lines I understand to be “illegal”. Yet these very special ELITE cyclists have been granted the right to do this. They then speed across the crossing with Lynn, usually on my very left, when I am trying to TURN LEFT towards Key Bridge, blocking me off, even when I am signalling a left turn. Then the people going the other way, inbound into Arlington, well they usually almost run into these ELITE cyclists. who are continuing on to the Mt. Vernon.

I understand that to wait for others of us who have politely lined up at the stop line in the correct lane of the trail would lose you PRECIOUS seconds off of your timed rides and endanger your VERY PRECIOUS cycling careers, but could you ever think of doing the right thing and not being a menace to society? Or, if you have so little regard for the others of us who are crossing in an organized manner, could you just give us a slap in each of our faces as you ride by to reinforce how your really feel?

These are the same people that, when driving, try to skip ahead of traffic waiting for a merge and then cut in at the last second. It’s the DC area sense of entitlement…did you not get one when you moved here? It’s standard issue

[arlrider]

I got it, but sometimes it’s just good to vent, you know? And cycling is much more personal than driving, at least in my mind. The car provides a measure of anonymity. Being a jerk on a bike is taking it to a next level. Frankly, even after 3 years of riding here I’m still angered every single day by the level of jerk riding in D.C. Everywhere else I’ve ever ridden, the cycling community had much more of a “we’re in this together” mindset.

[RESTONTODC]

Yes, I see the ELITE cyclists and joggers are doing this everyday. The incoming cyclists have to tango to avoid them.

[dasgeh]

Eh, this is mildly annoying, but much less so than the pedestrians that end up at the front of the line of bikes — usually because they came from one of the perpendicular directions while all the bikes are lining up. The peds are going much slower than bikes, and if there’s more than one of them, they often fan out, blocking the sidewalk, curb cut then crosswalk. I even talked to 4 idiot runners who crossed on the W side of Lynn then lined up shoulder to shoulder to block the entire curb cut for the 10 or so cyclists lined up to cross with the light. We had stopped back from their curb cut, so they could cross safely, but they couldn’t afford us the same courtesy.

Of course, I sympathize a little because THERE’S NO OBVIOUS PLACE FOR DIFFERENT “MODES” TO STAND, especially on the tiny area on the East side of the intersection. Hopefully, the improvement will include markings to clarify where peds, bikes, and those heading in different directions should go.

Also annoying are those heading to the East side of the Key Bridge, who feel like the best way to get there is to zoom across the path of those of us coming from the MVT to the Custis. We’re looking to our left to make sure cars see us, so these people (peds and cyclists) sometimes come out of nowhere.

[arlrider]

@dasgeh 33621 wrote:

Also annoying are those heading to the East side of the Key Bridge, who feel like the best way to get there is to zoom across the path of those of us coming from the MVT to the Custis.

That’s part of what exacerbates the behavior that I mention above. I’m trying NOT to be one of those people, so I’m carefully crossing Lynn to the East with a left hand out, looking for a clear place to make a safe turn over to the bridge (I use the vehicle curb cut 10′ or so north of the actual pedestrian curb cut; using the latter to go to key would just be insane). Meanwhile, the ELITE Cyclists are flying around me, on the left of course, and causing the behavior that you describe.

[pfunkallstar]

The concept of an Elite Jogger just made my brain explode. Although, I would imagine that they would be sporting those little water bottles that WILL go out of style sooner rather than later. Why can’t they just do it like the rest of us and drink from ground puddles or snow melt?

[mstone]

Just this weekend I had a car cross a double yellow to swing around me and the rest of the backed up cars to jockey to a better spot at a light. It’s not the mode, it’s the moron.

[rcannon100]

it’s just good to vent, you know?

ELITE riders cause us all to need therapy. The group therapy thread can be found here.

[KLizotte]

@dasgeh 33621 wrote:

Eh, this is mildly annoying, but much less so than the pedestrians that end up at the front of the line of bikes — usually because they came from one of the perpendicular directions while all the bikes are lining up. The peds are going much slower than bikes, and if there’s more than one of them, they often fan out, blocking the sidewalk, curb cut then crosswalk. I even talked to 4 idiot runners who crossed on the W side of Lynn then lined up shoulder to shoulder to block the entire curb cut for the 10 or so cyclists lined up to cross with the light. We had stopped back from their curb cut, so they could cross safely, but they couldn’t afford us the same courtesy.

Of course, I sympathize a little because THERE’S NO OBVIOUS PLACE FOR DIFFERENT “MODES” TO STAND, especially on the tiny area on the East side of the intersection. Hopefully, the improvement will include markings to clarify where peds, bikes, and those heading in different directions should go.

When I was in London I saw an intersection that had separate crosswalks for bikes and peds at the same intersection. The peds had a traditional crosswalk whereas just a few feet away the cyclists (coming in from a bike lane) had curb cuts in the median to allow passage (the thruway was also painted green with cyclist symbols). It was brillant.

[bobco85]

@arlrider 33625 wrote:

That’s part of what exacerbates the behavior that I mention above. I’m trying NOT to be one of those people, so I’m carefully crossing Lynn to the East with a left hand out, looking for a clear place to make a safe turn over to the bridge (I use the vehicle curb cut 10′ or so north of the actual pedestrian curb cut; using the latter to go to key would just be insane). Meanwhile, the ELITE Cyclists are flying around me, on the left of course, and causing the behavior that you describe.

Ditto. I am proud to not be a shoaler, and this is one of the worst places to shoal.

I’ll add that it is awkward trying to get onto the Lynn sidewalk to go to Key Bridge. In order to safely navigate to that sidewalk, you either have to slow down or stop in the middle of the crosswalk (a precarious position, given the 2 right turn lanes full of drivers waiting to turn) or proceed through the crosswalk and make a very tight left turn on the sidewalk. And if there are pedestrians (or cyclists) waiting at the corner to cross Lee Highway? Everything gets backed up.

All in all, what a terrible intersection. I’m not surprised that some people perform crazy maneuvers to avoid the traffic there.

[Certifried]

@pfunkallstar 33627 wrote:

The concept of an Elite Jogger just made my brain explode.

I wonder if there is a local forum for elite runners where they complain about elite cyclists all day long hahah

[eminva]

If you are crossing Key Bridge, you could consider what I often do to avoid this — I turn left on the sidewalk along Fort Myer Drive (in front of the Marriott) and cross the upstream side of the bridge. On the DC side of Key Bridge, you have two choices: cross M Street in the crosswalk, roll along the sidewalk in front of Bicycle Pro Shop and those other businesses there, position yourself in the southbound left lane of 34th and make a left onto M with the light. Less awkwardly, you can cross only the right turn lanes, then, at the island in the center of the street, position yourself at the front of the lane of cars heading east on M. You have to wait a while to get the signal again, but I’m not conviced this is slower than going through the Lynn Street mess.

Liz

[DismalScientist]

@eminva 33679 wrote:

If you are crossing Key Bridge, you could consider what I often do to avoid this — I turn left on the sidewalk along Fort Myer Drive (in front of the Marriott) and cross the upstream side of the bridge. On the DC side of Key Bridge, you have two choices: cross M Street in the crosswalk, roll along the sidewalk in front of Bicycle Pro Shop and those other businesses there, position yourself in the southbound left lane of 34th and make a left onto M with the light. Less awkwardly, you can cross only the right turn lanes, then, at the island in the center of the street, position yourself at the front of the lane of cars heading east on M. You have to wait a while to get the signal again, but I’m not conviced this is slower than going through the Lynn Street mess.

Liz

Ditto. You don’t have to deal with the ramp to the Whitehurst and there are fewer pedestrians on the west sidewalk of the Key bridge.

[baiskeli]

@mstone 33630 wrote:

It’s not the mode, it’s the moron.

Awesome quote! I’ve been trying to think of a way to say that.

[arlrider]

You know, I’ve been meaning to give the west side of the bridge a shot in the morning, but I’m mostly put off by the mess at the Canal Road light. To go all the way across to Bicycle Pro Shop, I’ve seen that light be over a minute I believe before a full walk signal comes on, plus the left turn off of 34th. And if I only cross halfway, not too keen on starting out with all the cars racing from a dead stop coming off of Canal. As much as the Lynn St. crossing, parkway crossing, and Whitehurst ramp (Can they really not remove those stupid barrels? If a driver is stupid enough to drive into the corner of a bridge, shouldn’t we be helping to expedite their removal from the gene pool?) collectively suck, I feel that there is some safety in numbers and that most drivers have resigned themselves to actually yielding for cyclists (my non scientific data is that the drivers on the Parkway ramp are the best about this). It would all be fine if cyclists just wouldn’t be jerks to EACH OTHER.

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