Behold: RackSpotter – A crowdsourced bike parking tool!

[PotomacCyclist]

You blinked!

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[PotomacCyclist]

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[KLizotte]

I tried the website on my laptop today for the first time. Very cool! I did run into the problem that I couldn’t get out of street view back to the regular map view though. A system bug??

Also, for rack type, I’d also add an “artistic” rack option as a descriptor.

[Tim Kelley]

@KLizotte 117303 wrote:

I tried the website on my laptop today for the first time. Very cool! I did run into the problem that I couldn’t get out of street view back to the regular map view though. A system bug??

Also, for rack type, I’d also add an “artistic” rack option as a descriptor.

How did you get into street view? That shouldn’t even be an option??

As for “artistic,” ask you shall receive:

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(Don’t worry, we already had it in there…)

[PotomacCyclist]

Street View has always been available on a computer browser. But it isn’t available on a mobile browser.

[Tim Kelley]

@PotomacCyclist 117319 wrote:

Street View has always been available on a computer browser. But it isn’t available on a mobile browser.

Can you explain how you access it? I don’t think that’s something we were planning on including. Which browser are you using?

[KLizotte]

@Tim Kelley 117304 wrote:

How did you get into street view? That shouldn’t even be an option??

Weird. I just went back to the website to see how I did it and I can’t get streetview to come up at all. I know I definitely had it up before because the Rackspotter banner was at the top of the page. Must be some sort of fluke because I’ve just spent ten minutes trying to find the magic button but to no avail. I don’t recall what I did before; it happened accidentally.

[PotomacCyclist]

Google Chrome on Windows 7. On a work desktop PC and a home laptop computer. I have the Street View selected right now on the RackSpotter website. The option has always been available. I switch back and forth frequently.

But it has never been available on the mobile Android browser.

EDIT – I should have said Satellite View, not Street View.

[KLizotte]

Oh, maybe that is why I couldn’t get street view the second time I tried. I have three different browsers and use them randomly.

[PotomacCyclist]

I never use Internet Explorer, unless it’s required for a particular website to function properly. (Fortunately, there aren’t as many of these websites around, although some remain.)

I used Firefox for a few years, until I ran into a memory leak problem. The browser would lock up if I didn’t close all tabs regularly. Chrome also has an issue with memory and plug-ins locking up the browser if I leave some tabs open for too long.

But I guess I’m used to Chrome now, and I remember being very frustrated with Firefox during the last year that I used it.

[PotomacCyclist]

When I cover a new area, I try to map both sides of a street or block. That makes it easy for me to figure out which areas haven’t been mapped yet when I return to the map at a later date. If I only mapped one side of a street, it would appear to others that the block was completely mapped.

I break down the process into manageable pieces. A block or two at a time, with the occasional longer mapping session. I’ve been riding around on CaBi during lunch and mapping a couple blocks each time.

When I run in the evenings, I carry my phone and map more blocks along the way. This works during the warm-up and slower aerobic sessions. I can stop momentarily to snap a photo, then resume a slow jog as I flip through the other buttons on the site. I stop again as I figure out the exact placement on the map for the new rack location. Then I finish the rest of the entry process while jogging again.

Even if I’m doing a faster segment of the run, I can add more racks during the cool down. Or I hop on a CaBi bike as a further cool down and recovery after the run. I can map a few more racks that way too.

Doing this allows me to fit in a lot of the mapping into the schedule. I’m already going to be running through downtown and the National Mall anyway, so why not map the bike racks at the same time? It’s similar to bike commuting in that I have to spend that time commuting, so why not get some exercise during that commute? Combining the activities makes it more productive, efficient and enjoyable. (That said, I have been taking Metro more often lately. I ride CaBi or run on the Mall. Sometimes I will bike back the rest of the way, but usually I’m tired and I take the Metro instead. Especially after harder run sessions.)

If I’m adding racks while on CaBi, I do stop to enter the info. It’s not safe to be riding around while looking at my phone. It’s a little different with easy jogging. I’m going much slower during the warm-ups and I’m also on the sidewalks. I stop before intersections and I don’t fiddle with the phone while I’m walking/running through a crosswalk. If I reach a corner and I haven’t finished entering the data, I simply turn around and do a few back-and-forths as needed. I’m also familiar with the button placements now, so I can look up a bit while jogging and entering the info.

My phone is water-resistant, so I can use it even in the rain. However, the rain drops do start to interfere with the touch-screen tracking at some point. Then I have to stop and wipe off the screen on my shirt, and enter some info while standing under an awning.

[KLizotte]

PotomacCyclist,

Thanks for all of your spotting!

[PotomacCyclist]

After telling someone that I’ve never broken a phone (despite dropping my phone several times the previous week, on carpeting and on concrete), I dropped it again yesterday. Unlike the previous drops where the phone landed on an edge, this time it landed flat on its face, cracking the glass screen.

*!#%

I’ll have to get the screen replaced. I didn’t realize that was so expensive. The phone still works though. I just hope the repair person doesn’t introduce new problems with the phone during the repair process. I’ve read some complaints about that, for various repair stores.

It seems that the only problem is when the phone lands on its face. I’ve dropped it before on concrete without causing any damage when it lands on an edge or on its back. Shouldn’t the phone manufacturers weight the phone so that the backside is a little heavier? Maybe that could prevent a front landing. (Would this even have an effect for a drop of 3 feet? The Mythbusters probably studied this at one point. Any engineers or physicists want to chime in?)

I also thought that the phone manufacturer could add a raised bevel all along the glass front. The glass could remain in place as usual. Thus, the phone could be used as before, but for a front landing, the glass would not be the first item to hit the concrete. Would this provide protection against drops? It wouldn’t protect against a small hard object hitting the glass, like a hammer. But I suspect that most screens are damaged because of drops.

I’m not going to risk another cracked screen. Until such features are built or better glass than Gorilla Glass is used, I’ll have to get my first phone case. I’ve had smartphones for about 7 years. This was the first cracked screen. I did destroy another phone in 2010 or 2011 when it got wet during a rainstorm. I was on a longer ride. I had the phone sealed up in a closed Ziploc bag, but it still got wet. I let it dry out for a few days but it never worked properly again.

My current phone (Samsung Galaxy S5) is water-resistant, but apparently not concrete-resistant when landing on the glass front.

[PotomacCyclist]

I rode by the Johns Hopkins academic buildings on Massachusetts Ave. this week. At one of the buildings, three women who appeared to be employees of JH were sitting on the front steps, all applying large quantities of talcum powder to their feet. They were all neatly dressed and carrying on regular conversation, so I doubt they were homeless individuals. (Not trying to offend anyone here. Just pointing out that I didn’t think they were homeless.)

Don’t ask me what was going on.

[KLizotte]

I visited Bayou Bakery today and noticed that there aren’t any bike racks in the area. Arlington County, help!

[Author]

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