Fairfax County Police: Getting things done! Thank you!!! (New Blog Entry)

[eminva]

And no one has mentioned the effect of sunlight — this might not be an issue for those of you going through at 0-dark-30 or with reverse commutes. Certain times of the year, when I am coming downhill on Virginia, the sun is directly in my eyes. I figure it’s the same for the motorists. I don’t want to be in the path of someone straining to see in the first place.

I’ve done it both ways but generally stay on the trail. It’s not a great intersection and I’m just trying to get through safe and sound.

Liz

[brendan]

@GuyContinental 79865 wrote:

Perhaps skipping the rolling of the stop sign at the end…

OK, that’s bad news (and we’ve all had similar happen along there) but cyclists routinely blow the trail signs, double or triple up on the road climbing (legal but not terribly courteous given that there is a good trail). On the downhill, riders weave in and out of traffic at the stop and then sprint left (or just ride down the oncoming lane). Folks who live on the block all have stories of being buzzed on the trail while trying to get their newspaper and the subject of this post has a 3yo that he won’t take on the trail at all for fear of riders.

IHMO, “trail up” and “road down” matches probable speeds and objective and pedestrian hazards.

Neither the trail nor the road are great options there: the trail is basically the sidewalk for that part of the neighborhood, plus part of the driveways for the houses there. In addition, it tends to gather a lot of debris in the area uphill from and at the curve. The left turn is narrow and sharp and dangerous to take at any kind of speed (esp with the debris). This also makes braking before and during the curve a bit risky as well.

The road tends to be a better surface (and a gentler, better banked curve) for the downhill, but during commute times it is full of a ton of stupid, both cars, bikes (and, occasionally, myself).

I love riding down the road on weekends when there’s almost no car traffic, but on my evening commute back to DC, I’m always very stressed about which way to take heading east. Sometimes the trail, sometimes the road… While crossing I-66, I consider the current weather, how much light is or isn’t left, how close to peak car traffic it is and how wet the pavement/trail is before deciding which way to take down.

Also, at this time of day, I’m guaranteed to have to stop and wait at that bottom of the hill intersection, regardless of which route I take: if I’m in the road, I’m waiting for cars to clear out from in front of me (or for cars turning in) and if I’m on the trail, there’s one or more cars stacked up at the intersection blocking the crossing.

So…transitioning from being a regular weekend rider of the W&OD to a regular weekday commuting rider has changed my behavior there substantially. And increased my stress levels a bit.

Also, my recollection is that I’ve come upon the aftermath of bike/car collisions there twice. Luckily both incidents appeared to be minor based on what the cyclist was self-reporting to everyone who was assisting.

[brendan]

Also, to keep in mind: if you’re headed west on the W&OD coming up to the Virginia Lane crossing and you see a cyclist coming down the road, it’s probably a good idea to physically signal your intended behavior before you reach the crossing.

Esp. if there’s no car traffic. Regardless of signage, I’m assuming most of us aren’t planning to come to a stop (or at least a full stop) at the crossing. The other cyclist is probably assuming the same thing. If you’re planning on turning right on the hill, signal it and if you’re planning to go straight, point forward (or something obvious).

Or stop, but then you’ll surprise the heck out of the other cyclist and they probably don’t need surprises when they are scanning for multiple vehicles/pedestrians and calculating their own targeting solution… plus, it’s hard for them to make that left onto the trail if there’s another bike stopped there.

Technically, the same applies to signaling to car drivers, but they probably won’t understand

B

[GuyContinental]

@brendan 79989 wrote:

Also, to keep in mind: if you’re headed west on the W&OD coming up to the Virginia Lane crossing and you see a cyclist coming down the road, it’s probably a good idea to physically signal your intended behavior before you reach the crossing.

Esp. if there’s no car traffic. Regardless of signage, I’m assuming most of us aren’t planning to come to a stop (or at least a full stop) at the crossing. The other cyclist is probably assuming the same thing. If you’re planning on turning right on the hill, signal it and if you’re planning to go straight, point forward (or something obvious).

Or stop, but then you’ll surprise the heck out of the other cyclist and they probably don’t need surprises when they are scanning for multiple vehicles/pedestrians and calculating their own targeting solution… plus, it’s hard for them to make that left onto the trail if there’s another bike stopped there.

Technically, the same applies to signaling to car drivers, but they probably won’t understand

B

A variation of this is to make sure that those riding WITH you share the same intention- as can be seen from this thread, there are the “no trail, no how” and the “why the hell would I use the road when there’s a trail” coalitions. As a member of the latter, twice I’ve collided with a member of the former on my left who assumed that I’d swing hard right at the stop sign. I now discuss intentions before getting to VA Ln…

[Author]

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