Found Connection

[DanB]

This morning at 6:25:
To the friendly biker (wearing red) who gave me a big wave and a friendly greeting on the W&OD between Gallows and the beltway bridge, sorry I gave such a halfhearted greeting in return. I later thought maybe your enthusiasm was due to the Bike Arlington jersey I was wearing…? (Thanks BTWD golden ticket! ) Let me know if you’re on this forum, and I’ll try to wave back next time.

Later this morning:
To the woman jogger who notified me of an obstacle ahead–which turned out to be a pickup truck–as I crested the Castle Brandymore bump. Apparently some workers (I assume) had to access the grassy space on the other side of Four Mile Run and were using the trail bridge to get there. It wasn’t a problem, but I appreciate the heads-up!

[mstone]

@DanB 117916 wrote:

To the woman jogger who notified me of an obstacle ahead–which turned out to be a pickup truck–as I crested the Castle Brandymore bump. Apparently some workers (I assume) had to access the grassy space on the other side of Four Mile Run and were using the trail bridge to get there. It wasn’t a problem, but I appreciate the heads-up!

The W&OD was partially blocked this morning east of the brandymore hill by a work truck and a guy painting the power tower with a really, really, REALLY, long brush.

[dplasters]

To the two cyclists I saw on Lee Highway out in Fairfax this morning (particularly the one with the Noblis Jersey on that appeared to be riding toward Fairview Park). Sorry I wasn’t out there with you today. The hangover is still with me, and with this heat, did not need to be tested.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]8876[/ATTACH]

[Terpfan]

Lose an election…

Become a wrench:

If you bought a bike from Gus’ Bike Shop in North Hampton in the past few months, there’s a good chance it was put together by Scott Brown.

The former Republican U.S. senator from Massachusetts started volunteering at the store in December, about a month after narrowly losing the Senate race to Democrat Jeanne Shaheen. Since then, Brown has learned the basics of bike maintenance and repair. He’s also assembled almost 40 bikes under the guidance of longtime mechanic Dean Merrill.

http://www.seacoastonline.com/article/20150614/NEWS/150619571

[pfunkallstar]

@mstone 117919 wrote:

The W&OD was partially blocked this morning east of the brandymore hill by a work truck and a guy painting the power tower with a really, really, REALLY, long brush.

That was impressive and dangerous. But even more dangerous was the other pickup truck, which had a hard time deciding whether to take up the entire path or ride on the gravel path. Solution? A little of both.

[GovernorSilver]

Surprising number of cars on my evening commute waving me to go ahead at intersections with 4-way stop signs in Old Town Alexandria. Maybe it’s because the bike infrastructure is so good there (as opposed to my “wrong” side – ahem Fairfax County… boo!… of Alexandria) that they’re all used to seeing cyclists all the time.

The cyclist who actually said “Thanks!” after I let him pass me on that new MUP along Potomac Ave.

[PotomacCyclist]

This isn’t really a Found Connection or a Missed Connection. More of an odd connection.

In downtown DC, I saw a middle-aged woman in an Amish-looking dress riding a bike. I don’t know if she was Amish but the dress had a country look to it. It was very long with a traditional flower pattern and muted colors (dark blue, some gray accents).

That by itself was only slightly different. But right behind her, there were four police officers riding mountain bikes. Huh? I don’t think the woman was a VIP who required a police escort. I think the police officers just happened to be riding behind her. But they were so close behind that the entire group looked like a bike motorcade. I wanted to take a photo but I couldn’t get the phone out fast enough before they rolled by. This was near Farragut Square. That would have been an awesome photo.

[ShawnoftheDread]

Bonnet or helmet?

[PotomacCyclist]

It might have been a bonnet, which is why I immediately thought “Amish”. But I don’t recall exactly. I saw the country dress and the four police officers (of the Apocalypse?). Then I tried to get my phone out to take a photo, but they rode by a Metrobus, which blocked my view of the group.

[mstone]

I believe the Amish eschew gears and you’ll see them on scooters rather than bikes.

[cvcalhoun]

@mstone 120445 wrote:

I believe the Amish eschew gears and you’ll see them on scooters rather than bikes.

Apparently, this (like so much else) depends on the area:

http://amishamerica.com/do-amish-ride-bicycles/

The Amish religion doesn’t have a formal hierarchy. Everything is pretty much controlled by the local bishop, so practices can be quite different in different areas.

[PotomacCyclist]

What about the large Amish community of ye olde Farragut Square?

[mstone]

@PotomacCyclist 120455 wrote:

What about the large Amish community of ye olde Farragut Square?

The ones who zip around shouting “damn the pedestrians, full speed ahead”? They’re jerks.

[lordofthemark]

Not sure if this belongs here, or in missed connections

Me:On the Kona Dew, waiting in the bike lane on Eye St SW to go east across S Capitol.
You: The tourist (?) in the van with Ohio plates, to my left, IE in the through lane, who was signalling a right turn

Thank you for using your turn signals. That meant I could anticipate your illegal right turn (since you had somehow missed the right turn lane to the right of the bike lane) and was able to creep into the crosswalk and scoot out ahead when the light changed, and not get right hooked.

[KWL]

@lordofthemark 120984 wrote:

Not sure if this belongs here, or in missed connections

Me:On the Kona Dew, waiting in the bike lane on Eye St SW to go east across S Capitol.
You: The tourist (?) in the van with Ohio plates, to my left, IE in the through lane, who was signalling a right turn

Thank you for using your turn signals. That meant I could anticipate your illegal right turn (since you had somehow missed the right turn lane to the right of the bike lane) and was able to creep into the crosswalk and scoot out ahead when the light changed, and not get right hooked.

I think you’ve got a twofer. Please post again in Missed Connections.

[Author]

Posts