Head-on this morning on MVT

[huskerdont]

@dasgeh 140745 wrote:

But more importantly, I don’t think I trust officers to do enforcement fairly. And without consistent markings of where someone should/n’t pass, is it really fair? Someone may have just misjudged a situation.

I really agree with this. Two cyclists won’t even necessarily agree on what is safe and what isn’t. You get cops out there, and they’re going to have no idea (unless they’re bicycle cops, and even then). I don’t want a ticket from someone who has no idea what’s going on and no experience to judge with. I’ve been called a dumbass for passing when the sightlines were good and I was comfortably back in my lane with at least 10 bike spaces to go. I just told him to eff off like I’d do anyone, but if someone like that could ticket cyclists, they’d just make the situation worse with their misjudgement.

[creadinger]

Unfortunately, if idiots like the guy featured in this post and the many many others out there who keep doing stupid shit, causing crashes with injuries and damage, then local jurisdictions may HAVE to step in to do something; most of which would probably involve stuff we REALLY don’t want.

Other than some well placed “Caution” signs like above, I think we’d all be better off policing ourselves and somehow getting the pathletes and Cat 6ers to not be dicks out there.

[mstone]

That’s just silly–there’s exactly nothing we can do to make other cyclists behave better, so why talk as though it’s our responsibility? Collective guilt was thrown out quite a while ago.

Yeah, yeah, education–but I simply don’t believe that insufficient education is the root problem here.

Better signage in some spots may help new or occasional riders who don’t know the trouble spots, but it seems to me that most of the dick riders aren’t new and aren’t going to change because of a sign.

[Tania]

@mstone 140798 wrote:

Better signage in some spots may help new or occasional riders who don’t know the trouble spots, but it seems to me that most of the dick riders aren’t new and aren’t going to change because of a sign.

Agreed.

[semperiden]

This spot really needs a sign. I was talking to a friend that is pretty regular in the MVT trail and he says he has seen a few bad accidents there. I almost hit someone head-on there once when she was trying to past a few pedestrians and she was covering most of my cycling lane when I was passing. I had nowhere to go, but was quick enough to not hit her.

[KLizotte]

A a sign very close to the blind curve is a bad idea because it is something to hit in the case of an crash (or swerving to avoid a crash). The sign(s) would have to be placed further away from the curve. Paint (provided it is non-slippery) would be a good idea; better yet, straighten out the curve if at all possible.

[mstone]

@KLizotte 140831 wrote:

better yet, straighten out the curve if at all possible.

Well, if we’re fantasizing, the solution to most of the mvt problems is to designate it as a pedestrian/low speed recreational trail and build a new path to modern standards with equivalent access. The existing path is pretty much beyond hope as a safe bike facility given the volume of traffic, and correcting it really requires mode separation anyway.

[Mariner]

Having come through there a few times since the crash, one perfectly doable solution came to mind, and that is to simply trim the bushes that are right up against the path. It has grown up quite a bit now that foliage here has pretty much leafed-out. Trimming it back would provide better sight lines.

In fact, I may do just that this weekend.

[dasgeh]

@Mariner 140906 wrote:

Having come through there a few times since the crash, one perfectly doable solution came to mind, and that is to simply trim the bushes that are right up against the path. It has grown up quite a bit now that foliage here has pretty much leafed-out. Trimming it back would provide better sight lines.

In fact, I may do just that this weekend.

You can also email superintendent_gwmp@nps.gov

[Drewdane]

@Sunyata 140767 wrote:

On many mountain bike trails (single track, bi-directional trails), there are blind corner signs that do a pretty good job of indicating an unsafe curve. Even though, passing is not really an issue on single track trail, head-on collisions are. I wonder if something like this would be effective on the MVT or Custis Trail where there is a blind corner. Maybe something similar as below, but with “Do Not Pass” instead of “Proceed with Caution”?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]11886[/ATTACH]

I can think of several spots along the Custis and WOD that could use signs like this.

[Jason]

I had a guy pull a crazy Ivan right before this section just the other day. i also had two separate incidents on back to back week end days with oncoming riders where I made hand gestures waving them back to their lanes. One told me to F@ck off and another one told me he could see me (but clearly didnt care) I think the same ignorant people who drive recklessly in this area also rode bikes. There is nothing you can do to teach these people to ride safer. All you can do is to do everything to protect yourself and ride safely.

[notmarian]

I’d also say maybe “NO TAILGATING” signs would be great there, as well. I have had these three incidents in the last month or so, all headed northbound:

I end up in the middle of a chain of cyclists coming off the second flyover, including some who are following very, very closely on each other. I’m on centerpull brakes–I like a lot of space between me and anything in front of me–and if I leave space between me and the cyclist in front of me, someone decides to try and jump me, comes back into my lane while I’m occupying it, and forces me into a near-collision with the fence.

I am in the middle of a chain of cyclists, and even if I am signaling that I am braking for pedestrians ahead of the blind spot into Gravelly, I get rear-ended by the person riding right on my rear wheel.

I am in the middle of a chain of cyclists, someone has passed me and come in very close, and then grabs a fistful of brake without signaling in the blind spot because there is oncoming traffic. I’ve had nowhere to go but into the oncoming lane, even hitting my own brakes pretty hard.

Am I the one that sucks? What should I be doing differently? I call, ring, and hand signal passes, check my corners, and ride pretty slow, and I feel like I end up in really dangerous situations there. My commute is pretty short–just to College Park–but an accident here at the midpoint of my commute is pretty scary to think about.

[mstone]

@notmarian 142017 wrote:

What should I be doing differently?

Go even slower. Even if someone is tailgating, at low speed a collision doesn’t matter much.

[Fairlington124]

I get the vibe (including by some on this board) that many believe to have a right to maintain their speed at any cost, including to the effect of causing harm or risk of harm to other users of the trail. They are almost always in lycra on road bikes (but I will offer that most in lycra on road bikes do not bike dangerously).

[EasyRider]

@mstone 142020 wrote:

Go even slower. Even if someone is tailgating, at low speed a collision doesn’t matter much.

Agree. Slow ’em down and ride defensively is about all you can do. That northbound downhill to Gravelly Point is a problem area. There’s also a dirt path down to the water near that blind curve that fishermen use. You should assume that someone could step out onto the MVT from the bushes without warning.

[Author]

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