Missed connection

[SerialCarpins]

ME (us): The last in a line of 3 cyclists travelling southbound together at a steady clip on the 15th street cycletrack.

YOU: The genius who watched us approach from the sidewalk, and then lifted his bike up off the curb to put it directly into our path in the cycletrack as we got within twenty feet or so, forcing us over to the other lane. You then slowly lifted your leg to get on the bike…and never caught up to us since you were creeping down the lane.

What was that about, man? Did you maybe not see all three of us? Not cool…

[eminva]

To the two guys jubilantly celebrating in full Nats regalia, stumbling around the center of the trail at Brandymore, one of whom . . . um . . . heeded the call of nature right then and there:

Thanks for not driving.

Liz

[PeteD]

Me: Guy in the shiny metal box driving around Tyson’s corner.
You: Everyone else in shiny metal boxes.

I should have taken my bike, but I wasn’t sure what I was going to get for my wife for Mother’s day, so road bike + backpack might not have been big enough. So out and about to work where there’s free wifi and lots of people to ignore and concentrate.

When I ride my bike, I’ve often felt guilty about sometimes not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign, or not completely and to the letter observing the rules of the road, but you, the washed and pressed-shirt mass of over-worked humanity at rush hour in Tyson’s Corner make me feel less guilty about that.

From the Box truck running thru a red light a full 10 seconds after it turned red, to all the folks who blocked the box, and ran the red light some more; the BMW 6 series driver that was so stuck in the box that eventually he had to get out of the way of the traffic he was blocking, and almost caused an accident by just continuing thru the red light into the opposite oncoming traffic… and the over aggressive folks who couldn’t give anyone a break and continue to exacerbate the bad situations, you moved that needle back to feeling less guilty. And when ever anyone asks me about commuting by bike, I will continue to tell them that at rush hour, and if yesterday’s jaunt is any indication, that it takes me the same or less time to commute by bike than it would by car. My normal commute from Tyson’s on a bike was 25 minutes. My drive from Tyson’s yesterday (I-Drive to Gallows to Idylwood, Virginia, Shreve, Fairwood, West, and then thru my neighborhood) took 40 minutes.

And the folks at West and Lee Highway… I loved the 1949 Ford Truck, but with you pulled so far up into the crosswalk, and the texting driver behind you not paying attention, the two of you failed to trip the metal detector loop, and I couldn’t wait for the 3rd missed cycle, dinner and my bike were waiting for me at home.

–Pete

[PotomacCyclist]

@CaseyKane50 84541 wrote:

Did he bother signaling his pass or did he just assume his presence on the trail was enough to alert the other users of his intention?

I don’t think he signaled his pass. I only noticed him when he came up alongside me. I was very surprised by that because we were headed into the blind turn. I wanted to shout at him and say that you can’t pass while going into a blind turn, but I didn’t, for a couple reasons. One is that he quickly headed down the trail (while I was on my slow CaBi bike). Another is that if I shouted out, I would have been shouting at the back of the runner’s head, who had done nothing wrong. Normally if someone does something outrageous on the trails, or on the roads, I will call that person out. It’s just a habit of mine. (I don’t swear unless someone nearly causes me harm or endangers others in the immediate area.)

Anyway, whether he called out the pass or not was the least of his infractions. If someone had been riding into that blind turn from the other direction (heading northbound), he/she would not have been able to avoid a head-on collision unless he/she was riding extremely slowly and expecting someone to be riding on the wrong side of the center line. The jerk wasn’t riding super-fast but he was going moderately quickly to make the pass, ahead of me and the runner.

Note that every time I’m riding northbound into that same turn, I slow down and continually look as far around the corner as I can, half-expecting to see some other unsafe rider trying to pass while going into the blind turn. I’ve had a couple such encounters in the past, but fortunately, because they are on a slight incline, many people aren’t riding as fast as they might otherwise. Plus I ride slower into that turn, which makes it much easier for me to avoid a collision.

[CaseyKane50]

Prologue.

Me: Biking northbound on the MVT, just before the Crystal City turnoff
Runner 1: Running ahead of me on the MVT
Me: Getting ready to signal my pass of you
Runner 1: Holding your left hand straight out signaling a turn onto the Crystal City turnoff
Me: Edging over to the right and shouting out a thank you as you executed your turn

Skip ahead to the tunnel underneath the Humpback Bridge

Me: Approaching the tunnel heading to the Columbia Island Marina
Runner 2: Running ahead of me towards the tunnel
Me: Ringing my bell and beginning to pass
Runner 2: Executing a nearly perfect Crazy Ivan turn into my path
Me: Slamming on the brakes
Runner 2: Starting to dance as we neared each other
Me: Stopping just as we were about to touch
Runner 2: Apologizing for the maneuver
Me: Glad I adjusted my brakes last week

Now I can still have the last dance with my wife.

[krazygl00]

@PotomacCyclist 84483 wrote:

Great to see that cyclist passing on the MVT right into a blind turn (southbound, as the trail heads away from the Gravelly Point parking lot at the wooded area). I had slowed down behind a runner. I didn’t want to pass there because I had no way to see if anyone was heading in the other direction. Then some guy passes me and the runner and heads up that small incline, where the blind turn is located. He just continued on his way as if this was normal.

If there had been oncoming bike traffic, there’s no way he could have avoided a collision. After I made it past the blind turn, I passed the runner. I saw an oncoming cyclist about 40 feet ahead. This was around 7:30 pm. There was still plenty of bike and runner traffic on the MVT at that hour. It’s insane to be passing on the trail at blind turns like that.

Ugh. I don’t know why it is so difficult for people to restrain themselves, have a little bit of patience, and for this relatively short stretch of the MVT act as if they were riding under a yellow flag. Take the opportunity to give your “massive guads” a rest so a little further down the trail you can “drop the hammer” for your next super-awesome sprint to victory. What a newb move.

[scorchedearth]

Me: Walking down Connecticut Ave near Dupont Circle after getting a donut for dessert.

You: A tall woman salmoning up Connecticut Ave on a CaBi with earphones in.

I hope you live, lady because you’re insane.

[DCLiz]

@scorchedearth 84689 wrote:

Me: Walking down Connecticut Ave near Dupont Circle after getting a donut for dessert.

Mmm. Donuts.

[consularrider]

@DCLiz 84690 wrote:

Mmm. Donuts.

DC Donut Crawl

[KWL]

@consularrider 84530 wrote:

This is the main reason I really dislike the MVT heading from Gravelly southbound, there are too many people trying to pass when they really can’t see the oncoming traffic.

I’m also really getting tired of the S Glebe/Rte 1 intersection part of the 4MRT detour. Is there some reason the cars turning right from S Glebe to head south on Rte 1 can’t wait until they have a green light? They keep trying to run over the cyclists who are making a legal left turn with the green arrow who are trying to get to either the sidewalk curb cut (which is incorrectly placed) or to the Porche dealer driveway to continue west.

Surprisingly, the Rt 1 crossing at EAST Glebe has shown to me some very considerate drivers. I had expected problems with the left turners, but no. Everyone seems so polite, I’m questioning reality. That said, I cannot wait for the trail to open again. No Rt 1 crossing is the best.

[krazygl00]

@scorchedearth 84689 wrote:

Me: Walking down Connecticut Ave near Dupont Circle after getting a donut for dessert.

You: A tall woman salmoning up Connecticut Ave on a CaBi with earphones in.

I hope you live, lady because you’re insane.

You’ve had an encounter with a Beautiful Godzilla. Did she have a small dog or a baguette in the basket of her CaBi?

[jhr]

@consularrider 84692 wrote:

DC Donut Crawl

I can’t believe how silly this event is (“a total of about 4.5 miles (burning off the equivalent of ONE donut)”) even among the onslaught of silly cycling events recently, but oh well, I really like the cycling cap design so I signed up.

[scorchedearth]

@krazygl00 84786 wrote:

You’ve had an encounter with a Beautiful Godzilla. Did she have a small dog or a baguette in the basket of her CaBi?

Unfortunately, she was not carrying any small dogs or baguettes. I’d say that the description from the article was spot on otherwise.

[vern]

Me: Westbound on the WOD midway between Vienna and Hunter Mill.
You: Mid 20’s guy eastbound, 100 yards distant, madly texting with both hands.
Me: Somewhat alarmed since a phone grabbing rider almost crashed into me at the same spot on Wednesday.
You: Swerving wildly into the far side of my lane.
Me: Totally alarmed!
You: Still texting, correct the swerve only to veer back into my lane right in front of me.
Me: A quick push right and “Put the phone away, dammit!”
You: “Shut up!”

Yeah, you got me there…

[bobco85]

Me: Getting ready to leave the Ballston parking garage this afternoon on my bike
Car #1: facing south on Glebe in the left of 2 left turn lanes at the Carlin Springs intersection
Car #2: sitting right behind Car #1

The intersection: There is a clearly placed No U-Turn sign and there are pedestrian islands for people crossing Glebe

Car #1: As the left turn arrow turns green, makes a U-turn in the intersection
Car #2: At the same time, makes a U-turn THROUGH the gap in the pedestrian island (you know, where pedestrians might be standing), hitting the edge of the island because it wasn’t wide enough for cars to drive through, effectively cutting off Car #1 and somehow avoiding an accident
Me: More in awe than mad at what I just witnessed because the whole thing looked like it was choreographed.

I think you both deserve points and not the stylish kind. I also now understand why there are now tire marks on the INSIDE of the pedestrian island!

[Author]

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