Missed connection

[PotomacCyclist]

@acc 3694 wrote:

[Hitting the Like button]

I don’t care if you are a member of the National Orangutan Party, if you advocate on behalf of the cycling community, you are terrific.

Dr. Zaius approves of this message.

[acc]

Woot, he’d look great on a bike!
Ann

[SteveTheTech]

Let me paint you a picture…

After 35 miles on the wad this past Saturday. We were coming back to the Vienna community center. A rec center class was letting out and there was a childrens’ birthday party so traffic was very thick and slow moving. The pace was maybe 7mph.

I called “turning left” loud enough for my partner to hear about 10′ ahead. I checked my mirror and everyone was maintaining pace. I began to decelerate and turn to the left. At the same time the worlds greatest cyclist tells me I should have signaled…he was the one passing me over a solid line in traffic against traffic.

That was one of those moments where if you where behind me you would grit your teeth and get ready to stop.

After that I realized I want to try to help.

[acc]

Please, a little more information. This is my neighborhood, the Vienna Community Center and I wish I understood your post better. I agree, that section of the path along the building can be tricky. The intersection at Park can be deceiving too.

Best wishes,
Ann

[SteveTheTech]

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=38.901155,-77.260827&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x89b64bb7eb2c6269:0xfd7901c125e0d3e2,%2B38%C2%B0+54’+6.22%22,+-77%C2%B0+15’+43.46%22&gl=us&ei=Zu3aTYaHB8icgQeK361Y&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CBcQ8gEwAA

I tend to run on a bit so I was trying to keep it short.

Vienna has a beautiful section of the trail, but there is no way the racers can maintain cruising speed there.

We happened to be there at 9 am and 1 pm. When we where getting started we saw that there was a children’s’ exercise class going on when within feet of the trail a team flew past us heading East at speeds that were dangerous no matter what their skill level.

[acc]

The Vienna Community Center is a great place to launch in either direction on the W&O or through the residential neighborhoods. It has plenty of parking, water fountains with cold water, and real bathrooms. There are vending machines down a short flight of stairs to the right of the entrance. There is shade and benches and a gazebo, the scenery isn’t bad.

Spokes is right down the street and so is Whole Foods. The Vienna Inn, source of cheap hot dogs and beer is very close. Or so I’ve heard.

That being said, the trail right next to the building is tricky. To be safe, it is necessary to practically crawl through the area. I don’t want to knock a kid down. At least not one unrelated to me by DNA. I hate scrubbing the asphalt stains out of my jersey and the blood off my knees. Someone told me all the scratches and dings on Spartacus give him character. I think he was just being nice, thanks Dirt. So yes, it is important to note that area and protect yourself and folks who are completely unaware of our presence. They are focused on entering and exiting the building and not on the path.

Best wishes,
Ann

[CCrew]

@acc 3805 wrote:

The Vienna Inn, source of cheap hot dogs and beer is very close. Or so I’ve heard.

Beer, hot dogs with chili & cheese, and cheese fries… mmmm. Vienna Inn rocks!

[Joe Chapline]

@acc 3805 wrote:

Spokes is right down the street and so is Whole Foods.

The Whole Foods is a good lunchtime destination from Arlington if you can take a long lunch. About a ten-mile ride each way from where I used to live near Arlington Hospital; stop at the Whole Foods right by the W&OD Trail, pick up a sandwich and a drink, have a little picnic, and ride back.

[consularrider]

@SteveTheTech:

Actually, the cyclist that tried to pass you was right, you should have signaled so that people behind you would know what you were trying to do. Your voice projected toward those ten feet in front frequently can not be heard by those ten feet behind. That’s not to say the other cyclist was right in anything else. You can not rely on trail markings to indicate a no passing zone like you would have on a highway. From what I have seen in riding on most of the trails in this area there is little consistency in how a trail is striped, if it is at all.

[brendan]

@acc 3805 wrote:

That being said, the trail right next to the building is tricky. To be safe, it is necessary to practically crawl through the area. I don’t want to knock a kid down. At least not one unrelated to me by DNA. I hate scrubbing the asphalt stains out of my jersey and the blood off my knees. Someone told me all the scratches and dings on Spartacus give him character. I think he was just being nice, thanks Dirt. So yes, it is important to note that area and protect yourself and folks who are completely unaware of our presence. They are focused on entering and exiting the building and not on the path.

Best wishes,
Ann

Yes. I always take that section super slow, as I understand why it is natural for folks entering/exiting the community center and/or play/fields area to assume that getting to/from the parking lot is just crossing a sidewalk and not a paceline path…but I do also ring my bell obnoxiously when there’s a crowd of kids just hanging out blocking the trail.

There was one trip out there where kids were hiding in the bushes throwing tennis balls across the paths of passing cyclists. That’s really outside of the norm for the area, though.

Brendan

[SteveTheTech]

@acc 3805 wrote:

The Vienna Community Center is a great place to launch in either direction on the W&O or through the residential neighborhoods. It has plenty of parking, water fountains with cold water, and real bathrooms….

That being said, the trail right next to the building is tricky. To be safe, it is necessary to practically crawl through the area…

The VCC is indeed one of the best places to park, but it will only take 1 cyclist running over an important child for drastic actions to be taken. I know when we arrived there first we had no idea that the trail was right there.

@consularrider 3809 wrote:

@SteveTheTech:

Actually, the cyclist that tried to pass you was right, you should have signaled so that people behind you would know what you were trying to do…

Thanks, I really did not know that. I try to be as educated as possible in the rules of the road. I’m a huge fan of keeping the rubber side down.

Any part of the Vienna section can be a bit frustrating for those on road bikes, but safety has to come first.

[baiskeli]

@PotomacCyclist 3691 wrote:

I don’t know. It’s not important.

I agree, I was just having fun.

[PotomacCyclist]

I did manage to find this picture a couple weeks ago.

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

It’s a recent picture and it’s not Photoshopped, although it kind of looks like it is.

[acc]

Clearly, a violation of helmet safety.

[baiskeli]

Wednesday: I was stopped at an intersection on Wilson Blvd. You were salmoning up the street to my right. Just before my light turned green, you turned in front of me and proceeded to salmon between the two lanes of traffic as it began to go through the light.

Just wanted to check to see if you’re still alive.

[Author]

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