Missed connection

[jrenaut]

@Brendan von Buckingham 29944 wrote:

You: motorcyclist going eastbound on Clarendon Boulevard. You had a red at Highland, but instead of stopping you rolled through and did an RUR (Right turn, U turn, Right turn) and kept on going. Let’s be friends.

I find this move even more infuriating than running the light. If you’re going to ride/drive like a jerk, at least have the decency to own it.

I had no bad encounters this morning, though I wish the guy who whispered “on your left” from close enough to give me a peck on the cheek could have maybe raised his voice and let me know from a bit further back.

[krazygl00]

@jrenaut 29951 wrote:

I find this move even more infuriating than running the light. If you’re going to ride/drive like a jerk, at least have the decency to own it.

I had no bad encounters this morning, though I wish the guy who whispered “on your left” from close enough to give me a peck on the cheek could have maybe raised his voice and let me know from a bit further back.

Maybe this is a new one for the Forum Dictionary:

The “Morning Kiss” – When sleepy fellow commuter whispers his pass from an uncomfortably or inappropriately close distance.

[DaveK]

@krazygl00 29955 wrote:

Maybe this is a new one for the Forum Dictionary:

The “Morning Kiss” – When sleepy fellow commuter whispers his pass from an uncomfortably or inappropriately close distance.

Seinfeld already got this one – the close talker.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ipeh0WFAnhc

[lordofthemark]

you – pair of young women, more elite than me (well at least y’all WERE passing me). If you’re good enough to pass me, maybe, you should be good enough to pass single file on a trail as crowded as the W&OD is right in the heart of Vienna.

to myself – just because the above got me upset, it was still a poor idea to blow through the next stop sign obliviously (IE not a deliberate Idaho stop) . Fortunately it was a slow cross street in Vienna, and nothing happened.

to the joggers who run on the left on the W&OD – I kind of get that you want to be near where the better off trail conditions are, but I still find it disconcerting when I pass you

to the walker salmoning IN the bike lane on Gallows Road – whiskey tango foxtrot. I am glad I was just sitting waiting for the bus at the time.

to Fairfax DOT. It would have been nice if the bike racks on the Fairfax connector buses were the same as those on metrobuses. Would have saved me some embarrassment, and maybe saved a bus full of people some time (although I bet the driver made it up) I wonder if the difference is due to genuine technical differences between the buses, or is an unintended result of “objective” procurement practices.

To the daddy teaching his 9 (or 8?) year old daughter to call “on the left”. That was really adorable. It was worth being passed by you two, as I neared the end of my ride.

[PeteD]

You: Vision Quest wrestler, or you had to have been, as you were decked out head to toe in black sweats, all long sleeves, black gloves, black sneakers, wearing a green backpack filled to the brim with what I guess would have to be weights, trying to meet weight riding in the 84 degree weather.

Me: Guy trailing you as you came up to three women walking the trail, in awe with your ninja ability to scare the hell out of the women by choosing the perfect moment to pass them and avoid the pair of folks coming the other direction. By the surprised look on the youngest woman’s face, you obviously were too winded to call your pass either.

ed: spelling.

[aflapr]

Like the guy says on the radio, “Not a sermon – just a thought…”

Two passes in quick succession this AM – both riders call their passes, so thank you for that.

However:
(a) to the rider who passed me rounding the basketball court at Banneker Park – there really wasn’t any margin for error if I didn’t hold my line in the turn. Perhaps it would have been safer if you had waited until the straightaway 20 feet later?

(b) to the rider who passed me rounding the corner at the base of the Brandymore Castle hill – I’m REALLY glad nobody was flying down the hill coming the other way. That would have been messy for all three of us.

In both cases, there were safe places to pass that would have required the slightest of delays. If you’re choosing an option that requires everything to go right for it to work, maybe that’s worth re-thinking? No harm – no foul this morning, but something to ponder on the ride home.

[txgoonie]

@aflapr 30349 wrote:

In both cases, there were safe places to pass that would have required the slightest of delays. If you’re choosing an option that requires everything to go right for it to work, maybe that’s worth re-thinking? No harm – no foul this morning, but something to ponder on the ride home.

Had the same thought yesterday. On the way home at Gravely Point, I slowed behind two other riders b/c we were approaching the southbound part where the fence begins, which is a slight uphill and enough of a curve to be blind. This pause allowed the rider behind me to catch up, and he used that spot to pass (unannounced). Luckily for all of us, no one was coming, but I was a tad miffed and witnessed him making several more questionable calls. So I used the opportunity to wheel suck the offender for the next two miles and loudly call the passes he was failing to announce before me. He tried to drop me on any downhill sections, but was unsuccessful. Perhaps not the most enlightened way to handle the situation, but somehow didn’t feel that guilty about it

[Terpfan]

@txgoonie 30381 wrote:

Had the same thought yesterday. On the way home at Gravely Point, I slowed behind two other riders b/c we were approaching the southbound part where the fence begins, which is a slight uphill and enough of a curve to be blind. This pause allowed the rider behind me to catch up, and he used that spot to pass (unannounced). Luckily for all of us, no one was coming, but I was a tad miffed and witnessed him making several more questionable calls. So I used the opportunity to wheel suck the offender for the next two miles and loudly call the passes he was failing to announce before me. He tried to drop me on any downhill sections, but was unsuccessful. Perhaps not the most enlightened way to handle the situation, but somehow didn’t feel that guilty about it

Yah, that’s an area I rarely will pass in because of the speed of other folks coming downhill and a couple of close encounters. On the flip side, twice this week I have slowed down not to make passes and then watched the oncoming cyclist seemingly slow down for no reason. I think the one was a tourist because they just start staring into the distance. But I would rather slow down (plus I can always use the exercise) then run the risk.

[krazygl00]

@txgoonie 30381 wrote:

Had the same thought yesterday. On the way home at Gravely Point, I slowed behind two other riders b/c we were approaching the southbound part where the fence begins, which is a slight uphill and enough of a curve to be blind. This pause allowed the rider behind me to catch up, and he used that spot to pass (unannounced). Luckily for all of us, no one was coming, but I was a tad miffed and witnessed him making several more questionable calls. So I used the opportunity to wheel suck the offender for the next two miles and loudly call the passes he was failing to announce before me. He tried to drop me on any downhill sections, but was unsuccessful. Perhaps not the most enlightened way to handle the situation, but somehow didn’t feel that guilty about it

Sigh. Gravelly Point at rush hour is just a blender full of fail.

[jnva]

So I used the opportunity to wheel suck the offender

I hate it when people tailgate me, in a car or on my bike. Passive aggressive behavior won’t change people, and most likely it just makes the situation more dangerous. Just take a deep breath and let it go!

[txgoonie]

@jnva 30390 wrote:

I hate it when people tailgate me, in a car or on my bike. Passive aggressive behavior won’t change people, and most likely it just makes the situation more dangerous. Just take a deep breath and let it go!

Can’t disagree with you there, and it’s not something I resort to much at all. However, this rider was quite plainly riding like a jerk and making unnecessarily dangerous moves. And while I can’t say that there wasn’t some small satisfaction on my part, his passes – on a crowded path at rush hour – needed to be called out. And the epilogue I left out – near the 4 Mile Run intersection he did start calling out, so I let him be after that.

[txgoonie]

Last night, riding SB on MVT around 8:30. I guess it has been a while since I’ve ridden when it was quite that dark out –– holy jeez! Between the fact that I don’t have my winter light setup on my bike yet (just the single handlebar one) and the oncoming car headlights and the bike/ped ninjas, it was treacherous. I’m afraid that a connection out there won’t be a missed one pretty soon. Stay alert! Ride with care!

[Terpfan]

@txgoonie 30416 wrote:

Last night, riding SB on MVT around 8:30. I guess it has been a while since I’ve ridden when it was quite that dark out –– holy jeez! Between the fact that I don’t have my winter light setup on my bike yet (just the single handlebar one) and the oncoming car headlights and the bike/ped ninjas, it was treacherous. I’m afraid that a connection out there won’t be a missed one pretty soon. Stay alert! Ride with care!

The nice part is come actual winter, really once temps go below 60, it’s like everyone vanishes from the path.

[pfunkallstar]

@Terpfan 30431 wrote:

The nice part is come actual winter, really once temps go below 60, it’s like everyone vanishes from the path.

Ditto – I had daydream about that the other day on the trail while trying to pass a double-wide stroller with two cranky hot kids in it being pushed by a hyper-aggressive mom. Between her attitude when I passed and the hot, sticky weather. Mid-October can come soon enough.

[vtben]

Two crazy passes this afternoon on the MVT. First, Mr. No-Helmet-No-Call) passes me on the right as I’m completing my own pass and starting to merge back to the right. He ends up going off-road to complete his maneuver.

Second, I slow down for a couple + small child as a large Bike & Roll group passes in the opposite direction. Elite cyclist calls “left” and blows through the very narrow gap between the group and the family.

Nice day, otherwise, though.

[Author]

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