Missed connection

[bobco85]

I’ve got 2 fresh missed connections with pedestrians (one not-so-good, one good).

Sunday night
Me: riding eastbound in the Fairfax Drive bike lane outside IHOP/A-town Bar & Grill in Ballston, thinking it was a good idea to go home early (the Patriots’ slaughter of the Colts was apparent at that point) so that I could avoid the drunks
You: somehow being able to stay upright- er, not upright, but definitely not falling onto the ground thanks to your bud who held you up at about a 30 degree angle to the ground as you nearly fell into the bike lane in front of me
Me: sees you, slows from 20 mph to a coasting 12 mph ready to stop while drifting to the far left of the bike lane
You: “Woah, he’s really cruising!”
Me: thinking, “I was worried about drunk drivers, not drunk pedestrians!”

This afternoon
Me: biking eastbound on W&OD approaching the Gallows Rd crosswalk
You: jogger jogging in front of me approaching the Gallows Rd crosswalk
Me: figuring you were going to stop, decided to not pass and just wait behind you
You: without slowing down, sticks out left arm to the side, then proceeds to do a U-turn just before stepping into the road
Me: shocked, thinking, “Did I really just see a jogger signal a U-turn? I guess that would be a Thoughtful Ivan (as opposed to the normal Crazy Ivan that is performed without warning)!”

[TwoWheelsDC]

Had a barely missed head-on connection with the golf cart thing that was pre-treating the Custis…I was heading west and going around the blind curve behind the Giant in Lyon Village right as the the golf cart thing was coming off the S-curve. He was taking up about 80% of the trail (although doing his best to stay to the right), so despite me coming around the turn in my “lane”, I was still looking squarely at his front bumper. Thankfully, I had a little bit of room to dodge right, but we both definitely had an “oh shit!” moment.

[Terpfan]

@TwoWheelsDC 106067 wrote:

Had a barely missed head-on connection with the golf cart thing that was pre-treating the Custis…I was heading west and going around the blind curve behind the Giant in Lyon Village right as the the golf cart thing was coming off the S-curve. He was taking up about 80% of the trail (although doing his best to stay to the right), so despite me coming around the turn in my “lane”, I was still looking squarely at his front bumper. Thankfully, I had a little bit of room to dodge right, but we both definitely had an “oh shit!” moment.

This could be classified under #problemsIwishIhadontheMVT with pre-treat/brining trucks.

[sjclaeys]

You: Large Arlington County truck driving over the wooden bridges on the WOD near Rt. 50 that have very clear “no trucks” signs.
Me: Trying to get my camera out but too late.

[consularrider]

You: my wallet somewhere between Purcellville and Ashburn. It didn’t help retracing my route (other than to add milage).

[ronwalf]

Me: The cyclist starting through the intersection after coming to a full stop
You: The SUV blowing through
Me: Singing “Yo, stop sign” in a tad-operatic voice

I… I’m not sure why I did that.

[Dickie]

@consularrider 106113 wrote:

You: my wallet somewhere between Purcellville and Ashburn. It didn’t help retracing my route (other than to add milage).

You could turn finding it into a crowd sourcing treasure hunt simply by making it a BAFS side challenge.

[dasgeh]

@sjclaeys 106092 wrote:

You: Large Arlington County truck driving over the wooden bridges on the WOD near Rt. 50 that have very clear “no trucks” signs.
Me: Trying to get my camera out but too late.

You could report it (with whatever you know — time, location, description of truck) to trails@arlingtonva.us

[Terpfan]

Good news, I can hop off the trail over a bunch of branches really well. Bad news, I had to do so after calling a pass to a woman with her small dog on a leash this morning on the MVT. The woman politely moved right to the edge, but must have let the dog leash go out further. Next thing I know she’s trying to pull the dog with the leash without choking it. I’ve got dog on far left along with a tout leash straight across and a woman on my right. So since I like dogs and didn’t want to take a hard tumble, figured worth a shot on the sticks.

I may have said a choice word or two. Thinking back, I didn’t need to. I think it was just a genuine accident to let more leash out on the woman’s part given she had moved over. But it’s a great way to wake me up in the morning.

[brendan]

A few weeks ago:

You: Woman cycling her road bike eastward up from the Underpass of Eternal Darkness, head down on your side of the trail, grinding up the hill with steadfast determination.

Me: Heavy cyclist riding heavy cargo bike carrying heavy cargo coasting down the hill towards the UoED on my side of the trail at a downhill but reasonable speed for the upcoming left curve…rolling over a serious bump in the trail which created a sound not entirely unlike my bike falling from the sky and landing onto the trail even though the bike continued straight and true [the xtracycle running boards’ loose fit definitely contributes to the sound of a large contraption falling apart, esp. with cargo].

You: Screaming in surprised terror. Like, actual terror. Like inducing an adrenalin response in me upon hearing the scream.

Sorry.

I looked back, concerned I’d surprised you into a crash. But you were still grinding up the hill, just no longer staring at the trail but looking forward. Safe…but your heart must have been pounding pretty hard.

Again, sorry.

B

[Steve O]

@Terpfan 106231 wrote:

Thinking back, I didn’t need to. I think it was just a genuine accident to let more leash out on the woman’s part given she had moved over.

Disagree. People with dogs on the trail need to make sure both their dogs and the leashes are not creating dangers.

I actually hit an invisible leash once. A little different in that the lady with the dog seemed oblivious to my 600 bell rings coming up. As I approached, the little dog was on the left side of the trail and the lady on the right. I went to split them, because I could not see a leash or anything in her hand and I figured she was letting the dog walk free.

Thankfully I had slowed a lot, so it was a low-speed encounter when I realized there was actually a line across the trail. I only pulled it about 3-4 feet before I came to a complete stop.

I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I had hit it at full speed.

[PotomacCyclist]

A couple years ago at East Potomac Park, I rode up to a woman who was walking on one side of the road while her dog was on the other side. The leash stretched across both lanes of the road. Fortunately I noticed the leash early enough to slow down and stop. But I was still annoyed. What goes on in someone’s head that they think it’s a good idea to block both lanes of a road with a leash? Maybe she thought that Ohio Drive is a calm, park road where no one ever drivers, bikes or runs?

In non-bike news, I saw a woman on the Metro the other day who walked up to an Army soldier. (He was wearing his combat uniform.) Then she asked him about the witness protection program. Then she asked if he knew how to get into the witness protection program. She asked how she could apply for the witness protection program. “No, ma’am.” “Sorry, I don’t know anything about that, ma’am.” “I don’t handle that, ma’am.” She never got out of control, but, well, there were those questions. She finally finished the conversation and walked back to the other end of the train. She never asked anyone for money, or spoke to anyone else on the crowded train. OK.

[thucydides]

@PotomacCyclist 106262 wrote:

In non-bike news, I saw a woman on the Metro the other day who walked up to an Army soldier. (He was wearing his combat uniform.) Then she asked him about the witness protection program. Then she asked if he knew how to get into the witness protection program. She asked how she could apply for the witness protection program. “No, ma’am.” “Sorry, I don’t know anything about that, ma’am.” “I don’t handle that, ma’am.” She never got out of control, but, well, there were those questions. She finally finished the conversation and walked back to the other end of the train. She never asked anyone for money, or spoke to anyone else on the crowded train. OK.

So…prank headed to a youtube channel near you or mental illness? Sounds like the soldier handled it like a professional.

[PotomacCyclist]

Definitely didn’t seem like a prank, unless she was an Academy Award-winning actress. Obviously something was off, but she didn’t seem as unhinged as other people I’ve seen on downtown sidewalks or some Metro stations. I wondered if maybe she were part of an immigrant community that just doesn’t have too much awareness of how government organizations work. She didn’t seem to have an accent though. It’s hard to determine much about her background and mental makeup from the brief conversation. But I think it’s a possibility. So is mental illness, of course.

Yes, the soldier responded professionally. I have to think that he might have been concerned about an attack. Other people might have wondered about it too, because the woman walked through the entire car, directly to him.

[Steve O]

Us: Dismal, dbb, wheels&wings and I leaving FCCII, riding 2 abreast down a side residential street on our way to the Custis Trail. Downhill grade, not riding slowly.
You: Silver sedan attempting to pass all of us by driving down the wrong side of the road; curve upcoming.
Me: Hearing you, I glance over my shoulder to see you creeping up on my left and exclaim, “What the #$&* are you doing!?”. I put out my hand indicating you shall not pass and move over onto the opposite side, forcing you to back off.
You: “Honk!”
Me: Thinking, “I’m not going to let you be on my left if and when an oncoming car forces you back into our lane. Get the f*&$ behind us.”
Us: Continuing to the traffic light, red.
You: “Honk!”
Us: Onto trail/sidewalk down Lee Highway. Good riddance. Hope we didn’t make you late for your red light this morning.

[Author]

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