Missed connection

[Terpfan]

Dear woman jogging on Wisconsin Avenue directly at me in the far right lane next to the parked cars, I don’t care if you want to jog on the road, but expecting me to move over into traffic going up a hill is a real d-bag move. I’m not one to lecture anyone taking the sidewalk, but if you’re going to run down a busy road against traffic then you have to yield to those of us going with the flow of traffic.

[mikoglaces]

@bobco85 113056 wrote:

Couldn’t help myself with the title

The Ugly: man I see riding on the sidewalk along Wilson Blvd with a lit cigarette in his mouth – dude, I think you may be counteracting any benefits of exercise here!

One of my favorite cycling books involved the story of a smoker riding across country. Over the Hills: A Midlife Escape Across America by Bicycle, Amazon.com: Over the Hills: A Midlife Escape Across America by Bicycle (9780812925791): David Lamb: Books, about a middle-aged journalist who rides across the U.S. The author, David Lamb (former LA Times correspondent in Washington, D.C.), was no cyclist — he considered the 18 mile ride from Arlington, VA to Mount Vernon to be a long ride. And he was a smoker. He didn’t stop smoking as he rode across the US. The book shows that any man who puts his mind to it can ride long distances.

Some well-known cyclists smoked, or at least promoted cigaretts:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]8291[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]8292[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]8293[/ATTACH]

[Tim Kelley]

@mikoglaces 113292 wrote:

Some well-known cyclists smoked, or at least promoted cigaretts:

“The strongest drug in the early Tour de France was strychnine. Other than that, riders would take anything to survive the tedium, the pain and the exhaustion of stages that could last more than 300 km. That included alcohol, which was already strong in French culture and sometimes purer than water after World War I destroyed water pipes and polluted water tables, and ether. There are photographs of riders holding ether-soaked handkerchiefs to their mouths, or leaving them knotted under the chin so the fumes would deaden the pain in their legs.[13] The smell, enough to turn a man’s stomach said Pierre Chany,[14] discouraged some but also showed the extent of suffering by others. Roger Lapébie, winner of the Tour in 1937, said he smelled ether “in the bunch near the finish; it used to be taken in a little bottle called a topette.”[15] Its use lasted decades; riders were caught using it as late as 1963.

The acceptance of drug-taking in the Tour de France was so complete by 1930, when the race changed to national teams that were to be paid for by the organisers, that the rule book distributed to riders by the organiser, Henri Desgrange, reminded them that drugs were not among items with which they would be provided.[16] In a 1949 interview with Fausto Coppi, the 1949 and 1952 Tour winner, he admitted to amphetamine use and said “those who claim [that cyclists do not take amphetamine], it’s not worth talking to them about cycling”.[17]”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doping_at_the_Tour_de_France#1903-1940s:_Doping_as_acceptable_means

[bobco85]

Well, color me surprised! I had never even considered connecting smoking post-Surgeon General’s warnings to cycling of any kind, but my reaction to seeing someone smoking while riding a bike seems to still be surprise and curiosity. It’s mostly because smoking while cycling is not something I can imagine myself ever doing, and I don’t smoke because I never really have enjoyed smoking cigarettes enough to do it (although a cigar for a special occasion can be nice).

I found the information to be very interesting, though. I guess it’s one of those “different strokes for different folks” sort of things.

I wonder: if someone in the Tour de France were to smoke a cigarette during a race, could it be considered a smoke screen? Could be useful if someone wanted to prevent their competitors from passing them

[baiskeli]

Stumbled on these:

http://road.cc/content/news/44758-urban-cyclists-breathe-more-twice-amount-harmful-soot-pedestrians-do-says-london
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/exhaust-ing-ride-for-cyclists

Some of us inhale extra smoke while cycling whether we like it or not.

There’s even an invention:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2523127/Bicycle-built-air-purifier-spares-cyclists-exhaust-fumes.html

[creadinger]

A friend of mine from college is an atmospheric scientist at KNMI (specifically particulate matter I believe), and they’re beginning a plan to deploy little bike mounted air quality sensors around the city of Utrecht to get a real time, micro-scale picture of where ground level pollution is concentrated on the city scale.

I told her that they could totally roll that out here, because I know a ton of cyclists who would want to participate. And many of us already use GPS units, so the data would already be geolocated and time stamped.

She said she’ll let me know if they expand the study. KNMI may not be the first to do this type of work, but it’s such a great idea to use local cyclists for air quality assessments.

My guess is that smoking cyclists would not be included in the program because they may tend to skew the results towards apocalyptically smokey if the sensors are mounted behind the rider.

[scoot]

I go out of my way to avoid inhaling secondhand smoke. When I used to catch a shuttle bus as part of my commute, I would wait maybe a hundred feet away from the shelter because there would inevitably be someone smoking there. Rather than trail behind a smoker on a sidewalk, I will sprint past to get ahead of the person. On the trail, I would probably do the same, or else drop way back and take a break.

The worst is on the road when someone pulls up to a stoplight holding a cigarette out of the window. If you don’t want it in your car, what makes you think everyone else wants a whiff? 😡

[jrenaut]

When you’re going to pass without warning on the 15th St Cycletrack, perhaps you should make sure you don’t show up on Strava flyby. I wanted to say something when I caught up but everything I wanted to say I’m afraid would have come out wrong. Actually what I really wanted to do was wait and then pass him going up the 15th St hill, which would have been satisfying, but that would have been totally embarrassing if I couldn’t pull it off. Plus out of my way.

[Tania]

It’s bad enough that you don’t call your passes, run red lights and don’t signal when you’re turning but for the love of god, please don’t text and bike. Or read anything on your phone causing you to weave all over the place. Leave those phone shenanigans to pedestrians.

[ebubar]

Dear Arlington resident who “drives” a monstrous SUV and is apparently a member of the country club next to Marymount University. First, you should slow down when driving on Glebe Road. The speed limit isn’t 45+ mph there. In fact, its the crazy high speeds people drive at along that road, that encourage me to use the sidewalk in front of your country club to finish the final hundred few feet to work. Second, there’s no reason to SCREAM out your window while turning into your club parking lot that “you have to ride in the road, its illegal to be on the sidewalks!”. I guess I should appreciate that you recognize my right to the road, but you should also inform yourself on Arlington laws before making yourself sound like a fool. In my efforts to exercise my right to not be harassed by @$$hats in multi-ton vehicles, who regularly buzz me closer than the MANDATORY 3 feet passing law, I sometimes choose to ride the sidewalks at a leisurely pace in that particular region of North Arlington. In fact, the two miles from Chain Bridge to Marymount are the ONLY ones on my 15 mile commute where drivers regularly drive like morons. You should know that I am legally WELL within my rights to ride on the sidewalks. In fact, your police department has even suggested I do this when cars are driving too fast for me to feel safe on the roads. Frankly, after 140 commuting miles this week, I was a bit tired and felt like taking a leisurely pleasure spin up these hills to get to work. Luckily, i’m PAL and won’t let your nasty attitude spoil my commute! Hopefully breaking in my Brooks saddle is the only other pain in the butt i’ll have to deal with today!

[scoot]

Might that stretch of Glebe be a good candidate for a road diet? According to VDOT, AADT in 2013 was 14k between Chain Bridge and Old Dominion. I seem to recall that 20k is the critical point.

There are alternative routes between Chain Bridge and Marymount, like Military Road to 31st/26th, which are either awesome (hills!) or awful (hills!), depending on your POV. But Glebe is certainly the quickest ride and gentlest slope, so it would be very helpful to improve it so that people can feel comfortable riding there.

[ebubar]

@scoot 113492 wrote:

Might that stretch of Glebe be a good candidate for a road diet? According to VDOT, AADT in 2013 was 14k between Chain Bridge and Old Dominion. I seem to recall that 20k is the critical point.

There are alternative routes between Chain Bridge and Marymount, like Military Road to 31st/26th, which are either awesome (hills!) or awful (hills!), depending on your POV. But Glebe is certainly the quickest ride and gentlest slope, so it would be very helpful to improve it so that people can feel comfortable riding there.

I sometimes take Military, but the quality of that road is awful (especially the “bike lanes”) and I regularly see cars weaving in and out of them. I’m usually fine on the road and can keep up a good clip, but my legs just weren’t feeling it today. Plus, even when I ride the roads, I always take the sidewalk along that last hill in front of the country club. Marymount is right there, and its a good chance to end my ride with a relaxing jaunt uphill, rather than a mad dash fighting with the BWM’s and Lexus’s of North Arlington.

[Steve O]

@ebubar 113485 wrote:

In fact, the two miles from Chain Bridge to Marymount are the ONLY ones on my 15 mile commute where drivers regularly drive like morons.

Have you tried Military to the Donaldson Run trail? The trail through the woods, although uphill, is quite pleasant, and it keeps you off Glebe, which is the most unpleasant of all the N. Arlington arterials, IMO.

[rcannon100]

@Steve O 113507 wrote:

Have you tried Military to the Donaldson Run trail?

I would not ride in there. Morons walk their dogs in there.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]8324[/ATTACH]

[scoot]

@ebubar 113494 wrote:

I sometimes take Military, but the quality of that road is awful (especially the “bike lanes”) and I regularly see cars weaving in and out of them.

Military is completely out of my way, but I do love heading up there for some exercise on the hills. As you indicate though, the pavement is horrendous and the bike lanes are door-zone. The good thing is that there aren’t usually too many vehicles parallel parked on the roadway. I can usually adjust my speed to avoid encountering a parked car and a passing car simultaneously on the uphills. On the downhills I mostly take the lane.

In my experience, drivers are courteous there, but I’m usually not there during rush hour. I have ridden Military Road a few times during evening rush hour, and that is more stressful.

[Author]

Posts