Missed connection

[PotomacCyclist]

I’ve noticed that many people think of the ride along the MVT solely in terms of trip time. I understand that people have busy schedules, but it’s also possible for some of those people to build in a little more time so they don’t feel they have to cut off so many people, pass recklessly and speed through all the crowds at Gravelly Point where there are a lot of children running around — yes, cue up the “think of the children” meme, but it’s true. (I get upset when I see a speedster trying to squeeze his way through families while trying to maintain a high speed. I agree that the parents could be better about keeping their kids out of the middle of the trail, but once those children are there, you have to take care around them, not push through at 10-15 mph or faster.) Driving in rush hour traffic doesn’t seem to appeal to anyone. People do it because they think the trip is shorter and they don’t have to exercise. But I don’t know many who say they enjoy the experience itself.

That’s completely the opposite for me and biking along the MVT in nice weather. I think it’s some of the most spectacular scenery in the region, and really in the entire country. The overall ride from downtown DC, passing by the Washington Monument, the Tidal Basin, the Jefferson Memorial, over the Potomac River and down along the MVT where I can see many of the famous monuments and memorials across the river is something that many people would actually go out of their way to see. This is evident in the millions of visitors to the area every year. I can’t think of it in utilitarian terms, such as I need to be at so-and-so in X number of minutes. I either plan ahead so that I am not forced to shave time off of every corner, or if I’m really in a rush, I will just take Metro or a taxi.

I don’t mind riding slower in those areas because I enjoy the commute itself. So why would I want to rush the experience? I usually ride on CaBi too, which makes me even slower. Even other CaBi riders tend to pass me on my commutes, even though I’m at least respectable on the bike leg at the Nation’s Triathlon in most years. (I’m not winning anything but I’m far from being in last place either.) I like to take it a little easier. I get to enjoy the experience and it’s safer for me and for everyone else.

On a related manner, I noticed that when some people proposed adding a temporary contraflow bike lane in front of the Jefferson Memorial during Cherry Blossom Festival season, they pointed out that it was dangerous to ride through the crowded area around the Tidal Basin. Dangerous? Not really. Inconvenient? Certainly. On the busiest days, you really need to be slowing down to walking speed at best because of all the people walking on the paths. But there is no danger from walking your bike through the crowds, or slowing down to a near crawl at 1-2 mph. What is dangerous is the expectation that one should be able to plow through there at 15-20 mph no matter what the congestion is like. Yes, that would be dangerous. But it’s also completely unnecessary. You can plan around the inconvenience by adding in more travel time. Everyone knows the area will be extremely crowded during the Festival. I have to say that that mindset is similar to that of a lot of drivers, who think that they should be able to drive at XX mph, no matter what the actual conditions are, whether or not there are cyclists on the road or pedestrians in the crosswalk. Ride, walk or drive at speeds that are appropriate for the conditions at that time, not based on expected or desired speed and travel time. That’s my general approach. I don’t need to be causing or getting into crashes because of my own impatience. I can’t control what everyone else does, but I can control my own actions.

As for people doing stupid things, it’s not the stupidity that upsets me. It’s the near collisions that upset me, such as when an aggressive rider crosses the center line to pass even when there is a lot of traffic in the other direction. Or when people cross the line to make a pass going into blind turns. I do not want to see people injured needlessly. There is absolutely no reason for crashes to result from those situations, if those individuals were not riding so aggressively, and sometimes recklessly. I am not always perfect myself, but I don’t do anything near what I’ve seen some people do. We can’t avoid all risk in life, but it doesn’t mean that we need to be creating situations where it’s highly likely that a crash can result.

[scoot]

I agree with everything you just said about how safety should trump convenience for individual riders (and drivers). It should also be noted though that convenience and safety can go hand-in-hand at a macro level when the question is infrastructure. Every delay that adds to biking travel time (e.g. having to walk your bike through Cherry Blossom crowds) will make riding a less competitive option, and some riders will respond by choosing other modes, such as driving cars. Proposals like the temporary contraflow lane can encourage people to use bikes instead of cars, which does at least marginally help to improve safety for everyone.

[dasgeh]

Like, scoot, I agree with your points, however, we have to stop looking at cycling as a leisure activity where it’s nice to look around at the scenery and start recognizing that it is a mode of transportation. As a mode of transportation, less than 5 mph is, well, walking, and while that’s a viable mode, too, it’s not viable for the distances that cyclists travel or the costs of cycling. For a day, I can see saying “this is a special event, your normal route will be closed/slower”. For the entire month of April (which is basically the Cherry Blossom Festival), that’s not a realistic alternative. There should be accommodation for bikes as transportation through the Cherry Blossom festival.

As far as the MVT, I imagine most people choose to bike on it because (1) it’s easy and (2) there’s no cars. Some of those people want to go fast. The primary conflict is with pedestrians, whose speed is dramatically slower than the fast cyclists. The volumes strongly suggest that mode separation between bikes and peds is needed, at least between FMR and TR Island. The infrastructure is failing us there, and while that doesn’t justify people being jerks, it does explain it.

[ERandall]

Do we do positive missed connections on here too too?

I have to give a shout to whoever was yelling ‘happy bike month!’ to everyone right next to the intersection of doom… Down I came, sweaty (overdressed, thus hot) and allergies destroying my nose, when suddenly I hear you and all I can manage is “huh?????”. And when you repeat it, running with your hand stretched for a high five, I can finally bring forth an awkward “Oh thanks you too!”. Well you wouldn’t have wanted to high five me anyway due to the sweaty hands but you deserve a shout for being up early in moderately crappy wet weather wishing everyone a happy bike month, so cheers.

[dplasters]

@ERandall 114918 wrote:

Do we do positive missed connections on here too too?

I have to give a shout to whoever was yelling ‘happy bike month!’ to everyone right next to the intersection of doom… Down I came, sweaty (overdressed, thus hot) and allergies destroying my nose, when suddenly I hear you and all I can manage is “huh?????”. And when you repeat it, running with your hand stretched for a high five, I can finally bring forth an awkward “Oh thanks you too!”. Well you wouldn’t have wanted to high five me anyway due to the sweaty hands but you deserve a shout for being up early in moderately crappy wet weather wishing everyone a happy bike month, so cheers.

You’re looking for the Found Connections thread. Its alright, I bet the forum Mods let it slide. Just this once.

Real on-topic police that bunch.

[consularrider]

@ERandall 114918 wrote:

Do we do positive missed connections on here too too?

I have to give a shout to whoever was yelling ‘happy bike month!’ to everyone right next to the intersection of doom… Down I came, sweaty (overdressed, thus hot) and allergies destroying my nose, when suddenly I hear you and all I can manage is “huh?????”. And when you repeat it, running with your hand stretched for a high five, I can finally bring forth an awkward “Oh thanks you too!”. Well you wouldn’t have wanted to high five me anyway due to the sweaty hands but you deserve a shout for being up early in moderately crappy wet weather wishing everyone a happy bike month, so cheers.

Talking about the wonderful Erin and Henry from BikeArlington? I’m happy for someone to give them kudos here too.

[KWL]

To the driver of the black Chevy dually pickup truck with ladders strapped in the bed, at Commonwealth & East Glebe: No, it is not OK to swing right into the bike lane to go around a left turning car. Especially when said lane is occupied.

[PotomacCyclist]

Perspective

I think some people could use a little more perspective and understanding of the context of a situation.

On the way back from the Washington Monument grounds and the WWII flyover, I was riding a CaBi bike up the 15th Street bikeway. All the sidewalks were crowded with pedestrians, so I walked or step-walked on the bike most of the way to the bikeway. Not a big deal. I can’t expect to be riding at 10 mph when the sidewalks and roads are so crowded. As I got onto the bikeway, I approached an older man who was walking in the bike lane. I rang the bell to signal that I was behind him. He was in one lane but I could still get around him. I wasn’t riding very fast. I was riding uphill and I wasn’t interested in pushing it. Maybe 2-4 mph at best.

A young couple also rode up on the bikeway. The woman was polite, but the guy was a hyper-aggressive jerk. He told the older man that he was in the bike lane and needed to move out. The man mumbled something and the young guy flipped out. He immediately swerved and stopped his bike in front of the man. I thought the man could have been on the sidewalk, but he seemed to be struggling a bit in the heat and the incline so I wasn’t going to make a fuss about it. He also appeared to be a visitor from out-of-town.

The woman said the name “Jason” to the young guy, who was about 25-30, with stud earrings in both ears and short dirty blond hair. She told him to come on and get going, and not to fight. A younger adult pedestrian, maybe 30 years old stepped in. He said that the older man was from out of town and that this was hardly a good reason to start a fight (verbal or otherwise). That younger guy was pretty big, maybe 6’2″ and 200 lbs. so he would be capable of keeping “Jason” off of the older man. I don’t think Jason was going to hit the older man but he did want to get into his face and scream. There was no reason for any of this. The older man shouldn’t have been walking in the bikeway, but he was hardly a dangerous or aggressive threat to anyone. He was fairly slim and a bit frail-looking. Maybe he made a snide comment, but I couldn’t hear what he said. Whether he did or not was irrelevant. Jason should have just let it go. Sometimes there’s a need to defend the space of the bike lane, but this wasn’t one of them.

If you’re on the forum, chill out, “Jason.” No need to go on the all-out offensive in every situation. The sidewalks were completely packed with people walking back from the WWII flyover. Everyone could see this. The older man made a simple mistake. None of the uphill cyclists were moving fast enough where this caused a dangerous situation for anyone. At worst, it was a minor inconvenience, because he was only blocking the left bike lane.

[Mikey]

Perhaps we just found a new term for the forum Dictionary – Jason

[Starduster]

The Intersection of Doom lived up to its reputation (or *down*, if you prefer) as I led the Papillon Cycles Arlington Loop Ride southbound through our favorite intersection this morning (10:35am or so). What a sight to behold- eastbound on Lynn, an SUV was determined to make a left turn to Lee from the far right lane. Brilliant. Well he did, to the predictable angry response. Almost hit a crossing pedestrian too, for “bonus points”. We had our own fun- “keep right” sorta collapsed as opposing traffic interwove with us as we crossed. And just for good measure, a northbound motorist in the right turn lane that causes us so much trouble, he was signaling *left* and trying to go that way. I was too focused on getting my group through there intact, so I don’t know how *that* turned out.

Whee! Such fun…

[Crickey7]

This is an illustration of the paradox of chaos. That it has an oddly traffic calming effect. When drivers are forced to go off auto-pilot and pay strict attention to what is going on–and slow their speeds–it means that more vulnerable traffic users are better off than in theoretically more controlled situations where a single anomaly like a slow-moving cyclist does not register.

Vive la Intersection of Doom!

[Steve O]

@Starduster 115395 wrote:

eastbound on Lynn, an SUV was determined to make a left turn to Lee from the far right lane.

Do you mean northbound on Lynn? I don’t think I’ve ever seen that particular maneuver attempted before.

@Starduster 115395 wrote:

a northbound motorist in the right turn lane that causes us so much trouble, he was signaling *left* and trying to go that way.

I think you mean a westbound motorist. Was the driver signaling *left* to go straight on Lee Hwy, because obviously he/she couldn’t go left the wrong way onto Lynn.

[Starduster]

@Steve O 115405 wrote:

Do you mean northbound on Lynn? I don’t think I’ve ever seen that particular maneuver attempted before.

I think you mean a westbound motorist. Was the driver signaling *left* to go straight on Lee Hwy, because obviously he/she couldn’t go left the wrong way onto Lynn.

OK, do I have everyone sufficiently confused? [breaks out the map and regrets not bringing a compass] Shall we say, on Lynn, pointed at Key Bridge. What matters is I got my group through IOD safely, so there.

[kcb203]

Last night on the Brandywine hill on the W&OD near East Falls Church:

You: Going up the hill going east and stuck behind an older man walking two small dogs.
Me: Going the other way down the hill.
You: Passing the older guy with the dogs in the grass on the right without mentioning your presence, thereby scaring the dogs and causing them to dart into my lane.
Me: Yelling over my shoulder the first thing that came to mind as I narrowly avoided the dogs, “That was a dick move.”

And today:

Me: Going west on the W&OD at Shreve.
You: Unmarked police car going through the crosswalk without stopping for a crossing cyclist even though all the non-police were nice enough to stop.

[dkel]

If there is a serious accident, and one person is literally sprawled out on the trail with several people crowded around to offer aid:

1) you don’t get to blast through at speed, and
2) when people tell you you should slow the hell down, you don’t get to shout obscenities and tell people to get the F out of the trail!

Seriously, I don’t care who you are, and I certainly don’t care how important you think you are: when someone is seriously injured, their needs take precedence over yours. That was the most disgusting thing I think I have ever seen out there, and I have seen lots of boneheaded, idiotic things out there. This post can’t come close to expressing my rage at what I witnessed!

[Author]

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