Missed connection

[PotomacCyclist]

More evidence that it’s very difficult to knock a CaBi bike over:

I was riding near the Navy Yard Metro, mapping bike racks for RackSpotter. The neighborhood was very busy as the SF Giants were playing the Nationals at Nats Park a couple blocks away. People were still making their way to the stadium from the Metro and nearby parking lots. I was inching along very slowly on a sidewalk. (When I ride on sidewalks with people nearby, I slow down to a speed that would be comfortable for pedestrians. If it’s really crowded, I’m rolling along at about 0.5 mph. I see it as an opportunity to practice my balance skills, and try to remain upright, even if I’m riding at 0.3 mph or slower.)

Anyway, the sidewalk on that block was empty. Then I sense someone approaching from the left. I figure that he was an overly aggressive pedestrian, which happens, but I didn’t think anything of it. Then I sense that he is getting very close to me. I see sudden movement. The guy rushes at me from the side, raises his leg and kicks the back wheel cover hard!

I look over and see a scruffy-looking red-headed man in a dark/olive green jacket or overcoat. His hair is a mess and he looks very sullen, or high, or unbalanced, or drunk, or some combination of the above. This was in the early evening. There were about a dozen transit police and DDOT personnel directing traffic and keeping an eye on the crowds as they made their way to Nationals Park for the game. Most of the streets in Capitol Riverfront were very busy and active, but not that particular block of M St.

I looked back at the guy, surprised at what had just happened. That’s not something you would expect, so I didn’t know what to think, at first. Obviously this guy is disturbed or angry or both. I decided not to say anything, because you never know if someone like that has a knife or a gun or another implement. Or if he would just rush at me again. I kept rolling along slowly, but making sure he wasn’t following me. The guy never said anything.

I rode up to the next intersection, where there were a lot of people. I mentioned that guy to the DDOT person who was directing pre-game traffic. She just said that you never know what a homeless person is going to do. I guess so, but I’ve never been attacked by a homeless person before. (But I have been attacked by a red-headed person before, namely my former boss, years ago.)

I didn’t panic but I made sure that the guy was not behind me or near me. He was just shuffling along, carrying a backpack. He never said a word, before or after he slammed the rear wheel of the bike. I rode around slowly until I passed by a group of police officers. I spoke to them and pointed out what happened. I didn’t expect them to do much, but I wanted to point out that guy because he would probably be wandering around back and forth, and he could attack someone else in the large crowd. They said they would look out for him and thanked me for pointing it out. That was about all they could do, because the guy had walked down the block and was out of view temporarily. They asked if I was alright. I said that I was fine. The guy had only made contact with the bike and the wheel cover, not me. (If he had kicked me, he would have left a bruise. Maybe even a sprained hip or knee or possibly a broken bone. But he didn’t kick me, just the bike.)

I continued to ride around slowly. As I neared the Navy Yard Metro entrance, I happened upon the same guy again. I’m not sure if he recognized me. I sure recognized him. I gave him a wide berth and kept an eye on him without staring at him or directly looking at him, so as not to provoke him. (I had no idea how this guy would react to even an inadvertent glance or a misinterpreted stare.) I steered well around him until I was past him. I looked back until I was sure that he was continuing to walk in the other direction.

So if you see a red-headed man wandering around the Navy Yard Metro or elsewhere in DC, beware. He had brownish-red hair, messy and dirty. He was wearing a long-sleeved canvas jacket or over-shirt, dark green or olive green in color. He was carrying a dirty blue backpack and maybe another bag. He had a light skin complexion but his face was grimy with dirt. I’ve never seen him before, and I hadn’t encountered him before he kicked the wheel. (That is, I didn’t cross him or cut him off before he attacked the bike. He just rushed out of the building just so he could kick the bike wheel, hard. It wasn’t an accident.)

After I had a chance to think about what had happened, I realized that if I had been riding another type of bike, he probably would have knocked me over. If you raise your leg up and kick a bike wheel from the side with a lot of force, the odds are good that you will knock over the bike and the rider. But not if the rider is on a CaBi bike. I’m not that heavy, so that wouldn’t explain why I didn’t tip over. It’s the bike. I heard and felt the hard thud as he contacted the wheel cover. It was far more than just a tap. I wasn’t in his way. He rushed out of a building as I was passing, just so that he could kick the bike hard from the side. I was only riding about 1-2 mph at the time, if that. Walking speed at best.

Bizarre. I’ve ridden around some dicier areas and neighborhoods over the past couple months. I’ve ridden past and through the crowds of the homeless people at the Mitch Snyder shelter and the Central Union shelter. A lot of the people at the Mitch Snyder shelter appeared to be on drugs (looking aimlessly at the ground or at the sky, not focusing on anything around them). People frequently issue warnings about Anacostia. I rode past the Greenleaf public housing projects. No one ever attacked me or threatened me at any of these places. (That’s not to say that crime doesn’t occur in some of these areas, but nothing happened to me.)

[jopamora]

Me: driving south on rt 202 in Bucks county PA
You: riding on the other side. Wow! Major kudos for wearing a Wolverine costume complete with claws.

[KLizotte]

Potomac Cyclist,

Unfortunately a large percentage of homeless have mental health issues, some researchers report that it is the majority. There is also a high rate of substance abuse as well, often as a way to self-medicate. It is possible that the guy who kicked you is mentally ill and/or has had a bad experience with a Cabi rider. Fortunately you weren’t hurt and hopefully this gentleman will get the help he obviously needs.

[dasgeh]

Also, 1 mph is really slow, even for walking. Most people walk in the 2-3 mph range.

[PotomacCyclist]

I take it as a challenge to see how slow I can ride and still stay on the bike without putting a foot down. It’s even easier on CaBi. Sometimes even the ants can pass me when I’m going that slowly.

[mikoglaces]

Me: riding to work on the Custis trial, probably ar around 20 +/- mph.
You: adult on a bike entering from a side path. You entered the Custis without stopping and waiting for me. You were riding slowly, and you casually looked my way as you were entering. I assumed you saw me and were going to stop, but you didn’t. At which point I started saying “Woah, woah, WOAH,” while moving right and braking.

You then went left, into the ditch along the path. You somehow got of the bike (step-through frame i assume), dropped it on the grass, and ran in the direction you had been riding. Amazingly you didn’t fall. I asked whether you were all right, you said yes and i rode on.

Well, no one was hurt this time, and I think you learned a lesson (hopefully).

[Terpfan]

@PotomacCyclist 119503 wrote:

Bizarre. I’ve ridden around some dicier areas and neighborhoods over the past couple months. I’ve ridden past and through the crowds of the homeless people at the Mitch Snyder shelter and the Central Union shelter. A lot of the people at the Mitch Snyder shelter appeared to be on drugs (looking aimlessly at the ground or at the sky, not focusing on anything around them). People frequently issue warnings about Anacostia. I rode past the Greenleaf public housing projects. No one ever attacked me or threatened me at any of these places. (That’s not to say that crime doesn’t occur in some of these areas, but nothing happened to me.)

Not that it will make you feel better, but a few weeks back I was walking with my wife on Connecticut Ave to meet some friends at a bar near Dupont. They have that little construction zone in the middle with exactly one port-a-potty in it. Out comes a homeless man (I’m presuming he’s homeless by his clothing, but who knows) who starts blabbering total jibberish and then asking why we don’t like some random name. So, I opted to ignore him. He came right up and rubbed his arm along my shirt sleeve (I had on a long sleeved shirt) and said something about now I have special juice too. Eww.

Anyway, yah, you never know what they would do.

[CaseyKane50]

This morning around 8 am

Me: heading north on the MVT

You: heading south, Behind a jogger and another bike rider

Me: Sees the bike rider in front of you slowing down to wait until it is safe to pass

You: not wanting to slow down, pull into the on-coming lane

Me: not wanting to hit you, I move off the trail and ride in the grass

I hope you got where you needed to be this morning.

[video=youtube_share;mzK_vVPqGxs]http://youtu.be/mzK_vVPqGxs[/video]

[mikoglaces]

@CaseyKane50 119622 wrote:

This morning around 8 am

Me: heading north on the MVT

You: heading south, Behind a jogger and another bike rider

Me: Sees the bike rider in front of you slowing down to wait until it is safe to pass

You: not wanting to slow down, pull into the on-coming lane

Me: not wanting to hit you, I move off the trail and ride in the grass

I hope you got where you needed to be this morning.

[video=youtube_share;mzK_vVPqGxs]http://youtu.be/mzK_vVPqGxs[/video]

Yup, that’s happened to me too. I usually yell “Stay right!” Might make ’em think before they do it again.

[GovernorSilver]

Almost forgot that a cyclist going into the opposite direction passed someone, then lingered in my lane on the MVT. I just slowed down and didn’t leave my lane. He had to go back to his.

[baiskeli]

@Terpfan 119617 wrote:

Not that it will make you feel better, but a few weeks back I was walking with my wife on Connecticut Ave to meet some friends at a bar near Dupont. They have that little construction zone in the middle with exactly one port-a-potty in it. Out comes a homeless man (I’m presuming he’s homeless by his clothing, but who knows) who starts blabbering total jibberish and then asking why we don’t like some random name. So, I opted to ignore him. He came right up and rubbed his arm along my shirt sleeve (I had on a long sleeved shirt) and said something about now I have special juice too. Eww.

Anyway, yah, you never know what they would do.

Look on the bright side – at least now you have special juice too.

[jabberwocky]

Dear white Prius with driver who was obviously on a very important phone call at Baron Cameron and Lake Fairfax Drive this morning: You are very lucky I double checked that you were stopping at that red light before I went, because your phone call clearly took precedence over mundane stuff like checking the color of stop lights, and I’d hate to mess up the front of your prius by foolishly proceeding through a green light.

[PotomacCyclist]

From last week

Me: Person riding on a CaBi bike along the Watergate buildings, and also stopping to walk along the sidewalks.

You: A giant rat, maybe a foot in length, not counting the tail! Running along the sidewalk and the pedestrian concourse along the Virginia Ave side of the development.

I read that the Watergate is supposed to be one of the most desirable residential properties in the DC region. Not if there are giant rats scurrying about, right in front of the escalators and the dry cleaners and the pizza places.

[kwarkentien]

Hey, at least that’s one DC Watergate rat that’s not afraid to show himself for what he really is.

[wheelswings]

This morning I came frightfully close to a head-on-collision with an orange-colored vehicle in Foggy Bottom. I’d waited for my green light and was crossing Pennsylvania Ave. on 25th St. when the driver changed her mind mid-course (realizing she didn’t want to be on Penn Ave after all) and made a sharp left (toward L) without looking. I screamed. Really loud.

Fortunately for me, this happened near Trader Joe’s, so I could slip inside and munch on free-sample apples dipped in almond butter and distract myself by comparing cookie varieties (I chose the Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip ones) until I was ready to get back on the bike.

[Author]

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