Missed connection

[Oldtowner]

Me: Riding north on the MVT this afternoon just north of Northdown road.

You: Gray SUV (with MD tags) slowly backing up on the MVT back up the hill to Northdown Road after having been somewhere down the trail past the houses.

Drat, so close to finding that secret backroad to Washington DC. It’s so narrow there it’s hard to understand how a driver could actually mistake that for a road. These trail incursions just never seem to stop!

[TwoWheelsDC]

@Oldtowner 122497 wrote:

it’s hard to understand how a driver could actually mistake that for a road

@Oldtowner 122497 wrote:

(with MD tags)

The answer was there all along…

[Vicegrip]

WO&D + Crazy Ivan =.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@Vicegrip 122505 wrote:

WO&D + Crazy Ivan =.

[Vicegrip]

Agree ABS better than the OSB system I used. Oh Sh–! Braking I grabbed as much lever as I could in the moment and the rear grabbed up first Ivan looked at me with the same calm unknowing expression I get from the trail side deer.

[creadinger]

Me: Del Ray, riding down the steep part of Mt. Ida to bear right onto Sanford.

You: Driver who pulled up to the stop sign on Sanford who waited for me to pass you. When you realized that I was turning right, you angrily screamed out your window “Signal!”

First) Screw you! Second) No! I will not pull my hand off of the bars going down a steep hill on terrible, bumpy pavement just so I can signal a right turn to you. In fact, the only signal that was appropriate in that situation was after the fact when you got the bird. Third) If I had $1.00 for every driver who caused me to unnecessarily wait 2 seconds or more because they were too lazy to signal a turn, I’d have my own island by now, and I wouldn’t have to deal with dicks like you.

[Tania]

Dear shirtless dude in a hi-viz vest rolling through rush hour traffic Foggy Bottom: I’d take your 3′ long stick with reflectors and flags attached to the left side of your bike a whole lot more seriously if you didn’t completely ignore pretty much every traffic law there is. I watched you weave in and out of cars, ignore pedestrians, blow stop lights, not signal your turns, turn right from the left side of the street (because hey! you were biking on the left), etc etc etc.

Way to represent, yo!

But on the flip side, you made my interactions with the average clueless CaBi rider that much more pleasant by comparison.

[KWL]

Crazy Ivan on the MVT just at the TRI parking lot off the ramp from Rosslyn. Ken’s Runners Tip #4® “Turn to the right, off the trail, when you spin around on your heels, not to the left across two lanes of trail traffic”

[DrP]

Me: Cycling along on the MVT along the airport by the long term parking, i.e., where all the blind curves are. Sure the four cyclists in front of me are not going super fast, but they are keeping a good enough pace to get through this unsafe to pass so many people at once location.

You: One of a trio of twenty-somethings that do not announce your passes (your leader passed me earlier too, to meet up with the rest of you at the CCC, and no peep from her then either), that decided that you needed to pass all five of us on the blind curves. So, you do not see the woman walking on the trail in the other direction and nearly hit her! Sure, you grabbed some break, but if she didn’t react well and jump to the side, you would have hit her head on and it was ALL YOUR FAULT! I didn’t even hear you apologize to her as you just continued on your way.

[bobco85]

Continuing the theme of blind curves and idiots, I had a missed connection on my commute (which was otherwise wonderful) this morning.

On the W&OD near the George Mason Drive crossing where there is just barely a blind curve https://www.google.com/maps/@38.8529676,-77.1035552,56m/data=!3m1!1e3
Me: cycling westbound from the crossing
You: pair of joggers heading eastbound side-by-side toward the crossing, decide to cut the corner without checking to see if there was any oncoming traffic (i.e., me)
Me: luckily I saw you and went further inside, almost eating some flora in the process, but not without making an audible gasp

[Drewdane]

Hey there, bitchin’ awesome fixie dude! You sure are bitchin’ and awesome! You know what would be even more bitchin’ and awesome? Calling your passes and signaling your turns. That would be toootally bitchin’ and awesome!

[Vicegrip]

The good. Cute lady and dog. The bad. She was walking the wrong way on the W&OD with a good 10 foot leash on the 10# dog. Looking at me with a “Wha?!” expression for bonus points.

I am starting to miss Winter. Her crisp sharp air and conditions that tend to drive up overall trail IQ.

[PotomacCyclist]

Me: Coming back from the bike shop with my bike, after they replaced an important part (front fork) that was part of a recall last year. I was walking the bike since I didn’t bring my clipless shoes, helmet or any other bike gear with me.

You: A bat flying back and forth down the hall of my building. What?

[scoot]

Me: Checking out a CaBi from the new station at S Walter Reed and 8th Street S yesterday afternoon around 4pm.
You: Wave of drivers headed southbound on the newly repaved roadway

First I thought I heard vehicles passing awfully close behind while I was loading my bag onto the rack. Then I realized why.

Newsflash: There are NOT two southbound car lanes here! Please drive single-file like you did when there were lines painted on this road. Some of you came within inches of the flexposts at the corners of the CaBi station.

Arlington, please repaint the lines ASAP.

[bentbike33]

ME: Riding north on the MVT on a hot afternoon under Memorial Bridge.

YOU: Pleasant-looking older woman in white sun hat trudging south toward the same narrow underpass.

ME: Exiting from under the bridge and moving to the right well before you needed to even break stride.

YOU: Turning and leaning across the yellow line to scream at me, “It says ‘Walk’ [non-family friendly anatomical reference]!!!” as I passed.

ME: Um, OK. I suppose there is a sign saying cyclists should dismount, but my doing so would have unnecessarily delayed both of us as it would have been impossible for you to pass by me under the bridge while walking my bike. I thought my choice to disobey the sign made us both better off. I was clearly wrong and apologize.

[Author]

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