Missed connection

[creadinger]

Oiy, pressured driver really needs to HTFU. So. Someone honked at you because they think you should pull out into traffic to get out of their way. F*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*ck that. All you need is a hand gesture and a firm foot on the brake pedal to deal with those idiots.

Otherwise, nice job anticipating the a-hole behavior that was to follow. A lot of times that is the only thing that keeps us upright.

[Tania]

@creadinger 144531 wrote:

Oiy, pressured driver really needs to HTFU. So. Someone honked at you because they think you should pull out into traffic to get out of their way. F*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*ck that. All you need is a hand gesture and a firm foot on the brake pedal to deal with those idiots.

Otherwise, nice job anticipating the a-hole behavior that was to follow. A lot of times that is the only thing that keeps us upright.

I’ve been known to–oops!–stall out my manual trans car in situations like this (after waiting for the light to change). Sorry, my bad.

[consularrider]

You would be truly ELITE! if you could stall out an automatic in that situation.

[huskerdont]

This is such a common occurrence in DC. I firmly believe right turn on red should be revoked in all places where pedestrians are common, such as in cities and close-in suburbs. Laws and road design at the moment are tailor-made for running people down in crosswalks. Our attitude is that it’s okay because they are “accidents,” but they’re accidents that were designed to happen.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@huskerdont 144537 wrote:

This is such a common occurrence in DC. I firmly believe right turn on red should be revoked in all places where pedestrians are common, such as in cities and close-in suburbs. Laws and road design at the moment are tailor-made for running people down in crosswalks. Our attitude is that it’s okay because they are “accidents,” but they’re accidents that were designed to happen.

It’s forbidden at many intersections in DC, but I still see drivers disregard the signs on an almost daily basis (I’m looking at you, Maryland drivers on Barracks Row!).

[mstone]

@consularrider 144535 wrote:

You would be truly ELITE! if you could stall out an automatic in that situation.

My college girlfriend had that car…

[bobco85]

@creadinger 144531 wrote:

Otherwise, nice job anticipating the a-hole behavior that was to follow. A lot of times that is the only thing that keeps us upright.

I pass through that intersection daily, so I am used to waiting after the LPI has started because a few cars trying to turn right on red find a “gap in traffic” suddenly when Columbia Pike gets a red. Same thing happens but with less frequency at W&OD/Walter Reed Dr because I think drivers seem to be trained a little better there.

It’s better in Arlington than I’ve seen elsewhere. In my experience in riding through parts of southern Fairfax County and Woodbridge, I have seen that drivers will sometimes form unbreakable right turning trains regardless of pedestrians waiting to cross, the crosswalk signal, a red light, and/or any No Turn on Red signage. I once had to assert myself about halfway through a countdown timer after having waited an entire red light cycle and pushed the button because of one of these trains, and even then I got yelled at by a driver because they just assumed they could maintain speed in disregard to other people.

[notinthe18]

I had to pop across town last night and rode the Pennsylvania Ave cycle track around 6 PM. My experiences left me newly appreciative of how good I have it mostly commuting on trails–the horrific etiquette from the cyclists left me embarrassed and suddenly much less annoyed by poorly called passes on trails.

In the span of those few blocks, I saw:
-Lady bopping along on a bikeshare with no helmet and two earbuds in
-Several cyclists popping in and out of the cycle track to run red lights or cut lights with arrows (I’m not averse to a good Idaho stop or slowly squeezing through a deserted intersection, but Pennsylvania at 6:15 PM???? Those are not easy or deserted intersections! And by the way, we all got stuck at the same lights in the end!)
-Repeated shoaling (from a dude also on a bikeshare with no helmet)
-Dude on a tricked out mountain bike who couldn’t be bothered to dismount (didn’t even look like clipless pedals) and thus kept circling everyone at every intersection

Kind of put things in perspective for me. I’ll try to be more patient about getting annoyed with little etiquette breaches on the trails after seeing all of that.

[Crickey7]

@notinthe18 144551 wrote:

Lady bopping along on a bikeshare with no helmet and two earbuds in.

That is not an etiquette violation, nor illegal, nor especially dangerous. And I’m a total safety weenie and designated law enforcement scold.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@notinthe18 144551 wrote:

I had to pop across town last night and rode the Pennsylvania Ave cycle track around 6 PM. My experiences left me newly appreciative of how good I have it mostly commuting on trails–the horrific etiquette from the cyclists left me embarrassed and suddenly much less annoyed by poorly called passes on trails.

In the span of those few blocks, I saw:
-Lady bopping along on a bikeshare with no helmet and two earbuds in
-Several cyclists popping in and out of the cycle track to run red lights or cut lights with arrows (I’m not averse to a good Idaho stop or slowly squeezing through a deserted intersection, but Pennsylvania at 6:15 PM???? Those are not easy or deserted intersections! And by the way, we all got stuck at the same lights in the end!)
-Repeated shoaling (from a dude also on a bikeshare with no helmet)
-Dude on a tricked out mountain bike who couldn’t be bothered to dismount (didn’t even look like clipless pedals) and thus kept circling everyone at every intersection

Kind of put things in perspective for me. I’ll try to be more patient about getting annoyed with little etiquette breaches on the trails after seeing all of that.

It’s important to remember that, particularly in the city, people on bikes are just that, rather than “cyclists.” They’re just using bikes because it’s more convenient and not because they care about the “community” of cyclists. Think of them more as pedestrians on wheels and their behavior makes more sense.

Also, why is it so bad that bikeshare riders don’t wear helmets? That’s kinda the long-term goal of the whole system…make riding such a “normal” thing that you don’t need protective gear, a la the Netherlands or Denmark.

[creadinger]

@notinthe18 144551 wrote:

-Dude on a tricked out mountain bike who couldn’t be bothered to dismount (didn’t even look like clipless pedals) and thus kept circling everyone at every intersection

This sounds like a dude from the Bicycle Space shop rides. The guy just can’t, or doesn’t know how to stop. He rides like a hockey player, constantly circling until the green light. It’s really annoying.

[huskerdont]

Yeah you’re really going to be annoyed when you ride past me. I’ll never wear a helmet in the summer unless I’m mountain biking or racing. But I do call my passes, yield the right-of-way, look ahead before passing, and hardly ever shoal someone unless we’re really close friends.

Lots of people think you have to ride just like they do, but it’s not a bad idea to separate behavior that endangers others from behavior that is just different.

[mstone]

I hadn’t realized that all the big problems had been solved so there was nothing left to bitch about besides other peoples’ headgear.

[notinthe18]

@Crickey7 144553 wrote:

That is not an etiquette violation, nor illegal, nor especially dangerous. And I’m a total safety weenie and designated law enforcement scold.

I’m firmly in the camp that riding with two earbuds in, in a city, is very dangerous. A handful of states (including, I believe, Maryland) have laws against having two buds in (Maryland is maybe as long as you’re not on a bike path?). Others can certainly disagree.

Helmets, whatever.

[scorchedearth]

If the lack of headgear is bothersome, then you probably wouldn’t want to ride with me.

[Author]

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