Missed connection

[secstate]

@Brendan von Buckingham 158531 wrote:

Me: Casually commuting home on the Custis Trail yesterday evening.
You: Fat tires, motorized vehicle, doing 30mph+, passing on a blind curve.

If you were running Strava, can you check for a flyby by a guy named “Mark aka Gear Crusher”? If you think it’s him, we know who he is, and it might be time for a chat before he kills somebody.

See the discussion on this thread from February:

http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?688-Missed-connection&p=154638#post154638

[anomad]

Which one was it? There are a few. I’ve seen orange, blue, white and kind of silver.

@Brendan von Buckingham 158531 wrote:

Me: Casually commuting home on the Custis Trail yesterday evening.
You: Fat tires, motorized vehicle, doing 30mph+, passing on a blind curve.
.

[Brendan von Buckingham]

Alas, I’m passed my Strava phase. Haven’t used it in a while. The flyby function was the best feature of it though.

[Brendan von Buckingham]

Homer Simpson Yellow.

[Brendan von Buckingham]

@anomad 158533 wrote:

Which one was it? There are a few. I’ve seen orange, blue, white and kind of silver.

Homer Simpson Yellow

[Tania]

@secstate 158532 wrote:

If you were running Strava, can you check for a flyby by a guy named “Mark aka Gear Crusher”? If you think it’s him, we know who he is, and it might be time for a chat before he kills somebody.

See the discussion on this thread from February:

http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?688-Missed-connection&p=154638#post154638

I hate this guy. But I don’t remember his bike being Homer Simpson yellow (doesn’t mean it isn’t…bad memory).

[Judd]

@Brendan von Buckingham 158531 wrote:

I have two facts and one opinion for you. Take you’re pick which is which:

+ the most bicycle thing on your vehicle is your tinkly little bell
+ your bicycle helmet won’t do much for you or the pedestrian in your inevitable accident at motorcycle speeds
+ you’re a douche bag

Looks like three facts to me.

[Boo Boo]

@Tania 158538 wrote:

I hate this guy. But I don’t remember his bike being Homer Simpson yellow (doesn’t mean it isn’t…bad memory).

If it’s the guy I’m thinking of, it’s got yellow rims/hubs. Bike itself is black, I think.

[Drewdane]

@Brendan von Buckingham 158531 wrote:

Me: Casually commuting home on the Custis Trail yesterday evening.
You: Fat tires, motorized vehicle, doing 30mph+, passing on a blind curve.

I have two facts and one opinion for you. Take you’re pick which is which:

+ the most bicycle thing on your vehicle is your tinkly little bell
+ your bicycle helmet won’t do much for you or the pedestrian in your inevitable accident at motorcycle speeds
+ you’re a douche bag

I’ve grown accustomed to the power-assisted bicycles on the trails. Most people blend in fine enough. My instinctive response to get into some sort of John Henry thing with the speedier ones is my own short coming. I’m working on that. But I have my limits. If you have a motor, and your tires are wider than your saddle and you’re going over 30mph you’re riding a motorcycle. Man up and ride that thing in the street.

Was it this guy?

@Drewdane 147494 wrote:

Dude on the e-assist fat bike (like, obese. Those wheels have to be at least six inches wide): that thing must weigh a ton – wouldn’t it be just as easy to ride a traditional muscle-powered skinny-wheeled bike?

[drevil]

@Drewdane 158542 wrote:

Was it this guy?

If it seems like it’s this guy Mark, just yell his name out when he passes and see if he responds.

[huskerdont]

My name isn’t Mark, but if someone yelled “Mark” at me while we passed, I’d likely respond.

Yesterday was the day for missed connections. Don’t much feel like angry-ing up the blood by recounting them, but some days I can see why people get angry at cyclists. And pedestrians. And drivers.

[VikingMariner]

@rcannon100 158303 wrote:

My strategy is to not worry about it. It’s amazing how wonderful a bike ride can be.

7 things you should give up to be a happy cyclist, London Cyclist

You nailed it. With almost 50-years of cycling, including some racing, I agree 100 percent.

[bobco85]

I’ve got a fresh missed connection from this morning.

Me: riding westbound on W&OD in the crosswalk at George Mason Dr
You: driver facing southbound on George Mason Dr, waiting at a red light
(W&OD and Four Mile Run Dr have a green light with about 10 seconds left on the countdown timer)
You: blatantly just start driving through the intersection and run the red just behind me
Me: looks behind me, shocked at what you just did yet relieved you didn’t do it a few seconds earlier
You: now facing southbound on George Mason Dr, waiting at ANOTHER red light; time saved = a few seconds
Was it worth it to do such a reckless thing?

[huskerdont]

Me: Yielding the right-of-way to a vehicle at a 4-way stop in Georgetown.
You: Blowing past me, causing the vehicle to slam on the brakes, then lying when I caught up to you and saying that you had yielded and they waved you through.

Thank you for reinforcing motorists’ confirmation bias wherever you go.

[Tania]

Double missed connection I guess. But I’m the guilty party in one. Heading east on Custis approaching the S Curve of death.

Oblivious cyclist screaming onto the Custis from a sidepath – without looking for any oncoming traffic and almost causing someone in front of me to crash. So I think “‘ok, I see you dude and I’m going to sit on your wheel and drop you solidly on the hill just past Spout Run with the moguls at the top.” He was also refusing to shift down from his smallest cog so he was mashing like a fool.

So I dropped him on the climb (he tried to keep up) – but then after I passed him, I also had to pass the woman in front of him…just as another cyclist appeared from the shadows who was cresting the hill from the other direction. I kinda had to put the squeeze on him a bit and I apologized to him as we passed – there was no where for me to go other than close-ish to him or close-ish to the woman I was passing and he looked much more seasoned. Was it a super close pass? No, but I usually try to avoid any thread the needle type passes – I just don’t pass if there is immediate oncoming traffic (bike or pedestrian). Sorry, guy! I truly didn’t see you until the last second with the angle of the sun and the shadows. Thanks for being cool about it.

[Author]

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