Missed connection

[n18]

You: Two cyclists who abandoned your bikes with some weed on June 21.

According to Vienna Police(PDF), “The marijuana and paraphernalia were turned over to the property officer for destruction.” So it’s safe to come out now and pick them up!

[Brendan von Buckingham]

You: The cyclist out for an afternoon ride on the MVT who stole my Brooks saddle from the bike rack at Roosevelt Island Friday afternoon 9/14. And you had to be a cyclist to be on the MVT in the middle of the day with the knowledge of what a Brooks saddle is and the tools to steal it. You’re not dumb.

Me: The guy who that morning found his office receptionist face down at her desk in a pool of vomit and had to yell for help, call 9-1-1, tell his coworkers what to do, get her on the floor to start CPR, watch the EMTs try to revive her and take her to the hospital, clean up her desk, and then interview with the MPD detective after she didn’t make it. I left work early and went to Roosevelt Island, my serenity place, to clear my head. And that’s when you decided to intersect your life with mine.

Your karma’s fucked. Rot in hell.

[dkel]

@Brendan von Buckingham 181104 wrote:

You: The cyclist out for an afternoon ride on the MVT who stole my Brooks saddle from the bike rack at Roosevelt Island Friday afternoon 9/14. And you had to be a cyclist to be on the MVT in the middle of the day with the knowledge of what a Brooks saddle is and the tools to steal it. You’re not dumb.

Me: The guy who that morning found his office receptionist face down at her desk in a pool of vomit and had to yell for help, call 9-1-1, tell his coworkers what to do, get her on the floor to start CPR, watch the EMTs try to revive her and take her to the hospital, clean up her desk, and then interview with the MPD detective after she didn’t make it. I left work early and went to Roosevelt Island, my serenity place, to clear my head. And that’s when you decided to intersect your life with mine.

Your karma’s fucked. Rot in hell.

Egad! Condolences and more condolences!

[fxbooks]

Brendan, I’m so sorry.

[wheelswings]

Good grief, what a nightmare in so many ways. Really sorry, Brendan. w&w

[Starduster]

Brendan, oh my lord, so sorry. To have a tragedy like that, and then the added insult to injury provided by the “opportunist”…

[Sunyata]

Oh man. That sounds like a horrible, horrible experience. Kudos for keeping your head and knowing what to do.

If you need to talk about what happened, please do. It helps, I promise. I am here if you need an ear.

[mstone]

@Brendan von Buckingham 181104 wrote:

You: The cyclist out for an afternoon ride on the MVT who stole my Brooks saddle from the bike rack at Roosevelt Island Friday afternoon 9/14. And you had to be a cyclist to be on the MVT in the middle of the day with the knowledge of what a Brooks saddle is and the tools to steal it.

If it’s any consolation, brooks are enough of a thing in the world of bike theft (i.e., that they can be converted to cash) to be targeted by normal non-cyclist crooks who might check out a bike rack for targets of opportunity. Probably more likely to be a pro than a random cyclist.

[huskerdont]

A few weeks ago on the other side of that bridge I witnessed a guy on a bicycle leaning over a bike locked to the Kennedy Center rack and rummaging around in the fishing tackle box that person keeps on the back of his/her bike. All I felt willing to do was to say to him that, if that was not his tackle box, he knew that wasn’t right, but maybe I should have risked taking his picture while he was doing it. Perhaps he rides around the area looking for opportunities, but while he was on a bike, I wouldn’t call him a cyclist.

[baiskeli]

Lady in blue on Bluemont Junction trail:

1. Please call your pass.
2. On second thought, if you are passing me exactly when I am passing a pedestrian, don’t. Wait, and then call your pass.

[LhasaCM]

To the CaBi rider on the 1st street cycletrack (MBT) last night:

1. If you see someone who looks like a stereotypical MAMIL slow down in front of you because of congestion ahead and oncoming traffic, maybe you should slow down too instead of trying to pass?
2. Weaving in and out of the cycletrack and the general travel lane without checking for cars/trucks/buses has low odds of sustained success – where success is defined as making it to your destination – especially when it seemed to be rather pointless (you didn’t pass anyone or get any further ahead).
3. I’m not an absolutist when it comes to obeying traffic lights, but if a truck has to slam on its brakes because you decided to run a light, maybe the way wasn’t clear and you should have waited?

[Hancockbs]

Me: riding west on Maine near the fish market at 6:30am with a headlight.

You: Riding east, slowly getting closer and closer to the curb, nearly forcing me into the street heading the wrong way. Thanks for finally getting back in your lane after I yelled “heads up!” It would have been nice however if you had apologized.

[Drewdane]

You: Taking the lane despite the presence of a bike path, thereby needlessly obstructing traffic and creating a hazard of yourself for everyone near you (and also almost plowing head-on into my grill because you were in the wrong lane trying to get around the line of cars waiting at the stop sign).

Sharing the road is not a one-way street (see what I did there?). Sometimes I understand why drivers hate us.

[creadinger]

To the couple with the really cute, and curious golden retriever looking dog on the southern end of the Mt Vernon trail: Get a frickin leash!

Yeah, I almost hit your dog yesterday, despite slowing way down, calling out, and taking evasive maneuvers to avoid him as he zig-zagged across the trail. In the future when your dog does get hit, it won’t be the cyclist’s fault, nor will it be your dog’s fault. It will be yours. Unfortunately, it will be your dog and the cyclist that suffer the most from your stupidity. Unless of course you get the beat down you deserve….

[lordofthemark]

You – the well dressed blonde woman in a sedan, turning left from WB Eye on to Half Street, SW (the unit block of Eye Street SW)

Me – the bike rider heading eastbound on Eye, in the general travel lane (because of the disabled bus in the right turn/bike sharrows lane)

I realize you must have been frustrated, waiting for the pedestrians to cross the street, and the cars turning right from EB Eye to Half Street, but you STILL have to yield to oncoming traffic, which in this case included me on a bike, when turning left. You nearly hit with me that move, and I didn’t even think to stop and see if you would do that, as I have never seen anyone do something quite that reckless there. Were you trying to make the case for the “ban cars” movement?

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