Missed connection

[dbb]

Me: On my bike on 23d turning left on Eads in Crystal City

You: Motorist, deciding to turn left from the far right lane, putting you diagonally across the traffic lanes.

I may have irritated you by suggesting you just go around the block. Sorry if that was the case. Turns out, I was wrong as well. You didn’t want to make a left turn from the right lane, you wanted to make a U-turn, brushing me in the process.

Bike is OK, I am OK, but the front skewer nut seemed to have popped your left rear wheel cover off. Sorry ’bout that.

Maybe driver’s ed needs to be lengthened by 5 minutes for a short lesson on going around the block.

A motorist who watched this unfold pulled up alongside me a block down Eads to make sure I was OK. Thank you.

[KWL]

1. Yes there is a stop sign before you enter the traffic oval of John Carlyle Street. In fact there are TWO. Thanks for reacting to my frantic arm waving and shouting so you did not hit me.

2. That is a bike lane next to the curb on Jamieson Avenue, not a parking space. I am not sorry I startled you when I rapped on your window while you were tapping away on your phone. You knew exactly how wrong you were while going back to your phone and ignoring me. I’m getting tired of this $#!+ while people are dying. I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.

[bobco85]

Well, since I’m in town for this week, it’s only fitting that I’d have a Missed connection while here!

Here’s the site where it happened: https://goo.gl/maps/irBxE6HQkoEd3SQ69

And here’s the story: I was biking on Loudoun County Parkway (I only had to ride on it for 1.4 miles luckily) towards the final station on the Phase 2 of the Silver Line, riding in the right lane. As I approached Uunet Dr (yes, it’s named that), there was a right turn only lane that had a parked oversize construction vehicle right in front of the intersection. Bad situation, as traffic coming from Uunet Dr had their sightlines completely blocked.

As I got closer, I drifted to the left of the lane so that I could get a better view in case cars might be coming from the right, and, well, sure enough I see a driver who rolled through their stop sign pop up in my lane! Luckily I had gotten my brakes fixed on Sunday, so I was able to avoid a collision. I looked at the driver who threw their hands up in a “What else was I supposed to do?” gesture, then rode off, cursing drivers for a bit before returning to my ride (I would have been so disappointed and mad if I was unable to finish the ride since I only had one station left).

Pics of the incident:

Approaching the intersection, the oversize construction vehicle blocking the right turn only lane, a driver has to go around them to make a right turn
[ATTACH=CONFIG]20028[/ATTACH]

Getting up to the construction vehicle, I start to drift to the left to get a better view of cross traffic
[ATTACH=CONFIG]20029[/ATTACH]

And as I get around the construction vehicle, suddenly a rogue SUV appears!
[ATTACH=CONFIG]20030[/ATTACH]

Evasive brake maneuver, the SUV stops, driver gesticulates, I ride off and curse
[ATTACH=CONFIG]20031[/ATTACH]

[creadinger]

@dbb 190107 wrote:

Maybe driver’s ed needs to be lengthened by 5 minutes for a short lesson on going around the block.

I had a somewhat similar thing happen to me at King St and Cedar. I was pulling up to the stop sign on Cedar to make a right on King. Some driver coming up King St pulls up, stops, then starts backing down Cedar where I am currently occupying space. I took a couple frantic steps to the right to get out of the way. I yelled and waved and cursed at him. I still don’t know if he ever saw me or not. He just decided he was going to make a 3-point U-turn to go back down King St no matter what.

Why not just make a right on Cedar, and a right on Russell?! Hey look! You’re back where you want to be! #$%ing idiots these days don’t have any clue about how streets work or where they are without their GPS so they pull this crap.

[Steve O]

@creadinger 190285 wrote:

I had a somewhat similar thing happen to me at King St and Cedar. I was pulling up to the stop sign on Cedar to make a right on King. Some driver coming up King St pulls up, stops, then starts backing down Cedar where I am currently occupying space. I took a couple frantic steps to the right to get out of the way. I yelled and waved and cursed at him. I still don’t know if he ever saw me or not. He just decided he was going to make a 3-point U-turn to go back down King St no matter what.

Why not just make a right on Cedar, and a right on Russell?! Hey look! You’re back where you want to be! #$%ing idiots these days don’t have any clue about how streets work or where they are without their GPS so they pull this crap.

Yikes!! Did he come close enough to pound on his car? Or were you totally engaged in your evasive maneuver?

[DCAKen]

Me: Running on the Beach Drive path through the tunnel

You: A biker in a hurry

If you can’t walk your bike through the tunnel as is posted and need to go keep riding, don’t try to pass runners. There’s not enough room to do that, especially with those tennis rackets bungied to your rear rack. Repeatedly calling “Passing on your left” isn’t going to make me flatten myself against the wall, and riding close enough so your front wheel starts hitting my feet will definitely make me slow down.

When you’re in that much of a hurry, take the road.

[rcannon100]

@DCAKen 191197 wrote:

Me: Running on the Beach Drive path through the tunnel

You: A biker in a hurry

If you can’t walk your bike through the tunnel as is posted and need to go keep riding, don’t try to pass runners. There’s not enough room to do that, especially with those tennis rackets bungied to your rear rack. Repeatedly calling “Passing on your left” isn’t going to make me flatten myself against the wall, and riding close enough so your front wheel starts hitting my feet will definitely make me slow down.

When you’re in that much of a hurry, take the road.

Well I am sure kvetching on the forum solved this problem.

[creadinger]

@Steve O 190298 wrote:

Yikes!! Did he come close enough to pound on his car? Or were you totally engaged in your evasive maneuver?

I was almost totally engaged in maneuvering. It’s not easy to move yourself and a bike sideways! I would have loved the opportunity to pound on the roof or a window though. Wake these bastards up.

[creadinger]

@rcannon100 191198 wrote:

Well I am sure kvetching on the forum solved this problem.

You mean like the previous 5,145 posts?? That’s what this whole thread is for!

[rcannon100]

@creadinger 191200 wrote:

You mean like the previous 5,145 posts?? That’s what this whole thread is for!

That’s my point. Kvetching pretty much is pissing in your own water stream. If you want to solve the problems, solve them directly and dont do passive aggressive shit. Stop the person. Talk to them. I do it all the time. And my favorite is “well no one else has ever said anything” – and I know its true – because idiots would rather kvetch that directly get involved.

[creadinger]

So myself and the other idiots would rather “kvetch” sometimes. Deal with it. Maybe you should take some direct action and ignore this thread.

Pretty simple.

[secstate]

@DCAKen 191197 wrote:

Me: Running on the Beach Drive path through the tunnel

You: A biker in a hurry.

Unfortunately I don’t see any indication that NPS is working to repair the trail damage that is forcing everyone through the tunnel.

[lordofthemark]

@rcannon100 191201 wrote:

That’s my point. Kvetching pretty much is pissing in your own water stream.

Blasphemy.

https://www.amazon.com/Born-Kvetch-Yiddish-Language-Culture/dp/0061132179

I am thinking of a new idea for a pointless prize.

[Steve O]

@rcannon100 191198 wrote:

Well I am sure kvetching on the forum solved this problem.

Correct me if I’m mistaken, but I thought the whole point of this particular thread, “Missed Connection,” was to share our close call experiences: humorous, scary, eye-rolling, frustrating, etc. There are other threads for discussing solutions. This is one is just for sharing.

[baiskeli]

@rcannon100 191201 wrote:

That’s my point. Kvetching pretty much is pissing in your own water stream.

So…you’re kvetching about kvetching.

[Author]

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