Missed connection

[reji]

I’ve asked a number of people over the years and here’s what I’ve learned:

Your lights are blinding me
I could hardly see you in the dark
You’re too fast
You’re too slow
Your bell is obnoxious
I couldn’t hear you

Ain’t no pleasing everyone.

[arlcxrider]

@bentbike33 196487 wrote:

The Jogger’s Soliloquy (recited to me as I passed her, after ringing my bell, on the Custis near the Bridge to Nowhere):

“Why do you ring your bell when I am clearly in the right lane…(inaudible due to distance)”

To make sure you know I’m passing and you stay to the right.

Unlike the runner who pulled a 180 right in front of me on the W&OD last summer. I dinged the bell and followed it up with a “passing left”–she cut me off anyway, account earbuds… A minor crash, with some road rash as swerved hard, but I could ride away. No damage whatsoever to the other party.

[Crickey7]

Bells and lights. The two great trail debates that will never be settled.

[huskerdont]

@secstate 196558 wrote:

I got my bell precisely to avoid using my voice!

Don’t get me wrong, I have bells on most of my bikes. I’ll use the bell in certain situations and the voice in others. But especially on the Custis and MVT where it can be pretty bumpy, taking the hand off the hoods to reach for the bell, to me, is more dangerous than a simple “passing on your left.”

[Tania]

@huskerdont 196557 wrote:

To many pedestrians, especially those not familiar with local trail conventions, a bell, especially a loud one, just means “get out of my way.” I use my voice for this reason, but of course, that annoys some people too.

I try (try….) to lead with a pleasantry. “Hi there! Coming by on your left” or such. No one has yelled at me yet but I did have one lady give me the finger.

[huskerdont]

@Crickey7 196571 wrote:

Bells and lights. The two great trail debates that will never be settled.

As well as helment laws and the Idaho/Delaware/Oregon stop.

[lordofthemark]

@huskerdont 196557 wrote:

To many pedestrians, especially those not familiar with local trail conventions, a bell, especially a loud one, just means “get out of my way.” I use my voice for this reason, but of course, that annoys some people too.

Also a lot of trail users have limited English language ability.

[huskerdont]

@lordofthemark 196582 wrote:

Also a lot of trail users have limited English language ability.

And some people can’t hear at all, whatevs, you can’t fix everything.

[consularrider]

@arlcxrider 196562 wrote:

To make sure you know I’m passing and you stay to the right.

Unlike the runner who pulled a 180 right in front of me on the W&OD last summer. I dinged the bell and followed it up with a “passing left”–she cut me off anyway, account earbuds… A minor crash, with some road rash as swerved hard, but I could ride away. No damage whatsoever to the other party.

I’ve always been under the impression that when a runner or walker hears my bell, it is the equivilent of a starters pistol, the signal to go from walking to running (or vice versa) or to change directions. :rolleyes:

[creadinger]

This is uncontroversial….

You: NOAA/GSA

Me: Going glacially slow ~1mph, and carefully so as not to wipe out on your wet, POLISHED parking garage floor. I slowly turn my wheel left to turn, but going slow enough to remain vertical. Next second my wheels slide from under me and I go down hard.

Who is the dumb MFer who decided to polish the goddamn concrete making the floor of the garage?! I’ve ridden on ice. This was way worse! Seriously what the fuck.

NOAA confirms this is a known issue (duh), having me submit incident report. Apparently the real assholes here are GSA.

[dasgeh]

Me: having dropped my kid off at school, excitedly turning into the nb Veitch protected bike lane, which is the first of a bunch of dedicated bike infra on my ride. Yay, safety

You: salmoning sb in the nb Veitch PBL, hugged against the cars so I couldn’t see you until…

Me: &#*@(&$@)!!!!!!

Do better, You, do better. You can ride on the sidewalk if you need to head sb on that side of the street.

[josh]

@dasgeh 197972 wrote:

Me: having dropped my kid off at school, excitedly turning into the nb Veitch protected bike lane, which is the first of a bunch of dedicated bike infra on my ride. Yay, safety

You: salmoning sb in the nb Veitch PBL, hugged against the cars so I couldn’t see you until…

Me: &#*@(&$@)!!!!!!

Do better, You, do better. You can ride on the sidewalk if you need to head sb on that side of the street.

Yes, I hate it when people salmon in protected bike lanes. At least if they’re salmoning in the regular bike lane, you can try and make them play chicken with the cars instead of yourself. Yet another reason to just take the lane. Less stuff to dodge.

[scoot]

@josh 197973 wrote:

Yes, I hate it when people salmon in protected bike lanes.

I encounter this very often, especially late evenings. The two most frequent problem areas in my experience have been eastbound bikes and scooters in the PBLs on M St (West End) and Wilson Blvd (downhill from Courthouse to Rhodes).

[consularrider]

@josh 197973 wrote:

Yes, I hate it when people salmon in protected bike lanes. At least if they’re salmoning in the regular bike lane, you can try and make them play chicken with the cars instead of yourself. Yet another reason to just take the lane. Less stuff to dodge.

Come play with me on 1st and Second Ave protected bike lanes in NYC. Nothing like having an e-motorcycle coming at you at 20 mph. 😡

[bentbike33]

@creadinger 197934 wrote:

This is uncontroversial….

You: NOAA/GSA

Me: Going glacially slow ~1mph, and carefully so as not to wipe out on your wet, POLISHED parking garage floor. I slowly turn my wheel left to turn, but going slow enough to remain vertical. Next second my wheels slide from under me and I go down hard.

Who is the dumb MFer who decided to polish the goddamn concrete making the floor of the garage?! I’ve ridden on ice. This was way worse! Seriously what the fuck.

NOAA confirms this is a known issue (duh), having me submit incident report. Apparently the real assholes here are GSA.

I see your problem: 2 opposing bureaucracies each with (barely) plausible deniability. I think your only solution involves studded tires and aggressive acceleration and braking until a singletrack is worn in the polished surface.

[Author]

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