Missed connection

[Hancockbs]

Very cool to see a Penny-farthing on the 4MRT near Shirlington this morning.

[americancyclo]

@Hancockbs 59485 wrote:

Very cool to see a Penny-farthing on the 4MRT near Shirlington this morning.

[Tim Kelley]

I think that’s Ken Matthews with Arlington County’s communications department!

[mello yello]

Dear PB Superflash,

I’m sorry that my ride takes you over potholes, curbs, speedbumps, and some of the worst pavement on the East Coast.
But really, did you hate me so much that you decided to break up with me with no warning?
I went back and looked for you, in the distribution warehouse parking lot, in the PG Community Center, on the street! I even left notes!
Now I’ve been invisible for days, and have had to go find a rebound blinky, which is in no way comparable.

Please come back, I promise I’ll secure you better next time!

[Hancockbs]

Me: going 25 MPH, the speed limit, on RCP Pkwy between Water St and the Ohio merge.

You: driver of a ubiquitous black Suburban, passing me on the left, darting to the right in front of me, and hitting your brakes due to slower traffic in front of me.

Me: check traffic, move left for the Ohio merge and now passing you on the left.

You: yelling out your window, “Idiot!”

Though you leave no doubt as to you status as a Subject Matter Expert sir, I do not accept your assessment.

[jrenaut]

@Hancockbs 59648 wrote:

…You: yelling out your window, “Idiot!”…

A good reminder that much of what really irks drivers about cyclists is when we can go faster than they can.

[eminva]

@jrenaut 59656 wrote:

A good reminder that much of what really irks drivers about cyclists is when we can go faster than they can.

Yes, I suspect so.

Along these lines, I didn’t post this because I attempt not to dwell on the negative, but it’s actually funny, so here goes . . .

I was riding a CaBi to meet a friend for lunch yesterday in the G Street bike lane. There was a WMATA van double parked (or paused) in the middle of the bike lane, so another cyclist and I swung around to the left to pass him. Just as we did so, he pulled out to the left without waiting for us to clear out of the way. The other guy sprinted ahead of danger and I fell back although I did manage to catch the driver’s attention in his rear view mirror. As I came up to him (back in the bike lane) at the next light, he rolled down his window and I said, “You almost ran into me. Be sure to look in your rearview mirror before pulling out into traffic.” He replied, “But you are supposed to be over there!” (gesturing to the bike lane). I said, “But you were parked completely blocking the bike lane!” He looked astonished and said, “Oh!”

Now I’m not sure what’s worse: a motorist blocking the bike lane, or a motorist who doesn’t even realize he’s blocking the bike lane!

Liz

[jrenaut]

Maybe you just gave the driver a little lesson on bike awareness, and next time he’ll think about where he’s parking.

I know I’ve become a lot more aware as a driver since I started biking regularly, and it’s made me realize how easy it is to forget about the more vulnerable road users out there. I’ve told the story here of driving down 14th St NW near Rhode Island and losing a bike in my blind spot. He was in the bike lane, with lights, and I saw him, and then I didn’t. I ride in that bike lane almost every day and I still lost track of where the cyclist was, and he was doing everything correctly. That really scared me. And I wasn’t even turning – it didn’t really matter where he was, as I wasn’t going to enter the bike lane. It just reminds you how invisible bikes can be, even if you do what you’re supposed to and the drivers are paying attention.

[dasgeh]

@eminva 59724 wrote:

There was a WMATA van double parked (or paused) in the middle of the bike lane…

If you have a second, I’d say report it to Metro. You don’t need a ton of details to report. They have loads of people whose job it is to drive. Daily. My hope is that if they can see that they have a problem with their drivers’ interactions with cyclists, they will do better training.

This may be wishful thinking. But I can say that I had a problem with the driver of a bus that I saw every day on my commute home. I reported him maybe 5 times. I haven’t seen him in 3 weeks, and I’ve seen the bus with other drivers. So hopefully there’s some impact.

[Terpfan]

@jrenaut 59725 wrote:

Maybe you just gave the driver a little lesson on bike awareness, and next time he’ll think about where he’s parking.

I know I’ve become a lot more aware as a driver since I started biking regularly, and it’s made me realize how easy it is to forget about the more vulnerable road users out there. I’ve told the story here of driving down 14th St NW near Rhode Island and losing a bike in my blind spot. He was in the bike lane, with lights, and I saw him, and then I didn’t. I ride in that bike lane almost every day and I still lost track of where the cyclist was, and he was doing everything correctly. That really scared me. And I wasn’t even turning – it didn’t really matter where he was, as I wasn’t going to enter the bike lane. It just reminds you how invisible bikes can be, even if you do what you’re supposed to and the drivers are paying attention.

If only more people became aware.

One phenomena I observe a lot is that people no longer look over their shoulders when executing a pass or look both ways when turning. I swore they taught it in driver’s ed, but I was in the family member with a car who only checked her blinkers the other week. We almost had an accident and she blamed a vehicle in her blind spot. I pointed out it’s only a blind spot for her if she didn’t actually check over her shoulder. Bad idea with a family member, but right idea in general.

[nikki_d]

@dasgeh 59747 wrote:

If you have a second, I’d say report it to Metro. You don’t need a ton of details to report.

But it really, really helps if you have the time of day, location and identifying info for the vehicle (vehicle number and/ or tag number) plus route number and direction in the case of a bus. I make it a habit now to report the bus drivers that think it is their job to honk at cyclists and you get much better service with all of that information because then they know exactly who it was.

[Bilsko]

You: The cyclist on the RCP trail sidewalk section right by the Lincoln Memorial, right between the John Ericsson memorial and the memorial bridge – who was on the far left of the sidewalk and *swerved to the right* when I called out my “on your right” pass.

Thank you.

Now I have nearly all the raw parameters I need to calculate the coefficient of friction for my tires. I know the velocity I was traveling and the mass of my bike + me + my messenger bag. I can find out the physical characteristics of the pebble aggregate for the sidewalk and the rubber compound used in my Clement tires. Despite the rain earlier today, the sidewalk was dry, so I should have a pretty good measurement of just how much force it took me to skid to a halt as you pulled over right into my path.

Oh and, I wasn’t trying to be funny when, as I swerved around to your left, I said: ” Guess I mean ‘On your left’ then”.

Sheesh.

/unfriendly tired rant

[mstone]

Bell…

[NicDiesel]

@mstone 59860 wrote:

Bell…

I think we’re well beyond the point of bells and calls with the iZombies and Mensa select members. Now is the time for bullhorns and referee whistles.

[bobco85]

@NicDiesel 59866 wrote:

I think we’re well beyond the point of bells and calls with the iZombies and Mensa select members. Now is the time for bullhorns and referee whistles.

I think some of the trouble caused by people shifting over into one’s path could be removed by giving ample time for the person to react when you make your call. I’m not sure if that happened in Bilsko’s case, but in general I think there should be at least a brief pause between calling the pass and actually starting the pass so that the cyclist can see how the person is reacting and act accordingly (note: I don’t do this every time but I know I should).

[Author]

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