My dumb crash on Huntington Ave in front of Huntington Car Care

[GovernorSilver]

Opened a ticket with VDOT.

[bentbike33]

@GovernorSilver 137583 wrote:

Opened a ticket with VDOT.

Meanwhile, you should learn to “bunny hop.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPFW8OkOAGI

[GovernorSilver]

@bentbike33 137602 wrote:

Meanwhile, you should learn to “bunny hop.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPFW8OkOAGI

My coworker said the same thing. We often say smart-aleck things to each other. He also said I should have rode onto the ramp closer to 45 degrees.

He did however refrain from giving me crap about the various bruises I suffered.

One of these days I’ll work up the guts to try bunny hops on my drop bar bike. Not happening on the butterfly bar bike.

I take responsibility for my bad riding technique, but if you have to bunny hop to get onto a ramp, there’s something wrong with the ramp.

[Terpfan]

Are you talking about the two sort of ramps to the mechanic’s shop spot? I don’t really know it well going that way, but I have come along that sidewalk to that point to bail out onto the street (I don’t care for the crossing toward Kings and trying to get on because I know how people drive there).

[GovernorSilver]

@Terpfan 137640 wrote:

Are you talking about the two sort of ramps to the mechanic’s shop spot? I don’t really know it well going that way, but I have come along that sidewalk to that point to bail out onto the street (I don’t care for the crossing toward Kings and trying to get on because I know how people drive there).

Yes, the two ramps on your right if you ride west on Huntington towards Telegraph and the Eisenhower Bridge. When I want to go to AMC Hoffman or Whole Foods, I usually take that bridge from my ‘hood in Huntington. I usually ride on the street until the very last ramp, then use the ramp to ride on that short bit of sidewalk that will take me to the bridge.

My Breezer Uptown 8 is so forgiving when it comes to ramps like that, because of the wide tires and overall weight of the bike. The Renegade, while having wider than average tires, is still pretty much a modern road bike with its light weight. It was a painful lesson to learn that I can’t ride that bike the same way I can ride the Uptown 8 – I have to be more careful about stuff like approach angles to ramps.

However in the eastbound direction coming back from the bridge, I would wait like 10-15 minutes for a break in the seemingly endless stream of car traffic, then cross to get onto the street. It was only lately that I realized there was a “new” route available. Yes, there is a small section of the sidewalk that is impossible to ride on, due to some kind of square structure planted right in the middle of the sidewalk; which is past the auto shop heading eastbound. I found I got bypass it by cutting through the auto shop lot, then ride back to the sidewalk, continue in front of the new condo/apt. building to the intersection by the Metro kiss&ride entrance. There I can use the beg light to buy me time to cross and turn onto the street.

[Terpfan]

Ahh, ok. I don’t think I’ve ever hit that ramp going toward Telegraph, but I do remember a nice jolt going over it to get onto Huntington when I used that route in the winter. Definitely one you have to hit at an angle. I’ve almost fallen on similar items before.

I kind of prefer the street to the sidewalk because the sidewalks are just so bizarre south of OT. For instance, if I take Rt 1 north on the way home, as you know, the sidewalk bizarrely ends into a narrow dirt patch for 20 yards. And then even when it doesn’t, it’s littered with light poles and the such. I really do hope this Rt 1 widening project works on the pedestrian infrastructure. I mean it’s great that VDOT built a bike lane from GWMP to Rt 1 on Belle View/Beacon Hill, but it kind of just dumps you back into a cycle infrastructure-less environment.

They really ought to do a bike lane or at least sharrows on Huntington Rd. I mean it’s connected on both ends of MUPs (Telegraph/Eisenhower Bridge and the Rt 1 MUP connecting over to GWMP/MVT). I think there would be a solid case for it.

[GovernorSilver]

I agree, Huntington Ave. could use sharrows or bike lanes. Either should be doable as practically nobody parks on the street anyway and the lanes are nice and wide.

I have a colleague who rides home from the Washington St.-Rt.1 connector bridge – he does this move where he rides halfway through the pedestrian crossing at the east side of the Huntington-Rt. 1 intersection, and parks in front of the cars to the left of the left lane, so that he’s already in position to ride the left lane and make that left turn into the apartment complex next to that corner strip mall (w/ Planet Fitness, the Thai restaurant, the dentist, etc.). He just puts up with the confused honking and whatnot from the motorists for that short distance. It’d be nice if VDOT could solve his problem in some way – he doesn’t like riding up Rt. 1 to access the other entrance to the apartment parking lot for the same reason (sidewalk abruptly ending in that dirt mess).

It’d also be nice if somebody could solve the access problem on the other side of Eisenhower bridge. If you’re riding on Eisenhower (street) westbound, you have to make an abrupt left turn and get onto the crosswalk – unsafe imo. If you’re riding eastbound on the street, you’re a little better off because you can cut into the crosswalk but then you still have to deal with the motorists making right turns from the bridge onto eastbound Eisenhower. If you’re approaching from Stovall (street), you have to make a left turn then make that awkward immediate right – potentially confusing both the driver behind you and the drivers coming off the bridge – also unsafe imo.

[Terpfan]

@GovernorSilver 137732 wrote:

I agree, Huntington Ave. could use sharrows or bike lanes. Either should be doable as practically nobody parks on the street anyway and the lanes are nice and wide.

I have a colleague who rides home from the Washington St.-Rt.1 connector bridge – he does this move where he rides halfway through the pedestrian crossing at the east side of the Huntington-Rt. 1 intersection, and parks in front of the cars to the left of the left lane, so that he’s already in position to ride the left lane and make that left turn into the apartment complex next to that corner strip mall (w/ Planet Fitness, the Thai restaurant, the dentist, etc.). He just puts up with the confused honking and whatnot from the motorists for that short distance. It’d be nice if VDOT could solve his problem in some way – he doesn’t like riding up Rt. 1 to access the other entrance to the apartment parking lot for the same reason (sidewalk abruptly ending in that dirt mess).

It’d also be nice if somebody could solve the access problem on the other side of Eisenhower bridge. If you’re riding on Eisenhower (street) westbound, you have to make an abrupt left turn and get onto the crosswalk – unsafe imo. If you’re riding eastbound on the street, you’re a little better off because you can cut into the crosswalk but then you still have to deal with the motorists making right turns from the bridge onto eastbound Eisenhower. If you’re approaching from Stovall (street), you have to make a left turn then make that awkward immediate right – potentially confusing both the driver behind you and the drivers coming off the bridge – also unsafe imo.

I think a lot of the original designs were never actually done by someone walking/riding the area. But the new VDOT team seems better at it. Or at least they seemed to get how to do the Belle View/Beacon Hill Rd lanes right. They correctly did sharrows, switch to lane where it can work, back to sharrows, and even at Quander, they run the lane to the light before it switches to sharrows to avoid a cyclist tired from climbing the hill having to try to merge with traffic. Whomever did that should be in charge of figuring out the rest because I really haven’t noticed any mistakes in how they designed it. Supposedly they’re working with FABB too before they put stuff in, which is nice.

Yah, I don’t like the bottom of that Eisenhower connect bridge. It’s just bad news. Cars are all trying to go right in the morning and just not looking. It’s not the worlds greatest design. Plus, the dumpout on eastbound side isn’t all that helpful either. I used to take the sidewalk at Kings until giant gravel appeared and then I realized I was safer in the road (often the case) than trying to navigate the sidewalk/crosswalks.

The Rt 1 trick your friend uses is interesting. I use the light timing in rush hour from Huntington to easily make it to access road. But to make that work requires being at the crosswalk from east side of Rt 1 when Rt 1 has green lights. Then proceeding across as soon as the light flips green. I think it goes eastbound and then westbound. Either way, it’s about 30-45 seconds. I’ve never had the cars from Rt 1 catch up to me, just people who turn right from Huntington onto southbound Rt-1 and then they have plenty of room. The only issue is the 4-to-3 lane switch.

But I still don’t like going that way. The need to constantly switch sidewalk-to-access road-to parking lot-to sidewalk and then the obstacles in the sidewalk from poles, broken glass, gravel, etc, just make it annoying. I really hope they do a real rework of Rt1 sometime. I mean it’s a shame they have little pedestrian infrastructure. Add in the pedestrian/cycling infrastructure and I bet some of the crappy stripmall stores disappear and you see much nicer stuff move in. The area is otherwise well-situated for folks to live in, imo.

[awlcfa]

@GovernorSilver 137732 wrote:

I agree, Huntington Ave. could use sharrows or bike lanes. Either should be doable as practically nobody parks on the street anyway and the lanes are nice and wide.

I have a colleague who rides home from the Washington St.-Rt.1 connector bridge – he does this move where he rides halfway through the pedestrian crossing at the east side of the Huntington-Rt. 1 intersection, and parks in front of the cars to the left of the left lane, so that he’s already in position to ride the left lane and make that left turn into the apartment complex next to that corner strip mall (w/ Planet Fitness, the Thai restaurant, the dentist, etc.). He just puts up with the confused honking and whatnot from the motorists for that short distance. It’d be nice if VDOT could solve his problem in some way – he doesn’t like riding up Rt. 1 to access the other entrance to the apartment parking lot for the same reason (sidewalk abruptly ending in that dirt mess).

It’d also be nice if somebody could solve the access problem on the other side of Eisenhower bridge. If you’re riding on Eisenhower (street) westbound, you have to make an abrupt left turn and get onto the crosswalk – unsafe imo. If you’re riding eastbound on the street, you’re a little better off because you can cut into the crosswalk but then you still have to deal with the motorists making right turns from the bridge onto eastbound Eisenhower. If you’re approaching from Stovall (street), you have to make a left turn then make that awkward immediate right – potentially confusing both the driver behind you and the drivers coming off the bridge – also unsafe imo.

I use this exact method–sitting in the left turn lane after crossing half of the cross walk. Plenty of cars honk, yell, and wonder what I am doing while I wait.

[GovernorSilver]

My new approach now, to access the bridge from eastbound Eisenhower, is to ride to the last left-turn lane before the intersection of Eisenhower and Stovall, turn from that lane towards the driveway to the parking lot, then access the sidewalk from the driveway to head to the bridge.

On my evening commutes, I seem to arrive in the area well after the rush hour period, so street riding on Eisenhower and crossing to that left turn lane has been low-stress. With this route choice, I can skip a good chunk of sidewalk, and annoy a lot less of the peds exiting from the Metro station.

[Author]

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