My Evening Commute

[Dickie]

Was not my finest. It started OK as I stopped off at Bikenetic to see Dirt and talk new cross/commuter tires as mine are completely shot and flatting all the time. Dirt was not around but Jan was glad to help out. I left informed but without new rubber for now. Back on the WOD and being careful to elude the dreaded FCPD I slowed at the Grove St. crossing only to be passed by a dude with absolutely no regard for the stop sign. He flew through the intersection just as I was getting clipped in without even a look. He then pulled the ultimate DB move, passing (and nearly clipping) two woman with strollers as they crossed paths with a gentleman walking towards them… yep, four abreast with him at speed. The gentleman yelled and put his hands out for protection and the ladies screamed. I slowed, apologized for his behavior and chased the scum down. As I got next to him (and gestured for him to remove his headphones) I became possessed by a sudden calmness (weird). I decided to politely explain what I had just witnessed and suggested better methods for future situations… he tolerated my intrusion and then I flatted. DANG IT! Luckily it was directly in front of the “Free Air” station on the WOD so I rolled my bike to the station, leaned my steed against the air machine (you can see where this is going), started taking off my back pack when I watched my bike slowly roll forward and fall against the pole…. result:

Needless to say, wasn’t a great ride home.

Topic

[AFHokie]

@vern 129920 wrote:

got to see some guy wreck twice(!) while trying to ride his bike and simultaneously hold onto his dog’s leash. It was blooper reel funny.

I once saw a guy riding with his dog’s leash tied to his frame get yanked over when the dog tried to chase after another dog. Not sure why he didn’t think that a possibility with a Labrador sized pooch

[TwoWheelsDC]

@AFHokie 129978 wrote:

I once saw a guy riding with his dog’s leash tied to his frame get yanked over when the dog tried to chase after another dog. Not sure why he didn’t think that a possibility with a Labrador sized pooch

My neighbor rides with her dog leashed to the bike (you can actually buy special leashes just for this). Makes me cringe every time I see her, since it seems dangerous (mostly for the dog). But she said she’s been doing it for years and years.

[Dickie]

@vern 129920 wrote:

The yin and yang of my commute:

I saw Dickie with wife pushing the stroller with the newborn inside down 4MR along Glebe. That was a nice surprise and I got to see their beautiful new baby. All looked well, though not surprisingly, mom and pop Sewell confessed to some fatigue.

Great to see you and thanks for stopping, made my day…. and made me miss the gang even more. Can’t wait to get back on the bike in the new year.

[ginacico]

@Dickie 130007 wrote:

Great to see you and thanks for stopping, made my day…. and made me miss the gang even more. Can’t wait to get back on the bike in the new year.

I was bummed to realize I’d ridden the 4MRT that same day and not lucked out on a Dickie sighting. We are awaiting pictures, hmmm….?

[DCAKen]

@TwoWheelsDC 129987 wrote:

My neighbor rides with her dog leashed to the bike (you can actually buy special leashes just for this). Makes me cringe every time I see her, since it seems dangerous (mostly for the dog). But she said she’s been doing it for years and years.

My brother out in Colorado takes his dog, Luna, out for a run on his bike. Luna is strong enough to pull him up the hills on the three mile course he takes through the big open space near his house. He does have to keep an eye out for the small critters along the side of the trail that she’ll occasionally try to go after.

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[notinthe18]

Had to run an errand after work yesterday and rode through the intersection of doom from Custis going onto Key Bridge last night. Um, holy crap. I’ve done the GWP crossings around Memorial for years and those are small fry compared to those Rosslyn crossings at night. You guys and gals that do that DAILY are heroes.

[ShawnoftheDread]

Not heroic so much as cautious and hyper-aware. I’ve had many annoyances in that intersection, but never any actual doom .

[Boomer Cycles]

I got my worse case of road rash ever at the intersection of doom when a stopped car lurched at me while I had the right of the way, the sidewalk was blocked by peds looking the other direction, and I had nowhere to go except down. I’ve been hyperaware (as Shawn of the Dread said ) there ever since, and now use a bell.

[rcannon100]

@DCAKen 130025 wrote:

My brother out in Colorado takes his dog, Luna, out for a run on his bike. Luna is strong enough to pull him up the hills on the three mile course he takes through the big open space near his house. He does have to keep an eye out for the small critters along the side of the trail that she’ll occasionally try to go after.

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Sorry, dog powered bikes are not allowed in Freezing Saddles!!

[DCAKen]

@rcannon100 130300 wrote:

Sorry, dog powered bikes are not allowed in Freezing Saddles!!

Are we going to have a 10 page discussion about d-bikes now?

[jnva]

@DCAKen 130685 wrote:

Are we going to have a 10 page discussion about d-bikes now?

It’s already been done.

[DrP]

Very Windy. Felt like a headwind no matter which direction I went.

[bobco85]

Did the coldest flat tire tube change I’ve ever done on my commute home yesterday because, you know, Monday. I kept myself warm by thinking about Hawai’i (it worked!) and stopped by my bike shop on the way home for supplies.

[bentbike33]

For the second evening in a row, I caused a large flock of geese to take off as I passed them on the MVT without any shouting of bell ringing (things they generally ignore).

Maybe they did not like my MonkeyLights.

[komorebi]

The streetlights were out on the 14th Street bridge tonight — first time I’ve seen that happen. I was so surprised that I nearly ended up on the stairs leading down to Ohio Drive, instead of the actual path over the bridge.

Also, it looked like there was some kind of sidewalk closure between the Jefferson Memorial CaBi station and the George Mason memorial. Does anyone know what that’s about?

[Author]

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