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

[americancyclo]

@Tania 136567 wrote:

Coffee is on me next CC-iteration americancyclo ! Thanks for that.

happy to help!

and proof that I walk the walk:

Gravel Morning: https://www.strava.com/activities/388464995

Gravel Home: https://www.strava.com/activities/389086129

[Tania]

@americancyclo 136569 wrote:

happy to help!

and proof that I walk the walk:

Gravel Morning: https://www.strava.com/activities/388464995

Gravel Home: https://www.strava.com/activities/389086129

Are you on the paths there along the mall and then along the G-town waterfront? It’s hard to tell exactly if I should be on those or on the roads.

[americancyclo]

@Tania 136571 wrote:

Are you on the paths there along the mall and then along the G-town waterfront? It’s hard to tell exactly if I should be on those or on the roads.

On most evenings when I take the C&O home, I’ll ride the rock creek trail all the way up to where it goes underneath the whitehurst/K St. I stay on the trail until that first intersection at 30th St/Georgetown harbor, then I ride water street down the middle until I go up Potomac St.

I usually hop on the trail where Independence meets Ohio drive near that roundabout circle.

That particular day, I may have been feeling my oats and taken the lane on the Parkway, just for fun. YMMV.

[americancyclo]

@Tania 136571 wrote:

Are you on the paths there along the mall and then along the G-town waterfront? It’s hard to tell exactly if I should be on those or on the roads.

From your route, I think I would just take the lane on Virginia Ave all the way to the intersection with RCP and hop on the trail there.

[ShawnoftheDread]

@americancyclo 136574 wrote:

From your route, I think I would just take the lane on Virginia Ave all the way to the intersection with RCP and hop on the trail there.

That’s what I sometimes do. Just make sure you hop over to the sidewalk in front of the gas station as soon as there’s a break in the oncoming traffic.

[Anonymous]

There is a Santa Claus, there really really is!!! (he’s just maybe a bit backlogged)

[ATTACH=CONFIG]11241[/ATTACH]
Oxon Hill Road south of Woodrow Wilson Bridge, Maryland side.

(backstory)
@Amalitza 38782 wrote:

1. Whatever it is that makes this happen.

(i don’t like you either. cyclemeter says I have burned 124797 calories riding my bike in 2012, and YET I HAVE LOST ZERO POUNDS, despite not being particularly gluttonous.)

2. A safe and pleasant route from the Woodrow Wilson bridge south through PG county.

3. Hermione-purse-like panniers.

Not asking for much, really…

Clearly, Panniers of Holding and super-speedy metabolism for menopausal women are on the way just as soon as the elves finalize a few details…

Seriously, while this is only a couple miles, it is a huge improvement over what used to be there (potholed death trap full of impatient, aggressive drivers), and an even huger improvement over the 3 years of construction mess that was apparently needed to create it. If only the rest of my route were getting the same treatment…

[DrP]

Much wetter than expected and like something was gunning for me, sort of.

Just before I left the office, I checked Wunderground and NOAA. Rain was now out of the equation. The radar showed no rain. I packed my rain gear in the bottom of my bags and set off. About a mile into the commute, by the sewage treatment plant on 4MR, it started to drizzle. It drizzled or rained on me until I was on the Bluemont trail at the first crossing. I seemed to be at the edge of clouds for most of the trip, but some of the hardest rain fell when looking straight up revealed no clouds. Great. There was a rainbow going up Bluemont, but it was really pale. Then I hit Fairfax Drive and multiple drivers decided that driving in the bike lane was the way to go.

Luckily this leg of my commuted ended at the gym and I could work off my bike ride-related stress with weights.

[VA2DC]

Thank you, Arlington County or perhaps the good samaritan who swept the thick coating of gravel from the bike lane going up Court House hill–15th St N westbound heading from N Rhodes to N Courthouse Rd. Much appreciated, one less potential wipeout hazard to worry about!

[mello yello]

This evening I was trying to hightail it home to pick up the little one from daycare – I never leave myself enough time, somehow… Anyway, I was taking a lane on Maine eastbound where it turns into M, and some shrimp [choice word] in a Hummer decides he’s going to turn left in front of me… but then has to stop because there are pedestrians in the cross-walk. His gargantuan compensation is all over about 2 whole lanes, and since there’s nobody in the left lane I dodge left to go behind him… and mis-judge the corner. I clipped his tail light with my brake hood and shoulder, at pretty good speed, which started the following exchange:
Me: F!
Him: [wait to roll down window] A$$hole! A$$HOLE!
Me: [gestures] bird

I didn’t lose control and didn’t stop, and was probably being an a$$hole in all fairness, but it still made me mad. Luckily there’s this outlet called bicycling.

[dplasters]

Why so windy??? Its almost April.

[rcannon100]

I musta received a pointless prize for THAT commute home!

[huskerdont]

Seems there was a spot o’ wind last night. Going uphill with my one gear (rain bike) against the headwind was … fun. Record ride home is around 36 minutes; yesterday was 44.

[DCAKen]

Yesterday was a good day to feel like I was riding the broad side of a barn as I felt my CaBi being pushed around by the wind gusts.

[Terpfan]

Since we got to talking about the MVT crossing at condo complex at far southern edge of OT, yesterday I was coming across Washington St from westbound side and not one, not two, but three different cyclists blew through it without letting me on even though I had the green light. Argh. I would rarely go this way, but realized I had missed the light cycle to cross from Washington St back to other side to joint MVT so I took the sidewalk and side street to cross at that light. They’re lucky I wasn’t an oblivious driver.

[DCAKen]

Police behaving poorly today in two different situations

The first is in Rock Creek Park. For some reason, the hill below Calvert Street in Rock Creek Park has been fenced off. Why they have to block the bike path going up to Calvert Street but keep the Parkway open is beyond me. Is the bike path that much of a security issue? Along the main path were two Park Police cars, left on the trail. They couldn’t take advantage of all that open grassy area…those tires must rest on asphalt, I suppose.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]11368[/ATTACH]

The second was as I was cycling westbound on the V Street NW bike lane this evening, approaching 14th Street. I encountered a police cyclist going eastbound on V Street (a one way street). When I pointed out that he was going the wrong way, he said “But I’m keeping to the side.”

What kind of response is that? If I drive the wrong way down a street, can I use the excuse that I’m keeping to the side to avoid being cited?

[Author]

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