My Morning Commute

[consularrider]

@thucydides 81780 wrote:

That situation on the TR bridge this morning was CRAZY. My jaw dropped through the floor when I saw what was causing the Eastbound backup. Basically there’s a big sinkhole, no it’s really a sinktrench, on the outer EB lanes. (Didn’t they just rebuild this bridge about 5 years ago?) One way or another DDOT will find a way for this to disrupt traffic on the main TR trail (on the cars’ westbound side).

Article with photo from Arlnow.

[Subby]

@thucydides 81780 wrote:

That situation on the TR bridge this morning was CRAZY. My jaw dropped through the floor when I saw what was causing the Eastbound backup. Basically there’s a big sinkhole, no it’s really a sinktrench, on the outer EB lanes. (Didn’t they just rebuild this bridge about 5 years ago?) One way or another DDOT will find a way for this to disrupt traffic on the main TR trail (on the cars’ westbound side).

So glad I didn’t drive this morning. Would have been stuck smack dab in the middle of that nonsense.

[cvcalhoun]

Just so long as you’re not actually risking a punctured lung by riding with a broken clavicle. Something tells me that would be worse than a delay on I-66!

@Subby 81823 wrote:

So glad I didn’t drive this morning. Would have been stuck smack dab in the middle of that nonsense.

[gtmandsager]

Rule 5. [ATTACH=CONFIG]5148[/ATTACH]

[jrenaut]

@gtmandsager 81850 wrote:

Rule 5.

Don’t forget Rule 9.

[PotomacCyclist]

Maybe DDOT will expand the use of those solid concrete separators between car lanes and cycle tracks. I think those are being installed on part of the new M Street cycle track, perhaps as a test? It would be very difficult for a driver to drive over those low barriers without causing damage to the car or truck.

As for commuting, the evening commute was a mess. Apparently another “unauthorized person” made his way onto Metro tracks, this time at Arlington Cemetery. The Blue Line was shut down for a while, then single-tracking through the Cemetery station. Metro was a bit disorganized at Rosslyn. They told everyone that there would be a shuttle bus to the Pentagon station. Then only one bus came and everyone else waited. Then they said that it would be better to head back down and take the single-tracking Blue Line train.

The previous Blue Line train had been off-loaded. Once I did the up-escalator/down-escalator (on the very long Rosslyn escalators), the remainder of the trip was uneventful. Kind of creepy seeing the ghost train stopped at Arlington Cemetery though, knowing what had happened at the front of the train shortly before.

I didn’t ride CaBi (in the AM or the PM) because of the rain, even though it wasn’t that bad. I’ll probably ride CaBi the rest of the week, especially with the nice weather and the cherry blossoms reaching peak bloom (Apr. 8-12).

[rpiretti]

Falls Church police are staking out the trail stop sign just past the Rt. 7 bridge on the WOD. (If your heading east).

[cyclingfool]

What a great ride this AM! When I groggily looked at the current weather on my phone this AM, I misread the wind direction arrow and was expecting a northerly headwind. But after a stop a the grocery store for lunch supplies before I began my commute in earnest, I realized I had read the wind indicator backwards and was going to have a tailwind this morning! Very helpful since I was running a little late anyways.

Also, you know you’re coming out of the depths of winter and spring is here when you arrive at the light at 15th and Independence with 9 other commuter cyclists.

I’m trying to be zen-like about the dumb pass made on me on one of the little blind corners after the airport overpass closest to Gravelly Point, but having a hard time. So to you who passed me I say I’m sorry 20 mph wasn’t fast enough for you. I hope you appreciate the fact that I moved all the way over to the edge of the trail to make room for your stupidity when I realized that there was someone coming the other way. And I’m sure you dangerous pass was worth it, too, since you just ended up being one of the nine other cyclists that pulled up at 15th and Independence the same time as me 2 or 3 miles later. Why did you have to taint an otherwise blissful ride?

[mstone]

@cyclingfool 81868 wrote:

I’m trying to be zen-like about the dumb pass made on me on one of the little blind corners after the airport overpass closest to Gravelly Point, but having a hard time.

I hope you let him know at the time…the best way to improve behavior is to de-normalize it, and people need social cues for that to happen.

[dasgeh]

It was a beautiful morning commute, especially because I got to start it with a ride to the polls to vote with the family!

And just in case: Arlingtonians – it’s election day. Please vote – 6am-7pm at your normal polling place. I’m supporting Alan Howze, who, among other awesome things, is a cyclist.

[consularrider]

Alan was outside my polling place when I voted a little before 7:30. Another cyclist rode up as I was leaving. That was two out of four voters in a five minute block on bicycles! With Alan there did we have a quorum for taking over the world!

[Tim Kelley]

@consularrider 81882 wrote:

Alan was outside my polling place when I voted a little before 7:30. Another cyclist rode up as I was leaving. That was two out of four voters in a five minute block on bicycles! With Alan there did we have a quorum for taking over the world!

There were two of us that arrived by bike at my polling place on the way to daycare. Only one of us was allowed to vote though.

Low turn out though–we were the only voters there the entire time, around 8am.

[cyclingfool]

@mstone 81876 wrote:

I hope you let him know at the time…the best way to improve behavior is to de-normalize it, and people need social cues for that to happen.

Sadly I didn’t. I have a tendency not to be directly confrontational, instead letting things eat me up inside and/or passive-aggressively complaining about them to a third party after the fact someplace like here. Though it’s sometimes helpful for dealing with difficult social sitautions, it’s also one of my personal shortcomings in others. I guess I expect idiot behavior out of drivers, but need to retrain myself after a winter of light bicycle traffic to expect it out of other cyclists more, too, and be ready to say something.

[sjclaeys]

@consularrider 81882 wrote:

Alan was outside my polling place when I voted a little before 7:30. Another cyclist rode up as I was leaving. That was two out of four voters in a five minute block on bicycles! With Alan there did we have a quorum for taking over the world!

I was there just before you with another cyclist, so that makes four cyclist voting at our polling station.

[consularrider]

@sjclaeys 81889 wrote:

I was there just before you with another cyclist, so that makes four cyclist voting at our polling station.

Dominion Hills/Madison Manor Rules! Of course, it helps being adjacent to the W&OD/4MRT and near the Custis.

[Author]

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