My Morning Commute

[dbb]

To the visiting African heads of state. A hearty welcome from the Washington area cycling community.

Please take a moment to look out your hotel room windows and take in the results of 50 years of automobile-centric development. Reflect on that as you are making development decisions for your countries.

Traffic was a real goat-screw this morning. It amazes me that a minor perturbation in the available commute routes causes motorist’s heads to explode. With Maine Ave closed east of 14th Street, I observed about five cars making left turns from Maine (eastbound) to 15th northbound. With all the traffic islands there, it wasn’t easy. The only thing that would have added to the excitement was a light drizzle with the attendant moisture induced stupidity.

As I was rolling by all the motorists, the only thing that kept me from going into a full gloat was the number of motorists that were doing stupid things that might have killed me. We really wouldn’t have problems like motorists turning right onto Independence (eastbound) from the left lane of 15th (northbound) if we only had laws requiring drivers to have licenses and the cars to have license plates. Oh wait ……!

[rcannon100]

Working from FCCII. They told us to stay home. Other lesson here is the importance of Internet infrastructure enabling telecommuting, egovernment and ecommerce.

For those who care about what forum members do during their day jobs: Michael Kenda (a former associate of mine), Assessment of the impact of Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) – empirical study of Kenya and Nigeria, Internet Society 2012

[dasgeh]

@Subby 91892 wrote:

That makes sense. I didn’t realize you couldn’t enter the crosswalk on a countdown. Thanks!

This is not settled law. There have been multiple forum discussions on it, so I won’t rehash.

[Subby]

dasgeh;92024 wrote:

this is not settled law. There have been multiple forum discussions on it, so i won’t rehash.

Sweet!

[skins_brew]

Great ride this morning. The first few miles were chilly in short sleeves, but I was OK after about 4.

On the first st cycle track, some pedestrian walks directly into the bike lane, about 8 feet in front of me. I yell at him and swerve a bit. I didn’t almost go down, but the adrenaline was pumping hard afterward. Those park-it barriers give you very little room to “escape.”

Some guy wearing a green helmet was right on my wheel and I heard his wheels skid as he braked. Green Helmet guy, how about a little space? I don’t know if you were drafting or what, but if you were, the first street cycle track near Union Station is the wrong place to do it.

Right after i yelled, someone, I don’t know if it was the pedestrian or the green helmet guy, said something like, “yea yea get him, get him.” I dont know if someone was advocating for a crash or what, but if they were, go f yourself.

[cvcalhoun]

Bethesda, if you are going to put up signs telling us that all cars must be off the street for “resurfacing,” we expect that at the end of the process, the road will in fact be resurfaced. Instead, they are what I can only describe as desurfaced. The top layer of road has been removed, leaving the sort of corrugated surface that was originally below the top. And that corrugation (which leaves my bike jouncing around and making weird noises) has now been left in place for several days, with no signs that a new surface will be added to the road any time soon. Could you please look up the definition of “resurfaced”? Kthanksbye.

[DismalScientist]

Sounds like standard operating procedure for all milling and paving I’ve ever seen.

[peterw_diy]

@DismalScientist 92207 wrote:

Sounds like standard operating procedure for all milling and paving I’ve ever seen.

Not leaving it torn up “for several days” after milling.

[mstone]

@peterw_diy 92208 wrote:

Not leaving it torn up “for several days” after milling.

yeah, that’s pretty sop in my experience. cars don’t care.

[Steve]

Yea, Arlington Blvd leading down to Iwa Jima (not Rt. 50, Arl Blvd above it) was milled for about a week it seems before repaving.

I was also very surprised yesterday when moving with a decent amount of speed down Wilson Blvd and all the sudden hit the spot where it was milled up in Clarendon. Were there any warnings about this? Due to the other milling, I had been riding a different way for most of the week, so perhaps I missed it.

[peterw_diy]

@mstone 92209 wrote:

yeah, that’s pretty sop in my experience. cars don’t care.

You should talk to your public works folks about that, and the politicians if needed. In Alexandria city, we normally don’t have more than one business day of milled roads unless unexpected bad weather delays the paving phase.

[consularrider]

@peterw_diy 92208 wrote:

Not leaving it torn up “for several days” after milling.

A 100 yard section of the north (west) bound lane of Monroe St between 13th and Columbia Pike has been milled for several months, screwing up one of the routes I like to take from Shirlington to points north. It’s next to a construction site, but come one, really? :rolleyes:

[peterw_diy]

@consularrider 92221 wrote:

A 100 yard section of the north (west) bound lane of Monroe St between 13th and Columbia Pike has been milled for several months

Why do you tolerate that? Seriously. Start making noise. Use that new problem reporting site/app to complain. Ask staff to fix it. Ask politicians to demand a higher SLA from staff.

[jrenaut]

Working at home today so I had to create a morning commute. Friday Coffee Club with the kids and I finally took 15th St NW home on the Xtracycle with the kids. Not recommended but it can be done. Gorgeous day for a bike ride.

[mstone]

@peterw_diy 92219 wrote:

You should talk to your public works folks about that, and the politicians if needed. In Alexandria city, we normally don’t have more than one business day of milled roads unless unexpected bad weather delays the paving phase.

Well, we have VDOT. I suppose I could agitate for better service for non-cars from them, but I’m pretty sure that’s already been done. Honestly, in the list of things I’d like to see changed at VDOT this isn’t in the top 50.

[Author]

Posts