My Morning Commute

[komorebi]

Dear bird flying above Gravelly Point this morning:

I commend you on (1) your ability to stay aloft while carrying such a large, um, payload, and (2) your remarkable accuracy when you finally decided to release it. You managed to splatter my helmet, cycling glasses, shirt collar, jacket, right glove, both legs, seat post, and seat tube. I give you a 9 out of 10 for this bombing run: I deducted two points for missing my backpack and shoes (the only parts that you missed), but added back one point for the successful stealth attack. You caught me completely by surprise.

[mstone]

[wheelswings]

I had another creepy encounter on 16th St. this morning near Virginia Hospital Center. My prior two issues on that stretch involved drivers going the opposite direction and swerving into the ambulance tracks in the speed humps right in front of me. Pure stupidity (oblivious drivers looking only for cars) but terrifying nonetheless.

Today’s episode was different. I was riding eastward in a slow, congested string of cars heading toward Glebe Road. I had taken the lane, keeping near the bumper of the car ahead, when all of a sudden the car behind me guns it into the left (oncoming) lane and then forces their way in front of me… I had to stop to let them in so I would not crash. I yelled and gave them the birdie, repeating loudly, “who ARE you?!” There was no place the car could go – they were literally inches from the car in front – and they started driving with their wheel against the right curb to make sure I wouldn’t pass. It was weird… I kept asking myself, why are they behaving this way? Clearly they did not like driving behind a petite bicycle rider in flowery skirt and big yellow backpack, but their alternative was simply to hug the bumper of another car. It did not leave me scared so much as sad that such ill-tempered people exist in this world.

Then I came to Glebe and right away experienced one of those truly decent human beings who stop their car in opposing traffic to make sure you make a safe left turn across their lane. I gave them a huge thanks. I spent the rest of my commute (up the Crescent and across DC) contemplating the vast spectrum of human’kind’ and human’not-so-kind.’ I am grateful for the kind ones.

[Tania]

@wheels&wings 139451 wrote:

I had another creepy encounter on 16th St. this morning near Virginia Hospital Center. My prior two issues on that stretch involved drivers going the opposite direction and swerving into the ambulance tracks in the speed humps right in front of me. Pure stupidity (oblivious drivers who looking only for cars) but terrifying nonetheless.

Today’s episode was different. I was riding eastward in a slow, congested string of cars heading toward Glebe Road. I had taken the lane, keeping near the bumper of the car ahead, when all of a sudden the car behind me guns it into the left (oncoming) lane and then forces their way in front of me… I had to stop to let them in so I would not crash. I yelled and gave them the birdie, repeating loudly, “who ARE you?!” There was no place the car could go – they were literally inches from the car in front – and they started driving with their wheel against the right curb to make sure I wouldn’t pass. It was creepy… I kept asking myself, why are they behaving this way? Clearly they did not like driving behind a petite bicycle rider in flowery skirt and big yellow backpack, but their alternative was simply to hug the bumper of another car. It did not leave me scared so much as sad that such ill-tempered people exist in this world.

Then I came to Glebe and right away experienced one of those truly decent human beings who stop their car in opposing traffic to make sure you make a safe left turn across their lane. I gave them a huge thanks. I spent the rest of my commute (up the Crescent and across DC) contemplating the vast spectrum of human’kind’ and human’not-so-kind.’ I am grateful for the kind ones.

I had someone do something similar on Gallows last summer during evening rush hour. I was at the point where the bike lane ends – sometimes I’ll just hop on the sidewalk and ride super slow past the metro station and sometimes I’ll take the lane, it just depends on opportunity, traffic and how I’m feeling. This day traffic was bumper to bumper and backed up so I decided to take the lane since I could travel just as fast as the cars (faster, if I’d lane split). The guy behind me was all sorts of miffed by this – laying on the horn, shouting at me etc. I was a little afraid he was going to bump me. He finally got an opportunity to change lanes, gunned it, made an unsafe merge back into my lane but a few cars ahead of me.

I mean seriously – where ya gonna go? Traffic is completely backed up and crawling along. Rather than lane splitting (which I will almost never do), I stayed in line with the rest of the cars and then turned on my street less than a quarter of a mile farther down.

When there’s little traffic and I can merge safely into the regular lane from the (ending) bike lane, I treat this short stretch as my personal raceway. The speed limit is 35, it’s slightly uphill and I can usually get up to close to 30mph. If you ever see someone riding down Avenir near the Kiss and Ride at the Dunn Loring metro gasping for breath and looking like they’re about to keel over, that’s me.

[Subby]

@Tania 139453 wrote:

The guy behind me was all sorts of miffed by this – laying on the horn, shouting at me etc. I was a little afraid he was going to bump me. He finally got an opportunity to change lanes, gunned it, made an unsafe merge back into my lane but a few cars ahead of me.

Even if you aren’t a habitual lane splitter like me, this seems like the most golden of opportunities to split and pass, thereby trolling the &%^* out of that guy.

[GovernorSilver]

No accounting for who might be crazy on the road, on what vehicle.

Last week, there was a young man on a bicycle who cut through a somewhat crowded sidewalk, then crossed a street intersection on a diagonal, cutting right in front of a car headed in the same direction that had just started rolling, then did a pop-wheelie while still in front of the car before continuing down the street swerving wildly.

[runbike]

@wheels&wings 139451 wrote:

when all of a sudden the car behind me guns it into the left (oncoming) lane and then forces their way in front of me… I had to stop to let them in so I would not crash. I yelled and gave them the birdie, repeating loudly, “who ARE you?!”

Was it a silver Toyota Corolla? I’ve had LITERALLY the exact same experience in the exact same place and it was a pissed-off dude in a silver Toyota who couldn’t stand to be BEHIND a bicycle that was moving the speed of traffic.

[OneEighth]

@wheels&wings 139451 wrote:

I had another creepy encounter on 16th St. this morning near Virginia Hospital Center. My prior two issues on that stretch involved drivers going the opposite direction and swerving into the ambulance tracks in the speed humps right in front of me. Pure stupidity (oblivious drivers looking only for cars) but terrifying nonetheless.

Today’s episode was different. I was riding eastward in a slow, congested string of cars heading toward Glebe Road. I had taken the lane, keeping near the bumper of the car ahead, when all of a sudden the car behind me guns it into the left (oncoming) lane and then forces their way in front of me… I had to stop to let them in so I would not crash. I yelled and gave them the birdie, repeating loudly, “who ARE you?!” There was no place the car could go – they were literally inches from the car in front – and they started driving with their wheel against the right curb to make sure I wouldn’t pass. It was weird… I kept asking myself, why are they behaving this way? Clearly they did not like driving behind a petite bicycle rider in flowery skirt and big yellow backpack, but their alternative was simply to hug the bumper of another car. It did not leave me scared so much as sad that such ill-tempered people exist in this world.

If you got the tag and other identifying info, you might want to call this one in.

[huskerdont]

@GovernorSilver 139467 wrote:

No accounting for who might be crazy on the road, on what vehicle.

Last week, there was a young man on a bicycle who cut through a somewhat crowded sidewalk, then crossed a street intersection on a diagonal, cutting right in front of a car headed in the same direction that had just started rolling, then did a pop-wheelie while still in front of the car before continuing down the street swerving wildly.

This must be in DC. I’ve seen a similar wheelie (including a spin in front of one car that had to stop) done through a red light in the midst of heavy cross-traffic (F and 9th westbound). Just flaunting things, really. I figured it must have been synthetic drugs, but at no age would I have been able to ride like that while high, so who knows.

[GovernorSilver]

@huskerdont 139471 wrote:

This must be in DC. I’ve seen a similar wheelie (including a spin in front of one car that had to stop) done through a red light in the midst of heavy cross-traffic (F and 9th westbound). Just flaunting things, really. I figured it must have been synthetic drugs, but at no age would I have been able to ride like that while high, so who knows.

Correct. It was in the NOMA BID around the intersection of M ST and 1st St NE. I didn’t see if he tried to hop the protective curb to get into the protected bike lanes.

[wheelswings]

@run/bike 139468 wrote:

Was it a silver Toyota Corolla? I’ve had LITERALLY the exact same experience in the exact same place and it was a pissed-off dude in a silver Toyota who couldn’t stand to be BEHIND a bicycle that was moving the speed of traffic.

Interesting. Yes — an older silver corolla, I think. Wow.

I did not think to get the plate number until we were already on Glebe. I tried to read and memorize it, but no luck as we were in different lanes then. I was wishing I had a helmet camera…

[huskerdont]

@GovernorSilver 139472 wrote:

Correct. It was in the NOMA BID around the intersection of M ST and 1st St NE. I didn’t see if he tried to hop the protective curb to get into the protected bike lanes.

I was sitting at the light like a chump, and was of two minds. One was mad at the bastard for giving all cyclists a bad rap, but the other was amazement. Well, really I was mostly of the first mind, but it was rather amazing to witness. I would have thought it improbable to impossible if I hadn’t seen it. Like Parkour on a bike, or if Danny MacAskill had come to DC and didn’t care if he got flattened by an SUV.

[Steve O]

@wheels&wings 139451 wrote:

There was no place the car could go – they were literally inches from the car in front – and they started driving with their wheel against the right curb to make sure I wouldn’t pass.

That’s when the sidewalk comes in handy. No one walks on it along there. A smug ride by and a little, friendly wave would make his day, I’m sure. Then at Glebe, hit the walk button, go straight across to the opposite sidewalk and you can avoid the left turn onto 15th (well sort of; it’s still a bit weird to get in the right place). Or right on red and take the left as usual, with the as(*&%$#ole still back on 16th. Buh-bye.

Probably not your method, and probably not recommended in general, but I have refused to let cars in that do this. As soon as I hear the engine speed up I stick out my left arm. Then I stay right up with the car in front and my left arm straight out in front of them, forcing them to back off. Their only choices are to back off or actually run into me. So far no one has chosen the latter.

[wheelswings]

@Steve O 139475 wrote:

That’s when the sidewalk comes in handy. No one walks on it along there.

Actually there is hardly any sidewalk on 16th approaching Glebe, especially next to the Mt. Olivet cemetery, and what little sidewalk there is has poles through the middle so it’s not ride-able (and hardly walkable, which is why you don’t see pedestrians).

[huskerdont]

@wheels&wings 139478 wrote:

Actually there is hardly any sidewalk on 16th approaching Glebe, especially next to the Mt. Olivet cemetery, and what little sidewalk there is has poles through the middle so it’s not ride-able (and hardly walkable, which is why you don’t see pedestrians).

If you are heading to the Custis, you can turn before Glebe and access Custis through the neighborhood. Not that you should have to, but I cut across 16th at Abingdon or Buchanan every morning. Using Abindgon, you don’t even have to cross Washington Blvd to get to the trail. Cutting through would avoid that uphill part approaching Glebe that would make a cyclist slower in traffic.

On the other hand, if this happened to me, I’d probably get stubborn and ride 16th every single day.

[Author]

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