My Morning Commute

[Judd]

@sjclaeys 146223 wrote:

Only times that I have been stung the past few years has been on the bike, including this Sunday at the beginning of the Backroads Century.

I thankfully haven’t been stung on the bike… yet… somehow… I did have some sort of large bug hit me in the cheek during Backroads which felt like someone threw a rock at my face.

[vern]

I got stung under my eye a few weeks ago. I used the SteveO method and smashed the f^$#@!, rather than taking the time to discern exactly what type of insect was stinging me.

[Anonymous]

For the second time in two weeks, once in the morning and once in the evening, the traffic light crossing Indian Head Hwy on Farmington Road* turned green for me without the presence of a motor vehicle to trigger it. This has never happened before. First time I thought it was a fluke, but twice? Either the new Crux has some sort of magical signal-triggering properties, the light has been reprogrammed to be on a timer rather than a sensor, or perhaps my diet has been exceptionally high in heavy metals recently. :confused:

Then I got to work, opened my email, and the day went to heck in a handbasket. But it started nicely, having my existence recognized by an inanimate collection of electronics.

* Farmington Road = ” designated bike route”; Indian Head Hwy = “6 lane 75mph+ traffic”; intersection = no pedestrian accommodations = no crosswalk and no beg button. Normally I just have to wait for a car to come trigger the light. Which is exactly what one should expect while riding on a designated bike route, right?

[lordofthemark]

This morning’s commute was nice – I did not regret (except at first) not taking a windbreaker. Glad to see our little group at WTF Coffee Club. When I got to work, for the second time this month all the bike racks in East Building were full, and I ended up needing to take my lock over to the west end of West Building to lock up – I guess at least at USDOT folks are paying attention to car free day.

I also found I had reached my highest monthly miles total ever – and there is still some September left.

[Judd]

@Amalitza 146320 wrote:

For the second time in two weeks, once in the morning and once in the evening, the traffic light crossing Indian Head Hwy on Farmington Road* turned green for me without the presence of a motor vehicle to trigger it. This has never happened before. First time I thought it was a fluke, but twice? Either the new Crux has some sort of magical signal-triggering properties, the light has been reprogrammed to be on a timer rather than a sensor, or perhaps my diet has been exceptionally high in heavy metals recently. :confused:

Then I got to work, opened my email, and the day went to heck in a handbasket. But it started nicely, having my existence recognized by an inanimate collection of electronics.

* Farmington Road = ” designated bike route”; Indian Head Hwy = “6 lane 75mph+ traffic”; intersection = no pedestrian accommodations = no crosswalk and no beg button. Normally I just have to wait for a car to come trigger the light. Which is exactly what one should expect while riding on a designated bike route, right?

Does the intersection have the ground loop thingies or the camera thingies?

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[Anonymous]

Ground loop thingies. I always stop in the middle of them and think jedi-mind-trick “I AM the car you’re looking for” thoughts at them. That didn’t used to work, though.

ooh, maybe I’m finally becoming a real jedi!

[bobco85]

@Amalitza 146346 wrote:

“I AM the car you’re looking for”

This quote paired with a picture of a bicycle sitting in a garage (doors just having been opened like a curtain reveal) would be a PERFECT bike advertisement!

[hozn]

This is a belated post for yesterday’s morning commute.

I rode to work (west on the W&OD) later than normal after having done the MacAurthur lollipop in the morning. As I was approaching Hunter Mill intersection, but was still a fair ways away (20-30 yards?) a car began stopping to let me cross. That’s nice. Only the SUV two cars back didn’t stop at all and plowed into the car in front of them and then hit the original car who had stopped at the intersection. So a three-car accident before I’d even arrived at the intersection. My work here is done.

I’ve definitely witnessed some screeching brakes from inattentive drivers, but this is the first time I’ve indirectly caused an accident. (The cars were traveling pretty slowly so no one appeared hurt; there was damage, bumper damage. I hung out for a bit and gave them my contact info. I didn’t wait for the police, since I’m not sure they would have cared to talk to me. Plus due to some confusion, the participants in this accident hadn’t even called the police after 10 minutes.)

WTF, people!? Pay attention to the cars in front of you, especially when you’re approaching a crossing !!!

[TwoWheelsDC]

@hozn 146393 wrote:

This is a belated post for yesterday’s morning commute.

I rode to work (west on the W&OD) later than normal after having done the MacAurthur lollipop in the morning. As I was approaching Hunter Mill intersection, but was still a fair ways away (20-30 yards?) a car began stopping to let me cross. That’s nice. Only the SUV two cars back didn’t stop at all and plowed into the car in front of them and then hit the original car who had stopped at the intersection. So a three-car accident before I’d even arrived at the intersection. My work here is done.

I’ve definitely witnessed some screeching brakes from inattentive drivers, but this is the first time I’ve indirectly caused an accident. (The cars were traveling pretty slowly so no one appeared hurt; there was damage, bumper damage. I hung out for a bit and gave them my contact info. I didn’t wait for the police, since I’m not sure they would have cared to talk to me. Plus due to some confusion, the participants in this accident hadn’t even called the police after 10 minutes.)

WTF, people!? Pay attention to the cars in front of you, especially when you’re approaching a crossing !!!

I’ve seen it at the MVT/GWMP crossing, although never been the direct cause. I imagine it must be an odd feeling…not really guilt, but maybe that they likely blame you? since drivers tend to blame everyone but themselves….

[Judd]

If only they had heeded the warnings that it was car free day, this crash could have been avoided.

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[hozn]

@TwoWheelsDC 146395 wrote:

I’ve seen it at the MVT/GWMP crossing, although never been the direct cause. I imagine it must be an odd feeling…not really guilt, but maybe that they likely blame you? since drivers tend to blame everyone but themselves….

Yeah, you’re right. I felt bad that 3 people had their day (at least) ruined because I was riding my bike — and because the person in front was doing the right (or at least nice) thing by stopping for me.

It sure was a beautiful morning for a bike ride, though.

[OneEighth]

@TwoWheelsDC 146395 wrote:

I’ve seen it at the MVT/GWMP crossing, although never been the direct cause. I imagine it must be an odd feeling…not really guilt, but maybe that they likely blame you? since drivers tend to blame everyone but themselves….

You mean like teenagers?

[wheelswings]

I’m just grateful the cars crashed into each other and not into you. They’ve got airbags, bumpers, steel enclosures…you’ve got nothing. Not to downplay that it was a p.i.t.a. for them – no doubt it was. But the main thing is that you are fine.

I was in a somewhat similar situation three weeks ago where a driver stopped for me, and other cars behind him stopped, and I cautiously started to cross – and then another driver switched lanes and sped through the one lane that remained open. I emitted the loudest scream in my life, as I thought it was my last. I always approach these stopping-car crossings with a mix of thankfulness (for the one who stops) and terror (for all the rest of ‘em).

[bobco85]

@hozn 146400 wrote:

Yeah, you’re right. I felt bad that 3 people had their day (at least) ruined because I was riding my bike — and because the person in front was doing the right (or at least nice) thing by stopping for me.

It sure was a beautiful morning for a bike ride, though.

This made me randomly think of the Japanese term (I heard it once and read it on a site another time) Arigata-meiwaku which means:

An act someone does for you that you didn’t want to have them do and tried to avoid having them do, but they went ahead anyway, determined to do you a favor, and then things went wrong and caused you a lot of trouble, yet in the end social conventions required you to express gratitude

I don’t think the term quite fits your situation, but I wouldn’t feel too guilty about it knowing where the responsibility lies. The cause of the crash was from a driver not paying attention to the car in front of them. If they were paying attention, they would have braked and slowed to a stop like the 2 cars in front of them, and there’d be no crash. The driver in back ruined the day for 3 people, not you. I’m glad you weren’t in front of said driver when it happened, too.

Maybe this is why Arlington put those electronic signs with messages like: “Do not hit car in front of you.”

[Judd]

@bobco85 146406 wrote:

This made me randomly think of the Japanese term (I heard it once and read it on a site another time) Arigata-meiwaku which means:
.”

Komorebi is considering changing her name to this.

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[Author]

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