National Airport tunnel again

[Mariner]

My least favorite commute place, the underpass on the connector trail between MVT and Crystal City (not the one under the railroad). This is a short narrow tunnel on a blind approach from both sides. It should be approached with caution, as the tunnel is half-width and can barely accommodate meets.

Today I was approaching from the airport side. When I could see into the tunnel, I saw that there was a runner and another cyclist coming towards me. I managed to stop in time. However, there was another cyclist immediately behind me who was not expecting my stop, and had to swerve into the embankment to avoid hitting me. He managed to stay upright, but his momentum took him past me. That would have been a nasty rear-end.

Lessons: Do not follow closely; this is the third time recently someone has been way too close on my butt, resulting in some sort of incident. Also, think of road driving rules when you ride, and treat blind spots accordingly. It amazes me when any cyclist disregards this.

Ok, I am done wagging my finger. The weather Sunday and beyond looks fabulous for riding, and maybe we will get a good 6-8 weeks of perfect fall weather riding, so let’s all stay safe and healthy, and enjoy the rides.

Topic

[Judd]

Did you signal that you were slowing?

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[KLizotte]

I always ring my bell going thru the blind curve (both directions) and slow way down. The mirror they have there is useless.

[Mariner]

@Judd 145532 wrote:

Did you signal that you were slowing?

No, it was a quick stop and I needed both hands to squeeze the brakes and stop, and to maintain control. I have tried one-handed braking before and the problem is that the handlebar which is not controlled wants to pull; so right-hand brake only means pull to the right, and v/v. In that situation, a pull to the right would have sent me into a jersey barrier and maybe over it.

[Tania]

@Mariner 146078 wrote:

No, it was a quick stop and I needed both hands to squeeze the brakes and stop, and to maintain control. I have tried one-handed braking before and the problem is that the handlebar which is not controlled wants to pull; so right-hand brake only means pull to the right, and v/v. In that situation, a pull to the right would have sent me into a jersey barrier and maybe over it.

I hate stops like this – your brain is too busy going “aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!” to remember to yell “stopping!”

[creadinger]

I don’t go through there often, mostly because the bottleneck sucks, but in my experience there is barely enough room for me to slowly pass the occasional oncoming pedestrian or cyclist without needing to come to a stop. And I’m a big guy with wide drop bars. 46cm I think. It could be that the cyclist behind you didn’t expect you to stop because there wasn’t a reason to.

Of course one should always be READY to stop, which this person clearly was not.

[Author]

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