Pete Signs Removed From Bridge!

[JorgeGortex]

Did anyone else catch this BS: https://www.fcnp.com/2023/06/08/an-unauthorized-bid-to-rename-wod-bridge/

I get that they were put there surreptitiously, but who were they hurting? This kind of bureaucratic non-sense makes my blood boil. FWIW, I wrote and sent this to NOVA Parks:

Dear NOVA Parks,

I am writing to protest the removal of the signs from the WO&D bridge that crosses over Rt. 29/Langston Blvd in Arlington/Falls Church. Although the signs may have been placed without going through proper channels, the signs commemorated a local member of the cycling community who lived and worked in Falls Church. Pete was an extremely beloved member of the cycling community who supported riders of all levels and who promoted the joy of being outside and doing right by others. He did more to encourage good than few others I know.

For NOVA Parks and VDOT to take them down seems, simply mean, and out of touch with the community NOVA Parks purports to help. Did anyone do any research to find out who Pete was, what his story was, or why someone went to the trouble of erecting a sign in his honor? Or was simply a matter of “this isn’t right” and removing them? What were the signs hurting? I’ll answer it: no one. But now you’ve engaged the community in a negative way and left a foul taste in this person’s mouth. I have no doubt others as well.
If NOVA Parks has any integrity you will replace the signs and let a community remember with a smile, a man important to others, every time they cross that bridge.

If you want to send something, it can be sent to NOVAParks@nvrpa.org Maybe if the community makes a stink we can get this corrected.

Topic

[consularrider]

@Starduster 226118 wrote:

So yesterday…I decided to go for a classically Stupid Bike Ride, to honor the legend of Pete Beers. Three years ago, I made a pilgrimage to this site by taking a road bike on Lake Accotink’s mountain bike trail. Today, I took Das Kettler. I will let you decide which bike was more out-of-place. The bikes & I lived to tell the tale. (“Well that’s no fun!”)

The impromptu shrine remains, and now has an addition that celebrates the big goofball of a cycling angel that Pete was…

#wsgfabr #bemorepete #youareloved
[ATTACH=CONFIG]30861[/ATTACH]
A weather-worn Hello Kitty sticker remains, years on.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]30862[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]30863[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]30864[/ATTACH]
All bases covered.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]30865[/ATTACH]
On Das Kettler…
Pluses: Full suspension. Its Sachs hub had the gearing in 1st to haul its “gossamer” weight up the sharp climbs.
Neutral: The plump Schwalbe Marathon HS420’s didn’t have the best tread pattern for this surface but didn’t slip much. (Fyi, 30 PSI rear, 28 PSI front, as low as I dared go.)
Minuses: “Gossamer” weight = 42 lbs. And a slightly worn coaster brake was no fun on gravel downhills. It was tough to modulate and balance with the front brake. So I didn’t go charging back the other way as I originally intended.

I rode Pete’s Tour of Alaska on Wednesday, the only marker when I went by the site was the worn Hello Kitty sticker that Hoofnagle put on the downhill warning sign. The ribbon around the post must have been added later.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]30867[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]30868[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]30869[/ATTACH]

[lordofthemark]

Idea. Suppose the ask was NOT a sign saying “Pete Beers Bridge” but a sign with the quote “We should all go for a bike ride – Pete Beers” so not implying naming the bridge. The only issue would be NVRPA’s signage policy, rather than naming policy(and no need to for VDOT or ArlCo involvment)? Would this be an easier ask?

[Steve O]

@lordofthemark 226108 wrote:

As anyone who has worked in a bureaucracy knows, sometimes bureaucrats themselves do work arounds when bureaucracy is too burdensome, and that does not necessarily mean dispensing with the valuable parts. It is in fact what keeps bureaucracies working. I believe perhaps it was Harvey Mansfield either quoting or paraphrasing Machivelli “a conspiracy against the law to save the law” Pardon if I misrember, this was 1977.

I would say one next step might be finding out which agency removed the signs? Another would be informal outreach to some friendly folks at NVRPA or elsewhere.

These are fine ideas. Who wants to take them on?

[Author]

Replies