Tales of the Good

[KelOnWheels]

@ShawnoftheDread 59613 wrote:

What ever happened to that guy? He was quite helpful.

They moved back west I think.

[Vicegrip]

I posted this elsewhere but it fits here a bit better.

On then ride home from a Tuesday Night ride in Ballston it seems my nice Blackburn rechargeable blinky and I parted ways. I was getting the “Magic Fingers” treatment on the section of road that has been milled and my blinky came off. A guy in a car saw it fall off, took the time and effort to get out, pick it up, chase me down and honk just as I got to the custis. Big thanks!

[Steve O]

Don’t know how far into the past one can go for this thread, but in 198?, I crashed hard into an unoccupied car alongside the highway. Full speed (don’t ask; yes, it was stupid). After spitting out a couple of teeth and slowly coming to the realization that my tacoed wheel and bent frame weren’t going to get me home (state of shock wasn’t too promising either), a lady pulled up. She said she saw me crash, continued down the road to the next turnaround and came back. She offered to transport me to the hospital, but I just wanted to get home. So she took me there–about 3-4 miles away.

I sometimes wonder what the owner of the car thought when he got back–with the dent in his rear bumper and scratches all over his trunk where the bike and I slid off after landing upside down on the rear window.

[jrenaut]

@Vicegrip 59618 wrote:

I posted this elsewhere but it fits here a bit better.

On then ride home from a Tuesday Night ride in Ballston it seems my nice Blackburn rechargeable blinky and I parted ways. I was getting the “Magic Fingers” treatment on the section of road that has been milled and my blinky came off. A guy in a car saw it fall off, took the time and effort to get out, pick it up, chase me down and honk just as I got to the custis. Big thanks!

This didn’t happen. No way.

[KLizotte]

@ShawnoftheDread 59613 wrote:

What ever happened to that guy? He was quite helpful.

Sadly, he and the family moved back to CA since the DC job didn’t work out well for him and they had relatives on the West Coast

[Arlingtonrider]

I sent him a PM a few weeks ago that he responded to, so he still looks at the forum from time to time. He gave a great class at Shirlington Library that came in handy for me – I wanted to thank him again.

[lim]

Few years ago when the temperatures were soaring I did a ride on my trek 29er marlin MTB to bethesda from n arl. My camelbak ran out of water quickly and on the rosslyn hill climb back I stopped on custis to answer a phone call.

Shortly thereafter two riders stopped and asked if I was okay due to the heat. That was nice of them, from then on I always make a habit of doing a double take on stopped riders to see if they’re okay and need help.

[Vicegrip]

@jrenaut 59627 wrote:

This didn’t happen. No way.

I understand the disbelief. That little blinky holds on real well!

[Guus]

I often run on the Custis trail around Ballston with a running stroller. Virtually all bicyclists passing us call their passes, which makes me happy. Thanks bicyclists!

Even nicer when they ring their bell since my 1,5 year old really likes the sound of that

[TwoWheelsDC]

@Guus 59676 wrote:

I often run on the Custis trail around Ballston with a running stroller. Virtually all bicyclists passing us call their passes, which makes me happy. Thanks bicyclists!

Even nicer when they ring their bell since my 1,5 year old really likes the sound of that

Maybe I’m a bit biased, because I ride the entire length of the Custis almost every day, but it seems to have the highest pass-calling rate of all the trails. I’d also wager that, due to its geography and location, it has the highest commuter ratio of any of the MUPs in the area, which I think might correlate with the high percentage of called passes. Would certainly be interesting to see some metrics on that, but I don’t expect that will happen. Until then, I unofficially dub the Custis “the Friendliest Trail in the DC Area.”

[dasgeh]

@Guus 59676 wrote:

Even nicer when they ring their bell since my 1,5 year old really likes the sound of that

I bet you 1.5 year old would really like Kidical Mass Arlington, too.

[dbb]

I generally try to bell the peds/runners and call my passes for the (few) cyclists I pass.

I particularly like it when the runners acknowledge the ring (a hand movement is all I need) so I know the chance of a Crazy Ivan has been reduced.

[rcannon100]

@dbb 59684 wrote:

I particularly like it when the runners acknowledge the ring (a hand movement is all I need) so I know the chance of a Crazy Ivan has been reduced.

Er, yeah….. but it seems like too often its a chance for a Captain Hook if you get my drift (joggers who wave acknowledgement, by sticking their hand left out into the trail – directly in the path of the passing traffic)

[nikki_d]

Since my SO is not a forum member, I will post about the nice things that have happened to him on his behalf.

In addition to not being a forum member, my SO is all about making his bike “lighter” which leads to chronic over-stuffing of the one pannier bag he allows himself on his bike. He can’t have more, oh no… that would make his bike “too heavy.” Needless to say, this conceit of his leads to much comic relief for me since I take the “Haul” in my Long Haul Trucker seriously and he is always trying to be gallant and offer to carry thing for me. Ha! (I also take the “Utility” seriously in my 4-wheeled Sport Utility Vehicle usually to the surprise of shop owners in what I have been able to haul in it… I think I need a new career hauling things.)

We live in SW, a.k.a FedGov Wasteland, and commute together in the mornings. And he insists on riding behind me especially when I point out how precariously overstuffed his bag is. At least twice this year (he will insist it has only been twice but I am pretty sure it has been at least half a dozen times now) we have had drivers of USG plated vehicles catch up with us at 4th & Penn either dangle articles of his clothing out their windows or telling him where he can go back and pick them up.

Thanks nice drivers!

[thucydides]

@TwoWheelsDC 59679 wrote:

Maybe I’m a bit biased, because I ride the entire length of the Custis almost every day, but it seems to have the highest pass-calling rate of all the trails. I’d also wager that, due to its geography and location, it has the highest commuter ratio of any of the MUPs in the area, which I think might correlate with the high percentage of called passes. Would certainly be interesting to see some metrics on that, but I don’t expect that will happen. Until then, I unofficially dub the Custis “the Friendliest Trail in the DC Area.”

Funny. A while back I designed a little study that would track pass calling. I was going to do two trails — Custis & CCT — with varied days and times. I was also going to vary the “passees” in various ways, pushing a baby stroller being one. I don’t think it’s the sort of thing I can get funded since it doesn’t necessarily tie in with any major policy or theoretical issues. But I might still do it just for the fun and curiosity of it when I have some RAs between projects. I did a very mini version of this a while back [posted here]. My strong impression is commuters are more likely to call passes than non-commuters.

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