The most tempting salmon

[Powerful Pete]

I do the salmon thing if there is no traffic… honestly the straight away is long enough (in terms of seeing oncoming cars) that it is easier and probably safer than negotiating the 90 degree turn on to the sidewalk.

A fix would most probably be problematic – with the tour buses and traffic that stops for the memorial?

[Steve]

Yea, this thread has some info on it.

I honestly don’t understand the need to salmon there. Perhaps it is slightly more convenient, but I think somewhat selfish. You already have to make one 90 degree turn, so you are moving fairly slowly. Making a second one onto the sidewalk doesn’t seem that hard. It’s not dangerous. On the other hand, many people ride with traffic on that stetch. As always, when people are salmoning, it makes for a dangerous situation when people are riding with traffic.

I understand why people do it, especially in the morning when it’s fairly empty, but you could say that about lots of places. Just because it’s more quiet, doesn’t make it right to salmon, IMO.

[baiskeli]

What I saw in my mind when I read the title:

[Powerful Pete]

Fair points. I seem to run into cabs/cars parked in such a manner that my best options are to salmon or ride around the closed off section of the memorial roundabout.

But I do hang my head in shame. Promise to be more courteous in the future…

[Steve]

Oh, you don’t need to hang your head in shame at all. It doesn’t really bother me all that much. As I said, I get why people do it, I just think it’s probably a little unnecessary. As far as things that would bother me on a ride, this is WAY down the list (esp. at the 0-Dark hours).

[Supermau]

I’ve never considered salmoning there. I always just cross the street and ride around the Jefferson. I do tend to use the road on the way back though I’ve yet to witness a salmon coming my way.

[dbb]

I got stopped by a USPP officer once for salmoning. While he lectured me about salmoning, he wrote me a warning for riding on the wrong side of the road. Turns out, there are no traffic control devices at the trail-road intersection that suggest the road is one-way. I now cross over and ride the sidewalk (most of the time). Occasionally, a motorist (often a USPP vehicle) will park in the crosswalk that serves to discourage use of the sidewalk.

[TwoWheelsDC]

I cross to the sidewalk…it’s kind of a pain, but given the amount of buses and crazy cabs and clueless drivers coming through that area, I prefer to not ride against traffic. The simple fix would be if NPS just extended the path 50 yards, which also would help deconflict bike/ped traffic coming off/getting on the trail.

[Subby]

I salmon. It’s my civil disobedience for the day.

One of the few times I rode on the sidewalk I got in a mini argument with a ped who would not move right and chided me for being on the sidewalk. I commute to relax, not get in arguments with doofuses.

And FWIW the only time I have seen a vehicle hit a cyclist there is when they were going WITH traffic*.

*small sample size, maybe

[baiskeli]

This is a tempting salmon:

[ctankcycles]

I salmon here every morning during the week, did it today, been doing it for 10 years. Never been hassled by park police although I’ve heard it does happen occasionally. The sight lines are good enough and the people loading/unloading from cars/buses/vans onto the sidewalk is so frequent and the tourists so unpredictable I think it’s often the safer option. There are “NO STOPPING OR STANDING” signs along the curb but that doesn’t prevent people from stopping and the park police don’t enforce it.

On an unrelated note, anyone know the lady on the black Surly with white Ortlieb panniers who appears in the current Google Street View along this stretch (going the right direction)? https://www.google.com/maps/@38.8798745,-77.0364254,3a,37.5y,340.54h,52.15t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1s52uYRMz9czU3ycRr3WKxmw!2e0

[cyclingfool]

I’ve taken to using the curb cut closest to the CaBi station there to cross the road like this and then make a more gentle transition to the sidewalk/path on the other side. As long as no one is trying to use the curb cut there themselves coming from another direction, I go that way. And, as was pointed out, traffic here is generally light in the AM.

[LBSki]

I always take the road here, in the morning and in the afternoon. I recognize in the morning that I’m going the wrong direction. However, the majority of the time, there is a police cruiser or other vehicle parked nearly right in front of the sidewalk entrance, making it difficult to access the sidewalk. And, I just don’t see any reason to go out of my way to do so because the sight line is so clear, and the frequency of vehicles coming at that time of the morning is so low. And the smooth road is nicer to ride on than the bumpy sidewalk. I actually don’t know if I’ve ever encountered head on vehicle traffic in the mornings during my 20 seconds of salmoning.

I have heard of cops ticketing cyclists for doing this, but I think that might be an urban legend. I’ve litterally ridden right past parked cop cars without a second glance.

[Subby]

Also DismalScientist told me never to ride on sidewalks. EVER.

[cyclingfool]

@ctankcycles 95873 wrote:

There are “NO STOPPING OR STANDING” signs along the curb but that doesn’t prevent people from stopping and the park police don’t enforce it.

The park police also make a pastime out of parking in the crosswalks that connect the segments of sidewalk on the TJM side of the street, especially the one furhter from the bridge. I have reported this two or three times now. I came across it one morning earlier this week, too, but I was in a generous mood and was too busy with life generally Monday and Tuesday to stop, take another picture, and send another email. Point being, NPP enforcement, nay, its own following of the rules, is spotty and inconsistent at best.

@ctankcycles 95873 wrote:

On an unrelated note, anyone know the lady on the black Surly with white Ortlieb panniers who appears in the current Google Street View along this stretch (going the right direction)? https://www.google.com/maps/@38.8798745,-77.0364254,3a,37.5y,340.54h,52.15t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1s52uYRMz9czU3ycRr3WKxmw!2e0

No, but I like her style. And I also love when cyclists make it on Google Street View. Somewhere I saw a thread (probably Crazy Guy on a Bike) that was devoted to sharing street view pics of touring cyclists. It was awesome!

[Author]

Posts