VA/DC cyclists in dire need of more education and cycling culture

[KelOnWheels]

@bobco85 55661 wrote:

P.S. – I hope you can make it tomorrow, because I plan to settle my personal vendetta against San Francisco due to a week-long trip I made 2 years ago where I KNOW someone (was it you?) purposely left a fog machine on the whole time and left me unable to view the whole Golden Gate Bridge while I was there :rolleyes:

Also we gotta talk about this 45 degrees F in June thing. (Although it was nice and sunny when I was there!)

[krazygl00]

@camomansf 55619 wrote:

Hi all,

I’m I’m an avid cyclist myself (road, cyclocross and mountain) and belong to the SF Bike Coalition

Uh huh. Which is why you’re so experienced with using an educational approach and establishing a dialogue when dealing with new groups of people, rather than jumping in with an accusatory tone and blanket statements.

and just moved from from San Francisco two weeks ago, to work on a three-month contract with the Gov.

Having left my bikes in SF, I decided to go out for a run two days ago, on the Four Mile Run path on Nauck. During such run I made sure to leave ample space for other joggers and also cyclists to pass me by. At one time, a line of cyclists passed me by so close that one of them hit with the handlebar of his/her bike, right in the middle finger of my left hand, fracturing the middle area of the finger.

In two weeks I’ve been here I’ve noticed that cyclists like to ride really close to people in spite of the clearance they might have on their side. This morning while crossing the Key bridge from Rosslyn to Georgetown (sporting my new finger-metal-cast) I noticed it again: it doesn’t matter how close to the railing I walk and much clearance I leave for cyclists most will ride so close (not even announcing “left or right of you”) it pretty much is an accident waiting to happen.

I have to wear this metal-cast in my finger now, take it off at work while I code, put it back in after work. Not funny.

DC/VA riders, “cycling culture” means cultivating a relationship not only with motorists but with pedestrians and joggers alike in order to create alliances. Riding defensively against people who are not on a bike only adds more to the angst that already exists between cyclists and non-cyclists and as I cyclist myself, I find it insulting to those of us who do have a cycling culture.

My question to you is: how can you expect for non-cyclists to identify with the issues you might be facing in DC/VA as cyclists, when you don’t even respect those who are not on bikes at any given moment?

Wow, what a great question! Not loaded at all. “Sir, how long have you been beating your wife?”

Thanks and god bless!

You may not be a troll. But your very first post here certainly seems like an attempt to elicit inflammatory responses, which certainly satisfies the “walks and talks like a…” criteria of determining trollhood. Others here have extended to you the benefit of the doubt in assuming your post is in earnest, but since you have not been as courteous in your approach to us I think we should not be so generous.

I’d say that I look forward to your follow-up post to prove me wrong…but really I’m kind of like ho-hum about it. FWIW I’ve lived in multiple cities in the US and cyclists here are about on par with those in other cities.

[baiskeli]

@krazygl00 55668 wrote:

Others here have extended to you the benefit of the doubt in assuming your post is in earnest, but since you have not been as courteous in your approach to us I think we should not be so generous.

I’m giving him a break because he, literally, got a break (his finger) from a jerk cyclist within days of coming here. And the guy who broke his finger apparently cycled off, oblivious. I can understand his frustration, even if his post was less than elegant.

[lordofthemark]

@mstone 55651 wrote:

And for all that, the DC area probably has less dedicated bike/ped infrastructure. There are very few routes for long-distance bike commuters that aren’t also (fairly narrow) recreational jogging/walking trails, which is bound to lead to conflict.

on the most popular trails, you’ve got A. Walkers/joggers B. experienced commuters C. folks in training for racing D. slow, inexperienced riders

I’m usually amazed that people manage to get along as well as they do.

Key bridge is definitely a crowded place when Ive ridden on it (usually on nice weekend days) with lots of walkers and joggers, and cyclists of varying speeds and ability levels, in a fairly narrow piece of real estate.

[rcannon100]

Seriously dont know why you folks are taking the energy to respond.

[krazygl00]

@baiskeli 55669 wrote:

I’m giving him a break because he, literally, got a break (his finger) from a jerk cyclist within days of coming here. And the guy who broke his finger apparently cycled off, oblivious. I can understand his frustration, even if his post was less than elegant.

Sure…could be. If his story is legit I’ll give him a little more sympathy. It doesn’t change the fact that he charged in accusing a group of people who did NOT cause his injury.

Besides…I’m really not sure it’s true. For me it doesn’t pass the smell test. Broken finger from hitting a handlebar? Really? How fast was the cyclist going? How fast was camomansf swinging his arms as he ran? Not impossible, but improbable.

[ebubar]

@krazygl00 55676 wrote:

Sure…could be. If his story is legit I’ll give him a little more sympathy. It doesn’t change the fact that he charged in accusing a group of people who did NOT cause his injury.

Besides…I’m really not sure it’s true. For me it doesn’t pass the smell test. Broken finger from hitting a handlebar? Really? How fast was the cyclist going? How fast was camomansf swinging his arms as he ran? Not impossible, but improbable.

I’d have to agree with this. Perhaps the gentleman is used to wider paths than we have here. There are times when I feel crowded on paths, just because they’re skinny. Key Bridge and Chain Bridge are both good examples. There just isn’t a lot of space to pass people and your going to feel crowded. This is why most of us on here (I would guess) cross those areas relatively slowly.

The fact is you have jerks everywhere and I bet there are just as many elite cyclists out in SF as there are here. With a high cost of living comes a high level of “moron with too much money and too little sense”. I have to note that in my short 4-5 months of regular bike commuting, i’ve had many more days of no incidents than days of problems.

[KelOnWheels]

I like bacon. Did I mention that?

[Brendan von Buckingham]

Bacon? Now I’m interested in this thread again.

[baiskeli]

@Brendan von Buckingham 55687 wrote:

Bacon? Now I’m interested in this thread again.

Brendan von Baconham.

[PotomacCyclist]

The generalizations in the original post are uncalled for. However, I do understand some of the points. Part of the problem is that the Mt. Vernon Trail is too narrow. But part of the problem is that too many cyclists think they have an absolute right to pass others, even when it means crossing the yellow line and forcing people (who are traveling in the correct direction) off to the side of the trail, or passing closely in between traffic (bike, pedestrian) going in both directions. I get frustrated by this behavior, to the extent that I don’t enjoy riding the MVT during bike rush hour.

While some of the transgressors are “ELITEs”, it’s not limited to that group. While some of them tend to ride faster on the trails than others, other cyclists (and runners) will use cellphones and earphones, and veer off into the other lane or weave back and forth. One guy (who looked to be in his early 20s) was riding no-hands while talking on a cellphone and going in the wrong direction on the other side of the yellow line. And straight into me. Fortunately there was enough time for me to scream out at him to look up and get a clue and avoid a collision. But I certainly wasn’t pleased about his riding practices.

In the end, you can’t expect people to see a generalization like “VA/DC cyclists in dire need of more education and (cycling) culture” and get a warm welcome. Is there a VA/DC indoctrination and cult that I was supposed to sign up for, to be classified as a VA/DC cyclist? I’m not aware of any such process or group that has mandatory membership for every person who rides a bike in the region.

[Brendan von Buckingham]

@baiskeli 55688 wrote:

Brendan von Baconham.

I’m Baconham? Well, eat me. I’ve kinda been wanting to say that since the beginning of this thread.

[PotomacCyclist]

I can see someone breaking a finger on a handlebar from a passing cyclist, although it’s kind of a freak accident. If you swing your arm back at just the right moment and the cyclist is riding at a faster speed, I think it’s possible. It’s also more likely with someone who has lower bone mineral density, which can be the case if you don’t do much upper-body strength training or load-bearing activities.

[jnva]

Dear ELITE cyclist:

Just because you CAN pass, doesn’t mean you SHOULD pass.

[Greenbelt]

Best trail mix ever:

One package walnut halves
One large can unsalted cashews
One package of pistachio “meats”
One bag of dark chocolate chips
One pound bacon (cooked and crumbled)

[Author]

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