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Out of curiosity, what sort of bikes are having these problems?

Up until a year ago, heading north, this was part of my daily p.m. commute. Now, I only ride it once or twice a week. The last time was Wednesday, in the rain. Unless it’s been completely covered in ice, I’ve never had a problem. Wood gets slick when wet (or covered in snow or slush), so I slow down.

On the other hand, since I commute on a MTB, so my 26×1.95 tires are a lot wider than road bike tires, hence my question. (I’ll have to keep the Surly at home in the rain.)

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@paulg 6807 wrote:

I say go for it and promote cycling.

That’s what I’m thinking. Thanks.

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Probably.

If I know someone is behind me and they seem impatient, I’ll tell them to go ahead. There’s a nimrod who works near me and I occasionally run into on the way home; he just pulls out or crosses in front of cars and expects them to stop for him. (He also runs red lights and Stop signs.) I just refuse to ride near him.

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Like eminva , I tend to just let them pass. In the afternoon, I’m usually not n any hurry and don’t care. (No one passes me in the morning, since CCrew, is riding north of me.) The exception is when someone blows past me and runs a red light. I’ll often go after them.

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Logging in this morning, using iE, I got an error:

vBulletin Message
Invalid Redirect URL (http://www.bikearlingtonforum.com/forum.php?)

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I had no problems with IE, other than I had to log in. With Opera (11.10), I had to log in and I got an error message about an invalid redirect link. Logging in a second time worked, although it seemed to take a long time.

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When I rode by there this afternoon, they had begun work. Traffic was down to one lane and they were making cuts in the roadway — the lines marked “saw.” The sidewalk was open, but actual work has begun.

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@PotomacCyclist 6401 wrote:

I guess M St. would be better. I tried the P St. and riverside path mentioned in the thread. Seems like that area wouldn’t be a great place to ride after a night game.

Well, from daily experience, M Street is fine at 3:00-3:30 a.m. Years ago, maybe five years before the staium was built, I encountered some kids throwing rocks, but they couldn’t throw them quite far enough to hit me.

On the other hand, it was on M Street SW that Catwoman stopped me for directions….

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Thanks for posting this. I had seen the markings, this morning, but had not yet had a chance to try and find out what was going to happen. All I could gather from the markings was that one lane of traffic was being eliminated and new business entrances, but I was not sure if that mean widening the sidewalk, too.

I guess I need to find a new route home.

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@PotomacCyclist 6375 wrote:

How safe is that neighborhood at night?

From Nationals Park to Arlington? After a game, if you stick to M Street SE/SW the neighborhoods are fine.

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@KLizotte 6369 wrote:

You still have to cross quite a few very busy road crossings with poor sight lines via this route.

But it does get rid of one that is particularly dangerous and which I, personally, think is the worst one.

In my experience (and limiting it only to the PM commute*), the one from 27 to the southbound GW Parkway never seems to be busy. (Most cars seem to go straight on by on 27.) The sight line is tricky if you are heading north, because it’s not really perpendicular to the road.

The one from the northbound GW Parkway onto 27 is busy, but it’s not too busy. I only actually have to stop maybe once every other week, if that. As the crossing is perpendicular to the road, the sight line is fine, coming in both directions.

Those are the two “additional” crossings and I’d rather have both of them, than the GW Parkway crossing.

Of course, it’s actually easy to avoid the GW Parkway and Rt 27 crossings to get from the Mount Vernon Trail to Memorial Bridge — go across the George Mason Bridge (14th Street) and take Ohio Drive up to Memorial Bridge. The only “busy” crossing is Independence Avenue and there’s a light.

* — In the morning I cross both of these, as well as the entrance and exits from 27 to the Pentagon North Parking Lot and the exit from 27, just before Memorial Bridge, and have never had a problem. Of course, other than CCrew, everyone else is asleep.

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@PotomacCyclist 6335 wrote:

What are some recommended brands for the rechargeable heated ski gloves?/QUOTE]

I got mine from [URL=”http://http://cozywinters.com/heated-gloves.html”]http://http://cozywinters.com/heated-gloves.html[/URL]. I’ve got the WarmGear gloves with one-butotn controls, the middle of the top row. I’m pleased with them.

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I may have to give them a try. For years, I just added a pair of liners to my gloves, but the last three years age and circulation have been catching up to me. Last year, I bought rechargeable, heated ski gloves.

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@Justin Antos 6237 wrote:

But to echo PotomacCyclist, this route bypasses only 1 of the 2 crossings to get you from MVT to Memorial Bridge, and I think it forces you to cross Washington Blvd twice, right?

To get to Memorial Bridge, you only cross Washington Blvd once, where it splits off to go under Memorial Bridge, although you do cross an exit (to GW Parkway south). It does, though, only eliminate one of the “dangerous” two crossings.

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I find that the biggest obstacle is time. When people realize it won’t save them time commuting or running errands, they balk. Yes, I know, it is quicker for some people, but not everyone.

I work with a number of people that live in Arlington or Alexandria and own bikes, but they can all drive into work quicker than they can ride in. (If I owned a car, I could drive in quicker, too.) One who doesn’t ride, says he rides to workout and doesn’t want to deal with traffic, traffic lights, and crowded trails.

The 2MC is great, but errands can also take longer on a bike. That can be because you can’t carry as much on a bike as in a car. (I don’t suggest getting someone started in cycling and starting them off with a trailer.) The other reason, though, can be time. Either you have to make more trips, because you can’t carry as much, or it’s a hassle. If it’s less than a mile, it’s usually easier for me to walk. (I don’t need to haul my bike up and down from my apartment, carry — yes, carry — it across the lobby, lock it up, etc.)

Of course, there’s laziness, too. I once lived across the street, behind, a 7-Eleven and watched people drive a hundred yards, all the time.

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