[arlrider]

@ursus 192526 wrote:

It wasn’t there whenever I was there last, but that was probably at least a month ago.

Is the light just continuously flashing, or is it controlled with a beg button?

Saw it for the first time this morning; caught my attention while riding – can only hope it does the same for drivers. Seemed to perhaps be motion activated? It was on and then off and then on again, and I didn’t see anyone stop to activate anything.

Now if we can only get them to remove the stupid crash barrels at that on-ramp because, you know, priorities – more important for a 2-ton death machine operator to be safely cushioned in a negligent impact than for hundreds of pedestrians and cyclists to have more than a three-foot gap through which to pass. Sigh.

Relatedly, I’m sure this has been beaten to death, but I can’t find the right thread – has anyone made any attempt at pursuing sanity with respect to the monster electronic sign parked on the south-side M St sidewalk between the NE corner of the Key Bridge and 34th? I get that it must be sooo important for drivers to know that 31st is closed, but do they really need to take what is essentially a bike/ped on/off ramp down to 2 feet wide for a full year?

[arlrider]

@TwoWheelsDC 180450 wrote:

37000+ people died in cars in 2016.

An absolute figure just begging to be normalized by a population size…would not surprise me if the scooters were in fact more dangerous per mile or hour of use. Of course, they’re also early in the adoption curve and there has been little policy work directed at them, so it would be expected that these would be the subject of relatively more incidents than a more mature technology with established policy and infrastructure.

[arlrider]

Lots and lots of dangerous stuff going on on N. Adams and the north-side Lee sidewalk each morning, unfortunately. Most people are electing to cyclocross carry the stairs, which is fine, but then about 50% are salmoning down the east side of N. Adams to hang a (blind) left onto the Lee Highway sidewalk. Of the remaining 50%, about half of them are riding down the right side of Adams most of the way, then electing to swing across in the intersection. Only a matter of time before someone gets pancaked by the MD-plated Uber drivers that rip around that corner.

For eastbound riders, the logical “legitimate” solution for those who want to walk the stairs is to take 20th east to where it ends on 21st/Veitch, then take 21st, which turns into Scott, thereby bypassing the secondary detour that is being put into place now. There is not a similar solution for westbound riders because of the one-way signage on 20th.

For all riders, the “pragmatic” solution which of course cannot be “officially” recommended, due to the involvement of private property, is to simply use the Potomac Towers parking lot access drive (which is effectively a two-lane road and handles an impressive amount of traffic daily) to cut from Adams to 21st/Veitch.

This is a tricky section to detour but I do hope that we get through the work without a major incident or injury. The County’s “official” detour is well-intended, but my suspicions that adoption would be low have been confirmed by the masses seen carrying and riding on N. Adams each day (which is great, provided everyone keeps it safe).

[arlrider]

@chris_s 98159 wrote:

If I were re-organizing the Forum, I would definitely remove some sub-forums that see little activity, combine others, and create a couple that are common sources of discussion. Something like:

Route Advice
Equipment & Accessories
Road & Trail Conditions
Advocacy, Policy & the Law
Etiquette
Family Biking
Events
Classifieds
General Discussion (which I’d put at the bottom and possibly call “Everything Else” in an attempt at getting them to use the other subforums)

Thank you for actually writing what I was trying, and failing, to come up with!

[arlrider]

@Tim Kelley 97967 wrote:

So what’s your suggestion?

My suggestion was simply that the sub-fora better align with what people actually talk about. There are lots of recurring themes in the general forums that could be their own.

-Cycling-related policy
-Cycling etiquette
-Cycling news

Etc.

Like I said right now, the forum is fine for the current level of activity. If it got busier then at some point it would need to be split, I’d think.

[arlrider]

I personally wish that this forum would have a little more division by topic. Generally (pun intended), everything ends up in “general discussion”. It’s OK now where in absolute terms there aren’t that many posts, but if membership grows it could be a bit unwieldy.

[arlrider]

@Crickey7 97617 wrote:

Today was the unofficial drop out day for fair weather commuters.

That day is seriously one of my favorite days of the year. Bye-bye to the screaming-brake, helmetless, earbuds-in, turning 120 RPM in the granny gear and taking the whole trail going 5 MPH crowd. See you in April.

Should be a national holiday, except that would be oxymoronic because then we wouldn’t get to ride on it.

[arlrider]

@Orestes Munn 97616 wrote:

While segregated facilities are great, I still worry about their ultimate effect on my ability to use the road when I want to and without harassment by motorists.

Yep. The M street lane is the epitome of this in my book. I rode M street home in the afternoons for the better part of 3 years. No bike lane, no problem. Traffic was either flowing and flowed right around me, or was gridlocked and I picked my way through. Everybody got along fine. In the city’s infinite wisdom, they installed their cute little lane that looks like it was designed by a 2nd-grader high on crack. Now we have mixing-zone hell, constant door threat from passenger sides, blind right hooks, the lovely bike stoplight there at 22nd that begs some out-of-towner or oblivious Marylander to make a right on red and wipe out a whole pack of us. Not even to mention Advisory Board’s constant limo blockage of the lane, buses at the Fairmont that unload right into the thing, gravel piles, heaps of wet leaves, and sections where so much pavement has fallen away that the lane looks like the Cliffs of Moher. And about 20 other things I could complain about.

But the second I pull into a traffic lane now that we’ve got our own little segregated infrastructure? Honks, swerving, yelling, etc. Great result.

[arlrider]

@Raymo853 97599 wrote:

I went into general discussion and then posted. I suspect I either clicked wrong or when you do not pick a subcategory, it chooses the first one in the folder.

Sorry, I was just joking. I’m assuming the title of the thread was supposed to be “Bike Tolls“.

[arlrider]

What does this thread have to do with bike tools?

[arlrider]

@chris_s 97582 wrote:

*sigh*

[ATTACH=CONFIG]6885[/ATTACH]

Ugh…

ACPD had a presence at the IOD this morning – two cars, lights on, neither blocking any trail, sidewalk, or road. I thanked the officer as I rode by.

Unfortunately, there were TV crews working the intersection, apparently (from what I saw an another person’s account) interviewing about the “Intersection of Doom” (they were using the term). This was at about 8:30, and they were in fact blocking the sidewalk at the very most important crossing (Mt. Vernon and Custis intersection) in doing so.

Also, given the local TV news media and its target customers, I can only imagine the sorts of questions they were asking:

“What made you decide to take up this hobby?”

“Don’t you think this is dangerous?”

“Has driving just gotten too difficult in the area?”

“But, aren’t you concerned that it’s raining?!”

Etc., etc.

[arlrider]

@peterw_diy 97519 wrote:

Why? Many e-bike motors are very quiet — we’re not talking about allowing mopeds on singletrack. If we allow all those wimps with suspension forks, why not e-assist, too? Seriously.

It’s not about the noise, it’s about the high torque of the rear wheel tearing up trails. Have you ever seen what motocross bikes do to a trail surface?

[arlrider]

@Raymo853 97479 wrote:

As primarily a mountain biker, I dread what physical and regulatory impact they will have on trails and trail access.

As primarily a commuter and road cyclist, I dread the impacts that this will have on the treatment of bicycles within cities, as well. Where does the tipping point for paid bicycle parking, etc. come?

[arlrider]

@jabberwocky 97475 wrote:

I’d personally much rather see someone on an e-bike than in a car

On an MUP? For certain!

All joking aside, remember that string of drunken / clueless driver incursions onto the W&OD a couple years ago?

[arlrider]

@Steve 97316 wrote:

So while I’m losing commuting, I hope to rediscover riding to just ride.

This right here is the silver lining. Don’t underestimate this. At least for me, as cycling became my full-time commute, the “fun” aspect of it eroded somewhat. It developed almost a Pavlovian association – with work, with bad drivers and cyclists, with horrid weather, etc. Now, I still love it, and there are also those zenlike types who are really able to rise above anything negative and be pure optimists. And I’m able to look forward to organized rides and such. But, I don’t get as excited to roll out of bed on a Saturday and ride as I used to – because I just spent Monday-Friday riding.

So, there’s the upside. You’re going to be able to get excited about riding again, pick the best days and best times, and put 100% into making sure that every ride is great.

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