[arlrider]

You know, I’ve been meaning to give the west side of the bridge a shot in the morning, but I’m mostly put off by the mess at the Canal Road light. To go all the way across to Bicycle Pro Shop, I’ve seen that light be over a minute I believe before a full walk signal comes on, plus the left turn off of 34th. And if I only cross halfway, not too keen on starting out with all the cars racing from a dead stop coming off of Canal. As much as the Lynn St. crossing, parkway crossing, and Whitehurst ramp (Can they really not remove those stupid barrels? If a driver is stupid enough to drive into the corner of a bridge, shouldn’t we be helping to expedite their removal from the gene pool?) collectively suck, I feel that there is some safety in numbers and that most drivers have resigned themselves to actually yielding for cyclists (my non scientific data is that the drivers on the Parkway ramp are the best about this). It would all be fine if cyclists just wouldn’t be jerks to EACH OTHER.

[arlrider]

@dasgeh 33621 wrote:

Also annoying are those heading to the East side of the Key Bridge, who feel like the best way to get there is to zoom across the path of those of us coming from the MVT to the Custis.

That’s part of what exacerbates the behavior that I mention above. I’m trying NOT to be one of those people, so I’m carefully crossing Lynn to the East with a left hand out, looking for a clear place to make a safe turn over to the bridge (I use the vehicle curb cut 10′ or so north of the actual pedestrian curb cut; using the latter to go to key would just be insane). Meanwhile, the ELITE Cyclists are flying around me, on the left of course, and causing the behavior that you describe.

[arlrider]

I got it, but sometimes it’s just good to vent, you know? And cycling is much more personal than driving, at least in my mind. The car provides a measure of anonymity. Being a jerk on a bike is taking it to a next level. Frankly, even after 3 years of riding here I’m still angered every single day by the level of jerk riding in D.C. Everywhere else I’ve ever ridden, the cycling community had much more of a “we’re in this together” mindset.

[arlrider]

I once got a “warning” from ACPD at Wilson + Lynn. The officer said I had “run the stop light” at Ft. Myer Drive. COINCIDENTALLY, a few minutes before, the same officer had made a traffic stop up by Summers and was blocking the bike lane with his parked car – even though there was a full parking lane right there at the top of the dangerous hill. I suggested to him as I rode by that perhaps he could not block the bike lane. But the same officer coming down right after and intimidating me for something I didn’t do, well of course I am sure that was a COINCIDENCE.

[arlrider]

Just to follow on – no cyclist in their right mind in this area, ESPECIALLY at night, is going to assume that a car stopped and about to turn right across the bike lane is waiting for them. No way, no how. You know what I assume? That the driver is probably texting or using a GPS, and is going to floor it across that bike lane at any second. I will wait for that car all day long before I go to the right of it.

The second guy sounds like he was nearing the end of his life and looking to go out with a bang.

Additionally, since this is a car/cyclist interaction thread, I’d like to follow on to the first point about “waiting” for cyclists. If you are in a car at night and you are going the opposite direction or perpendicular to me, I CANNOT SEE YOU WAVING ME ON through your windows because your lights ARE BLINDING ME. I realize this has probably been said a hundred times before but it cannot be said enough. So many times I just sit there thinking, “I wonder what that car is going to do?”

And, @Arlingtonrider – my apologies for the semi-hijack of the username – it was not intentional. I was surprised “arlrider” hadn’t been taken, and I’d not seen yours before. Hopefully I can sufficiently differentiate myself such that there is no confusion.

[arlrider]

Me: Running to work with my backpack because I didn’t want to ride in today.

You: On CaBi, dress clothes, no helmet, in a full aero tuck headed down the Custis near Park Georgetown at about 35 MPH. Straight boss.

[arlrider]

@jabberwocky 32394 wrote:

I think a lot of pedestrians get used to being able to hear cars coming

I was used to this as a cyclist too; that all changed when hybrid cars came around.

[arlrider]

All death threats should be reported to the police. If no response from the police, write to a cycling-friendly member of the County Board.

The new buffered bike lanes with the door zone hashmarks are cool on paper but do nothing really. Sharrows would be much better to help drivers get the picture. Between the old Harry’s and the Starbucks I take the lane (I was one of the many accidents at the Starbucks – November 2009), and again from Fire Works to Summers. If anyone has a problem they can shove it.

[arlrider]

Ugh, I guess I am late to the game here, but no, no, no….it is too late now but you should have RUN, not walked, THAT DAY, to an attorney specializing in cycle accidents. You do NOT get in touch with the other party’s insurance. They will be eager to make this go away with no compensation to you besides what you’ve paid out of pocket. The lawyer does all the communicating. You total up all the medical bills, the broken bike, all of it, these are your “special damages”. Even if you have superficial injuries these are still injuries, so there is pain and suffering involved. The lawyer will write up a demand package and send it to their insurance adjuster. Typically they will settle for about 3x the special damages. I know this from firsthand experience.

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