[baiskeli]

@Mark Blacknell 5607 wrote:

(Also? Christ there are some idiots on bikes. If you don’t have enough sense/capacity to notice the ACPD car/officer standing *right there* and stop/slow down? Then you certainly weren’t going to see an approaching car.)

Excellent point!

[baiskeli]

Thanks to you too Liz!

[baiskeli]

@StopMeansStop 5546 wrote:

Sounds like a Cinemax late night special

Glad somebody appreciates it.

[baiskeli]

Welcome to Washington. I ran into to women from Norway a few weeks ago who are riding across the U.S. I helped them find a Starbucks.

Commonwealth Ave. to the W&OD (via Mt. Vernon Ave.) is exactly how I would go. It will be easy to find your way to Commonwealth, and the trail should get you pretty close to your destination. It will be the easiest route to navigate, and the most bike-friendly.

If the Carlyle is the same one I see on the map, you’re just a few steps from Old Town.

[baiskeli]

@Usern Ame 5510 wrote:

The thing is he didn’t seem to do it for the people in front of me…it was like he looked at me and was like “there’s one”…could have been just a coincidence, but then why did he have a clipboard and pen out at all?

It’s a trick to make you nervous.

[baiskeli]

@Tim Kelley 5514 wrote:

Tourists, on the other hand….

Tourists think “bicycle passing on your left” means jump in panic…to their left.

[baiskeli]

@Usern Ame 5473 wrote:

I look over my shoulder (usually) to check the lane before switching. It seems unsafe not to. Do you? Just curious.

Always. But sometimes (not always) there is a dangerous situation simply when passing someone who is moving straight, especially in traffic. The slightest twitch on a bike can be a disaster.

Also, to be realistic alot of people wear headphones. Thats just how it is. So it doesn’t work to announce because headphonewearers (HWs) won’t hear, and HWs also have to check the lane anyways to make sure it is safe.

By my estimation at least half of people on the trail wear headphones.

Yeah, well, I wouldn’t expect anyone to call a pass to me if I had headphones on either. On the other hand, I have had people (usually joggers) with headphones suddenly decide to do a U-turn or something, without looking for traffic.

[baiskeli]

@Usern Ame 5469 wrote:

Were they doing something else too? I swear when I rode past one of the cops he looked at me and then made a little check or note on his clip board.

Maybe it was this:

http://bikepeddocumentation.org/

[baiskeli]

@Usern Ame 5469 wrote:

Were they doing something else too? I swear when I rode past one of the cops he looked at me and then made a little check or note on his clip board.

Don’t know. I didn’t get a chance to ask much, they were busy. I saw a cop car further down the trail but that might be unrelated.

[baiskeli]

@americancyclo 5365 wrote:

I still get frustrated sometimes trying to bike from Capitol Hill to Virginia. I have some routes that I favor, but I’d love to hear if others have a tricky way to get through DC, as quickly as possible. I’m not really concerned about traffic, just how to get west as quickly as possible. Here’s my two most common approaches.

Option 1: Independence Ave
http://bit.ly/qh1R3Y

Option 2: Penn Ave to G St.
http://bit.ly/qbTNsV

Those two are almost exactly my two routes in the morning, only in reverse. I usually do the Mall one, mostly because of…the timing of the lights on Pa. Ave.

[baiskeli]

Thanks dude!

[baiskeli]

@Usern Ame 5465 wrote:

Well I personally I think the whole idea of announcing a pass should be phased out. It shoud be just like driving…do you announce you are going to pass when you are driving? No. You just do it. The reason this works is because people have an expectation that others will be passing them. Bikers should also just have an expectation that others will be passing them. When you are driving it is your responsibility to make sure that the lane you are going to switch to is safe…you do this by checking your mirrors, checking your blind spot, and then announcing with a turn signal your intention. I have no idea why it should be any different for biking.

I think it’s different for biking because it’s harder for cyclists to see behind them. Cars all have a bunch of mirrors to do that. Calling a pass is a bit like a turn signal for cars.

I don’t think you have to call passes all the time, but you should when there’s a potentially dangerous situation.

[baiskeli]

@bArlington 5461 wrote:

It’s kind of ironic I think that yesterday I received a survey from BIKEARLINGTON asking how to promote biking in arlington, and today the popo is out issuing tickets to bikers at a traffic light that by designed is flawed and unnecessary. As I stated in my response to the survey, the number one way to promote biking in Arlington is good bike infrastructure. Bike traffic lights that unnecessarily turn red, stopping bikes on a tough uphill climb, at an intersection where there is all but no car traffic – this does not promote biking in Arlington.

Yeah, saying that bikes should be able to run reds isn’t going to work out.

[baiskeli]

@bArlington 5460 wrote:

CUSTIS TRAIL ALERT Police out enforcing new (stupid, idiotic, moronic) bike traffic lights this morn @BikeArlington @DCTrails @Wash_cycle

Well, no, they’re enforcing the stop. There’s a signal there that cyclists need to follow even if the bike light wasn’t there.

[baiskeli]

Thanks, Ann, for getting me started!

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