[baiskeli]

I’m with Bobco. This doesn’t sound like a great experience for your son, and could have been much, much worse from injury due to a fall and/or injury from the guy you were fighting. When you have a kid involved, you have to suck up your pride and take abuse sometimes. Not worth the risk.

[baiskeli]

@Overtone 138405 wrote:

So… today next to the Dept of Agriculture downtown I rode behind this guy for a block or so. Nice bicycle: drop handlebars, solid rear wheel, cyclocomputer, fancy black and white graphics, looks expensive. The guy doesn’t match the bike: open cloth jacket flapping in the wind, long pants, clothes not nice enough to be “I’m commuting home from the office” (plus no retaining band on his right pants leg). Then I notice: pedals are designed for clips but he’s in sneakers. Also, the seat is too high for him, he has to stand over the crossbar to pedal. At this point I’m like, WTF, am I seeing a bike being stolen?

It would have taken 45 seconds or more to stop, fish my cell phone out of my backpack, and wake it up to take a picture. He would have been long gone. I didn’t know what to do.

Posting this note on the forum to (a) hope that no one shouts in agony THAT WAS MY BIKE (b) solicit ideas for what you would do in this situation (c) give everyone a chance to remember the time they had to borrow a friend’s bike for an emergency trip and they looked just like that when riding it and how dare I cast aspersions on another cyclist for failing to wear $600 worth of kit

John

I can think of another possible reason, because I might have the same situation today. My bike is in the show and I may pick it up today on the way home from work in my work clothes. I even forgot a pants leg strap.

But your question is a good one – what do you do in that situation?

[baiskeli]

Thanks Justin. I saw that article. I’m glad the results show little impact. I can tell the whiners to stop whining.

[baiskeli]

I couldn’t make it to this meeting. Could we get a summary of the results, especially the impact on car traffic? Thanks.

[baiskeli]

@dkel 138289 wrote:

In the case of catcalling and other sexually inappropriate behavior, this is true for most of us highly educated, professional types on this forum. There are plenty of other places where men engage in this type of behavior in groups, though. Getting back to something @dasgeh said earlier in the thread, other types of sexist remarks and behaviors still happen all too frequently in professional environments; it is often difficult for men even to notice those types of behaviors when they are going on, because, frankly, everyone has been culturally steeped in it. Often it is quite subtle as well.

That’s fair. Sometimes we understand those things differently and what may sound like really really subtle sexism may not even be sexism. But yes, we must all try to overcome “cultural steeping.” I think we should also avoid assuming that others are culturally steeped in the first place too. It can be a cheat – a way of saying someone’s view is irrelevant because they are somehow unable to perceive something.

It’s worth noting that the reverse is true, depending on the situation. When I used to drop my kids off at preschool, I would sometimes get invited to an event with “the other moms.” Being a dad, this struck me as somewhat exclusive, but I also had the male cultural advantage of being able to shrug it off; I don’t think women have the cultural empowerment to treat such things so lightly day-to-day.

I don’t think you should shrug it off. I think it’s fair to call out sexism against men too. In fact, that’s a good example because it perpetuates the idea that men aren’t, or shouldn’t, be involved in caring for children.

[baiskeli]

@LaurelHillRider 138163 wrote:

You can help by shutting this shit down if you see a buddy or someone else do it. Even without escalating into violence, these pervasive aggressions add up over time and make women restrict their movement and activities. It sucks. Thanks for doing what you can to shut it down and make it as socially unacceptable as it should be.

The problem is that to shut it down, a guy must be there. And if a guy is there, the creep probably won’t do it in the first place. Maybe we need to do sting operations with video like some people are doing these days.

[baiskeli]

@mstone 138201 wrote:

I think there’s a bit of a selection problem here; I don’t have a whole lot to stand up to, because the people I’m generally with wouldn’t engage in such behavior. I’m not claiming it doesn’t happen, but I don’t see it happening near me. I’m not sure how to effect change in a group you’re not part of.

My feelings too. OF COURSE I would stand up against such behavior if I saw it. The fault is with the creeps, not their victims and not anyone else who doesn’t have an opportunity to stop it.

[baiskeli]

@Steve O 136618 wrote:

Correct. Don’t buy it.

Just for that, I’m moving into your neighborhood now.

[baiskeli]

You can get what you’re looking for on your budget in Arlington, near the trails.

I looked at the home for sale a few doors down from me. 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2,500 sq foot single-family with a yard. It’s half a block from the bike trail and not too far from Metro. $640k. 5719 6th St. North. Only downside is you’d live near me.

[baiskeli]

@bobco85 136257 wrote:

There is an older chart online from 2008 that says that they would be allowed in bike lanes, but that was changed in 2013.

Thanks for the update! I hadn’t heard about the change.

[baiskeli]

The signs are still up at Bluemont Junction and Emerson.

[baiskeli]

@Steve O 135988 wrote:

I received an email from Arlington Parks today informing me that the stop signs have been removed from this location.

Bluemont too?

[baiskeli]

@annoyedindc 135970 wrote:

Did cyclists get updated to personhood status? I thought that was reserved for corporations.

Well, cyclists are people too. But to answer your question, the law states elsewhere that bicyclists have the rights and duties of pedestrians when using crosswalks, and they don’t need to dismount either.

[baiskeli]

@bentbike33 136075 wrote:

The mistake NPS made was discovering and attempting to fix the problem before the spectacular and tragic failure of the bridge. You want a bridge replaced pronto, you need a disaster. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-35W_Mississippi_River_bridge. This bridge collapsed Aug. 1, 2007 and was reopened September 18, 2008.

It could still turn out that way though.

[baiskeli]

Cool. So this means all the vitriol over the neighborhood not liking the original proposed locations was overblown. I do hope the next expansion makes it out to Bluemont/Bon Air Park somehow.

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