[bobco85]

@pfunkallstar 34431 wrote:

You: Dude cranking it on the W&OD trail this morning at around 7:50ish.

Passing on Van Buren is cool, some of us stop at the stop sign, some of us don’t, but please try to avoid doing so right next to the trail junction and certainly not while there is an SUV bearing down from the other direction. The funny thing is that you seemed put out that I drafted off of you until the Custis trail junction – if you speed past, and it is Thursday, I’m going to draft off of you.

I always wonder about the drafting thing. Usually when I go on the Capital Crescent trail, I’ll get drafted for the 5-6 miles between Georgetown and the bridge over River Rd as I tend to go at a pretty good pace. Eventually I will slow down a bit after the bridge because the trail gets more crowded as it approaches Bethesda, and the person will pass me. While being drafted, I have to determine whether the person really just wants to pass me (I will slow slightly so they can go on their way) or that they’re really trying to draft me (I’m big and can block a lot of wind, so I understand the efficacy of drafting me).

I wonder, could it be proper trail etiquette to thank a person after drafting them for long distances? I never get thanked (I don’t expect to nor do I feel any discontent), but I think it’d be cool since I’ve saved them the energy by blocking the wind for them for about 5-6 miles (adjusts halo above head).

On the flip side, I wonder if people would understand me if I were to draft them, then thank them by saying, “Thank you for letting me draft you!” or if it would just leave some people confused (I have a feeling that the answer would be yes and yes in different cases).

[bobco85]

@OneEighth 34347 wrote:

From the photo, it looks like the simple solution would be to park the motorcycles perpendicular to the wall on the right of the photo. More motorcycles would fit that way, too.
But then, simple solutions don’t pop into simple minds.

I’ll add that if you were to put down some masking tape, you could “draw” spots where they could position their motorcycles and give yourself a border around the bike rack so they don’t get in the way.

[bobco85]

Sounds like a good trip. Do you have a map of the route? Whenever I’m in that area, I tend to be heading east on Columbia Pike (I go north from Old Columbia Pike to Columbia Pike until getting on the south-side service road at the Braddock Road intersection, then using the path until crossing at Blair Rd and going through that neighborhood via Lake St), so I’m interested to see good routes west from there (I usually take Sleepy Hollow Rd from around Seven Corners to get to Columbia Pike). Looking at the map near the Harris Teeter there, it looks like you could take the service road on the north side of Columbia Pike and use Maplewood Dr to get to the next service road, but you’d need to first cross Columbia Pike at the Aqua Terrace light.

I’ve only been on the northern section of the Holmes Run trail once (my road bike does not like to “ford the river”), as I usually take the southern section (it starts on the eastern side of Holmes Run at the end of N Chambliss St and runs all the way to Eisenhower Ave).

[bobco85]

@arlrider 33625 wrote:

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.

Ditto. I am proud to not be a shoaler, and this is one of the worst places to shoal.

I’ll add that it is awkward trying to get onto the Lynn sidewalk to go to Key Bridge. In order to safely navigate to that sidewalk, you either have to slow down or stop in the middle of the crosswalk (a precarious position, given the 2 right turn lanes full of drivers waiting to turn) or proceed through the crosswalk and make a very tight left turn on the sidewalk. And if there are pedestrians (or cyclists) waiting at the corner to cross Lee Highway? Everything gets backed up.

All in all, what a terrible intersection. I’m not surprised that some people perform crazy maneuvers to avoid the traffic there.

[bobco85]

I hope they recover fully and quickly. This is one of those instances where even if you do the right thing, someone else can still make such a bad decision that you cannot prevent an accident from occurring. I’m still shocked that it happened.

[bobco85]

What about the stop signs at every crossing on W&OD along Four Mile Run Drive between Columbia Pike and Shirlington Road? It’s very weird having 3 different sets of traffic devices to deal with: 1) the stop sign, 2) the crosswalk signal, and 3) the stoplight. I find myself legally/illegally going through on a red light, red hand, but after stopping for the stop sign, and legally/illegally going through on a green light, walk signal, but not stopping for the stop sign.

I read recently on this forum that the stop signs will be addressed in an upcoming meeting (and hopefully removed), but am still wondering about 1) the legality of passing through the intersection at any given time and 2) who has right-of-way in the various situations.

[bobco85]

Thanks for the link! I’ve only been using Strava since July, and have a lot more left to explore. I definitely need to complete the rest of the W&OD along with a few of my other favorites including McArthur to Potomac, MD, and Lake Needwood at the northern end of the Rock Creek trail. I feel like my new goal is to fill in the map as much as possible (I’m seriously lacking on the MD trails)!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1850[/ATTACH] Strava rides in the DC area

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1851[/ATTACH] Strava rides around Arlington

[bobco85]

@DismalScientist 33070 wrote:

There’s not a direct connection. At the bottom of the hill on the south side of 66, turn at the bike crossing / crosswalk and go down the sidewalk to the cul-de-sac of Four Mile Run Drive. The access to the W&OD across the creek is about 100 feet down the road. The Four Mile Run Trail is accessible eastbound by following Four Mile Run Drive a few blocks. Turn the other way at the crosswalk to go west on FMR trail.

As described in DismalScientist’s directions: http://goo.gl/maps/rrUhm

[bobco85]

I don’t know what to tell you. I’d recommend Sleepy Hollow Road instead because it seems ever-so-slightly less busy, but it’s pretty much a clone of Annandale Road. It’s considered “good” relative to taking the other roads around it, all of which involve going way out of your way through neighborhood streets with random steep hills. The shoulders are full of debris and parked cars, and traffic goes way too fast for a one lane road.

From my experience, the best advice I can give for riding on Annandale Road (same for Sleepy Hollow Road) is to take the right side of the lane and stay there so you can be seen while keeping your head on a swivel. It’s definitely one of those roads (I’m looking at you, US Route 1 going from Fairfax Co Pkwy to Mount Vernon Mem Hwy) that will test and hopefully strengthen your confidence. I hope you can make it work for you.

[bobco85]

Someone better tell Dirt he has an arch nemesis!

[bobco85]

I think we should try and get a database together of footage of various traffic incidents/close-calls that cyclists have had while biking in the DC area. I know there’s a lot of helmet cam footage out there. If we can get a database together, we can put together a presentation for the police. I think describing the various situations with video evidence will get the best results.

@elbows 32989 wrote:

At the Washington Blvd interchange, I dutifully get in the left lane as required during rush hour and then quickly return to the right lane in an effort to be polite. However, when I try to get back into the left lane so that I may turn left after the Sheraton, a driver ignores my hand signal (not illegal) and then passes me closely and way past the speed limit preventing me (with some help from other drivers) from making any of the left turns I want to make.

I get nervous when getting in position for a left turn because of this. I’ve almost had my left hand taken off (okay, bit of hyperbole there) because some impatient driver saw me slowing down, moving to the left, and signaling (I now signal for at least 3 seconds), yet still decided to pass me on multiple occasions. I look behind me before I make any left turns out of habit, but I have a bad feeling that I will get hit from behind one of these times.

[bobco85]

@Certifried 32924 wrote:

uh, not sure what made you think that, but spitting with someone even remotely behind you (her front and his back wheel were equal) is a bullshit coward move. What a dick. Sorry, dasgeh, that this pig spit on you. I hope karma does catch up to him.

I don’t want to focus too much on the spitting part (this is the last I will ever speak of it), but I’m not convinced that it was deliberate. We don’t know what he was thinking at the time. If he had turned toward her and spit at her, I’d go with deliberate. Seeing as he spit when the coast was not clear next to him, I feel it was very inconsiderate. The lesser of two evils, but still a dick move. Even then, I don’t think it really matters to the victim because the end result was that they still got spit on.

[bobco85]

@dasgeh 32891 wrote:

Y’all are so sweet. The ridiculous thing is that, when I heard him behind me, I had said “sorry, I’m slow”. No idea if he heard me. He almost certainly didn’t see I’m pregnant, but still.

I tried giving him the benefit of the doubt — i.e. assuming he thought he had passed me all the way then spit in the way one may do when he thought it was clear. But he didn’t even wait until he had pulled back to the right. His front tire was in front of mine, but his back tire was still even with me. And yes, given the laws of physics, that means the spit landed on me. He was really booking, so I had no hope of doing more than yelling “THANKS” and trying to channel Dirt.

He was wearing all black with lots of awesomely reflective yellow accents — I think there may have been yellow stripes down his sleeves and legs, though he really booked it past me. I’m sure he had a backpack that was black base with yellow oval on the back. I didn’t see his bike.

I’m slightly relieved that it didn’t seem to be intentional. Inconsiderate? Definitely. Some people act like the trail is meant for them, and all other people are just obstacles in their way.

I’m sorry you had to deal with an aggressive and inconsiderate jerk. I bet he didn’t even hear you say anything, as he was too focused on himself. I hope you have a better ride in the future.

[bobco85]

@dasgeh 32865 wrote:

However, the 15 seconds that I added to your commute was not cause for you SPIT AT ME as you passed.

Did the cyclist intentionally aim towards you, or was he just spitting off to the right? I ask because when I’m biking on trails (and roadways, too), I always spit off to the right side so it doesn’t hit oncoming traffic (it feels really awkward to try and spit to the left because of this habit). That said, I try not to spit around other trail-users, especially if I’m passing someone (unless a bug flies in my mouth, which complicates things). I seriously hope that it was more of a matter of habit of the spitter and not intentional, and it seems like the pitchforks are being sharpened and the torches lit for vengeance (this is a biker forum, not a biker gang!).

[bobco85]

What if they provided a white line on the sides of the 4MR trail? It could serve as more of a guideline, providing at least a 5-6 inch buffer between the trail and the edge of the “drop” onto the roadway.

I can’t find a suitable picture to show this, but an example would be: the new bollards on the south side of the Wilson Bridge in Alexandria have white lines to “guide” you between the bollards that also make the trail seem narrower as you approach them.

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