[bobco85]

I want to share this since it became one of my top 10 favorite rides all time.

Yesterday, I felt like doing a long ride after work and had planned to do so with a route going from my office in Arlington out to Bladensburg then home in Alexandria. I was a bit worried to find that the forecast called for a thunderstorm to pass through, but I was determined to go anyways.

I got caught in the rain for a bit (nothing more than a moderate amount), but after passing through SW DC and making it to the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail, I was treated to a beautiful rainbow to the east that I chased along the trail. Getting close to Bladensburg, I was treated to the serene environment of the wetlands where I saw a flock of small birds moving gracefully in what looked like an airborne school of fish. After reading all the informational signs at Bladensburg Waterfront Park, I made my way over to the Dueling Grounds where historical arguments were settled less than a half mile outside DC which had outlawed duels in the 19th century. I then found a way to access Boundary Stone NE7 which is at the edge of Fort Lincoln Cemetery by passing through a mud/straw covered area (my poor skinny tire road bike) near a housing development. Finally, while riding on the Wayne F Anderson Bikeway in Alexandria, I had my first lightning bug sighting of the summer. It was truly an awesome ride, and I’m glad I wasn’t deterred by the brief storm.

(left) artwork with Anacostia River in back; (right) the rainbow I chased
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(left) bridge geometry; (right) enjoying the views and sounds of the wetlands
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(left) reflection at Bladensburg Waterfront Park; (right) family of geese on the Anacostia River
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(left) Boundary Stone NE7 at outer edge of Ft Lincoln Cemetery; (right) wearing my new socks!
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[bobco85]

@MFC 160954 wrote:

Metro liked your videos so much, they are coming out with SafeTrack II https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dr-gridlock/wp/2017/06/01/metro-to-shut-down-parts-of-green-red-and-yellow-lines-in-next-round-of-maintenance-blitzes-once-safetrack-ends/?hpid=hp_local-news_metro-155pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.fdb10da92b75

So, they can’t call it SafeTrack because that’s supposed to end in June, but they still need to do multi-station line shutdowns.

So, it’s SafeTrack but not SafeTrack even though it will operate very very VERY similarly to SafeTrack?

Yeah, I’m going to continue to call it SafeTrack.

[bobco85]

I rode through there this afternoon, and it looks like they had just finished (I saw the painter heading back to the work vehicle).

Some pics of the results:

Looking from George Mason Dr

Intersection of Four Mile Run & Lucky Run Trails near Walter Reed/Shirlington

Even the awkward tiny bridge on Lucky Run Trail got some love

All the way to the county line which ends just before reaching Route 7

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bobco85]

Just putting this idea out there as a potential 3rd option: what about turning onto 9th St? It runs parallel to Fairfax & Wilson, and left turns from Quincy onto 9th St might be easier since traffic tends to slow due to folks in the crosswalk. It might be a less stressful street for getting to Oakland.

[bobco85]

I’m glad you guys liked it!

P.S. the shot from the Seminary Rd pedestrian bridge was originally supposed to be of the sunrise, but I discovered when playing it back that I was really showing footage of cars driving on the interstate for a BTWD video. I threw that line in there to make it fit.

P.P.S. I had no idea the 2 people at 5:26 in the video were smiling and waving at the camera until I reviewed the footage. I was very amused by it, so I decided to add that line that they were on point.

[bobco85]

I’ll just repeat the words I used on Twitter to link to WABA’s page for this (140 characters really is enough, but I’ll spell out the abbreviations):

It’s sad this cyclist finished BTWD weekend with a negative experience because of these 2 incidents; this is a good reminder to be respectful and have empathy for others.

@AFHokie 160878 wrote:

What does it say about the world today when the comments about the WABA post degenerate to an argument about how to label the shitty behavior instead of just you know: “knock off the shitty behavior”

It’s because everyone takes everything personally, and online comments (especially Twitter) tend to be reactionary rather than contemplative. Some people seemed to perceive the message as “Hey (all) men, you’re all terrible, so stop doing (action)” and react to it rather than read the story and suggestions in context.

[bobco85]

Looks like a good route with a few adjustments needed. Hayes and Eads both have protected bike lanes.

There’s construction going on at Eads St/Army-Navy Dr making the sidewalk unusable, and the street is not bike-friendly, so I recommend turning off Eads a block early onto 12th St. Also, since you’ll be so close, why not ride through Long Bridge Park? It’s got a cool elevated part near the north end that gives a view of the airport, Pentagon, Air Force Memorial, and DC along with a nice elevated esplanade (map uses the term) that parallels the train tracks (bonus if you have a train sighting). I would avoid riding on the street on Crystal Dr just north of the Airport Access Rd because it involves merging traffic coming from the right. An alternative is to cut through the trees and through the Crystal City Workout Park.

I made a quick route with my adjustments. It’s a little longer than the 2-3 mile length at 3.5 miles, but the view in Long Bridge Park would be worth it. https://www.strava.com/routes/8954453

Bonus history: on Eads St (and Commonwealth Ave in Alexandria) used to run the Washington Alexandria & Mount Vernon Electric Railway. It had a junction (named Arlington Junction) located in the block of buildings surrounded by Eads St, 12th St, Army-Navy Dr that you’ll actually pass by on the route (dunno if there’s a historical marker, but it’s something cool to point out).

[bobco85]

For those wanting to see it in motion, Greg Billing (WABA) posted a video riding through the new improvements on Twitter: http://twitter.com/gregbilling/status/869385756975955969

@huskerdont 160787 wrote:

That’s me in the first pic (red shorts). I saw you taking these and wondered if it were you. Should have stopped. A belated hello anyway.

No worries, I was a bit distracted with trying to get a good shot without blocking the trail for folks coming downhill from IoD (I had to stand in the middle of the trail to get the right perspective while simultaneously looking back to check for downhill riders). A belated hello to you, too!

[bobco85]

Cool video! I like the vlog aspect of it with speaking to the camera while riding (I’m usually too shy to speak in my videos, although Judd was successful in persuading me to do so for my Metro SafeTrack bike route videos).

I’m glad you had a great BT_D (I tease because I get on everyone’s case about actually biking to work on BTWD). I wonder, did you stop at the Del Ray pit stop? I recognized the parts when you were riding on Commonwealth Ave, and you would’ve come right up to it on your way between Carlyle and Crystal City.

[bobco85]

Welcome to the forum! You’ll find LOTS of stuff to distract you (weekend rides, coffee clubs, pics/vids from folks, the usual trail etiquette nonsense, bike parts up the wazoo, and more) here!

As far as meeting folks, I recommend checking out the numerous coffee clubs that occur on every day of the week and the happy hours, too. Here’s a list of coffee club gathering spots: http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?7078-Weekly-Coffee-Gatherings&p=159432#post159432

Based on your commute, I’d say you should try the CCCC (Crystal City Coffee Club) on Tuesdays, the Hump Day Coffee Club (Best Buns in Shirlington) on Wednesdays, and WTFCC (Whole Thursday Foods Coffee Club at the Whole Foods in Crystal City) on Thursdays.

As for bike videos, the more, the merrier! I’ve got a decent backlog spanning the last couple of years, and it’s nice to see the different perspectives that fellow cyclists have when going on various rides.
@JQCyclist 160777 wrote:

What else….I’m not sure. I tend to use my time on a bike as a ‘zen moment’ I have found that when I get on my bike I feel empowered and am able to destress from whatever is going, for a little bit at least. I think I’m a friendly cyclist in that I try to say hi, wave a hand, or give a head nod to anyone I see on the trails.

Ditto to this for me; I’ve found cycling to be a very calming experience, especially after a long day.

Hope to meet you sometime!

[bobco85]

I just tested the route today, and I found that a few detours were necessary due to ongoing construction. I have updated the route map and added a MapMyRide version of the route. They are both in the first post on this thread in addition to the calendar event details.

[bobco85]

Took a ride through the Roosevelt Island parking lot to see the improvements, and they did a good job!

At the bottom of the ramp from Custis Trail; the post in front looks like it will be a new bike/ped counter

The crossing is at grade with the trail

Pano at what used to be a horrible 90 degree turn

Looking north from the end of the parking lot

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bobco85]

You can read the Analysis which states the penalty on the MD General Assembly site: http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/webmga/frmMain.aspx?pid=billpage&stab=02&id=HB0011&tab=subject3&ys=2017rs

I don’t know how it will be enforced (can someone be pulled over for this, or is it an additional thing like seat belt/cell phone use), but I do see the following text in the Analysis document:

The driver of a diesel vehicle must obey any sign or direction of a police officer to stop the diesel vehicle and submit to an emissions test administered by an emissions inspector in specified circumstances, or at any location or time when a police officer has reasonable cause to believe that an individual diesel vehicle is violating emissions standards established under the program.

[bobco85]

Good to hear; I’m looking forward to getting that next step complete.
@CaseyKane50 160668 wrote:

NPS still needs to take away the concrete bumpers that were uprooted last fall.

I’m sure a couple of us would gladly take those off their hands for use in protecting key bike lane locations

[bobco85]

@Judd 160650 wrote:

It was nice to see Ranger Aaron LaRocca in the news clip. Unless I’m totally misremembering, I met him during the demo day for the Alexandria Bicycle Campus and he was super nice.

@CaseyKane50 150201 wrote:

“Demolition” work was completed in record time. Sadly, demolition was not what we got to do. Instead, we removed 74 parking curbs, rebar holding the curbs in place, patched holes and cleaned up the space. Next spring, WABA will be looking for volunteers to stripe roads and crosswalks at the bike campus.

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Yep, it’s the same guy! I recognized him, too, from the bike campus demo day (back row of last photo on Casey’s post).

On a related note, did WABA ever respond to your update request (on Twitter) on their Spring 2017 plans to resurface (paint over) the lot so it’s ready to be painted with wonderful and colorful bike-training lines? I, too, am looking forward to helping out with that!

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