[bobco85]

@Steve O 182714 wrote:

Not really. The next crossing over 4MR is Mt. Vernon Ave.
From Park Fairfax one can go right on Tennessee, left on Old Dominion, cross Glebe at the light, continue on Old Dominion, right on Four Mile Drive, left on Mt. Vernon, right onto the trail.

I didn’t measure, but I would guess it adds less than 1/2 mile and requires one additional traffic light.
Agreed that it’s more of a pain, but not as bad as you assert.
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I do wonder how it is that the bridge deterioration is so bad that it cannot accommodate pedestrians, but it can accommodate cars.

Slight correction: going eastbound, after one crosses Glebe Rd on Old Dominion Blvd, they would have to turn left onto Notabene Dr (which becomes Four Mile Rd) because Old Dominion Blvd is one-way in the other direction. Also, IIRC the intersection of Old Dominion Blvd/Glebe Rd does not detect bicycles, so folks will have to use the pedestrian beg buttons to cross.

Hopefully they will actually convert one of the lanes on the bridge to ped/bike use.

[bobco85]

@Emm 182657 wrote:

Harris Teeter: the labyrinth of modern times. I wonder what would represent the Minotaur? Probably pita chips. I can never find the f*cking things at any Harris Teeter.

I nominate the Potomac Yard HT as the worst (most labyrinthian?). It’s the closest I’ve ever come to actually being lost in a grocery store, and I remember having to walk around a bit just to find the checkout area (found it after retracing my steps). I’d love to see the floor plan of that one!

Oh, and there is no reason for pita chips to not be in the frigging chip aisle in any grocery store!

[bobco85]

I made a video of my rainy bike commute home from last week, and the music is from a live recording of the forum’s very own bentbike33 in his string quartet!

The story behind this is as follows: One day on a morning bike commute, I had the song “Rock Lobster” by the B-52’s stuck in my head for the entire ride, so I put that as my ride title in Strava. Then, I get a message from bentbike33 saying that he had played a version of the song for his string quartet. I asked him to do a recording of it, and after he did a live recording, he sent me the audio file. On a rainy afternoon, I felt inspired to film the commute and put the music over it (had to be a rainy ride because lobsters tend to be wet as they live underwater).

Here is the result. Enjoy!
[video=youtube_share;xrX9UJGgI6U]https://youtu.be/xrX9UJGgI6U[/video]

[bobco85]

I’m in! I arrive back in the DC area early Thursday morning (yay red-eye flights!), but I plan on being at the happy hour. See y’all there!

[bobco85]

Looks like a Third Thursday Happy Hour has already been planned, so I will attend that. Here is the thread with more info: http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?p=181829#post181829

[bobco85]

@KWL 181761 wrote:

Is that Judd peeking out of the center pocket?

…or are you happy to see me?

I couldn’t help it

[bobco85]

Now that I’ve been in the Seattle area for a full year, I decided to do this bike event that I had missed due to initially moving in and getting used to my new home. The Kitsap Color Classic is a group ride hosted by Cascade Bicycle Club that takes folks around the northern parts of the Kitsap Peninsula. The ride start is in Kingston, WA, at the ferry dock.

In order to get there from my apartment in Tukwila, I rode the light rail as far north as I could into Seattle, then rode my bike 14 miles north along the Interurban Trail (North section) to Lynnwood (near Edmonds) through pouring rain and stayed the night before in a motel. The morning of the ride, I rode to the ride registration in Edmonds, ate some breakfast, and took the ferry from Edmonds to Kingston to start the ride. As I was putting my bike down on the ferry, I looked up and happened to see a friend who had gotten on the same ferry (there were 3 that people could take for the event), so we rode together with his friend for some time (he peeled off after we did the first loop because his knees weren’t feeling great).

The ride was split into 2 loops (25 miles and 39 miles which overlap and can be combined for a 57 mile ride), and while the hill climbs weren’t very challenging, per se, I was loaded with all of my stuff that I had brought for my stay at the motel. I made it, but my legs were giving out by the end of the ride, and my friend graciously waited at the top of each hill during the final grueling 15 miles of the ride. Plus, after we finished the ride, we had to take the ferry back to Edmonds and bike back to Seattle (another 15 miles). My legs have never felt so tired before!

The ride was fun, though, and I saw some beautiful autumnal colors in the trees (there are mostly evergreens here, by comparison). I look forward to doing it again (albeit with less stuff in my panniers!).

[video=youtube_share;blDDPViofyY]https://youtu.be/blDDPViofyY[/video]

[bobco85]

@Sunyata 181601 wrote:

Can I suggest the new Northside Social in Falls Church for Third Thursday Happy Hour?

I’m good with that if it works for everyone that would like to come. For folks in DC/MD, there’s the option of using Metro to make the return trip easier (just because I’m on vacation doesn’t mean others are).

[bobco85]

I finished a new video on one of the longest neighborhood greenways here in Seattle that has seen a lot of improvements this year (including one that has been added since I gathered my footage), the Rainier Valley N-S neighborhood greenway. The Rainier Valley is a collection of neighborhoods in southeastern Seattle that is one of the most demographically diverse areas in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest and has a big history of immigration from many communities. It also doesn’t get a lot of love when it comes to putting in good and safe pedestrian/bicycle infrastructure, so it’s nice to have a greenway like this for people to use.

My video for the Rainier Valley N-S greenway took some time to make since there were so many intersections (I made labels for each and every one) and places of interest (schools, transit stations, parks, libraries, etc.).

I know I’ve said this before in previous greenway videos, but pay attention at some of the major street crossings and you will see that curb-side buttons were installed that are much more convenient for cyclists so they do not have to go onto the sidewalk just to cross a busier street. I wish the DC area could get some of this goodness, as it really makes a difference on bike rides (works a LOT better than the stoplight sensors that may or may not detect a cyclist).

Enjoy the video!

[video=youtube_share;YqokEFvCMMw]https://youtu.be/YqokEFvCMMw[/video]

[bobco85]

Glad you didn’t get any serious injuries.

@PeteD 181368 wrote:

Good: Any accident you can bike away from. Have contact information for motorist. Have all of it on camera.

Question: did you get the driver’s insurance information? When I had my crash back in July, even though I was lucky to have the police cite the driver, having the insurance information made the “paying for bike repairs” part smooth and simple. In my case, I got an estimate from my bike shop in case the driver’s insurance company wanted it. The insurance company gave me no trouble and sent a check that covered everything a few weeks later.

[bobco85]

Drawing from my memories of crossing that bridge on both sides during many bike rides and walks both before and after the sidewalk/crosswalk/flashing beacon improvements between 2015 and 2017, here’s what I think the bridge improvement needs:

• Remove any and all foliage and structures that obstructs drivers’ and pedestrians’ views of each other. WB Duke to NB I-395 (closest to Landmark Mall) is the worst for this because there is foliage and the scaffolding holding up the NB 395 sign block sightlines.
• Narrow the lanes on the on and off ramps. Drivers don’t need to be going at interstate speeds when not on the actual interstate, and this would greatly improve their ability to stop for pedestrians in the crosswalk.
• Flatten the bridge (the current one is like a hill with the center being higher than the ends) so that drivers heading WB Duke to SB I-395 can see farther ahead to the crosswalk.
• HAWK signal for EB Duke to NB/SB I-395 (closest to the Marriott). This is the only 2-lane crosswalk and IME has involved the most scurrying across to get out of the way of oncoming drivers who don’t bother to stop, and I think it’s the most dangerous because of that. They could even synchronize it with the Duke St/Oasis Dr stoplight to remove any extra delays to drivers (VDOT likes no delays for drivers, so it has a better chance of being used).

I give these recommendations because 1) I don’t think the money is there for a pedestrian bridge and 2) I do not think VDOT is ever going to add an extra stop to drivers coming on or off the Duke/I-395 ramps as it goes against their core beliefs (vehicular traffic must flow fast and smooth with minimal delay).

[bobco85]

Having now lived on the West coast (Seattle) for a year and using a transit system that is in the process of expansion (from 1 line to 3 lines and eventually more) yet seems not to struggle with bicycles on trains, I can say this: Metro needs to be running 8-car trains with more frequent service during rush hour in order to be able to make this work. Also, they need to have designated sections of each train car on which one could board with their bicycle so that everyone would be able to know where to expect them.

I’ve seen folks bring their bicycles on the light rail during rush hour, and it seems to work fine because the trains only occasionally become packed like sardine cans due to the frequency of service. We have 2 or 3 car light rail trains running at the moment, but the system will expand to 4 car trains in coming years.

Here’s info from Seattle’s transit system on bringing bicycles on board:

• General bicycle on transit info: https://www.soundtransit.org/Rider-Guide/bringing-your-bike
• Videos showing how to load/unload a bicycle from trains/buses (Central Link is Seattle’s light rail that I use): https://www.soundtransit.org/Rider-Guide/bringing-your-bike/bike-loading-videos

In short, it is possible for Metro to do this, but they have a lot of baggage to figure out first to be able to actually make it work.

[bobco85]

@Brendan von Buckingham 181020 wrote:

Find me on this forum and tell me where it is. I mill local logs into boards, mostly by hand. And make stuff.

Any chance you can make it into wooden planks that have, let’s say non-slip treatment, and can be easily and quickly installed on, let’s say a local trail near an island in a local river where many folks tend to slip and fall, covertly to improve the safety for all trail users? Asking for a forum of friends, most of which have either experienced or witnessed a fall on that highly-used section of trail.

[bobco85]

@consularrider 180891 wrote:

Not so fast, others say the “B” stands for Bomber.

Ah, good catch! I didn’t realize that the “B” actually meant that. Thanks for the info on the aircraft nomenclature.

[bobco85]

Well, it took almost a full year, but I managed to become a certified Cascade Bicycle Club Ride Leader, and a few weeks ago, I led my first history ride in Seattle!

I led a group of riders interested in the history of Georgetown, the settlement that established King County, and the Duwamish (native) people and area.

Old Rainier Brewery – former Bay View Brewery (Elliott Bay used to be within view until numerous earthwork projects filled in the mudflats to create land that constitutes the Industrial District and SODO in Seattle) – bottom right pic is of a light rail maintenance facility which has the original neon “R” that used to sit atop the brewery
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(top-left, bottom-left) Seattle Brewing & Malting Company, which in 1915 was the largest brewery west of the Mississippi and the 6th largest in the world until Washington State passed Prohibition in 1916; (right) Old Georgetown City Hall, the first building in the then-city of Georgetown to have hot/cold running water, only used as official city hall for 9 months because the citizens voted to join the city of Seattle
[ATTACH=CONFIG]18334[/ATTACH]

(top-left) Georgetown Steam Plant which contains 2 of the only still operable vertical steam turbines built by General Electric; (bottom-left) at the Boeing Museum of Flight (Boeing’s famous Red Barn in back, the building was moved from its original location by barge and truck to the museum); (right) South Park Bridge where I pointed across the river to Boeing Plant 2 which produced almost 7,000 B-17’s (the B stands for Boeing) during World War II and had a fake neighborhood built on top (made of burlap, canvas, and chicken wire with 4 foot houses and cars to fool aerial reconnaissance) to disguise it from potential air strikes
[ATTACH=CONFIG]18335[/ATTACH]

(top-left) Hat ‘n’ Boots gas station in its original form and location which appears in the opening credits to National Lampoon’s Vacation and was Washington State’s most popular gas station when it was built; (bottom-left) taking shelter under the hat whose brim was damaged years ago by skateboarders; (right) his and her boots that were used for the men’s and women’s bathrooms
[ATTACH=CONFIG]18336[/ATTACH]

(top-left, bottom-left, bottom-right) Duwamish Hill Preserve, a natural formation with cultural importance to the Duwamish people that was originally set by the developer to be leveled and turned into an industrial parking lot before people organized, bought the land, and turned it into one of Washington State’s first cultural preserves; (top-right) Duwamish Gardens with a wind chime resembling fish drying racks used by the Duwamish people, I also talked about the Duwamish River which was so polluted from industrialization (big part of Seattle’s history) that the last 5 miles were declared a Superfund site in 2001 and aren’t expected to be fully cleaned up until 2037
[ATTACH=CONFIG]18337[/ATTACH]

I’m doing research for my next history ride which I plan to lead in mid-October just a couple of days before I return to the DC area for a visit.

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