[Brendan von Buckingham]

Maybe I first saw this video at this forum, but so what. Worth a revisit. Ethiopia’s largest intersection:
[video]http://www.wtvideo.com/video/1658/no-need-for-traffic-lights-in-ethiopia[/video]

[Brendan von Buckingham]

I get it, but only because I’m a cyclist peer. But non-cyclists won’t understand. Your position at the stop established your lane position to go straight and gave the courtesy of space for people who might have wanted to turn right on red at a very long light. That was nice of you. The bus driver took advantage of your courtesy to race you off the line and pass on your right. That’s a dick move, but passing on the right is not illegal.

I find the green ART buses in general to be a little bit more aggressive than Metro buses when it comes to overtaking me from behind, or trying to box me out of a lane when I overtake them. I chalk it up to their smaller size; I also assume that they are contract operators with less safety training than Metro bus drivers.

[Brendan von Buckingham]

The guy sounds like an ass. No point giving him a chance to be an even bigger ass. Never get out of your pedals unless you’re at your destination. Getting out under any other circumstances means something has/will go wrong.

[Brendan von Buckingham]

@Steve 94829 wrote:

…but when I ride to Port City…

Wait, what? Now you have my attention.

[Brendan von Buckingham]

I like Pershing between about George Mason and Ft. Myer. Really makes sense now that the section of bike trail is open between Ft. Myer and Iwo.

[Brendan von Buckingham]

@Subby 94550 wrote:

Rode for a while with a guy in all orange plus a racing helmet WITH visor who said he designed the course…so that was interesting and awesome.

That orange kitted guy marshals the hell out of ride. He was telling everyone what to do with their burritos at lunch. He also liked going up to people and saying, “You don’t look very good. Are you drinking enough water.” I appreciate the concern, but he needs to find a different opener.

[Brendan von Buckingham]

As a driver too, I don’t mind cameras. I get it. They change behavior towards the safer.

In my case I got a speed camera ticket from Maryland for going above 55 mph in an I-95 construction zone…at 11:00 pm on Christmas night. I was more than miffed since there were a total of zero construction workers out on freaking Christmas. I didn’t like it, but I paid the fine, because yep, I did it. And ever since then, no matter what time of day or night, you know how fast I drive in any construction zone on any interstate in all of Maryland? 55 mph or whatever the posted speed limit says.

Cause, effect.

[Brendan von Buckingham]

@baiskeli 94646 wrote:

I wasn’t saying they shouldn’t, just that I’m willing to be held to whatever standard is necessary, including whatever would happen if cameras were involved.

I agree – it was a hypothetical only.

Good to know, though I can see a judge saying “if you didn’t put your foot down how did you stop?”

That’s why whenever I contest a ticket I bring my bike to the courtroom and trackstand while making my oral argument.

[Brendan von Buckingham]

@nsfnsfdave 94565 wrote:

Not Quite. My point is my wife’s safety (and that of other runners) is more important than your desire to have exclusive use of a piece of County property that her tax dollars helped to create.

If we’re talking safety, it should be about everyone’s safety, not just yours. She has the scars to prove that running on the sidewalks is dangerous. Let’s share nicely.

That exclusive use is a life-safety issue though. It’s not a quibble or convenience. Cyclists pay for interstates, but we don’t bike I-66.

Our point is the proportionality of safety concerns. The original start to this conversation was about a jogger in a bike lane causing a life threatening situation to himself, a cyclist, and an innocent bystander pedestrian. The jogger was ignorant of the danger he created. How do we get joggers to understand the serious danger they can pose when they run in the street incorrectly?

Sounds like your wife has scraped her knees a couple of times on the sidewalk. Correct me if I’m wrong because that might level our different concerns. Because meanwhile, I’ve been hit by a car 3 times. I bet most of the other cyclists here have been hit too, or have had life-flash-before-their-eyes close calls. Forgive us if we don’t consider scraped knees quite the same as what we have to deal with.

You can see that difference, can’t you? Cyclists deal with a lot of risks. Runners should deal with their own risks too and not just transfer the risk to us.

[Brendan von Buckingham]

I have a family member deep in the bowels of a state department of transportation near Arlington, but not Virginia. We get drunk at Christmas, have knife fights, he complains about letters from jagoff cyclists and I explain how he’s wasted his life as an acolyte to an automotive oligarchy. But in the end he’s a by-the-book sort who can spit out any state reg or FHWA recommendation on command: sharrows are not meant to indicate a precise line for cyclists to follow. Sharrows simply remind travelers that bikes can use the lane, the whole lane or any part of the lane.

Maybe it’s different by state, but in my uncle’s backwater excuse of a state, when cyclists write letters that this sharrow should move over 4″ to the left and the next sharrow should move 9″ to the right so the cyclist’s line staigthens out the curve….well let’s just say those letters get pinned to bulletin boards for amusement.

If he’s wrong about sharrows, find me the reg so I can stab him with it at grandma’s house this December.

[Brendan von Buckingham]

Ixne on the opsce. They’ll just set up a speed trap to catch DismalScientist.

[Brendan von Buckingham]

That rain sure was crummy; seemed like a lot of no shows. Did anyone else see the female rider down and not moving on Beach Drive in RCP? It was about 1:00 or 1:30. My group slowed enough to see that enough people were already stopped, one of them was a doctor, and EMTs were on the way. Anyone know what happened. Hope the rider is OK.

[Brendan von Buckingham]

Runners running in the bike lane have an obligation to run with their head up and jump out of the way in a moment of danger. The only law that needs apply is physics. Just as a bike at certain speeds is more nimble than a car, a runner is more nimble than a bike. A runner can change direction 90 degrees in a split second. A runner can take one step to the left to avoid a collision. A runner can slim up against a parked car if they have to. If runners want to borrow the part of the road–the only part of the universe of roads dedicated expressly to cyclists–runners need to be good guests and get out without overstaying their welcome.

On the other hand, any time a cyclist can hold 20 mph in a 25 zone (like eastbound between Courthouse and Rosslyn), the cyclist should be outside the bike lane and in the full lane of traffic with the cars.

[Brendan von Buckingham]

Mechanical repairs. Amazon can’t fix my bike. On the other hand, a shop better not just put the 15 year old kid on my bike. That might work on those over-priced overhaul packages for noobs, but…wait, those overhaul packages (replace breaks, inflate tires, fluff your pillow, etc.) must be a sweet gold mine. When I go to the LBS, I’m going for the mechanic, to fix what I can’t fix or don’t have time to fix myself.

[Brendan von Buckingham]

The email that I received also went to my gmail promotions folder. The email included a Map My Ride link and a request not to distribute the route. Printed cues sheets and clips will be available at registration.

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