[CPTJohnC]

@eminva 33675 wrote:

The sign on the wall says “Motorcycle Parking Only” — ! That is one confused arrangement.

That was actually the first thing I noticed when the bldg super took me down to show me the space. However, this was the first day that a motorcycle used the spot (2 different ones, actually — the other guy was polite enough to park farther forward allowing access to the rack).

@ShawnoftheDread 33655 wrote:

If it were a cool motorcycle, yes. That one: no.

True, I suppose. It should be Italian, red and have desmodromic valve actuation. But I digress.

[CPTJohnC]

So, this is what I met this morning when I arrived. So far I’ve only shared with one other bicycle. Am I being too passive aggressive by parking close to the motorcycle instead of just parking at the far side of the rack?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1858[/ATTACH]

[CPTJohnC]

@mstone 33454 wrote:

How do I accommodate something illegal and inherently unsafe? There’s no framework in which to build expectations. For cyclists in the road at night I have a set of expectations like “keep to the right” and “have a light or reflector” because those are legal minimums. (And I have no more patience for ninja salmon than ninja road joggers). Do we codify legal requirements for road joggers (which then imply that unsafe behavior is actually a right which needs to be accommodated in road design)? And could there ever be a serious policy discussion of lighting requirements for pedestrians?

Okay — but there seems to be agreement by all or most of the above posters that a) that runners can be in the street when there is no passable sidewalk, right? and b) fundamentally the person who gets to make the decision regarding “passability” in this instance is the runner, right (at least until that decision is challenged in some way)? so in the end the question is at best moot. If a runner is on the street, whether because there is no sidewalk (very common in my area), because the sidewalk is not passable, or because they prefer to be in the street (for whatever reason) the fact remains there should be a framework for pedestrian transit when not on sidewalks.

I’ll be honest: I’d rather come upon a well illuminated runner on the street than a ninja pedestrian transiting the street to get from passable sidewalk to passable sidewalk… yet that Ninja is functioning within the law, as I understand it, while the jogger probably is not.

But my real point was that from the perspective of most motorists, having bicycles on the street is a safety hazard and nuisance, and there’s little or nothing to stop them from attempting to have laws changed to the detriment of cyclists, right? Not to mention that the ‘letter of the law’ rarely means squat when put up against the ‘commonly held practice’…

[CPTJohnC]

@dasgeh 33414 wrote:

So visible or not, runners should not be on the street when there’s a passable sidewalk.*

Ignore legality for a minute and consider: This is exactly how most motorists feel about bikes being on ‘their’ streets. We’re a danger because they can’t be bothered to learn to accommodate us. I’m not saying that the runner is ‘right’ or that street running is necessarily an awesome idea, but I don’t think I’m fond of your doctrinaire approach, either.

[CPTJohnC]

Congrats on 8 great years! I can relate on the “no money saved” idea. You do some great annual mileage!

I’m pretty jealous of the 4 flats thing. I’ve had at least 3 or 4 (or double that if you consider my run of 4 in 2 days a few months ago, which I treat as ‘one’) and I’ve only been commuting a few years. And honestly, I feel pretty lucky to have had so few.

Cold weather riding is so personal! I use a light wind breaker or rain jacket layered over base layer and mid layer (i.e. cold weather technical underwear and a fleece), with the option to layer up or down). This works for me down to 20 degrees F, but I know it wouldn’t work for all. I should mention that I still sweat at 20 degrees

[CPTJohnC]

@Bill Hole 33019 wrote:

What I like are the buildings that install their bike racks in the garage, and then post signs at the garage entrance saying “NO BICYCLES ALLOWED”. My current work site is a fine example of this.

I think the goal of these signs is mostly to avoid bikes who want to do some stunting in the garage, but I’m also confident that they believe they’re going to avoid liability in the event a cyclist is hurt in the garage. Of course, the presence of a bike rack should eliminate any defense the sign might provide.

One of the worst things I’ve confronted are the security gates that don’t really work for cyclists. I have to go around the gate at one of my employer’s other locations, but its a big, heavy security barrier, not just a simple parking lot gate.

[CPTJohnC]

@TwoWheelsDC 32768 wrote:

I wonder if area bike shops would be willing to put the BA blinkies (or even generic blinkies or WABA blinkies or whatever) on all new bikes they sell.

I suspect the bigger objection is that 75-85% of all bikes sold will never see darkness (I’m making up the number, but I’m willing to bet I’m not too far off). Of course, I agree that it still makes sense – because some of the offenders might be the folks who ‘weren’t going to be out after dark…’ Worse, though, the majority of the bike ninjas that I see (which may be an oxymoron of a sort) are riding walmart specials likely bought used off CL.

[CPTJohnC]

@dbb 32762 wrote:

Do ninjas have stripes? Are they visible?

Of course they have stripes. The stripes are a dark charcoal gray or occasionally a true navy blue against the primary color of black.

As to the second question: They can see themselves, so they must be, right?

[CPTJohnC]

Ninja of all stripes amaze me. I think the problem is they can see themselves, so they assume everyone can see them. Very scary!

[CPTJohnC]

@dasgeh 32710 wrote:

Depending on how old your kids are, you could always throw them on your bike.

Don’t think I haven’t considered it, but as a 150lb high school freshman, he exceeds my rack’s carrying capacity. The better solution is to get him up to speed for riding in with me, but to be honest, I don’t think it would work. It isn’t that he couldn’t get up to speed and manage the 40 mile RT, but the lost homework time might just kill him. So I suffer as I watch all the bikes rolling by as I drive from DC back to Fairfax with my bike strapped on the back of the car.

Of course, I could just make him take metro…

[CPTJohnC]

@eminva 32723 wrote:

…leave a note on the bike. Most of the cyclists parking there work for my company, though.

Liz: That was going to be my suggestion; to the extent that you can identify the bikes that are not your co-workers, might as well try, right?

I suppose it is also worth determining when the bldg was built, because per the bike parking guidelines, that matters. It appears that a bldg existing as of March 1 1985, bike parking remains optional (‘…may convert…’). It is pretty clear to me that the parking installed in my garage does not meet the guidelines (in terms of space around the rack, space per bike, etc… for more than 4-5 bikes. And of course, this morning, I arrived to find this:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1781[/ATTACH]

I considered moving my bike to the other side of the rack just to discourage this guy… I might still do so at lunchtime.

I suppose, though, I can’t really complain at all, yet: So far I’m the only one using the rack. (The sharp-eyed will note that I rode a different bike today – I decided I want to test this all out with the beater before I risk my ‘real’ commuter to the wilds of the garage).

–Chris

[CPTJohnC]

@eminva 32694 wrote:

If you get it figured out, let me know — my building doesn’t even have a garage, so the cyclists here park in the building next door. Liz

This is why I hesitate to even complain — I know things are so much worse in so many places, and I’m seriously afraid of raising too much stink lest they do something really horrible, like unbolt the rack to move it, and not re-secure it. Or decide that I need to pay a monthly fee to park (I’m not sure whether that’s prohibited under the DC Law…)

Oh, and based on your ‘location’ it seems likely we’ve crossed paths at one time or another — I’m also a Vienna area to DC commuter.

BTW: I didn’t realize my bldg had a garage until this happened, as the access is through the building next door — the single garage entrance serves 3 or 4 different ‘buildings’ based on addresses. Have you confirmed that the parking garage is not a shared structure?

I presume there are spaces in the garage that are unusable to cars, but that would be appropriate for bike parking? Are there bikey-folks who DO work in the correct bldg who could offer the suggestion(s) on your behalf?

[CPTJohnC]

So this morning was the first time I actually had an opportunity to use the new rack and surprise, surprise, all was not cupcakes and butterflies.

The rack itself is actually pretty okay; good design, clearly intended to allow relatively damage free bike parking. By design it seems as though it would easily support 6-8 bikes with minimal conflict between them, etc…

However something I had not noticed when I first checked it out visually: The placement is colossally bad! It is way too far to the rear of the space, making it possible only to park bikes towards the front, and it is almost pushed to the wall on the right hand side (as you face it) meaning one side is inaccessible. This severely limits the locking options. Fortunately I was the first one there, so I got my choice of parking, but if 4 other people choose to use it, it will be pretty much full up.

Worse: The promise to re-program my fob to permit me to access the elevators from the garage had (unsurprisingly) not been fulfilled, so I had to call the security guard to be let in (or walk up through the garage, which seems unsafe and patently ridiculous). Note: It’s over 6 hours later, and my fob still won’t activate the garage-to-elevator door. Grrr…

Trust me when I say I know things could be a LOT worse, but I had been so pleased with my ‘bike friendly’ workplace. Unfortunately, my employer has little or no influence, as we are a relatively small tenant, and we’re actually a sub tenant through a different organization, reducing our influence even further. We’re also considered ‘temporary’ (I was sent to this satellite office as a ‘short term, temporary solution to a space crunch’ — 20 months ago).

Let’s see if I can get pictures to show up:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]1766[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]1767[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]1768[/ATTACH]

[CPTJohnC]

Three bike days and a run day, but they all involved driving too. Perhaps I should be a less accommodating father?

[CPTJohnC]

I hope you have better luck with the Chinese lights than I had. My taillight is going strong, but the headlight died after a week or two. I’d have to wonder whether the harbor freight lights are really the same as the Costco ones; I’ve been using my Costco lights (older 100 lumen units) for almost 2 years now with no issues, including plenty of pounding on the towpath. My son also uses them for boy scout camping trips, and trust me when I say a middle school boy is tough on equipment. Not sure what PCB stands for in this context, but I’m assuming you mean the plastic? My Costco lights are all machined aluminum and quite solid. Definitely up to the standards of my Mag-light products, though probably not as good as Fenix or some of the other high end makers.

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