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@Crickey7 164949 wrote:

As it so happens, I went by the Georgetown Branch just this morning. There is the world’s most ineffective barrier up at Jones Bridge. So, the trail is closed, wink-wink.

More pertinent was the closure of Beach Drive at the Maryland-DC line, which forced me to take at least part of one of the unofficial detours, up Woodbine. It wasn’t too bad, though climbing out of the Rock Creek valley twice a day will take a lot out of commuters.

I definitely got a lot of bang out of my 12 mile round trip commute. Some afternoons when I was feeling frisky I would go all the way up to Forsythe.

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From late afternoon Aug 31. I was waiting at the light on Commonwealth Ave and Mt. Vernon Ave. You pulled up about 2 seconds before green and noticed my Millersville U jersey and said your father was a math professor there and you grew up there and stuff.

Sorry I was a bit out of it. I was tired, and you gave me a lot to think about all the sudden (I only remember having Dr. Smith, but I know he didn’t teach everything and being a Meteorology major I took a lot of math classes). Otherwise I would have been happy to chat for a bit. Anyway, if you frequent any of the local coffee clubs let me know and we can actually catch up. I always enjoy going back up to the area to visit or ride.

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Haha, yeah this sounds more like a found connection. Especially since she had the awareness to thank you! That’s great! Most wheel suckers use you and move on without even a 2nd look.

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Holy moly. I can’t believe it’s finally happening!!! Sadly, it’s about 10 years too late for me…..

In the late 2000s I used to commute from Silver Spring to Bethesda everyday. Partly because I was tired of all the grit and grime from the GBT and because I knew sometime in the future the trail would be closed for Purple Line construction I optimistically developed my own road route commute (below).
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/24756861

It’s a tad longer and hillier, but it’s not too trafficky. A lot of times I even rode the 1/4 mile on E-W HWY to Beach Dr instead of just crossing it. Once I developed this route I rarely ever took the trail again.

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@gibby 164675 wrote:

Very large pile of glass and not just bits, but good size pieces, just north of the north airport overpass, which seems to be the culprit’s preferred location.
Reported to the Park Service maintenance and Park Police, who took my name and number for the first time, so just maybe they’re taking these reports more seriously???

Keep up the calls to the Park Police 202 610-7505. The officers I’ve spoken to have been responsive and they’re definitely getting frustrated with the situation (or maybe it’s just the phone calls).

I just called about it and the guy re-directed me to the maintenance dept… 703-419-6400 Option #4

Hopefully it will be cleaned up before the commute home. Now back to preventing this in the first place…..

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@cvcalhoun 164352 wrote:

So what I’m getting from this is that my excessive body weight plus the weight of my overloaded heavy (but unassisted) hybrid is such that I shouldn’t be allowed on the trails, either. Good to know.

Yeah, I’m looking forward to breaking that stupid rule in the future myself.

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Do you know how the ABPAC will fill your seat on the committee? Hopefully it’s someone who is as focused on cycling infrastructure and quality transportation options for everyone NOT in a car.

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@Steve O 164275 wrote:

According to the article, it’s been fixed.

Yes. I know. I read it and watched the video. They “fixed it” by painting lines in the shape of a jug handle which doesn’t look easy to navigate. Pretty much the bare minimum. It’s visible in the videos and on google streetview. On the trail side at least, they had to throw down more asphalt to make the jug handle possible.

The reality of that RR crossing is much different in real life when compared to the video. The camera angle is odd. In reality, the TN river is just to the left of the one-row of trees, and parking garages to UT stadium are just off frame to the right. It’s a primarily flat road, but doesn’t appear so in the video.

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Was that two cops at 0:50?? Sheesh! I think the fact that it’s on a major road is part of the problem where cyclists probably don’t feel comfortable trying to use any of the travel lanes to take them at 90 degrees as you’re supposed to… That said, it even took down at least one guy who tried to do this.

I’ll likely be down in Knoxville for the eclipse, so I may try to check this road out…… in my car.

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@bobco85 164210 wrote:

Sadly, it is a thing. Broken glass on the MVT has been reported for the past 2 months with efforts spent entirely on clean-up but no enforcement.

Well that sucks….

Yeah, I could tolerate the shredded paper and the McDonalds garbage, but broken bottles is not ok. That clearly falls under the fucking with other people clause of the – you don’t fuck with me, I won’t fuck with you motto. Is it really too much to ask for Arlington, or the airport authority or NPS, or whoever the hell has jurisdiction to set up a camera to keep an eye out for this?

Thanks to all those who helped to clean up the mess. I admit I haven’t stopped yet.

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@bentbike33 164201 wrote:

You must run fenders (so tire wear is not apparent until you turn the bike upside down).

I’m guessing somewhere in that tire is a hole through which a small bit of the tube herniates and then pops.

Absolutely right on count #1…

As for the cause, you may be right. The 2nd time I made sure to pump the tire much lower pressure than usual and it still went. Although, that may also have been from a shitty patch. Either way, the tire and I’m sure the tube are shredded, so I’ll replace them both.

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So I had a bit of a ‘mare this morning. Got a flat tire on Anacostia River Rd so I stopped to fix it in the light rain.

1) I noticed that my tire has WAY too many miles on it and the kevlar threads are showing through over most of it and they’re the only thing holding it together in others. Oops! I have a couple of replacements at home.
2) Put in a new tube and ride a mile then hear the familiar hissing sound again. I take everything apart again but cannot find what the hell the problem is. So I patch that tube, expecting it will go again, if only I can make it another mile or two I’ll be close enough to walk to work.
3)Yup, there it is. The hissing sound as I crest Mass Ave SE and pull over at the intersection with Alabama SE. This time, I skip the stupid patch and just pump some air into it to ride it for a mile flat, then I can walk up the hill.

I got to work wet, and about 45 minutes late but the worst part of my day will still be dealing with the GODDAMN government travel system!

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@lordofthemark 164034 wrote:

…MVT from 4MRT to the 14th street bridge (which as it happens, is a place where ebikes are currently banned, and which I consider problematic for fast riding in general.

Wait, wait, wait…. ebikes are banned on the MVT? Then how come I periodically get passed by a dude on an ebike on that stretch?

To be fair, compared to some prior experience, he passes pretty responsibly and is lit up like a Christmas tree as well.

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I don’t ride everyday like you guys do, but I have been taking a lane each way between the fish market and M St. and 4th, and I haven’t really had any issues down there.

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I can! I can touch my nose too. But let’s save that response for the next random poll question.

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