[dbehrend]

Thanks to the cyclist who let me know I dropped a glove on my commute home & thanks to the driver who stopped short so I could pick it up.

[dbehrend]

Thank you for sharing. I liked the quote at the end – “The Dutch have evolved into a culture that respects the right for everyone to get home safely,” Dr. Charney said. Incorporating road safety into Dutch elementary school curriculum must have a profound impact on building and sustaining that culture (“They learn the importance of shared roadways to make sure that both drivers and cyclists are aware of each other and know each other’s rules . . . .).

[dbehrend]

@CBGanimal 181750 wrote:

6 friends doing 444 miles in 8 days! Natchez Trace!!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Nice jerseys! I’d love to ride Natchez Trace sometime, and it’d be great to hear how the trip went when you get back.

[dbehrend]

Matt Freivald sounded like a great guy. What happened is awful. I hope the police obtain more information.

[dbehrend]

Thank you for the suggestion, Judd. I’ll contact his office.

[dbehrend]

I’m so sorry. Based on the photos and your description, it looks like a horrible collision. I hope you’re okay.

[dbehrend]

Thank you for the recommendations to reach out to a lawyer. We did report the incident to the WABA crash tracker. I’ll reach out to WABA to get a list of attorneys.

It’s truly discouraging that a cyclist needs to contact an attorney to advocate for the police to pursue a hit and run driver. I’m most concerned that there’s a driver out there thinking it’s okay to ram cyclists with her car when she’s frustrated with them, and that one day someone’s not going to be able to jump out of the way. I’m far less concerned about recovering the cost of a chainring.

I went to my local bike store to have my bike checked out the day after the assault. The owner said that it sounded pretty horrible, but that unfortunately, he heard too many similar stories, and he sincerely doubted the police would pursue it.

I’ll continue to follow up. I’ll let you all know if I hear more.

[dbehrend]

@dbehrend 181549 wrote:

. . . which I had also referenced in my emails to the detective on June 22nd and August 1st.

In response to the form letter, I also provided the witnesses’ contact information in my statement on August 19th.

[dbehrend]

The witness did not provide me with copies of the photos. The witness who took the photos was an attorney from Richmond, who seemed pretty earnest about helping out. He asked the responding officer for contact info to forward the photos. I thought he sent them to someone before he left the scene, but it’s possible he didn’t. It’s also possible he changed his mind or something happened to the photos in the last 3 months.

I received a form letter from the detective on August 16 (dated August 6, postmarked August 14) requesting a response within 20 days of “issuance” of the letter, or the investigation would be suspended. The letter asked for information about witnesses. I pulled the witnesses’ contact information from the police report, which I requested and received on June 12th, which I had also referenced in my emails to the detective on June 22nd and August 1st. Based on the letter, it was my assumption the witness had not been contacted as of mid-August.

[dbehrend]

PeteD, I’m so sorry this happened to you. I’m glad to hear you came through generally ok.

I also don’t see a requirement for damages, let alone damages of $1000, in the statute. Only enforcing the law when there’s damage and/or injury undermines the purpose of the law and does nothing to change driver behavior.

[dbehrend]

DCist updated their story too (http://dcist.com/2018/09/cyclist_struck_in_hit_and_run_near.php

The cyclist succumbed to his injuries, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. He has been identified as Thomas Hendricks Hollowell, a 64-year-old from Arlington.

Police said the driver of a dark-colored sedan ran through a red traffic light, hitting Hollowell at “a high rate of speed.” The sedan drove northbound on 12th Street NW without stopping.

[dbehrend]

@Judd 181273 wrote:

This sounds like a good opportunity to spend 90 minutes at Beans in the Belfry, which I highly recommend visiting in Brunswick. Yummy food, cool building, outdoor seating.

Definitely! Beans in the Belfry is fantastic.

[dbehrend]

@dbehrend 181270 wrote:

I would recommend checking it out for yourself. We heard so many different experiences and recommendations. The washout is not too far past the sign for the closure.

If you plan to hire one of the shuttles, you should probably contact them to figure out where it is easiest for them to pick you up before you get to the closure. We ran into a couple from Arizona that decided to take the shuttle after arriving in Brunswick. I think they were going to have to wait about 90 minutes for the shuttle to meet them in downtown Brunswick.

[dbehrend]

@Emm 181261 wrote:

The day we went people said the washout was waist high in water (the people we met were pretty soaked from going through it), and it took 40-50 minutes to ferry your stuff across the water, go back, and then get your bike across. So we took the road route. I strongly recommend finding some people on the path and asking how the washout is. If it’s only as deep as dbehrend’s experience, it’s probably worth walking your bike and gear through it.

The road route was a pain, BUT I think part of my dislike of it was it was uphill, 90 degrees out, and during the start of rush hour. Cars were really nasty to us on it–honking, passing really close, and otherwise just being total jerks. If you hit it earlier in the day, I don’t think it will be so bad. There was a quiet gravel section on the road route that was AWESOME though, so it had some good and really fun parts I’m happy to share the route if you want to see what we did.

I would recommend checking it out for yourself. We heard so many different experiences and recommendations. The washout is not too far past the sign for the closure.

The same day we crossed the creek, we met another couple that described wading through waist deep water the day before. In the video I linked, you can actually see the water directly under the washed out trail is about waist deep, but when the guy walks downstream it’s pretty shallow.

The staff at the bike shop in Brunswick, Three Point Cycles, warned us that the traffic on the road route was often hostile and aggressive toward cyclists.

[dbehrend]

@hozn 181089 wrote:

There’s certainly nothing to stop anyone from taking over and running the leaderboards this year.

Regrettably, I lack the skills to be any help with the awesome leaderboards you’ve built. If the leaderboards end up taking a lower tech format this year, I’d certainly be willing to help.

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