[DCLiz]

Yesterday evening, as I was riding from my office to Trader Joe’s (a straight shot down M Street) during the evening rush, I was thinking how nice it would be when I could do the trip in a protected cycle track. And then I realized it was mid-October, and there was no sign of the promised construction that started this thread. This lane was supposed to be completed in August.

Wherefore art thou, M Street Cycletrack?

[DCLiz]

Me: Just starting my CaBi ride west on M St downtown during the evening rush, with my keys loosely secured in my purse in the bike basket.

You: The jogger who saw my keys fall to the street and turned around to retrieve them while I was pulling over and stopping.

I said, “Thank you SO much!” She said, “No problem! It’s a lot easier for me than you.”

Thanks, jogging lady!

Note to self: Zipper the pocket with your keys, dummy.

[DCLiz]

@bobco85 66707 wrote:

Biking along Carlin Springs Road from Ballston Common Mall to turn left onto Thomas Street, I got forced out of the middle of the lane where the bike sharrows are CLEARLY PAINTED on the road (and there is a sign saying “Bicycles may use full lane” but no one reads it apparently) by some driver who couldn’t bear the thought of being temporarily slowed down by a cyclist.

It seems as if the driver was expecting you to move into the empty parking spaces to let him/her by. As someone who is intimidated by aggressive drivers, I probably would have done this, only to be faced with having to merge back into traffic after the car had passed (and thereby encouraging this sort of behavior in the future). Any advice on dealing with this? Just gird your loins and ignore the honking? Meekly move over, then wait for a break in the traffic to continue your ride?

My concern with holding the lane would be the passing car swerving back into the lane to avoid the oncoming traffic, squishing me in the process.

[DCLiz]

This reminds me of one of the rules of the road I learned from a friend from Boston:
“No U Turn” means “U Turn is Possible.”

[DCLiz]

An anti-missed connection from yesterday morning’s commute:

You: An older gentleman, properly yielding to cyclists in the L Street Cycletrack before making your left turn through a mixing zone into your parking garage, even though a taxi honked at you angrily.

Me: Pedestrian on the sidewalk who was so impressed I stopped to allow you to make your left turn when it was safe to do so. Which gave me the chance to shout at the taxi driver, “He has to yield to cyclists, a**hole!”

[DCLiz]

More on this in The Atlantic Cities: “How D.C. Set 3 Bad Bike Lane Precedents With a Single Decision” The author suggests that we could have a protected bike land AND diagonal parking on Sundays if DDOT eliminated 8 regular parking spaces on that block.

A friend had an interesting idea: cyclists could arrive early (in their cars) for that sweet sweet Sunday morning parking. Use that as a jumping off point for a Sunday morning ride…

[DCLiz]

Overall: 7 — I’m really thinking about doing the ‘daily key’ thing, and see how it goes. I suspect, though, if I had the membership, I’d find ways to use it. Getting my ride out of the garage, and having to change into cycling shoes can be a bit of a deterrent to riding to do errands during the day. CaBi would solve that. So far, the main thing holding me back is that there’s no station at Ft. Totten, which is where I park when I drive. I suppose I could find another place to park…

It’s amazing how handy it is. It becomes another transportation option when you’re out and about. Has the Metro car stopped inexplicably at a downtown station? Hop out and CaBi the rest of the way. Need to make a run to Trader Joe’s quickly? Those stations right outside your office and the Trader Joe’s sure are handy. Need a quick way to get from H Street to Chinatown? You get the idea. Once you get a membership, you end up using it all the time. For a while I was commuting on CaBi more than my own bike, because it was just easier than having to lug my bike out of the basement in a walk-up apartment and deal with locking up, etc. Also enabled one-direction commutes.

[DCLiz]

After being sidelined from cycling all summer (July through maybe the end of this month?) due to injury and surgery, I’m mentally gearing up for winter commuting. Any suggestions for an alternate route from the Pennsylvania Ave cycletrack to 18th & M St NW? I typically use 15th St to M, then bike the last 3 blocks on M.

Is 14th St a good option for those few blocks between the PA cycletrack and M Street?

Or this may be moot since maybe the project will be done by the time I can comfortably get back on a bike.

[DCLiz]

Done.

[DCLiz]

ME: Driving (yes, a car) home towards Capitol Hill on Maine Avenue just off Independence at midnight after picking up an emergency prescription for my cat at the 24-hour CVS on Dupont Circle. Fortunately for both of us, I was slowing down for a red light at the 14th Street underpass.

YOU: Walking your bike across the middle of the street, not only jaywalking, but jaywalking at “midblock” AT MIDNIGHT on a DARK ROAD while wearing very dark clothes. While it’s true that I think you had a light on the front of your bike, the side of the bike — the side that was facing oncoming traffic — was unlit.

You, my friend, are lucky to be alive and will be probably soon be contributing to DC’s fatality statistics.

[DCLiz]

FWIW, REI has boxer & brief style liners. I have the boxer, and find the hem to be very irritating on my thighs. I’m intrigued by the Urbanist design; I think it looks like it would be more comfortable than a boxer-style for women.
Brief: http://www.rei.com/product/794386/novara-padded-cycle-briefs-womens
Boxer: http://www.rei.com/product/794385/novara-padded-cycle-boxers-womens

Here’s another boxer-style that REI carries; looks like it’s higher-quality than their brand:
http://www.rei.com/product/765678/canari-gel-liner-womens

[DCLiz]

@PeteD 62166 wrote:

National Highway Trafic and Saftey Admin: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/cats/listpublications.aspx?Id=A&ShowBy=DocType

Wow, the stats on “pedacycling” deaths here are really interesting. For instance, 28% involve alcohol consumption by the cyclist and 30% occur between 4 pm and 7:59 pm.

Also, I missed that earlier threat about cycling being the safest. Thanks for the link.

[DCLiz]

WABA has an action alert up now. It helps to send your letter to the mayor through their system, so that WABA can keep track of how many letters are being sent. If you are a taxpaying DC resident or otherwise support DC by patronizing businesses in town, be sure to note that. http://org.salsalabs.com/o/451/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=14154

[DCLiz]

I wonder if they’ll let any cyclists on the jury.

[DCLiz]

This is my favorite part of the description: “Moreover, modulation is key: from a light courtesy “ding” while passing another rider to an alarming “DING-DING-DING” to grab a driver’s attention.”

Also, made in Connecticut! My home state. Apparently, this factory almost ceased production when it burned down last year: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/burned-out-conn-bell-factory-resumes-production

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