[DOS]

@Jason B 54741 wrote:

I suspect the top 10’s 7th lap was more of a cool down, I know it was for W-L’s Butler, who rode the last lap with his daughter. If they moved everybody down to just six laps, it might be a scary gap. Those guys had an insane cranking pace line.

Seems like there was a small group crossing 6 laps at 2:24 to 2:25 then a good 4 or 5 minutes, then a group of us crossing the 6th lap at 2:29-2:30. I have nothing but respect for all those 7 and 8 lappers. I crossed 6 lap at 2:29 and stopped. If I’d gone for 7 , I’d be cresting the Air force memorial just about now. I was done after 6 and happy to break 2:30.

[DOS]

@Brent 54673 wrote:

I think they might have had some troubles. I have a friend who did six laps, but her chip only registered one lap, and at twice the time it really took her.

Yeah, that’s happened last year too. This year a friend of mine did 7 laps. they got the time right but recorded only 5 laps. His time, 2:49.03 puts him top 10 bu he doesn’t get the satisfaction. Ah well, it’s not a race, it’s a ride.

[DOS]

Oh goody, another cyclist vs pedestrian thread. Just in time because Tim closed the last one. This adds whole new dimension that I was just thinking the other one lacked. Actual threats of physical violence, which I am sure, we can agree, are always condusive to furthering the cause of safety. Nicely done BlackIrish.

[DOS]

@jordash 22961 wrote:

Bonus factoid: In D.C. it’s illegal not to have a bell on your bike.

I did not know that.

[DOS]

@ronwalf 22871 wrote:

Are park rules different than Maryland law (21-1205b)?

Side note – does anyone else find this wording odd? I believe it makes riding abreast in stop-and-go traffic illegal (i.e., traffic is impeded, just not by the act of riding abreast).

yes, I believe national parks have their own rules and Rock Creek superintendent does not permit riding two abreast except on closed to traffic roads.

[DOS]

@GuyContinental 22838 wrote:

http://blog.sfgate.com/stew/2012/04/27/berkeley-bicyclist-hit-run-video/#.T5qxG95JZUA.facebook

but it is pretty interesting how many laws they broke in the minutes leading up to the crash- lots of blown stop signs without so much as a brake tap. .

I only saw two stop signs in the video. On the first one, you can’t see the lead rider until the second guy makes the left (he is out of frame on the left) so its possible he had stopped and been waved through by the car stopped on the sign on the intersecting road, and 2nd guy just followed (granted, I doubt it). Clearly they blow the second sign despite merging into high speed traffic. Beyond that, I didnt see any glaring misbehavior.

It does go to show that obeyiing traffic laws is a good idea if for no other reason that should something happen through no fault of cyclist, the person at fault doesnt get off because cyclist is deemed a scofflaw generally because he/she was seen violating law earlier on.

Reminds me of an incident I experienced on Rock Creek Pkwy this weekend. A group of us were riding on the pkwy early Sunday just below Mass Ave (so still open to traffic). Some of us were riding two abreast, which is, I think, illegal, in the park. So I could understand if cars heading same way we were got annoyed. But it was before 6:30 so there were no cars headed in our direction (so no traffic to impede — not an excuse, just setting scene). However, a car heading in opposite direction was irritated enough by the sight of us to cross centerline, swerv toward us to buzz the group before vering back on correct side of the double yellow. I wonder, had the car that buzzed us taken some of us out, the degree to which we would have been held accountable for violating the 2 abreast rule even though we weren’t impeding traffic and the car in question vered onto wrong side of road to send his message.

[DOS]

@mstone 22726 wrote:

good grief, what were you doing with your bell?

What can I say; 1 ring. Thats it. Birds and/or F*** yous a few times. Decided bell not worth it. I dont why that should be such a surprise. As this and other threads like it invariably show, there is a lot of animosity towards cyclists. Seems totally consistent reaction from a crowd that think all cyclists are arrogant or “do not give a crap”.

Edited to add: In response to earlier post about ringing late or speed being the source of negative reaction, trails make me nervous so when I used them, I always rode pretty slow. That said, on at least two occasions, I will admit that the ped who reacted negatively was clearly surprised and startled by the bell. Now, had they not been wearing ear buds…

[DOS]

@MCL1981 22480 wrote:

You’re thinking logically and suggesting something for the good everyone on the trail. Unfortunately, I’ve found that the vast majority of cyclists on the trail are not logical, and they do not give a crap about anything or anyone but themselves and their pace. They can not and will not be bothered by everyone else around them. That bell weighs too much and adds air resistance. Speaking would make it appear as if they care. So unfortunately, the likely outcome, even after a death, is that nothing will change.

I dont use a bell and its not because I am “not logical” or because I “do not give a crap”. I also know alot of cyclists and do not believe that above post describes any of them. I can only speak for myself but when I did use a bell, it was generally received negatively — like I was telling folks to “get out of my way” as opposed to a warning I was approaching. I may start using one again (although having stopped using trails for most part, maybe not), but on the increasingly rare occasions when I find myself on trails or otherwise among pedestrians, I never get the kind of negative reaction (flipped birds and the like) to a spoken “passing on your left” that I used to get to a bell. I do take the point that a bell is more easily heard and less likley to result in a pedestrian turning into the oncoming bike in response, however. So perhaps the risk of aflipped bird in worth the trouble.

[DOS]

Was just looking at various race results from Saturday and Sunday and noticed the guy, Andrew Shaw, who had by far fastest 6 and 7 lap times, came in 15th in the Mens 1/2/3 race on Saturday. Ringer.

[DOS]

@eminva 22330 wrote:

I think we need more data points, such as age, gender, weight class, etc. A. Because I love all the cool charts that you all generate and this would expand the possibilities; and B. I have a few theories I would like to test out . . . .

Liz

well, I know 7 or the 23 or so people who broke 2:35 for 6 laps are mid 40s, college educated, white suburban fathers weighing in between 175 and 200 lbs only one of whom has any bike racing experience whatsoever. So if your theory involves mid life crisis manifest in expensive bikes instead of sports cars and women, you nailed it.

[DOS]

@DaveK 22322 wrote:

One told me “I’ve got my silver and gold, this year I’m getting my bronze and going home.” She’s fast too. Probably in that bracket.

Also a number of folks flew through five or six laps then apparently shut it down for their last lap. Some may have run out of gas but I suspect a number of folks finished 6 laps and used 7th lap as warm down.

[DOS]

@chuckb 22308 wrote:

Interesting. You beat me to it. Here’s an interesting way to look at the results, distance ridden vs. average speed. You get bands for 8,7,6, etc laps. You see the two hard boys who did 8 laps. I managed 6 at 18.6 MPH. These bands are sort of like the AA, A, BB, B, etc rankings use by Potomac Pedalers.[ATTACH=CONFIG]1205[/ATTACH]

Cool. I am one of the little blue squares above the 22mph line for six laps…just braggin.

[DOS]

@KLizotte 22175 wrote:

The scary takeaway from this incident is the fact that this could happen to any of us whenever we are out biking. We all pass people (while calling passes) and there is no telling when a ped (or even another cyclist) is going to do something unpredictable and become seriously hurt as a result. Any one of us could have been involved in a serious accident at Sunday’s Crystal Ride for instance.

It is quite possible (probable?) that the cyclist in this incident is going to be hit with a very expensive and protracted civil lawsuit from the deceased family. It is rather alarming to read how many people are calling for a civil lawsuit on the various news websites. Given the litigious nature of our culture, I’d be more surprised if it didn’t happen. If someone mistakenly put me in a wheelchair for life, I can’t say with my hand on my heart that I wouldn’t sue too. Even if the cyclist in this accident wins the case in civil court, you can be assured his life savings will be wiped out in the process. One is better off being in an accident in a car; there are more laws defining rights and responsibilities and your insurance provides a small buffer.

Anybody know if personal liability insurance would protect one in incidents like these?

This is why I have for the most part stopped using trails. One of cardinal rules I follow as a cyclist riding in traffic is to be predictable so the cars can anticipate what I might do. Pedestrians simply are not predicatable; while cars, to a much greater degree, are. They tend to stop at signs and lights, signal tuirns, etc (not always, of course). What it comes down to is that, because I am significantly less confident in my ability to anticpate the behavior of pedestrians than I am of automobile traffic , I am way more afraid of running into and injuring/being injured by a pedestrian than I am of getting hit by a car.

[DOS]

“TBD Photo album: http://www.tbd.com/pictures/2012/06/…2759-1596.html “

Hey thats me in photo 16. 2nd position on far right coming up the hill. Cool

[Author]

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