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Oh motorists running red lights! Its like my favorite, because its more dangerous in every way than a cyclists running a red light and happens more frequently (hunch), but we don’t talk about it as a society.

We seem to perceive coming no where close to stopping on right on red or squeezing through that light as it turns red at not actually counting as “running the light”. Bias and the human mind make for some amazing belief combinations.

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Injuries all suffered on non road bikes. Just goes to show you that they should have been on crabon.

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Well I’m a pansy and was no where near the tops in miles during FS this winter, but I tended to interpret the big mileage folks as ranking the amazing ability to punish yourself by spending inordinate amounts of time outside in terrible weather.

Certainly speed is a factor, but if you’re willing to spend that kind of time outside when its 28 degrees I’m not really judging how you’re propelling your two wheels.

For those that have been through FS multiple times – is your speed effected more by:
Road/Trail Conditions
Wind
Cold air (in that cold, dry air is denser than warm humid air and thus provides more resistance)

Personal feeling is that Road/Trail Conditions make riding hard dangerous and so top speeds come down out of caution.

As far as e-bikes go, just like normal cyclists if you ride courteously, I don’t’ really care. I have a silly fear that one day we will be menaced by e-bike hoodlums doing 35mph on MUPs but I’m pretty sure that is unfounded.

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@Harry Meatmotor 121578 wrote:

Ordered today:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]9279[/ATTACH]
…some gumwall challenge grifos, and eventually purple ano Tune seatpost and stem… might eventually lace up a set of chi-chi wheels with purple White Ind. hubs laced to polished Velocity Airlerons

I showed this sentence to my wife and asked her to interpret. She believes every few words you just decided to mash the keyboard and insert random phrases.

What is a purple White????

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@GovernorSilver 121604 wrote:

When I ride in DC (commute), I just follow the other cyclists, then blame them when I get caught.

Speaking of following other cyclists, I was at the place that isn’t the Kennedy Center but is instead the National Opera House according to Google for The Book of Mormon and the cringe-worthiness of bicycle and car and pedestrian traffic at the circle in front of the Watergate. Oh. My. God. That intersection is crazy. Now I know how someone thought up Fairfax Circle.

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@S. Arlington Observer 121539 wrote:

I don’t want to reflect badly on cyclists but I do tend to treat such neighborhood stop signs (as opposed to stop lights) as yield signs. Any thoughts on that conundrum?

I have good news for you, most motorists treat them as yield signs too.

Context is everything here. I roll through many stop signs. I also stop at every traffic light but will cross certain ones if a car isn’t present and the intersection is clear because I know that I won’t be able to set off the light and waiting for two minutes to prove something I know to be true is silly. But yes, I very much see a difference between some stop signs and stop lights.

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@lordofthemark 121320 wrote:

Hmmm http://law.justia.com/codes/virginia/2006/toc4602000/46.2-924.html

Drivers to stop for pedestrians; installation of certain signs;penalty.

A. The driver of any vehicle on a highway shall yield the right-of-way to anypedestrian crossing such highway:

1. At any clearly marked crosswalk, whether at mid-block or at the end of anyblock;

2. At any regular pedestrian crossing included in the prolongation of thelateral boundary lines of the adjacent sidewalk at the end of a block;

3. At any intersection when the driver is approaching on a highway or streetwhere the legal maximum speed does not exceed 35 miles per hour.

B. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection A of this section, atintersections or crosswalks where the movement of traffic is being regulatedby law-enforcement officers or traffic control devices, the driver shallyield according to the direction of the law-enforcement officer or device.

No pedestrian shall enter or cross an intersection in disregard ofapproaching traffic.

IANAL, but, I think that means that if the driver is approaching an intersection and there is no crosswalk, striped or implicit, there is no obligation to yield, if the speed limit exceeds 35MPH (whereas otherwise there would be an obligation to yield at such intersections). It does not mean there are no implicit crosswalks on 45MPH roads, unless that has been changed.

Note – as a practical matter I would never expect any driver to yield for an implicit crosswalk on a 45MPH road. Since in NoVa they seldom yield at marked crosswalks on 45MPH roads, at implicit crosswalks on 35MPH roads, and even marked crosswalks on 35MPH roads are dicey.

Fairfax County’s interpretation boils down to:

What are a pedestrian’s legal rights when using crosswalks?

In Virginia, a pedestrian has the right of way if they are not crossing in disregard of oncoming traffic when they are in a crosswalk, or if they are crossing at an unmarked crosswalk on a road that is 35 miles per hour or less.

It is a somewhat common occurrence at the intersection of Lee and Nutley next to the Vienna metro since you can only cross Lee from one side of Nutley and people don’t want to wait to cross to the other side of Nutley. Similarly at Lee and Eskridge/Merrilee Dr near the Mosaic District, marked crosswalk only on the western side of Eskridge/Merrilee.

You’re reading and Fairfax County’s guide are the same, just with marked/unmarked vs implicit/marked/explicit?? Any intersection allows for legal foot-traffic

Where intersections contain no marked crosswalks, pedestrians shall not be guilty of negligence as a matter of law for crossing at any such intersection or between intersections when crossing by the most direct route.

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As a fun fact, drivers have no obligation to yield to unmarked crosswalks in Virginia if the speed limit on the road is greater than 35 mph. In actuality they just rarely yield to people in any circumstance.

To the point, there is an effective grey area on “disregard to oncoming traffic”. I have no idea what that means. I think most drivers interrupt it as making “a driver that approaches must yield and allow the pedestrian to safely cross the street” impossible. That is, if I cross and the driver has to slow down, in the driver’s perspective I’ve disregarded traffic.

The interpretation changes the denser the area and the more pedestrians there are. As for legal interpretation, not a clue. I just try to stay alive and upright.

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@ShawnoftheDread 121182 wrote:

For some reason I thought AFHokie was making a Paul Hogan joke.

My boss’ name is Paul Hogan… I never knew the actor’s name was also Paul Hogan… A whole new world of office hi-jinks is opening before my eyes…..

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Are there multiple people who threaten cyclists with knives on the regular???

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I see inhaler use as a playing field equalizer. Similar to the concept of Oscar Pistorius. Without the baggage that now brings along. Ruling bodies have set a limit to the inhaler usage and I take them at face value that it creates a generally even field. Does it open the door for possible abuse? It does, but some people have pointed out that it doesn’t do much for people who don’t suffer from asthma so could be pointless.

PED use is probably more common that people think. Even in high-school I was well aware of several athletes on various teams that used.

Until I have a reason to believe otherwise, I try to assume the best in people. Using an inhaler doesn’t make you a cheater. Abusing it does. Its a hard line to draw and prove. Life is complicated.

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Other ways to help keep precious electronics dry is to put them inside your lunchbox then inside your bag (this has saved my phone in a pinch a few times). Having a ziplock back is always a good idea as mentioned. There is a youtube video where they compare them to more expensive options and they fare quite well.

Good bags, whether on your back or on your rack are worth the investment. Timbuk2, Chrome, Ortlieb, Banjo Bros etc all have waterproof options that hurt the bank-account, but hurt it a lot less than a new smart phone. Unless you use the Moto G … then some of the bags actually cost more than your phone… I’m not sure where that puts you then. I have an N+1 bag problem though.

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@cvcalhoun 121123 wrote:

So I’d really hate to see it be disqualifying for men with low testosterone. Obviously, it’s a different story for those who might use it to boost their testosterone levels above normal.

Testosterone is wildly over prescribed and isn’t necessarily super safe or shown do anything at all for libido.

As for competing, all you can do is show up and know that you are following the spirit of the rules. Unfortunately cycling seemingly (I have never competed in the sport) has the baseball like attitude of “If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying”. Be proud in knowing you are competing fairly.

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@dkel 121054 wrote:

Had a nice time talking about belt drives with him, as we both have belt drive bikes in our future! A memorable commute.

Belt drives for allllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

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Disgusting. I’ve never been so sweaty at 6:30am in my life.

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