[DrP]

Phase II detour was in place this morning. This is the one where you take that other paved path heading south from Lynn towards Roosevelt Island.

It is all paved, so that is good.

I have a feeling it will be less safe in terms of crossing the IOD heading north. So that is not so good.

Combined with the Roosevelt Island lot detour, my commute is regularly changing.

[DrP]

The commute was good except for the right turn on red driver and the harassing driver.

1. Marriot at Key Bridge Parking garage driveway, which is a road with traffic lights and no turn on red signs. It was green for Lee Hwy and for the trail. Driver came out of garage, drove up the hill and continued through the crosswalk and made a right – I had to brake hard to not hit him. He didn’t look to his right at all. Then I yelled and gestured at him, but he cared not.

2. On the Connector Rd from Boundary Channel Dr to N Rotary Dr at the Pentagon (i.e., the 110 overpass) it is one lane with a median to the left and a no travel area to the right that is both usually full of crud and the line between the two is an ever enlarging pot hole. I am nearing the top of the hill and I head a car honking his horn at me as if his life depended on his getting passed me NOW. I look back to make sure it isn’t some kind of emergency vehicle without sirens or a “friend” thinking he is being funny. Nope. He passes me, less then 3 ft, of course, and it is a DC plated orange Fit (I think) with an Uber sticker in the window. I did effectively catch up to him, but it was where I needed to turn off, so no interaction aside from my yells and gestures on the overpass.

[DrP]

Done.

I pointed out how I use the small bit of bike lane on Washington Blvd now and would love to use more of the road rather than hitting the trail to run errands to East Falls Church and Falls Church (although that I love the trail too!). Since I live in the general area, hopefully they will weigh my comments as both from a resident and cyclist.

[DrP]

@AFHokie 156063 wrote:

I rode through there last Friday. Currently, as soon as you cross Glebe you suddenly find yourself no longer in a bike lane and instead a traffic lane

This construction site has been horrible for cyclists and pedestrians both on Glebe and Fairfax. I have complained to the county repeatedly. After each complaint, something was done, including moving/adding signs and, surprisingly, installing a covered pedestrian walkway. But I should not have needed to complain. My schedule has changed recently, so I do not have the time to complain as freely as I did this past summer and fall. They really need a big sign warning cyclists and drivers of the lack of lane. I have been lucky in that most of the drivers have let me in when I stick my arm out and then pedal like mad.

[DrP]

The general listing provided in the article is good. Many years ago I was 2 miles from work, and that was easy – even with the up-hill both ways (there was a ridge between me and my office). Now I am a bit under 9. It is do-able, but the time (I am not super fast), including the changing clothing time, adds up. If I need to be at the office early, then I am frequently not riding because I would have to leave so early and thus get no sleep the night before. I would be much happier with something more like 5-6 miles – enough to get some exercise, but not so much time. I would still do 40-80 miles on my Sunday rides.

[DrP]

(I am entering this for a friend since I was a little too far back to be in the midst of it, but I saw it all and my friend gave me more details when I caught up).

On the Mt Vernon trail heading towards Mt Vernon at Riverside Park (the one about 1 mile from Mt Vernon). I had a good view coming down the hill.
You: A group of riders that entered the lot from Stratford Lane and rode without looking anywhere through the lot and onto the trail. WITHOUT LOOKING! Did I mention WITHOUT LOOKING?
Us: ALREADY on the trail riding. In fact, since the trail starts at Roosevelt Island, so I would say that we had the right of way.
You: continued to enter the trail despite someone ON THE TRAIL yelling that there were people on the trail. At least the last one tapped the brakes and did not actually hit us.
Us: yelling to warn them about looking before entering a trail. And grabbing brakes and swerving to avoid being hit.
You: Continuing to ride and not say anything. No apologies. Nothing.

Do you do this in front of trucks too?

Apparently they continued past Mt. Vernon. We stopped at the visitor center and were half wanting them there to explain trail etiquette and half glad they weren’t for fear of something escalating.

[DrP]

Freaking out? Yes, a bit. While I would love to get such road designs here, getting the drivers to go along with it will be difficult and time consuming. Just watching the number of drivers who ignore the no turn on red sign that appears at the IOD (yes, I am talking to you, Mr. Red Top Cab who was the 2nd car going through the light this morning and should have known better by being an Arlington cab and being where you should have seen the sign light up) and seeing the complete rage on the video discussed here http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?11627-Article-Ride-Angry&p=155575#post155575, which, while in England, appears to be just like our drivers, all makes me think it will be MANY, MANY YEARS before something like this will happen. Unless we make every single driver in this country re-take their driving test and include a bicycling portion of the test. On congested roads. With aggressive cars and trucks.

(I am keeping track of these road design articles, however. My cousin will be staying with me this summer while doing an internship at the Federal Highway Administration (civil engineering student). I plan to provide lots of information on cycling and pedestrian friendly designs (and prove how such a friendly place can be a great place to live). Just to encourage the next generation of engineers to include such concepts)

[DrP]

Generally a good commute. However, there was an oddity. When coming down the ramp from Rosslyn to the Roosevelt Island lot (~7:20am), there was a Park Police car at the bottom with no one in it. I look over to my left and there was a car that had driven off the tarmac and into the trail that starts under the ramp. As I drove by, the police were slamming the trunk shut – no dead body or large collection of anything was visible. There were no other people around, so I gather it was an abandoned vehicle.

Anyone know any more?

[DrP]

@SolarBikeCar 155144 wrote:

i carry a first aid kit. Never used it and don’t expect to need it. Is is dead weight I should leave at home or is there a good chance I’ll find someone who will be glad I have it in the course of a say a couple hundred rides?

Continue to take it with you – there is a chance you will find someone who needs it. A couple of years ago when biking, my biking buddy fell and got some really bad road rash – full of gravel too. Several people stopped to see if we needed anything, but until someone stopped with a first aid kit (small, but good enough) there wasn’t much for anyone to do – we had bike tools, water and phones. That first aid kit allowed us to bike back and not worry about infections or leaving a trail of blood.

Since then I have started carrying a small first aid kit on my weekend rides because that was neither the first nor most recent fall my friend has had. In fact, I have had to supply bandages about a year ago.

[DrP]

Situation: Northern crosswalk at N. George Mason and Wilson (i.e., across George Mason). Two pedestrians on east side. One cyclist on west (me). Car in westbound travel lane clearly wanting to turn right from Wilson to George Mason.

Walk light to cross road turns on.
Me: Enter cross walk passing center line as the pedestrians approach me.
You (car): start turning as soon as you can not hit the pedestrians in the rear.
Me: Needing to hit my brakes to not hit you and I throw up one arm in exasperation/questioning.
You: Continue turning, looking at me and giving me the finger.
Me: (talking to myself) What a jerk.

Really. You couldn’t have waited another 5 seconds for me to pass and then legally make your turn and you had to give me the finger to show your “superiority”? Get a real life.

[DrP]

Two deer and I startled each other on the W&OD. No injuries and since this wasn’t the first time, my heart didn’t need to race.

[DrP]

This work appears to be completed. At least, when I rode by last night, all of the equipment was gone.

[DrP]

The dumpster has returned to N Quincy between Fairfax and 9th. It has been back for over a week now. Grrrr.

[DrP]

Got a flat on the way in. I wasn’t too far from the office when I realized that the front wheel was not acting correctly. I stopped to pump it up on the MVT (thank you to all who stopped or offered to do so!!). I could not see anything clearly causing the issue. I had to stop again along Boundary Channel Dr, and that got me, just barely, to my office. Now I know what I am doing at lunch today!

[DrP]

1/30/17: Custis clear, although they clearly didn’t treat just east of the construction to Frederick. Trollheim is covered in snow but passible if one takes care. MVT was clear to at least humpback bridge (I got off going under there). The wooden bridge between the Johnson Memorial Grove and Boundary channel drive was covered in snow, but passable if one took care (and it looked like someone might have fallen on the Pentagon side judging by the way some of the snow was compacted and moved.

However, somewhere along the route there was something sharp that punctured by tire.

[Author]

Replies