[DrP]

I too get numbness in my fingers and hands when cycling. It sounds like you are all using drop handle bars. If that is the case, are there suggestions for folks with straight or risers? (I have hybrids, one is definitely a riser and the other seems too flat for a riser but too curved for a true straight). I have more issues when going downhill and needing to grab the brakes, but it seems to occur at other times as well. If I straighten up for a little bit and move my arms and hands around, the feeling comes back. I am a little further from the bar for my new bike and the problem is a little worse at the moment (I keep hoping that I am just needing to get used to a slightly different position). I have been attempting to hold on a bit more loosely, as was one suggestion. There were some comments about hand placement being wider than shoulders and that is definitely the case on these bikes, but I do not see too much of an option there without moving most of the gear (breaks, gears, bell, lights) inward to where I am not sure all would fit (at least the lights). How short can a set of handlebars really be?

I guess I am trying to figure out if there is a common/easy solution to this or if I really need a bike fitting or just a get a whole new upper back and shoulders (latter probably not actually possible since I think my parents skimped and did not get the full lifetime warranty for me) Any other suggestions to try from someone who has had the issue with the typical hybrid handlebars?

[DrP]

@dkel 124415 wrote:

Front and rear tires wear differently as well: the center of the rear tire will tend to level off (since its the drive wheel), while the front tire’s edges (?—not sure quite how to describe that) will wear faster (since it is the steering wheel). I swap mine front to back periodically to get more even wear out of them. I don’t get the impression many people do that, though.

Actually, I just did that in hopes of getting more out of those tires. It will be harder to judge how much longer since I also got a new bike that I am likely to ride more often.

I also got something closer to 10,000 miles out of the original tires on that bike – only when I acquired a large piece of glass in one did I realize that they needed replacing. Whereas the replacements are likely to be significantly less. Hybrid with mostly street and paved trail riding, although some unpaved trail, all of which would make me think that they should wear out quick. Maybe they just made things better years ago . And oddly, they spent the first 4.5 yrs in SoCal where my car tires would dry out before they wore out.

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@dasgeh 124327 wrote:

Is the turn lane necessary? What are the utilization rates for the parking garages in the area?

The road should have been turned into one lane in each direction and a turn lane a while ago. The major backups are people turning left (or double parked in front of the FedEx place or some of the restaurants). Since they started the transit lane and blocked off that travel lane, there have been big (for the road) backups in the evenings northbound as folks try to turn left at 18th and others want to go straight.

I think making the transitway bikes and transit buses ONLY 24/7 is the way to go, if they won’t put in a separate bike lane. However, I do not see how to put in a northbound bike lane if they make the transitway available to cars for part of the time. If the bike lane is on the right of the transitway, then the bikes get blocked (possibly hit) by the buses for every stop (presumably the current plan could allow thw bike to go around when stopped). If the lane is between the transit way and the car lane, and the transitway is open to cars for part of the day, then that will cause issues.

So, e-mailing des and the board the way to complain about this? I might be able to get several biking coworkers to write too.

[DrP]

One of the things I did not see mentioned in the article, or in any related such articles about bikes and peds or even cars and bikes, and that is that there are laws every MUST follow whether they want to or not – the laws of physics. Sure, bikes are to yield to peds on the trails, but there is a point that no matter how conscientious a cyclists is, the cyclist cannot stop or turn in time to avoid a collision if the ped is not paying any attention. Folks seem to have some stopping distance understanding for cars, but not for bikes. I once had a crazy ivan do a 180 in front of me (no looking, no signally and wearing headphones) after I rang my passing bell and I was in the other lane already. There was maybe 6-10ft and I grabbed my brakes hard, my feet slid off the pedals (I do not clip in) and they helped me stop too. I still hit her, but not that hard (bruises most likely). Had she turned a few seconds later, it could have been worse.

This goes for car-bike interactions too. They seem to make some assumptions as to the ability of bikes to stop really quickly, yet they know they cannot.

How do we get the word out about stopping distances for bikes and this is key reason for peds needing to look before turning on trails?

[DrP]

What bothers me about this is the jogger’s attitude of “I can do whatever I want and they all have to yield to me.” Doesn’t he feel even the slightest bit responsible for his own safety? (he admitted to turning at a flower pot that is a set distance from his starting point and having bad hearing, but somehow he is sure he hears everything on the trail). Clearly not and neither do many others on the trails. Sigh.

[DrP]

Detour on Custis this morning – considered adding to road and trial conditions, but this seemed quite temporary and affects commuters more than others.

Around 7:10 am today heading inbound on the Custis, just after the Spout Run bridge there were cop cars on the trail. One just after the Culvert St access point and the other appeared to be on the little rise by the apartments (well before the hill to the bridge to nowhere). There were two people sitting on the railing along the trail with hands behind their backs and heads bowed – I presume they were under arrest for something. Unless this is part of larger search, I would guess this is likely cleared out by now.

Caused a bunch to detour to Calvert and then Lee Highway and to the redone access by Veitch.

If law breakers are using the path to run away and cops are following, shouldn’t this qualify the trail as traffic-report-worthy?

Very humid this morning and those extra hills provided by the detour (not complaining about the cause – Arlington Police are just doing their job) made me realize it much sooner than I expected.

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Yes, those are yellow advisory signs. They have never made sense to me. I read them as “Trail Narrows, Make Yourself Wider.”

[DrP]

@Tim Kelley 123484 wrote:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]9512[/ATTACH]

It rotates up and down: https://twitter.com/bikeshare/status/634048797354668032

Excellent! Thank you. I will propose he (and other CaBis, should this be the case) use it next time.

[DrP]

@DrP 123136 wrote:

Then, heading south on MVT as I descend from the Humpback bridge to continue on the MVT (and I do not signal to go to the 14th Street (aka George Mason Memorial) Bridge), some guy on a CaBi comes shooting off the bridge access road and cuts me off. I have to grab a bit of break and then he slows even further to answer his phone! More break. Others then pass the two of us, One told him to watch where he was going, but he sloughed that off. I get a chance to pass him and off I go. As I ascend the airport bridge, I am stuck behind a jogger with joggers coming down and another bike coming down, so, trying not to be a jerk, I wait to pass. I signal my pass, and as I am passing, the same CaBi guy passes without any announcing himself! While I didn’t get there in time to be certain, I have a feeling he jumped his turn through the CCC tunnel too.

So, do CaBi’s have bells? Same guy on the CaBi passed me going up the airport hill again with no audible pass call. So, I told him to call his passes. He responded he did to which I said it wasn’t very loud and he claimed it was due to the airport.To which I suggested that he do it louder. So, I was able to hear this entire conversation with him as he was past me and riding away, so clearly he can speak louder. If the bikes have bells, perhaps I will recommend that he use that next time. And judging by the pedestrian reactions as he passed them (since I follow him onto the CCC), they were not able to hear him either and there wasn’t the same airport excuse.

Otherwise the commute was very humid, but good.

[DrP]

NPR had a short piece on the increase in bike injuries today too:

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/09/02/436662737/as-more-adults-pedal-their-biking-injuries-and-deaths-are-spiking-too

[DrP]

So, was the Crystal City hub of Revolution just too early for its time? (Or were rents just too high in CC? I could see either or both reasons) I used it to purchase items (brake pads, lube, etc.) since it was convenient to my office. Now, I would be more likely to use it to get something fixed/looked at while at work. I know some of my co-workers would use such a location with bike issues (one just broke a spoke on his ride in last week and couldn’t get to his home LBS until the weekend) too. I have noticed in the past few years a LOT more cyclists in Crystal City, both folks going to and from work. It might be more commercially viable now. There does appear to be a repair person who comes to CC on Thursdays during the day to do some repairs, but that isn’t always convenient either since an appointment is recommended (as per the CC BID page) and problems do not all occur to be timed for that. However, that is still an improvement over no other option. Any way to let other LBS’ looking to expand that a need may be here?

[DrP]

I like the poster idea – and at CaBi stations – make it part of the kiosk. I just think that something you can view when not already on the trail, and more open to reading something like, as stated, just hanging around waiting for the bike, shoe salesman to get your size, or what have you is what is needed.

[DrP]

I usually cross early Sunday mornings when the traffic is light. I am also good at waiting – I do not want to be killed nor do I want to make people stop for me. I know this is not normal behavior in people crossing any roadway (as I see people saunter across roads assuming all will stop for them.).

The chain-link fence clearly isn’t stopping the crossing, so what is it for?

Moving the crossing a little further west/north might make sense too. The options NPS put in do not make sense for people on foot or bike (great for the cars who are enjoying the park, however). It is much to far to go around nor is it obvious that you need to do so the first few times you cross (I had no idea the other ways around when I first crossed the bridge years ago. I come off the Rock Creek trail and see the bridge. I go towards it. I get to the other side and see the trail below me. I see no way to cross the road, nor that there is a way to get to the trail from that side either). That whole area is a mess.

[DrP]

They have signs on much of the CCT and in sections of the W&OD and other trails in the area. I do not see that they help, probably because folks are on the trail and already listening to their music, their companion, their inner urge to just go faster or whatever. Perhaps if there were more signs, it might work too, but reaching out to folks when they have more time to review it – especially newbies who want to do it right – is another approach. It will probably help some as will more signs. Like most problems, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. This is just another way to reach a subset of folks. For me, a piece of paper works better than a sign, but a sign helps. On-line, text, twitter, etc. would not do me any good at all (I used technology, especially advanced technology, at work, so I avoid it at other times).

[DrP]

Me: Cycling along on the MVT along the airport by the long term parking, i.e., where all the blind curves are. Sure the four cyclists in front of me are not going super fast, but they are keeping a good enough pace to get through this unsafe to pass so many people at once location.

You: One of a trio of twenty-somethings that do not announce your passes (your leader passed me earlier too, to meet up with the rest of you at the CCC, and no peep from her then either), that decided that you needed to pass all five of us on the blind curves. So, you do not see the woman walking on the trail in the other direction and nearly hit her! Sure, you grabbed some break, but if she didn’t react well and jump to the side, you would have hit her head on and it was ALL YOUR FAULT! I didn’t even hear you apologize to her as you just continued on your way.

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