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@creadinger 200297 wrote:

Tell me you yelled “Duck!” when you almost got hit by a duck but ducking was what saved you from that ducking duck! That’s like the absolute most perfect time to yell that word ever.

I did say something that sounded a lot like “Duck!” and might have been it. Let’s go with that, much better for family audiences than what I probably said. I definitely said things like “ducking duck!” afterwards. [And I was trying to figure out what it was that the other ducks didn’t like about the duck who landed in the puddle, which caused the other ducks to leave so suddenly. So “duck” was repeatedly stated. ]

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@DrP 199899 wrote:

I think for the early morning flights CGATC has just gotten a little lazy. So few non-avians to worry about and so many birds out there, they just let them take off without checking the area first assuming we will move (I know I do not want to be hit – they are pretty big and can fly at over 40mph! That will hurt!).

So DATC (Duck Air Traffic Control) is slipping too. Yesterday morning, three ducks were sitting in a big puddle near gravely point, not far from the trail. Another duck came in for a landing. All looked safe for me to keep biking on the trail since the landing path was parallel to the trail. That duck lands and the other three take off, two nearly into me – I had to duck for one duck and grab my brakes for the other. I am very surprised that no one got hit.

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@sjclaeys 200005 wrote:

Nope, nor did the they replace the railing that has been missing since July. If only there was an organization within Arlington County to raise these issues.

Still not replaced as of this morning (4/17). So much for getting to it the following week.

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W&OD now open going under Carlin Springs Rd. Looks like they added stone to support the trail and re-fit the area that was falling apart with concrete. So, one can now ride or walk through now, allowing for extra social distancing given that both trails under the road are now open.

I do not recall if they fixed the gap in the railing that was under the road (I thought I saw some orange fencing, but maybe not – I was on the 4MRT side looking over while keeping socially distant from other trail users, so did not get the best look)

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@Steve O 199901 wrote:

Do you mean the east side?

Yes. (since usually I am heading south overall on my trips through there, I mention the south direction, while technically there and the Custis as a whole it is mostly east – which is clear at sunrise)

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@dasgeh 199892 wrote:

I happened to have ridden by (on essential travel to my office, weeks ago) when they were installing everything. The County’s bike/ped planner, who’s in charge of the data program was there. I’m fairly certain it’s installed correctly.

So, then the monolith probably only takes four inputs and there will not be a directional component to the data.

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@creadinger 199895 wrote:

I would have thought that Canada Goose Air Traffic Control would have been essential personnel, but maybe they’re teleworking from Roach’s Run these days.

I think for the early morning flights CGATC has just gotten a little lazy. So few non-avians to worry about and so many birds out there, they just let them take off without checking the area first assuming we will move (I know I do not want to be hit – they are pretty big and can fly at over 40mph! That will hurt!).

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IOD area update 1:
I noticed almost 2 weeks ago that the monolith is now up and running! Numbers aren’t too high, as expected given the current situation.
However, I also noticed that the trail had been marked to have double-double diamond sensors for each side of the trail (two side-by-side for trail width and two-front-to-back for direction). However, the actual installation is only one pair of sensors for side of the trail. They give the width of the trail, but not the direction of travel. Given the width of the trail, it is more likely that the side of the trail will give direction, but that is definitely not guaranteed. Not sure if the construction crew didn’t understand or if the monolith could only take four inputs.

IOD area update 2:
The trail on the south side of the IOD is now full width (same as on the island between Ft Meyers Drive and Lynn St), for a short bit. This is helpful for crossing the road and getting across safely (except for the light pole), but heading south, the trail goes back to the regular trail width, so there is a quick merge, but there may be enough time when the area is crowded again. Also the sidewalk on Lynn St is open again.

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Me: Biking south on the MVT just past the 14th street and railroad bridges.
You: a goose starting to run towards me head and neck down like protecting a mate, but there is no mate…
Me: “Oh Shiiiiii***”, grab brakes
You: continue running and becoming airborne across the trail, just where my bicycle would have been had I not grabbed my brakes
Me: Phew! and continue on my ride.
You: Joining all your goose buds flying over the river

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@ursus 199657 wrote:

I just tried this today. There is a police car blocking the path which leads from Banneker Park Circle toward the Case Bridge.

This morning I found the following web site from NPS: https://www.nps.gov/nama/learn/management/record-of-determination-for-the-temporary-public-road-and-pedestrian-access-closure-of-the-tidal-basin-to-prevent-the-spread-of-covid-19-during-the-cherry-blossom-festival.htm

It indicates that the whole area is closed from 7am to 8pm each day (which may be why I saw people on the bridge around 7am on Tuesday. It expires on Sunday (unless they extend it, I suppose)). There is a map showing it all being closed. I ended up metro-ing over to my appointment.

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@Hancockbs 199605 wrote:

You could try going up to L’Enfant from the Wharf at 9th St SW, cross the Francis Case Memorial pedestrian bridge into East Potomac, then take Ohio over to East Basin drive. I imagine that would route you around the road blocks on the DC side. Not much choice coming from the Virginia side.

Meaning that I cannot go anywhere once I get to DC from VA if I am on the 14th street bridge? From the DDOT page it almost looks like I can be on the sidewalk to get to the wharf area and then could go up 7th (or 9th, I guess) to get to the L’Enfant area. But the little bit from the bridge to that part of Maine is not entirely devoid of closures, it looks like.

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@Smitty2k1 199598 wrote:

A friend of mine lives in SW DC near the Wharf and works at DCA as a mechanic (he is still working as planes are still flying). National Guard stopped him from going home last night after a 12 hour shift and he had to detour all the way to Georgetown to get back to SW DC. Ouch.

Does this mean that one cannot use 14th bridge? I saw people on it this morning. Or is it that the roads near the wharf are closed? I will need to get to an appointment near L’Enfant Thursday and since Metro is discouraging riders, I thought I would CaBi there from South Arlington. If I cannot get there from the 14th street bridge (or Memorial) that changes the trip entirely.

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@lordofthemark 198362 wrote:

Thanks again to Casey for bringing me the graphite at PY, when he had yet ANOTHER civic meeting to attend and so could not even stay for the presentation.

Sadly, the graphite lube did not help, nor did WD-40. I may try spending more time trying, but I don’t think that will work.

At this point I need to saw through it? (A locksmith would be wimping out? And what would they do?)

What kind of saw do I need?

I had my OnGuard lock stop working. It took me about 5 min to get it to unlock my bike from the rack with coaxing. When I got it home, I could not open it again. I tried multiple keys for it. No luck. I tried 3-in-1 lube and after sitting in the lock for several days, it would open. I can now open and close it, but I am using my kryptonite lock at the moment (with an arbus flexible lock to get the other wheel), because I am not trusting it. The OnGuard lock would regularly get wet as it would sit outside my bag in the rain as I rode, so I think it was rust and it took a while to get it all moving again.
So, I think oil or lube will work, but it needs to be in the lock a little time. Since it is on the bike, you probably do want the saw option. A locksmith would likely do the same. You might call one and see if they have a suggested product or approach to loosen the lock if the oil is taking long.

Good luck. I think all the locks can run into this situation. It all depends on where and how we keep it.

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@huskerdont 197307 wrote:

Since you were like half a mile behind me on the leaderboard yesterday and will inevitably pass me today, surely that was a feature, not a bug.

There was a strong burnt something-repair-like (rather than, say, wood) odor as I rode through. Smelled like something was welded. I remembered the post about the work after I went through, so I wasn’t looking for anything.

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@dasgeh 196910 wrote:

I have biked a lot for a long time, and I do not think a blinking light helps identify bikes. It just makes it hard to tell how far away you are.

This is a sign of the overall problem – we all find different things helpful and not helpful or annoying or whatever it is that isn’t just how we each like it. I like the blinking lights and the solid lights (don’t cover them up and disappear – did you fall? were you attacked? are you hiding to attack me? is there a problem in the trail that I need to worry about? (on parts of the W&OD, people seem to cover them way before I can see the person with my light so these thoughts run through my head. On the Custis, there are too many turns and street lights)). You and others do not like these for all sorts of different logic-based reasons. Is it right or wrong? I doubt we can find something that makes everyone happy. At some point we all just need to deal with everyone else to keep surviving.

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