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Just finished my first ever full week of commuting. Looks like a grand total of 136 miles for the week and I don’t feel completely dead!

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@btj 62724 wrote:

You: Two roadies riding on the double yellow line, err, in the world’s skinniest bike lane, across the Key Bridge yesterday morning with plenty of traffic moving at speed both ways.
Me: Watching with dread, hoping I don’t see an accident. (They made it across unscathed)

Whoa.

I’ve often wondered when I’m going to see something like this followed by some sort of epic bike crash coupled with someone flipping over the railings into the water below. My brain sometimes thinks like a Bruce Willis movie…

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@TwoWheelsDC 62701 wrote:

What’s crazy is that ACPD escorts the Freshbikes ride down that section of Glebe every week and, from what I’ve seen, works very well with the shop and all the riders.

I wonder if they take the lane? :p

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Any lower cost alternatives to the Go-Pro? I’m pondering a camera just for documentation purposes if ever necessary, but i’m not sure I wonder if I need “full on HD awesomeness”.

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@cyclingfool 62675 wrote:

Interesting (and scary) sight this morning around 9:15 as I rode onto the 14th St Bridge this AM from the VA side. I’m in the separated bike lane, naturally, but there was a guy on a bicycle heading south in traffic!!! I only caught a quick glimpse of him because:

1) I wasn’t really expecting to see a cyclist there; and
2) It was right at the beginning of the bridge for me and I was just rounding the turn onto the bridge.

He appeared to be hugging the jersey wall/fence really tight and looked like he was to be getting onto the exit ramp towards GW Parkway. I can only assume that he got confused/lost trying to find the bike and ped infrastructure on the bridge, but still a bit shocking, scary, and odd all at once. Guy was in jeans, t-shirt or polo, and baseball cap. It looked like he had a Surly head tube badge on his bike. It was just a surreal sight for many reasons. Hope he made it off the road OK and that next time he finds the separated active transportation lane/path.

Yikes! I know when I try a new route/area I end up spending a lot of time walking my bike around trying to find the right paths/connections. Hope this fellow learns to do that too!

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@Tim Kelley 62666 wrote:

Walter Tejada has had various fitness/transportation initiatives over the years (FitArlington and PAL).

Jay Fisette is a big bike to work fan and has even joined up with the FreshBikes Tuesday night rides on occasion.

Bios & contact info here: http://www.arlingtonva.us/Departments/CountyBoard/meetings/members/CountyBoardMeetingsMembersMain.aspx

Thanks for this. My tentative “complaint” is attached. Having NEVER contacted these types of folks before, I hope its appropriate. I can’t think of any missing details…:

I am not a constituent of yours and don’t live in Arlington County, but some residents have suggested contacting you about my experience this morning.

I am a bike commuter who rides to work each day from Takoma Park, MD. I have around 2000 miles from bike commuting this year, so I would say I am not an inexperienced rider.

This morning (~9:00 AM), I was riding up Glebe Road between Chain Bridge and Marymount University. My understanding of VA’s bike laws are that I should ride as far to the right as is safe. In my experience, if I do not “take the lane” cars regularly pass me closer than the 2 feet limit imposed by VA law. Consequently, I “take the lane” during this area of my commute. I was riding at my typical pace of 16 mph (according to my GPS) and a small Fiat 500 passed me extremely closely. An officer on a motorcycle drove by and proceeded to block me and pull me over for not riding far enough into the right of the lane. He lectured me about VA bike laws requiring me to ride on the right of the lane in a very condescending manner. His behavior was extremely unprofessional, particularly with an off-handed remark that “you guys (cyclists) make these roads more dangerous.” I am concerned that this points to negative attitudes of law enforcement in Arlington towards bike commuters.

I attempted to explain my reasons for doing so, and that I was obeying VA law by “taking the lane” which discourages drivers from making unsafe passes. He refused to listen and interrupted me to make his “dangerous cyclists” remark. He let me go with a verbal warning, so I don’t have any documentation of his name or badge number. I was, frankly, shocked that he pulled me over and was so confrontational in berating me for just trying to get to work.

Several members of the WABA community have assured me I am legally in the right and suggested that I contact you about this incident and perhaps having something done about it. If I was legally wrong, I am happy to adjust my habits and find alternative routes to ride. However, I think this points to at least one instance of a police officer being overly disrespectful to a citizen and being misinformed on the laws for cyclists. With the increases in bike commuting in the DC area, I think it is important to eliminate prejudice against cyclists and to assure that law enforcement is properly trained on how to protect us, who are much more vulnerable than the several ton machines that we encounter daily.

Many thanks for your attention to this matter and I look forward to a response at your convenience.

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Definitely going to try this route tonight. Sounds like a winner! I never feel safe with the Glebe drivers, who seem to love excessive speeding. I can cruise at 30 on my way home and they still fly by me. Those speedy Prius’s and BMW’s are a real pain!

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Anyone know a good council person to contact about this? Or would the ACPD non-emergency line be best? I’m not exactly familiar with the area and transportation is an issue since I bike. Plus, time is at an all-time low with the start of the new semester.

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@dasgeh 62620 wrote:

I assume from the warning you have his badge number. Please, please, please report him. If this guys ends up responding a non-missed connection, it could cause problems for others.

It was a verbal warning only, so no badge number. I was so shocked that I got pulled over, my wits escaped me. I was questioning if I was even legally in the right.

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Missed connection from the Fiat 500 on North Glebe Road a little north of Marymount University. Luckily a cop saw the whole thing (or so I thought). He pulled me over for not hugging the curb while i’m riding. When I hug the curb cars don’t give me any space when passing and try to squeeze through. I tried to explain this to him, but he wouldn’t hear any of it. I tried to clarify what I should do, but he just wanted to lecture me. I may look like a 20 year old college kid joy-riding on my bike, but i’m a 30 year old professor of astrophysics trying to get to work. Treat me with some respect and have a conversation with me so I can clarify what you expect me to do. This is a 4 lane road (2 each way). It is unsafe for me to hug the right curb since it encourages cars to be in the lane with me. I ride far enough to the left (about 1/3 into the lane) that if they want to pass me they should use the left lane. This seems reasonable to me for the low traffic times that I plan my commutes. I’m riding in a position that I deem as safe (according to VA’s bike laws, “Bicyclists operating a bicycle on a roadway at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place under conditions then existing shall ride as close as safely practicable to the right curb or edge of roadway.”) and i’m not impeding traffic since they can get around me.

I really don’t think I was in the wrong here. Its consistent with the REI cycling skills course I took (I think). Happily he just gave me a warning, but the comment “these roads are dangerous enough without you people on them” was uncalled for.

From now on it looks like i’ll get good at climbing and just brave the hills of Military Road on my way to Chain Bridge from now on, but this seriously shows me why more people don’t bike. If you follow the law, you’ll get hit. If you follow what’s safe, you’ll get ticketed (potentially).

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Anyone else having Endomondo issues with it not reading their Garmin’s? I’ve got an Edge 200 and the site seems stuck at “Saving Workouts” on the new workout upload.
I’m getting back to full-time work with the semester starting again so I need to log my big (for me!) miles again! Gotta beat Gainesville!

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@Tim Kelley 60780 wrote:

http://www.treehugger.com/cars/study-reveals-obvious-rich-are-different-you-and-me-especially-behind-wheel.html

Weren’t we just talking about BMW drivers being the worst? Or was it Prius drivers?

Prius’s are particularly bad because you can’t hear them coming. Plus their jealous of bikers’ miles per gallon.

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@KLizotte 60525 wrote:

I’ve always wanted to visit Chincoteague and Assateague. Please let us know how the riding is there. Are the bugs bad? Is it worth hauling a bike there?

Riding there is fantastic! The island is nice and flat so it’s the easiest riding I’ve done since starting my commuting. I’d definitely recommend hauling bikes there. In fact, when we go, we park at our rental and ride our bikes almost everywhere that we want to go. The island is small and quiet and very bike friendly.

As long as you coat your leg liberally in bug spray (100% deet) you should be fine.

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@Greenbelt 60519 wrote:

And being chased by a mosquito or two I’d wager.

Indeed! Those bugs bite through your bike shorts. Great motivation for spinning. Faster you spin, the lower chance a mosquito could latch on!

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Chasing wild ponies.

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