eminva
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eminva
ParticipantI’ll make one of my rare posts to say I’ll be there to see dkel and SarahBee.
Liz
eminva
ParticipantHi Steve — Do you still have a ticket? The class I was supposed to teach got canceled. Thanks!
Liz
eminva
ParticipantBe sure to check the forecast before heading out! Could be stormy. Or clear and sunny. You ride a bike and know how it is around here. But anyway, just FYI, we have routine flooding out in the Vienna stream valleys.
Liz
May 9, 2018 at 2:39 pm in reply to: Custis Trail Intersection Improvements – Construction to begin later this month #1087224eminva
ParticipantHello —
+1 for loving the detour. This was my first day bike commuting this week so I don’t know exactly when it happened, but the trail section between Quinn and Oak is open now. Coming inbound, when I returning to the trail from the road at Quinn, there seems to be some kind of gutter between the curb cut and the street. I hit that at my usual somewhat cautious downhill pace and got launched. Was not expecting a mountain bike feature on my morning commute (on the road bike to boot) so it is a two ice pack morning for the elderly shoulders.
I didn’t stop to examine it closely, but did anyone else find the transition a little rough?
Liz
eminva
ParticipantWow, interesting, Bobco! Quite an adventure. Wonder if you could get there by kayak, if you were so inclined? I’m not a kayaker so I have no idea if that is even possible or where you would start.
I came upon the bridge to nowhere following the cue sheet through Oxon Hill Farm Park. I had to do a wet foot crossing. May have been able to ride across, but the opposite bank looked steep and muddy and my legs were in no shape for adventure by that point.
Liz
eminva
ParticipantThank you lordofthemark for shepherding me through much of Virginia. Alexandria was the part that was least familiar to me. You were a great guide, especially for the novice cyclist whose friends had abandoned him!
Here are some photos — I made it all the way and saw 33 stones. I am curious to know if anyone made it to the stone in the woods near Eastern and Kenilworth (or has made it in the previous years)? I had no idea how far back it was and the area looked like folks use it as a waste dump, so I took a pass.
Also, there is a final SE stone down by the Potomac River just west of I-295. Has anyone been there?
Rod? Bobco?
Other than that, I missed two of the ones in Arlington backyards; didn’t want to go traipsing through at the risk of someone exercising their 2nd amendment rights. Also missed the two in Dalecarlia (I didn’t realize you can see one from the CCT and I was alone then). I missed the one at Blue Plains — was afraid of losing daylight — as well as that one by the Potomac, and I’m not even sure how I would have gotten to it anyway. But saw all the rest!
Liz
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ParticipantThese were scattered throughout Farragut Square this morning:
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eminva
ParticipantIt’s just their way of congratulating you for your victory in the “Grand Grand Grand Masters division.”
Liz
June 12, 2017 at 3:23 pm in reply to: 22 Mile Trail Parallel to I-66 — Helpful Video and Input Needed #1072039eminva
ParticipantThese are all really great comments — again, if you can’t attend a meeting and haven’t already contacted VDOT, I implore you to cut and paste your comment and send it to Transform66@VDOT.Virginia.gov.
The discussion here has been helpful for me to formulate my comment, so by all means, keep talking here, but also let VDOT know. They are the ones who can do something about it.
Thanks, everyone.
Liz
eminva
Participant@creadinger 161065 wrote:
Love the way you dropped him! What was the message there? I mean I generally hate wheel suckers too, but is that better or worse than a guy passing you ‘because you’re a girl’, then you have to pass him back because you’re actually stronger and fitter? Neither scenario is great.
It was more in the category of being slightly freaked out by someone following me who had not communicated in any way. It impacts my sense of safety. I sped up, he fell back and then worked hard to catch up. I slowed down and he bided his time behind me. I couldn’t shake him or get him to go around. In this case, it was a busy day on the trail so I was not worried, but in the dead of winter when the same headlight is right behind me for five miles, with few other cyclists or pedestrians around . . . that does worry me. I start thinking about what 7-Elevens closest to the trail are coming up.
If he said, “Hey, it was a nice day and I overdid it. I totally bonked on the way home. Can I follow you for a while?” I probably would have said, “Sure!” It’s all a matter of communicating intent.
Just FYI: I posted this on Facebook. Response from male friends was muted; a few complimented me on the drop. My female friends, cyclists but especially non-cyclists, expressed concern for my safety, describing the behavior as “creepy.”
@creadinger 161065 wrote:
As a large guy, I think I tend to draw wheel suckers to me because my draft is like a semi compared to you 100lb dudes and dudettes. After taking a break for a few minutes they always fly by me without any acknowledgement. Sad!
That is sad. They should take a turn.
@creadinger 161065 wrote:
Lastly – what camera is that? I’ve been meaning to get a rear view.
Cycliq Fly 6 — an earlier version of what they offer now.
Liz
eminva
Participanteminva
ParticipantI’ll take Judd’s bait.
I think the blog post raised several distinct issues. To the extent it perhaps conflated some of those issues, I feel regret and a sense of missed opportunity. In the end, it probably doesn’t matter because the folks who need to see themselves will likely not read the blog or if they do, not see themselves in it.
1. The paths are crowded, getting more so, and there is a small subset of cyclists, most of them men but some women too, who behave in a fashion that makes the experience unpleasant or unsafe for other trail users. He dispatched with this issue with the standard WABA advice in his first set of bullet points. I think it is sound advice and would concur with all he said.
2. From there, he pivots to a discussion of sexism on the trails. I’ll get back to sexism in a minute, but in my opinion, it’s not so easy — the bad behavior he just described affects not just women, but impacts other cyclists, runners, dog walkers, children, dogs — of both genders. I have witnessed a cyclist let fly a string of obscenities at an elementary school age girl who was suddenly in his path while he moved into oncoming traffic to make a pass on a blind curve on the Custis. Something tells me he wouldn’t have a different response if it were a little boy. I also wonder if the out of shape men I see struggling on the trail don’t feel the same condescension? If not worse? And would they admit it if they did? I imagine the “entitled macho nonsense” might be an even bigger barrier for men who are not part of the lycra fraternity.
3. Sexism — Like any woman, I have been subjected to comments about my appearance — mostly by drivers or pedestrians — but I consider this an issue for our larger society more than the cycling community. As for condescending comments about seat height, mechanical issues, etc., sadly it appears to be real, though I wonder if that’s less sexism and more a function of super devoted cycling evangelists trying to educate the unworthy? And because most super devoted cycling evangelists are men, it comes across as condescending sexism?
What does annoy me? (And I’m cribbing from a comment I wrote on Strava this morning): For my own part, if I pass a guy (and I think long and hard before I pass any guy, no matter how slow) and he musters the effort to pass me but then slows down to original pace, I just slow down too and go his pace — it’s not worth the effort IMO. Understand, I’m not talking about two people going about the same speed but have relative strengths/weaknesses on hills or what not — I’m talking about a much slower cyclist who is making an obvious effort not to lose the “race” to a “girl.” Even if the race is only in his mind.
4. Personal Safety — I suspect women think about this a lot more than men — in fact, my first post to the forum was asking about etiquette around unannounced drafting. For my part, if I’m stopped by the side of the trail with a mechanical or flat, I don’t mind another cyclist offering help, no matter how inartfully worded, but I guess reasonable minds can differ as to the wording. I always say, “Do you have everything you need?” What they need could include expertise, but I’m making no assumptions. If you want to ride in my slipstream — especially if the trails are uncrowded — please say something. I won’t speak for others, but for me it goes beyond courtesy; it impacts my sense of personal security.
I’ll end as I began: the folks who need the wake up call probably won’t read any of this or see themselves in it if they do. What they need is the cycling equivalent of my old softball captain, an affable guy who would take aside the guys who took it too seriously and tell them to find a competitive men’s league if they want to hold themselves and others to a high standard. If you find yourself yelling at little kids on the trail, you need to find some fast company and a group ride on the roads.
Liz
eminva
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[Considers whether to blow off son’s four hour performance to do this cool thing instead]
eminva
Participant@bobco85 160331 wrote:
What does it actually look like now?
I’ll take some pics of the situation during my lunch break if no one else has any.
I can do another video on my way home if need be.
Liz
eminva
Participant@Steve O 160314 wrote:
This is still a fail. County put up 3 signs total, one of which is not even placed where it will be encountered from the previous one. This is barely an improvement.
Thank you for your persistence, Steve — maybe it’s time to drop a dime on The Washington Post? Dr. Gridlock, Ashley Halsey, one of the Metro columnists like Petula Dvorak?
Or local business columnist which would most certainly get Clark’s attention?
Liz
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