[eminva]

I have had these for almost three years. As far as I know, no one has tried to tamper with them, although I am pretty careful about where I leave my bike. I have no difficulty with the key, but it is another thing to carry around and a bit slower than quick release if you are removing tires often.

Liz

[eminva]

So glad you were not hurt! What a terrible experience.

Were you on the sidewalk itself? If so, might an alternative be to take the lane across the bridge at this time of day to avoid these knuckleheads or get out of danger more easily and quickly? (I don’t know what traffic is like then — wouldn’t be a great option at the height of rush hour due to congestion).

I sent an email to Jim Sebastian late last month with lovely pictures of those traffic barrels and a request that they be removed. I didn’t hear back so I just renewed my request today. If anyone has an idea for non-twitter way to contact the appropriate authorities in DC, let me know (not part of the twitterverse myself).

Liz

[eminva]

@PotomacCyclist 6262 wrote:

How well do the lobster gloves hold up in 0F temperatures? I may have to get a pair for this winter.

Not sure it’s ever been that cold on my commute, but I’ve used the lobster gloves all the way down to 15F (with accompanying wind chill) and been okay. Never felt I needed a more substantial solution.

Liz

[eminva]

It can take a while, but sometimes the most unlikely casual cyclists become enthusiasts. Seven years ago, when I still lived in DC, my son attended a day camp in another part of DC so I had to drive him there and then go on to work. My normal commute was on metro so I didn’t realize how many people were commuting by bike and I was astonished that some of them looked like regular people like me. After a few too many bad days on the Red Line, I got on my husband’s way too big bike (I didn’t have my own) and gave it a try, with help from neighbors who were way ahead of me. Almost right away I bought myself a hybrid, but I was still not an enthusiast by any stretch of the imagination. But I did ride two or three days a week, eleven miles round trip on that sturdy hybrid, with bicycle shorts being my only concession to cycling gear. I also sometimes did errands and grocery runs by bike.

Four years ago we moved to Virginia, my commute increased substantially and my bike was stolen. I was getting gradually sucked in, though, and replaced the stolen hybrid with a road bike to better facilitate my longer commute. It’s taken a while, but I’ve worked my way to daily commuter and at some point perhaps crossed the line to “enthusiast.”

Nonetheless, from my perspective there are obstacles. Bicycle shops can be intimidating places for the uninitiated. There was a mechanic at the shop where I bought my first bike who didn’t even trust me to pump up the tires and told me to bring it in for that. I am progressing, but am still an extreme novice as a mechanic. I do believe the more you ride, the more you need to know about maintaining the bike yourself, but this can be off putting for people like Joe mentioned who might not be interesting in cycling per se, even if they are open to using it as a tool to get places.

I also use Plus3 and am interested to know how many Kudos Pete has. I have 1337 for the month of July — I wonder how many multiples of that he has!

Liz

[eminva]

I’m not familiar with the MVT at all, but another solution in situations where heavily used MUTs cross heavily used roadways is an overpass — used to great effect up and down the W&OD (e.g., at Route 7) and of course, the Custis. Obviously a more expensive solution, but haven’t we reached the critical mass of users on the MVT where that should be considered?

Liz

[eminva]

And there’s one today:

You: A 70-something, maybe 80-something cyclist. Kudos for being out on the second hottest day of the year!

Me: The commuter who was catching up to you just before the Gallows Road crossing on the W&OD trail.

Perhaps you didn’t notice, but there is a traffic signal at this intersection. You can press a button, wait for the light, and then traffic will stop for you to cross the intersection. Some cyclists also wait for a break in traffic and cross without waiting for the light. But you just blithely crossed without checking for traffic. I am SO glad the cars saw you in time and stopped. But I am very worried — I guess I can’t say in a maternal way, since you looked to be about my dad’s age — but still, I worry when I see you do stuff like that. Nearly scared me to death. Please use the traffic signal next time, okay?

P.S. You might want to stop at Spokes and pick up a helmet, too.

[eminva]

@Jsnyd 5986 wrote:

I rode the WOD yesterday for the first time. YAY!

Welcome to the W&OD!

@Jsnyd 5986 wrote:

Having had my time in the service, I like to follow the rules if there are rules set.

In Falls Church, there are signs in the middle of the street at all the W&OD crossings reminding drivers that by state law, they should yield to trail users. And yet trail users have stop signs. Even if everyone tried to follow the rules, there would be confusion, or a lot of people stopping and waiting for someone else to go. Add to that the fact that so many drivers and trail users make no attempt to follow the rules, and it can get complicated quickly.

I have also experienced near misses at intersections where I am stopping and the cyclist behind me wants to speed ahead. I’ve started to anticipate this scenario and if I hear or see another cyclist right behind me, I slow down as I approach the intersection so they have the opportunity to pass me before we get there. I go so slowly down the hill at Rosslyn that no one could possibly be surprised that I stop at the intersections, too.

Liz

[eminva]

I have no experience on the MVT or GW Parkway.

On the Custis I always obey the bicycle traffic signals (and stop at Quinn), but coming outbound I look over my shoulder at N. Oak Street even if I have the green light to make sure I don’t get right hooked.

On the W&OD — At a minimum, I do a rolling stop and am always prepared to come to a full stop. In Falls Church, there are a lot of intersections and some of them have little traffic so if I can go through with a rolling stop, that’s what I do. When motorists stop and motion me through, I check the other direction and if clear, I proceed. If not clear, I’ll wait and often the oncoming motorist will see the first guy stopped and come to a stop, too.

Not sure what can be done to make it safer. I’ve long thought that public safety officials need to do a better job of educating the public about what those zebra-stripey lines across a street mean (and not just limited to places that are trail crossings, the same holds true in marked crossings across the city and suburbs).

Liz

[eminva]

They ought to set up shop at Custis & N. Lynn Street. Man, will they get an earful.

Liz

[eminva]

I saw them at the same spot at about 5:30. I couldn’t stop because I was already running late for officiating at my kid’s swim meet. If I see them on a day when I am less pressed for time, I will stop.

Liz

[eminva]

Can I still sign up for a Saturday shift? Might bring my 10-year-old along, too. We might even ride our bikes there.

Hard to believe I have lived in the DC area for 26 years and a couple of those in Arlington and I never knew there was an Arlington County Fair. Is there a pie baking contest? Not that I can bake a pie, nor do I live in Arlington.

Ann, didn’t you get a new bike recently? Which one is that?

Liz

[eminva]

Congratulations! Glad you got to see the scenery out that way. It is a very nice ride and I do it as often as time allows. My husband and I rode out to Herndon on Tuesday evening (20 mile roundtrip for us).

Gee, my husband and son are out of town too and I spent the day cleaning. Hmmm. Must not be doing this right.

Liz

[eminva]

Excellent Summary, thanks!

I haven’t been able to watch because I don’t have Versus and it looked like there were a lot of technical problems with the online subscription you could buy from NBC Sports (.com), so I passed rather than paying $30 for the privilege of subjecting myself to that kind of frustration. I’ve been reading about it in the newspaper and online and of course I saw the coverage of THE crash. That was horrible, but what a fighter one has to be to continue after that.

I agree, it’s hard to tell who’s the favorite at this point. Will be a very interesting week!

Thanks.

Liz

[eminva]

A few other unfavorite intersections:

Fairfax and North Wakefield — this is the intersection between Glebe and the path to the Custis Trail. When I’m coming west, the bike lane ends and I’m never sure if I’m supposed to stay in the street (mixing it up with cars about to enter an interstate) or move onto the “sidewalk.” I use the term loosely because the condition of the sidewalk is terrible (for that matter, so is the pavement in the street), the curb cuts are in the wrong place and there are cars coming and going from all directions. Like Lynn Street, I fear for my life. I often wonder what it would be like in a wheelchair.

Crossing the Key Bridge on the “downstream” side of the bridge — the exit ramp for the Whitehurst Freeway, which has also been mentioned here before.

Liz

[eminva]

@SteveTheTech 5839 wrote:

Does anyone use a Presta valve specific tire pressure gauge that does not let too much air out? I suck at hitting the 100+ psi mark when using my carry along pump, not that I can’t I always think it’s enough about 20% too low. I carry several tools already why not one more….

In the bike shops, I’ve been told you don’t have to get it up to the full 100+ psi; it’s okay for it to be a little lower just so you can ride on it until you get home or some place where you can use a floor pump (e.g., a bike shop along your route). There is no way in the world I could pump up a tire to 100 psi or more without a floor pump, or some way of getting leverage.

Otherwise, this is a topic about which I do not speak — like a baseball player, I have all sorts of crazy superstitions to help me avoid flats, and like a baseball player, I can’t discuss them. 😮

Liz

[Author]

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