[eminva]

Dismal Scientist, where do you ride on M Street to pass all the traffic? Do you swing into oncoming traffic eastbound? It’s so thick there I can’t figure out any other way around it.

From westbound M Street, I turn right on 28th Street, left on N Street and another left on 34th Street to avoid all that in the evening. It does add a couple of blocks to the distance but it seems to move a bit faster. 34th Southbound is a parking lot too, but there is more space to the left and right of the cars to get by.

Liz

[eminva]

Hello —

I work at 18th & L. I cross Key Bridge, right on M Street to Pennsylvania, then left on L Street. If anyone has a great idea for negotiating (or avoiding) that difficult turn, I’m all ears.

I think some of you hit the trail significantly earlier than I do. If you ever do a late shift, maybe we do cross paths.

Liz

[eminva]

Brett, great article! Congrats and I hope you keep the streak alive even through parenthood (hopefully you won’t fall asleep on the bike).

I can’t speak for Brett, but I am a near daily commuter and I do think that bicyclists are cognizant of pedestrians, for the most part. When I am on the trail during the week the pedestrians are usually limited to joggers, dog walkers and commuters on foot (especially near Dunn Loring and EFC, and Ballston on the Custis). My average speed for the Vienna to L Street round trip is 12 or 13 miles per hour, however, even going that slowly I am sometimes startled by ninja joggers or walkers. You can’t see them no matter how fast or slowly you are going.

On the weekend when the trail is full of families, my personal opinion is that it would be best for speedy cyclists testing out their new time trail bikes to go elsewhere — the back roads of Loudon County, or what have you. So I would agree that the W&OD cannot be all things to all people. However, I think we can and do coexist fairly well.

Liz

[eminva]

Okay, I seemed to have missed this — I listened to WTOP as much as I could today. I thought it was going to be a feature that would be interspersed with the news items today (and repeated a few times), but it sounds like it was a call in show? Is this available on the website? Thanks.

Liz

P.S. I would also strongly urge ninja pedestrians and joggers to wear something, anything, reflective. I acknowledge that signs posted on the trail state, “Closed After Dark”, and if so, I assume that means for pedestrians as well as bicyclists. So if we are all going to be scofflaws busting curfew, best we do it as safely as possible.

[eminva]

Hello kt —

I’ll make no assumptions about your level of conditioning or biking stamina, so I will just refer to my own experiences. My commute is similar (Vienna to DC) and after recovering from health problems, I took my return to bicycle commuting in stepwise fashion. First I started riding from Vienna to East Falls Church and taking metro the rest of the way, then to Ballston (although my bike got stolen from the bike racks there, so beware) until I could do the whole round trip at once. We aren’t allowed to leave bikes over night in the bike cage at my office, but if you are able to and have a secure place to do so, you could commute in on Day 1 by bike, take metro home and back in the a.m., and then bike home on Day 2 until you can do it all on a single day.

This might not apply to you at all, but just a suggestion if the whole thing looks intimidating or too time consuming at first.

Liz

[eminva]

Oh my gosh — is the bike actually blowing away from him (I can’t read Dutch so I don’t know what the caption says)? At least he’s smiling.

+1, Mark — I was worried I would run into a pedestrian on the Key Bridge and Custis. I actually did something I’ve never done, I yelled a more emphatic warning at a pedestrian I was overtaking on the bridge who didn’t heed my first warning. I wasn’t upset or angry at her; I was genuinely concerned for her safety. She was walking right down the middle; maybe because she was also fighting the wind and didn’t want to go too far one way or the other.

Liz

[eminva]

Isn’t this what Bikesnob refers to as “Cat-6 racing?”

Still, I am in awe of both your streak and your speed. I can’t aspire to either, but it is still an inspiration for a more average commuter such as myself.

And I’m glad you said something about the wind tonight, because I was sure it was going to pick me up, bike and all, and drop me off in Oz.

Best wishes with the new baby! You’ll be investigating trailer cycles soon . . .

Liz

[eminva]

Custis and Arlington portion of W&OD are fine as of this morning. The W&OD in Dunn Loring and Vienna is still a bit sloppy.

Venture forth!

Liz

[eminva]

Report from the late shift:

I set out about 8 a.m., picking up the W&OD at Gallows (avoiding the stretch between Cedar and Gallows that takes so long to thaw), riding a standard issue road bike, all the way through to Key Bridge.

I did not fall and I did not have to get off and walk at any point. I did have to go quite slowly through some sections. Especially in the shady spots, there are still some icy stretches. But there was usually at least one narrow patch of bare pavement through those areas.

Hopefully it will warm up nicely today and won’t refreeze by the evening commute.

Thanks to everyone who was posting reports through the last few weeks. It definitely helped!

Liz

[eminva]

I just drove by in Vienna (the Maple Ave and Park St. crossings) and it looks about the same here.

Liz

[eminva]

Ask if there is a freight elevator you can use. I had to work on 12/31 and the parking garage was closed, so the security guard let me take it to my office, but I had to go through the loading dock and up the freight elevator (kinda crazy, since there was no one else around, but oh well).

Good luck.

Liz

[eminva]

This is also a topic of great interest to me, seeing as how my bike was stolen at a metro station three years ago! I also filled out the survey but will expand here, in case Justin is following —

I can’t add much to Will’s well thought out and informed comments. I do like controlled access and would not object to a modest fee, either per use, per year or combo.

At my office, we have a bike locker and you have to get your badge activated to get access. They keep a list of people with access so I assume this adds a layer of security — if a bike is stolen, presumably it would be an “inside job.” If WMATA is adding video surveillance on top of that, all the better.

After my bike was stolen, I got a bike locker. Even though I usually ride all the way to work, I kept the bike locker for convenience. However, the recent price increase is too much for me so I will give up the locker when it is next up for renewal. Therefore, think about cost carefully so you don’t price it above what the market is willing to pay. I am considering adding an “errand bike” to my fleet for days I have to leave the bike at the metro station — something modest enough that it wouldn’t be real attractive to thieves and that I would not be terribly sad about having stolen.

Whatever you do, please add more bike parking at Vienna station (north side)! As it is, there is so little space at the racks that people park bikes to anything vertical in the general vicinity. We definitely need more racks.

Thanks!

Liz

[eminva]

Sorry for my humble photography skills — here is the bike with the glow tube (mine is actually florescent, not LED). I also took some closeups so you can see what it looks like installed and where the battery goes.

Liz

[eminva]

Oops, I stand corrected, I didn’t notice your photo Tim. That’s not me, but I think I’ve seen that guy, too.

I will send you a picture of my bike later.

Liz

[eminva]

Hello Tim —

That was probably me. I will take a picture tonight when the sun goes down so you can get the full effect. My light is amber (I read, perhaps accurately or not, that amber is the one color that is legal in every jurisdiction, and I figured I am riding in so many jurisdictions, better to be safe than sorry and/or do a major research project on vehicle lighting regulations).

I got mine here: http://rockthebike.com/lights/downlowglow

It has a rechargeable battery and fastens on with zip ties, too. It was such a nuisance to get it on I think it would have been easier to build it from scratch, but your mileage may vary depending on your frame.

Liz

[Author]

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