[GovernorSilver]

Assuming I don’t drink excessively, Google Maps says this is a bike friendly route I can take home afterwards. Can I trust it?

https://goo.gl/maps/PAIoH

[GovernorSilver]

@DanB 119788 wrote:

Yeah, I use a bell, but at higher speeds you might be around 80 feet away in order to give 2-3 seconds notice. I just don’t know how well that will be heard if people are talking, if there’s ambient noise (traffic, wind, etc.), … That being said, for those instances where I feel I’m going faster than usual, I try to ding the bell two or three times so pedestrians might get an idea of my speed based on the change in sound. Could work …

I average more like 11 mph. I’m still new to cycling and don’t have great stamina, so I try to save my legs for the few sprints I have to do on the street, and the climb home. I do use the descents north of the airport to boost speed (eg. past Gravelly Point), after which I pedal on my highest gear until the momentum drops off.

I usually ring the bell at a schoolbus length away (which my possibly faulty childhood memory associates with 100 ft), then ring again when I’m about 5 ft. away. I just replaced the bell that came stock with my bike because it fell apart after just two months of bike ownership. The new bell is a brass Incredibell. Usually one ring delivers such resonance and volume that pedestrians immediately start moving to their right.

[GovernorSilver]

Looks like there’s a thunderstorm coming to DC at 5 PM. I was fooled by the Alexandria forecast which said there’s only 10% of rain, starting at 6PM. Both forecasts were on Weather Underground.

[GovernorSilver]

Another pleasant morning ride up the MVT. Saw the posts about Custis Trail and the one in MD and felt quite lucky that yesterday’s rain didn’t affect the usability of the MVT. A jogger apologized as I passed him and I said “It’s ok! The bell is just to let you know I’m coming (not to tell you to get out of my way)”. Not enough time to say the part in parentheses. Oh yeah there was that incident with the cyclist silently attempting to pass both me and a pedestrian – at the same time I was passing the pedestrian (after I’d rung the bell of course). He got forced off the trail. Felt bad about that but I didn’t know he was there.

After crossing 14th St. bridge and coming up the Raoul Wellenberger sidewalk, I followed other cyclists up the street then onto Jefferson. They probably saved me some time as I still tend to obey traffic lights . Decided to try Louisiana Ave all the way to that Union Station half-circle and saw for myself why my other colleagues from Arlington/Alexandria prefer to take their chances with N. Capitol St. instead of taking the First St NE bike lane. Foot traffic is really heavy there. I didn’t mind having to dismount to walk through the crowd as I’d left a bit early and was arriving a bit early to work.

Forgot to flip down my flip visor for defense against bugs but wasn’t stung. I’m sure my day will come though.

[GovernorSilver]

@mstone 119763 wrote:

Did GovernorSilver signal his pass? If not, there’s blame enough to go around.

Yup, I rung my bell. I usually give one ring when I get within the length of a school bus, then another ring when I’m about 5 feet behind.

[GovernorSilver]

I passed a pedestrian on the MVT heading north and forgot to check over my shoulder for faster cyclists behind me. I thus forced a cyclist off the trail who intended to pass both me and the pedestrian.

Sorry man!

[GovernorSilver]

Was driving on Huntington, back from the “how to replace a tube” workshop at Spokes Etc. in Belle View with my bike racked up, waiting at the red light at the Rt.1 intersection. I saw two 20-something cyclists approach the intersection from the direction of the Rt1-Washington MUP bridge. They stopped at the intersection. Cyclists decided to ride into the intersection to cross Huntington after the light turned green, taking me and probably other motorists by surprise.

Some cyclists like to gamble with their lives a lot more than I do with mine. When I get to that intersection on my bike, I never run the red light to cross Huntington to get to the MUP bridge because there’s no telling when a car might come around that blind corner at high speed trying to cross Rt. 1 or get onto Rt. 1 before the light change.

[GovernorSilver]

@AFHokie 119687 wrote:

I work on N Capitol St. Try taking G St NW to 1st St NW. G is one way (west bound) through there with much less traffic. It ends in a bit of a mess where it meets both 1st St NW & New Jersey Ave, but I think that it’s easier to manage than getting around Union Station where the bike lane suddenly ends.

I take E St NW over to 3rd St NW and take that to the mall where I jump on Madison.

That explains why I see some cyclists turning to G St NW from First ST NE.

I’ll give that route a try. Thanks!

[GovernorSilver]

@Amalitza 119709 wrote:

I don’t think insect repellant will help. The problem is you ride into them as they fly across your path (and/or they fly into you as you ride across their path). All those bugs that splat on your car windshield? On a bike, you are the windshield, so they just splat on you. And then the ones with stingers sting you.

Oh well, I guess I’ll have to just HTFU for when (what sounds like) the inevitable happens to me too.

My helmet does have a flip visor, at least

[GovernorSilver]

Didn’t realize insect stings were so common on rides. I’ve been using citronella patches and mosquito repellent spray because of the neigborhood skeeters at home, but now I’m wondering if there’s other insect repellents I should be getting for my rides.

[GovernorSilver]

Some food for thought there.

I hear some cyclists use two cameras – one on the bike, one on the helmet. The bike one captures the general video of the ride, and the helmet one can be used to help capture the license plate and other visual data on the motorist in the case of an incident. There’s even a rear-facing camera (Cycliq Fly6) that doubles as a tail-light.

I’ve been lucky so far in my interactions with motorists. If I had to ride more often with faster (40 mph or greater) traffic I might be investing in a camera sooner too.

[GovernorSilver]

Almost forgot that a cyclist going into the opposite direction passed someone, then lingered in my lane on the MVT. I just slowed down and didn’t leave my lane. He had to go back to his.

[GovernorSilver]

I’m thinking of getting helmet-mounted lights, so that’s why I was thinking of just using my iPhone on a mount to record video. My colleague recommended helmet mounted lights for riding the MVT and other pitch-black segments of the evening commute – he feels they help him spot random animals and such wandering on the trail.

[GovernorSilver]

Decided to go down the bike lane on First St NE towards the Union Station/Louisiana Ave intersection instead of mixing it up with the cars on N. Capitol St as with my first ever evening commute. Less of an adrenaline rush for sure. The bike lanes though suddenly disappeared after I climbed past the Metro entrance. Louisiana Ave still isn’t as quiet as I was hoping it would be, but without my more experienced colleague to follow, I switched to the pedestrian crosswalks and used those to get onto First St NW, then cut through the “Constitution Ave parking lot” to get to Madison.

The “wait at the island” trick on Raoul Wellenberger worked great again. So glad it was taught to me. Just wait there until the light turns green, then use the hill descent to boost speed to dash through Maine and get on Ohio/East Basin.

The Four Mile Run to Potomac switchback kicked my butt again, and I suppose it will be that way for a while. I watched several other cyclists negotiate it, but all descending, so I didn’t learn a thing about how to climb it properly. Those damn handrails make it harder.

Took the Diagonal to Duke St. tunnel route. There didn’t seem to be any guard around watching for cyclists at around 7-ish pm but there might have been a camera for all I know. A pedestrian walking in the opposite direction chuckled as we passed each other. I don’t know if it’s because I looked silly walking my bike through the tunnel, or the hub-powered light on my bike just came on, or something else. I look silly riding my bike anyway.

After making the right from Dulaney to Jamieson, a parked car suddenly started moving into the bike lane I was riding it. I sprinted around it, then used the descent to Andrew’s Lane to help accelerate even more and thus create more separation between myself and the car.

Too wiped out to climb all the way home. I made it as far as maybe 3 doors down. Made it home alive! So it was a good commute.

[GovernorSilver]

This morning was pretty good. I took the more scenic option of the MVT through Old Town Alexandria and just enjoyed the view at a relaxed pace. My bell was busted on Sunday’s ride, so I replaced it with an Incredibell, which at just under $10 is quite an upgrade. Unlike the bell that came stock on my bike, it doesn’t “self-ring” when the bike bounces a bit.

I learned why nobody rides near the Capitol Reflecting Pool – it’s not sidewalk, it’s sand/gravel. My bike could deal with it, but I won’t ride there again.

A motorist waiting behind me at a traffic light on N. Capitol St. honked at me, then may or may not have shot a glare at me through his sunglasses as he changed to the left lane, passed me, and changed back to my lane, in front of me. Just part of the sights and sounds of the city.

Overall, a good fun ride to warm up mind and body for work.

[Author]

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