[GovernorSilver]

I stand corrected.

Regarding the “helmets optional” point, helmets are optional in DC or VA (just checked the VDOT site) for anyone over 14 anyway, so I don’t understand why the article emphasizes that.

[GovernorSilver]

I agree at least with the part about slowing down.

I was hit today by a cyclist who plunged into a crowded sidewalk at high speed. He made the common mistake of assuming that all pedestrians are going to be predictable. Luckily, his handlebar barely grazed my hand instead of something worse. Then there’s nearly being run over by the oblivious cyclist who ran a stop sign that I mentioned earlier this week. And there’s the elderly woman who was struck and killed by a speeding cyclist on Four Mile Run a few years back.

I’ve seen too many cyclists speeding where there are lots of pedestrians. I’m in favor of anything that can get cyclists to slow down where there’s lots of people on foot. The couriers who zip around downtown on bikes to deliver whatever are particularly guilty of risky speeding behavior, but there are others out there.

Helping people on foot not fear for their lives when a cyclist appears would go a long way towards earning their love for cyclists.

[GovernorSilver]

@Amalitza 118427 wrote:

???

Not on a CaBi you won’t be. You’ll be taking metro to King Street (or Braddock Road, or wherever), or your own bike or car to one of the stations in Alexandria, where you’ll pick up your shiny red bike to ride into the district on the nice flat MVT. No climbing (on a CaBi) involved.

Unless you are talking 2025 Folklife Festival, in which case maybe but I still kinda doubt it.

I was thinking next weekend will be a typical Metro situation – 20-25 min. wait between Yellow line trains so I’d ruled out taking Metro. I could have sworn I saw a CaBi station near the downhill entrance to Huntington Metro.

I’ll probably just take my own bike due to the high probability of dock block under festival conditions. I figure it’s a lower risk of not being able to find a rack or other suitable spot to lock up my bike.

[GovernorSilver]

@dplasters 118466 wrote:

Not that it is super relevant to the situation but I bolded what is to me the most important part of that law. A few feet from the edge/curb to me, a foot or two for my width, 3′ to pass aka I ride dead center in the vast majority of lanes I ride in.

Yes, cyclists are vehicles and are subject to the speed limit. Dismal’s point is that so are cars. 15mph on a flat road is a simple task for many… so why not cycle where you’d please?

The law makes more sense to me now. Thanks! I missed the part where it says “at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place under conditions”.

[GovernorSilver]

@PotomacCyclist 118415 wrote:

I’d say it’s OK for most hills in DC and Arlington. But the main challenge with steeper climbs like Walter Reed Drive in Arlington or some of the hills in Tenleytown is the weight of the bikes. They are significantly heavier than road bikes. I know some people will say that they can still beat most people on regular bikes while riding CaBi, which may be true. But the fact is that you will definitely notice the extra weight on hills, especially if you aren’t a super-strong climber already. It’s not impossible to climb, and it’s not too bad for moderate hills.

If you’re worried about it, try out some of the hills on your route on a weekend. Or take a slight detour, if possible, to avoid the steepest climbs. Sometimes there may be a slightly longer route that spreads out the elevation change over a longer horizontal distance.

Thanks!

I’m debating whether to ride my own bike to the Smithsonian Folklife Festival or take CaBi. Either way I’ll be coming from the vicinity of Huntington Metro in Alexandria, taking Huntington Ave to either the overpass to Eisenhower (a climb but not as steep a grade as I’ve seen in Tenleytown) or to the pedestrian bridge between Rt. 1 and Washington St./MVT.

I’ve already been dissuaded by someone else from the CaBi option on the grounds that I might fall victim to “dock block” in a festival environment. I was thinking of CaBi in the first place for fear of “rack block”.

[GovernorSilver]

How are these bikes for uphill climbing? Is the lowest gear suitable?

[GovernorSilver]

@gibby 118061 wrote:

Depending how far you’re going up 1st ST (NE?), an easier (less traffic) route I’ve found- after trying many routes around Union Station and being eternally frustrated with the amount of insane traffic and angled streets, is to continue up 3rd ST to E St, then left on 1st ST NW. Traffic gets a bit weird around the Walmart sometimes, so you can veer left to up go NJ Ave at the GU Law Center, right on I St, left back on 1st, right on K St or go thru the intersection at K to L St, which is an alleyway there. Continue across L St to 1st NE.

Thanks! I’ll give that a shot sometime.

[GovernorSilver]

@PotomacCyclist 118396 wrote:

FYI – A new CaBi station was added today at 2nd & G NE, about a block away from Union Station. There are three other bike stations already, within a block or 1.5 blocks of Union Station, but the new one covers the NE side.

I mapped all the bike racks on that block to RackSpotter just last week. No CaBi station then, but there’s one now.

https://www.facebook.com/CapitalBikeshare/photos/a.667621183271206.1073741828.134700293229967/1014930455206942/?type=1&theater

Thanks for your efforts. My workplace has its own bike parking room but it’s good to know where the options are if, say, I want to hang somewhere outside of work nearby, like Union Station.

[GovernorSilver]

@DismalScientist 118389 wrote:

The speed limit is 15. You bike on the left to pass the cars driving the speed limit.

Aren’t cyclists subject to the same speed limit as motorists?

Some of these bike laws are confusing though. For example, Virginia bike law has this bit:

http://www.virginiadot.org/programs/bk-laws.asp#Where

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. Exceptions to this are when bicyclists are overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction, preparing for a left turn, avoiding unsafe conditions, avoiding riding in a lane that turns or diverges to the right, riding on a one way street where bicyclists may ride as near the left-hand curb or edge of roadway, or when the lane width is too narrow to share with a motor vehicle. Additionally, bicycles are not excluded from riding on the highway shoulder.

So in VA I’m supposed to ride my bike as close to the right curb/edge “as safely practicable” but wouldn’t that lead to weaving – that is, you ride closer to the curb when there’s no parked cars (and their doors!) to worry about, but have to ride further away when the parked cars are there. :confused:

[GovernorSilver]

@Tania 118263 wrote:

Just got almost bowled over TWICE in a half a block by two different cyclists on the @*#&#$ sidewalk. Next one to come anywhere NEAR me is getting pushed.

Yes, I’m cranky.

That would make me cranky too.

I feel fortunate to have been struck by a cyclist (as a pedestrian) only once – he hit my arm with the handle of his bike on the university campus – not enough to break it but enough to cause pain. My friends/classmates had to restrain me from running after him to retaliate. Of course, I was less mature back then but to be hit again by a bike would be a severe test of my emotional control, assuming I could still stand.

[GovernorSilver]

@Crickey7 118148 wrote:

Well, this morning I watched a young woman walk halfway across an intersection with a red light at 24th and L before she ever glanced up from texting. She inadvertently relied on all of us watching incredulously to wait for her.

What a coincidence. It was also this morning that I saw a woman obliviously walk in front of a car careening towards her. She didn’t even appear to be looking at anything in her hand.

I also barely struck two cyclists yesterday because it was an intersection with stop signs all 4 directions. I’d stopped my car, then started moving when the two cyclists ran right through – silly me for thinking they’d actually stop at a stop sign on a street that has both vehicular and bicycle traffic. I get why cyclists don’t like to stop at stop signs, but man if you see there’s a car already moving in front of you, it might not be the best time run the stop sign. Especially if the driver was engrossed in mobile phone conversation or something (luckily for them I wasn’t!)

[GovernorSilver]

Me: Pedestrian crossing intersection of 5th St NW and M St NW towards Mt. Vernon Metro station.

You: Woman on bike with long grey/white hair.

Last I checked, you’re supposed to yield right of way to pedestrians, instead of running the stop sign and nearly hitting me. You’re lucky I also enjoy riding my bike. If I wasn’t into riding bikes, I’d be one of those citizen pedestrians voting against spending money on making the area more bike friendly.

[GovernorSilver]

@PotomacCyclist 117940 wrote:

I haven’t ridden from 3rd St to Union Station during peak hours too often, so I don’t have a specific recommendation for that part of the route. Louisiana Ave. would be a direct route, but I don’t know what the peak hour traffic is like. The sidewalk looks fairly wide, although bikes are restricted from sidewalks in central DC, including Louisiana Ave. That rule is not enforced that often and if the road lanes feel unsafe, slow riding on the sidewalk might be better. Just be aware that there’s the theoretical possibility of getting ticketed, even though I see many of the bike police officers (and Secret Service bike agents) riding on the sidewalks in the central business district.

Google Maps seems to think Louisiana Ave. is a “bike friendly” road, so I guess I’ll just have to try it and see.

Google Maps also seems to think the paved paths cutting through Senate Park are “bike trails”. Do these “bike trails” count as “sidewalks” from the DC bike law perspective? Anyway, Louisiana Ave to D St. then through the “bike trails” in Senate Park and around Columbus Circle (where the “bike trails” become actual sidewalks) seems to be a way to get from National Mall to First St. and its dedicated bike lanes.

@PotomacCyclist 117940 wrote:

If you do ride on a sidewalk, slow down. If I’m on a sidewalk, I try to ride at a speed that nearby pedestrians would be comfortable with. Also beware that drivers may not be expecting to see a cyclist crossing on a sidewalk. This is why many people think that sidewalk riding is more dangerous.

Yes, I’ve already learned some painful lessons in sidewalk riding. Trash cans and random objects were tricky to go around, and most of my bruises came from messing up trying to go around said objects. I am also aware of fatalities like the elderly woman who was struck by a cyclist on Four Mile Run Trail because he refused to slow down, as well as my own experience as a pedestrian with aggressive cyclists flying around me on MVT.

There are a couple of of occasions though where I cannot avoid the sidewalk. I must climb my home street, which is narrow enough to only allow one car at a time (if two are headed in opposing directions, one must yield to the other) to get home and my speed is only 3 mph on this climb. If a car comes up behind me, I switch to the sidewalk, unless there is someone on it, in which case, I stay on the road until I pass the person/animal on the sidewalk. Another example is the Eisenhower overpass connecting Huntington/Telegraph to Eisenhower – the only way to get onto the protected mixed-use path is to get on the sidewalk. Yet another is Holmes Run Trail, which runs parallel to the sidewalk for most of Eisenhower, but then merges onto the sidewalk as it approaches the overpass.

[GovernorSilver]

@PotomacCyclist 117885 wrote:

For me, this means that I tend to avoid the Memorial Bridge area, because of the trail/road crossings. This was the case even before the emergency partial closure of the bridge.

My work commute would be between Alexandria and NOMA so unless I want to add another hour to the route, I have to cross on that bridge that runs parallel to Arnold D. Williams Memorial Bridge (Google does not name it) or the Jefferson Memorial Bridge.

I never assume that drivers can see me, so I take the middle of the lane except on my home street, which is on a hill – I climb at about 3 mph – I switch to the sidewalk there if there’s nobody walking on it. Anyway, my main area of concern on my commute route is the section between National Mall and Union Station, though perhaps I should take this to the Commuter forum.

[GovernorSilver]

@PotomacCyclist 117881 wrote:

Are the classes free or is a fee charged?

I paid $65 for the class with REI back in April. I couldn’t find any WABA beginner’s class at the time. I paid $20 for WABA’s beginner class in May. I prefer WABA’s method btw.

I’ve practiced on my own since taking the WABA class. After two weeks of practice in a parking lot, abandoned cul-de-sac, etc. I ventured out on the road and hit the MVT for the first time. After my 2nd stint on the MVT (4 hrs, 23 miles) I have the confidence to bike more on the trails. However, I’m waiting until I take WABA’s City Cycling class before I try a test commute ride, which for me would take 1 hr. 5 min. each way, according to Google Maps – realistically probably more like 1 hr. 35 min. because my top speed in the flats is under 14 mph. I’m fine on our mixed-use trails but I’m not sure I’m ready to take on the streets of DC yet.

[Author]

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