[JeffC]

@consularrider 15487 wrote:

I guess my recommendation would depend on which section of the Custis you find most annoying and where you are ending up. Here’s an almost all on street route from Rosslyn (Key Bridge Marriot) to the intersection of Columbia and Little Falls in Falls Church:

This is very close to what I have done. I just take the Custis up hill though through Rosslyn (rather than Lee Hwy) and then ride the sidewalk for a block or so up to Veitch after the Custis Veers off to the right. Then I take this route identically until Westover. Once I am at Westover, there are a couple of ways to go for me. If you feel like bailing back to the Custis, there is a spot near Glebe Road where you can see the trail about a block away. This takes me about 10 minutes longer to get back to Falls Church City. Taking this, I have to ask myself why all the Arlingtonians would want to take the Custis and walk next to a Freeway, seriously it boggles my mind, the residential streets are safer and prettier. This is a topic for the “Stuff White People Like” blog as I am clueless why the Custis Trail is so popular for walkers/joggers. In contrast, I understand the popularlity of the MVT although next to the GW Parkway for awhile it actually has scenery unlike the Custis.

[JeffC]

Posted about the same thing last summer and got some great suggestions. Headed west to Falls Church (see you are there too) I do up hill to Rosslyn but then rather than turn right to go next to 66, I keep going straight up Lee Hwy then make a left turn and follow some back roads. Probably an extra mile or so but much more enjoyable. Read about it here.

http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?828-Alternate-Route-to-West-Bound-Custis-Trail

[JeffC]

I posted in the Commute forum last night about seeing a motorcycle police officer on W&OD between Lee Hwy and Little Falls Street (near Falls Church Fire Dept and the border with Arlington) around 6:10 pm or so. His bright light caused a ped to toss out an expletive laden tirade, sure he got a ticket for that.

[JeffC]

It is this type of behaviour that makes commuting less fun for me. Since starting commuting about 5 years ago, I have noticed more crowded conditions and less considerate trail users. Since I have a lot of other physical endeavours I pursue and am not an everyday commuter (maybe 2 to 3 days a week, 22 miles roundtrip, and aim for about 1800 to 2000 miles per year), I have developed some mitigating strategies.

First, (easier said than done) don’t sweat the annoying walkers and jerk bikers, I find myself doing this but try to bring myself out of the negative thoughts towards other users.

Second, spread a positive attitude. Always announce you are passing and be considerate.

Third, try and spread your riding around all year round. I find that if I ride more in the winter I can do less riding in those times when the trail is packed. Once you are acclimated toward winter riding, I actually find it more enjoyable than in the spring with hoards of users and 70F temps.

Fourth, have your backup routes. I found a way to avoid most of the Custis Trail. It’s longer but more enjoyable.

Fifth, pick your commute days wisely. For whatever reason Monday seems to be a good day, always less crowded than other days, not sure why but it is my favorite day.

Mentally I appreciate why pedestrians would want to use the Mt. Vernon trail between Rosslyn and the Wilson Bridge. The scenery is stunning and people come from all over the world to see this. I dread biking it though in the afternoons in spring. Conversely, I really have to ask myself why North Arlingtonians want to walk on the Custis Trail. Really, in most parts of the world there is a stigma associated with walking next to a freeway, apparently this makes you cool in Arlington since many parts of the Custis are right next to I-66.

[JeffC]

I looked into this awhile back to try to persuade my building management (Federael Govt in my case) to get rid of some abandoned bikes but all they ended up doing was getting more racks rather than actually removing the offending bikes. I know that the Federal Govt has rules about obviously abandoned property and the right of the building management to confiscate such property. I pointed this out to the management but they got defensive and were afraid some wayward employee would file a complaint. I also discovered some research indicating that the NIH in Bethesda had these elaborate rules for registering your bike to park each month.

It seems that what worked best to ultimately remove some of the unused bikes were occasional emails sent out by management to employees reminding them that the racks were only for short term overnight parking as well as signs near the racks pointing this out. Also, at times our garage is power cleaned so that no one can park there over the weekend. I think they only mean cars, not bikes, but I have seen this bring people to remove bikes for fear of them getting damaged during power clearning. Obviously if a bike was really abandoned during power clearning, it would not be removed by the owner. I tried to bring this to building management’s attention that this was an indication that the bike was really abandoned. I noticed that they had to move some of the racks and broke the locks on some of the bikes and pushed over to a corner, at least they are not taking up rack space any longer.

[JeffC]

it is hard to tell exactly where you lost control. I generally refer to that entire stretch as “the S Curve of Death”, starting where (headed east) you proceed downhill from the Lee Hwy overpass through the curves until extreme caution is no longer needed. It sounds like you definitely fell somewhere at that point. I did a few years ago when my rear 26 x 2.0 Conti Town and Country tire slipped out from under me. The pavement was a bit damp but I think a twig, say the width of a pencil, was what caused me to lose control.

Since then I have been extremely careful. Once I was going so slow I even got passed by an idiot on a fixed gear bike going downhill there, guy flew past me on the inside. I don’t think you can chalk up your fall to any one thing, it just happens there.

[JeffC]

@OneEighth 13661 wrote:

Honestly, if you ride well, you don’t don’t have to ride your brakes.
The only reason my fixies have front brakes is for emergencies…or for whenever I’m just too tired/lazy to fight the pedals anymore.
I like your Cinelli. Nice and subtle.

Glad Mr. Flintstone fixed his brakes. Wouldn’t want someone careening into me or anyone else because of simple neglect.

I agree for the most part that you should not have to ride your brakes if you anticipate things, pay attention, leave enough space in front of you, coast when needed etc. Same thing applies when I drive a car. I don’t ride my brakes but if I had a fixie in the kind of hilly terrain I encounter around here, I would really want a front brake for the emergencies on downhill slopes (like Quinn St) so good on you for having one.

[JeffC]

Scary but I still would not fix it for him unless he specifically gave you the ok. I’ve seen my life flash in front of me a few times headed downhill at the Quinn St crossing. With the wall on your left as you head downhill you only have a second or two to make up your mind to continue through or brake hard. Cars there are always looking downhill at the traffic headed up Lee Hwy, they rarely (except for locals used to it) look up at the bikers coming down. A few times I’ve slammed on my brakes only stopping just before my front tire got to the street. To do that without brakes is a bit crazy.

[JeffC]

wow, that is pretty impressive. If the Trail counts as a park, it is easily the most heavily used park in the state of Virginia. In the summer months, in the afternoon, it gets really frustrating riding the Custis. You know Arlington has restrictions on 66 and 395 during heavy periods, how about the same thing on the Custis in the afternoon rush from say 4 to 7 pm, like no dog walking, no walking double abreast, more reminder signs to stay far right, etc. It’s really a drag have to slow down to walking pace every mile or more. I gave up and started riding the streets in the afternoon, scratch a few trips from the million mark. Or it would be even better to widen it and have one section just for walkers/skaters and one just for bikers, most side walks in Germany are so divided.

[JeffC]

I hope that area gets better too. I live a few miles farther east on Lee Highway closer to Arlington but head that way a few times per month to go to H Mart. The intersection of Lee Hwy and Gallows (plus a few blocks in either direction) is just a road condition disaster zone. I realize it is from construction and there is no reason to repave somthing while still building but still that area is a cluster $%*&.

[JeffC]

I agree that the stars need to really align to make it worthwhile to have a locker. I tend to use my locker mostly in winter, when day light savings time is in effect and when my kids are in school. I would like to commute more all the way into work but it has become somewhat more difficult with kids schedules. Given that parking at WFC is nearly $5, at $70 or $120 annually a locker would pay for itself really quickly as compared with parking. Buses in my area are kind of sporadic too and biking to EFC is faster than driving to WFC.

If I had a spare beater bike I would just park at the racks but I’ve got a nice saddle, panniers I use when I bike to the Metro plus my lights and helmet all of which I would otherwise have to store somehow when I ride so the lockers come in handy.

Given the poor responses I got from Metro with some lock problems a few months ago, I would think they would have a hard time implementing a daily rental, heck they can barely do a yearly one.

[JeffC]

I am a mixed mode commuter, take Metro a few days a week, bike a few days.

To put things in perspective on Metro, compared with some other systems I’ve taken (like New York and some in Europe) it is cleaner, then again compared with others (like BART in San Francisco) it is a lot worse. In my mind much of what makes Metro suck is which line you take. Orange Line SUCKS big time, Red Line is a close second. On the way home to Falls Church in the evening, the Blue Line trains are half empty while the Orange Line trains are packed to the gills. If you ride Blue, Green, or Yellow, Metro is not so bad. If you are on the super crowded Orange or Red, it’s awful, particularly if you live in Northern Virginia on the Orange or from Mo Co on the Red into DC in the morning. Metro in the winter is not so bad, in the spring and summer with the throngs of tourists, it gets worse.

Blaming Metro for getting a cold is a bit unfair. Do you work in a crowded building? Do you have kids? Are you anybody but the boy in the plastic bubble? Maybe you got sick from something else? Being exposed to germs this way is actually good for your immune system in the long run.

While most bike commuters are polite, especially in the winter, I get my fair share of bikers who pass without warning, I have to deal with Ninjas, and the condition of the Custis Trail which sucks almost as bad as the Orange Line.

All this to say, I enjoy having the privilege of knowing that I can bike but I can also take Metro. I also rent a bike locker at Metro so even if I take Metro most of the way I have a 3 mile round trip ride to it. Freedom and options are nice, having to do the same commute over and over and over again like a broken record is not.

[JeffC]

AFAIK, this is just the State Dept implementing the provision of 26 USC 132, the so called bike commuter benefit. I am heavily involved in tax law so I go crazy reading about people butchering the terms of it, kind of the same way a French teacher would go nuts hearing mispronounced French words over and over again.

The current, critical limitations on this tax benefits are two fold. First, your employer must offer it to you. If they don’t you are out of luck. I have heard that not even the EPA offers it to their employees–go figure, you’d think they would be motivated. I know the IRS and Treasury Dept don’t offer it to their employees either, not sure about Congress. The second limit is that if your employer offers it, you cannot also get the transit (Metro, VRE etc. in the DC area) or parking reimbursement. It is one or the other, all or nothing, no mixing and matching. Even if my employer offered it, I probably would not get it. Only if I could mix and match somehow the transit and bike commuting would I do it.

I could go on and on about how lame it is that we cannot mix and match. Many people bike to the subway and rent a Metro locker ($200 per year) and then take the subway, etc.

[JeffC]

Oops, need to correct the posting, this is a 36 spoke (not 32) wheel for 26 inch tires, tire width I am estimating probably 1.5 to 2.0 although could be more or less, it has definitely had 1.5 and 1.75 tires on it. Completely rebuilt a few years ago by Bikes@Vienna (have paperwork), very bombproof.

[JeffC]

Thanks so much for doing this. I saw you all last night on 12/12 at around 5:30 pmw hen I was headed westbound home to Falls Church. At first I thought all the lights were an emergerncy situation and an ambulance or police car. I have plenty of lights so did not take one and politely declined but I am so glad this is being done. I have noticed some joggers with small handheld lights or wrap around arm bands.

Totallly agree on the headphones, I never wear them while biking, jogging or walking, it’s an awful idea.

Next time I will stop to say hi and may pick up a few lights just to give out to others I see that don’t have them.

[Author]

Posts