[JeffC]

I have a 2008 REI Safari and have racked up close to 6000 commuting miles on it with no major problems. I have never had a problem with the bars getting in the way of my knees while climbing out of the saddle, that seems completely unlikely in my view.

The biggest disappointment in my view with the trekking bars is the practicality of the other hand positions. When commuting, you need to have your hands on the brakes and shifters, especially the brakes. This means your hands are in the same position most of the time. If you used such a bike for longer rides in less populated areas, then I think the trekking bars would be more practical. With your hands on top of the trekking bars, you have a very upright feel like on a 3 speed and on the sides you have more bent over feel like a drop bar bike but on the bottom where you can reach the brakes and shifters it is kind of between the two. It is also nice that such bars give you lots of real estate for things like mirrors, bells, and lights. You can adjust the bars so they are either perpedicular or parallel with the ground or somewhere in between.

[JeffC]

I’ve experienced the CN issue when I was hit by a car that ran a red light in a traffic circle near AU, fortunately there was a witness but initially the other driver’s insurance company denied my claim. I’ve also experienced it as a witness to another accident that is still ongoing.

If you cross the signal with a white hand signal when it is a red light for cars to turn, there is no way you could be seen as contributorily negligent in my mind. Not so though if you cross on a flashing red hand. Given all the accidents there, that is a chance I would rather not take.

[JeffC]

More important to me than getting a $100 ticket is the civil liability angle. Virginia still maintains a contributory negligence standard which can totally bar recovery to a person who a jury finds is even 1% at fault for causing an accident. Here is an interesting newspaper article about it.

http://norfolk.injuryboard.com/automobile-accidents/unfair-law-of-contributory-negligence-still-king-in-virginia.aspx?googleid=208672

So imagine you as a biker go through on a flashing red hand and a car turns into you. You have serious injuries and sue the driver but a jury determines that, among other reasons, you were negligent because you crossed on a flashing red hand. You would recover nothing even if the driver was say 90% at fault.

[JeffC]

@DismalScientist 8918 wrote:

A flashing red means that (slow) pedestrians should not enter because they might not make it across by the time the traffic light changes. Certainly a bicyclist entering the crosswalk can make it across before the light changes. Thus, they should not be ticketed.

Not sure I agree that it is ok for bikes to fly through on a flashing red hand but I’ll respect your opinion to disagree. Even if it is not illegal and does not warrant a ticket, if there was a civil lawsuit, I could see a jury saying the biker was negligent for flying through on a flashing red hand. Moreover, if every biker did what you said there, then cars trying to turn across the intersection would have very little opportunity to ever turn and traffic would back up. I see this in more crowded city streets in DC where cars cannot turn because peds keep flooding across with only a few seconds left on the signal and I can see why cars get frustrated. Ideally there would be some better fix with better infrastructure. Oddly in some cities I have been in with chaotic traffic, traffic cops that rigoursoly enforce car, ped, and bike movements can be very beneficial and efficient but I cannot see Arlington paying for traffic cops here to vigorously enforce rules with hand signals and whistles.

[JeffC]

@Mark Blacknell 8165 wrote:

One thing that I came to realize when sitting at the intersection was how the timing of the light at Nash affects things. Eastbound cyclists, starting across Nash when the light turns, only reach Lynn at the end of the walk cycle (unless they *really* drill it). Since any riders who had already massed at the Lynn/Lee intersection have already crossed Lynn by the time the Nash grupetto arrives, cars that had waited for the Lynn group are now in motion through the turn. This then forces the Nash cyclists to either attempt to negotiate their way into a crosswalk for which they’ve got a walk signal, or to simply stop and wait for the next cycle.* I wonder whether a timing adjustment which *cuts* the cross time at Lynn might be a better solution in the mornings. Haven’t worked through it well enough to be sure.

*This was the solution a cyclist quite adamantly said was the right one, after he pointed out to me someone taking the former approach.

With respect to this sentence: “This then forces the Nash cyclists to either attempt to negotiate their way into a crosswalk for which they’ve got a walk signal, or to simply stop and wait for the next cycle.* You should stop and wait for the next cycle when you have the “walk” signal for a few seconds. By the way, as you allude to before this sentence, the cyclists coming from the previous light (either Nash for Ft. Meyer I cannot remember) do NOT have a walk signal. Even if they fly down from the previous intersection, it will be flashing red hand signal at Lynn by the time they get there. I usually give a brake signal with my hand and then have four or five people angrily pass me to fly by me, all to get to work 1 minute sooner. In my mind, those that fly by on a no crossing, flashing red hand signal should get a ticket.

There were 2 police offices in the park that sits in the median between Lee Hwy looking very closely at bikers this morning (Friday 10/7) at about 7:45 am. I think they may be ready to give tickets to cyclists that fly by on a flashing red hand.

[JeffC]

This thread is hitting on all my major annoyances with riding. First, the horrible signage. Would it be too much to have a few signs every mile or so pointing out that peds walk on the right, bikers stay on the left? Some areas around University of Colorado have this, all sidewalks in Germany are like this, but here, no way. There is actually a small part of a scene in the German movie “The Reader” where the Ralph Fiennes character gets chewed out by bikers for walking on the bike part of the sidewalk.

Second, distracted bikers, who are almost as bad as a distracted peds. Nice thing about cooler weather is it that it brings out the more considerate bikers and I usually get an “on your left” from other riders but frequently I don’t. Given the shape of the trail (tree roots, etc.) I sometimes pop over on the other side to avoid a bump. Would it be too hard to say “on your left, passing, etc.” every time a biker passes me?

Third, peds who feel the need to walk slowly two or three abreast or with a dog. I have a dog, I love dogs but dogs have dogparks, and many parks prohibit dogs for various reasons. Would it be too much to ban dog walking at rush hour? What is it exactly about Arlingtonians that find it is so exciting to walk two abreast next to Interstate 66 and 65mph traffic with Starbucks coffee? Is the scenery really that much better than the side streets. Honestly this mystifies me why someone would want to walk on many portions of the Custis–MVT I totally understand why people want to walk many stretches of that, it is beautiful.

Sorry, rant over, my wife is getting tired of hearing this.

[JeffC]

I think I was right behind you. I saw those three ladies, it was a few minutes before 8 am. They had a Southern drawl and one kept going on about why they had fewer rights than others. Then I talked at the next light (Lynn) with somebody about not flying through that with the red hand flashing. I usually cut out of towners some slack, especially in that stretch of Rosslyn and on the MVT, the rest of Custis is more locals who should know the rules.

[JeffC]

This is an interesting video I found on YouTube. Based on the audio, I think it is at Banneker Park, a bit south of the EFC Metro. There is a wooden bridge over a creek here that is part of the W&OD. Many people bypass that though and continue riding through the park until Van Buren Street up to 19th Road and pick up the trail near where Lee Hwy hits 66.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xbYW6c0Qf4

[JeffC]

Anybody that rode a substantial distance yesterday afternoon in Fairfax or Arlington Counties deserves a medal of honor, conditions were crazy. I spent the better part of the night bailing water that was enough of a workout.

[JeffC]

@eminva 7237 wrote:

Have you ever noticed how poor the signage is on the “parkways” around here generally? I think I remember long ago learning that that was because they are not supposed to be like highways or interstates, they are more of a recreational byway for touring the park (which also explains the unrealistic and unenforced low speed limit). As if the GW Parkway was the equivalent of the drive around Yellowstone.

Just pointing out that as difficult as it is to deal with NPS, I think they have philosophical objections to helpful signage.

Liz

Yes the the signage is awful, lived here 10 years and still get lost. My wife has lived her whole life in North Arlington and still gets lost going along 110 or GW Parkway. The GW Parkway signage is probably the absolute worst, headed north there is stretch with two forks in the road, I always see crazy things there. The signage tends to tell you which way to go to get to a destination but not necessarily what road you are taking when you use an exit. I’m used to taking an exit knowing I’ll get to a certain road with the destination being secondary but the signage on the GW Parkway has it bassackwards.

I avoid taking the Mem bridge in the morning (take 14th instead) just to avoid that crazy situation. Actually you have to cross three intersections before making it back on the National Mall. I almost hit Colin Powell near the Lincoln Memorial getting out of a limo a few years ago.

Good for you to stop and give a report. A few weeks ago at West Falls Church Metro I witnessed a car strike a ped in a crosswalk and gave my card to both driver and ped. The insurance company called me a day later. I also got hit by another car while driving in the traffic circle near American University when somebody ran a red light. DC has a contributory negligence standard where if you are even 1% negligent, you cannot recover. Thanks to a witness saying the other driver ran the red light, I was able to recover and did not even have to pay my deductible. Being a witness is a tremendous help to the victim in an accident, otherwise an accident can just boil down to a contest over who shouts the loudest.

[JeffC]

That downhill stretch of the Custis Trail requires extreme caution, it’s narrow, bumpy, too fast, loaded with peds from the apartments, and crosses a few intersections where drivers are looking downhill at cars coming up Lee Hwy, not up at bikers roaring down.

I personally have wider tires so have never slipped there but I did one time get a fishtailing like sensation where my tire momentarily got stuck in the grove but not enough to throw me.

I did wipe out once going down the “S Curve of Death” behind the Italian Store parking lot after sliding on the median line which was wet from rain a few hours before. Since then the median has been buffed off so that it is not slick when wet.

Your fall does not surprise me at that location. Please heal fast and ride safe.

[JeffC]

@theakston 6977 wrote:

Not trying ot be a pedant but isn’t it traffic coming off of i-66 not the GW Parkway – or have I got this location wrong?

You could be right, it’s either one or the other, perhaps even both as both go through that area. I drive my car in that area very infrequently so cannot say for sure.

Please be careful out there, this is easily the most dangerous spot on my commute, I’ve seen some crazy things there, saw one guy collide with a movable traffic sign trying to avoid a ped and once had to cross it when all the traffic lights were broken because of a storm, now that was scary.

[JeffC]

That intersection scares me, it’s worse than a frogger video game. I cross it every morning headed from VA to DC. The problem is not the bikers/peds waiting for the light that are waiting right at Lynn Street. The problem in my mind is the bikers a street farther west at Fort Meyer Street. Once the light at Fort Meyer changes, bikers race down the path to Lynn Street and are always presented with a flashing red “do not cross” sign with about 10 to 15 seconds on it. Meanwhile cars exiting from the GW parkway are steaming mad trying to turn right onto Lynn Street but have to wait until the last second when bikers flying down from Fort Meyer Street finally stop crossing.

When I invariably get stuck at Fort Meyer Street, I just go slow to Lynn Street, flash a stop hand signal with my left hand, and wait at the light at Lynn Street until the next signal is fresh and bikers/peds have a few seconds to cross without the worry of cars turning right. I always have bikers passing me though, I’ve even been chewed out by an older lady chiding me for going too slow, go figure. I’m usually the only one waiting at Lynn Street and once I go, cars have about 15 seconds to turn until the next group of bikers that had been waiting at Fort Meyer arrive.

I get where I am going about a minute later but I have a wife and kids and am extremely cautious. I think being a considerate rider here would entail not crossing on a green when the red hand signal is flashing do not cross if cars are waiting to turn, same thing I would do if I was walking across the intersection.

[JeffC]

I live in the alternate universe that is Virginia but I second the idea to time the return ride home so you know how long it takes. I did not think it was that far from Bethesda to DC. I wll say that compared with the CCT trail or biking from DC south to Alexandria, biking north along the Custis and W&OD trail is much more challenging physically, at least based on the conversations I have had with others, so count yourself fortunate in that regard.

I have noticed that Metro is not very picky about people getting on with bikes a few minutes before the curfews end. I’ve seen people try at like 6:45 or 6:40 pm and not get turned away. There is a sweet spot in time when most people have gone home for the day and the trains are still running frequently enough that they are not too crowded, usually around 6:40 to 7:15 or so in my experience.

I’ve also left my bike at work when there are serious thunderstorms.

[JeffC]

@Dirt 6207 wrote:

Park service filled in the potholes and added lines to the trail this afternoon.

I noticed the line painting too. LIne painting is a joke under the circumstances. I suppose it is cheaper than paving but what really needs to be done is repaving, not painting. They should save the money from painting and use it to pave.

[Author]

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