[JoeB]

My view from the top of the Rosslyn hill on Custis this afternoon:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]10678[/ATTACH]

[Edit: Whaaaaa? How’s come my picher’s all sideways? Sorry for the tech fail, but I think you get the gist…. And if anyone can fix please feel free!]

Frontloaders were clearing the snow from the ramp lanes that lead to 66 by driving it across the bike lanes to dump it in the open space to the left of the picture. I didn’t stick around to see whether they also cleaned up the trail after themselves but I sure hope so – that section was bone dry before they went to work over it.

[JoeB]

@dasgeh 102622 wrote:

I take what the officers say with a grain of salt. When my commute took me across the Memorial Bridge daily, I’d complain in person and online weekly about drivers not stopping/yielding at crosswalks. In person, every single time, I was told that NPP had “never heard there was a problem”.

BTW, your complaint is with National Park Police (NPP), not National Park Service (NPS). And MegaBeth = Megan (not Beth).

All very helpful, thanks! And Megan, sorry to have fouled up your name – wonder how I ever managed to get that wrong…

[JoeB]

BTW, the officer also added an interesting point while he wrote out my ticket, namely that he said they’d received “a lot of complaints” about cyclists and stop signs at Hains Point.

Anybody happen to know if that’s true, or more specifically: exactly what counts as “a lot” in this context? Do they get 50 complaints per year? 500? 10? And from whom: are all these “complaints” coming from tour bus drivers who’d prefer not to share that loop with anyone at all, or from the general public more broadly?

Better yet: is there anyone on the forum who works at or with the National Park Service who could fill us in on their approach towards cycling at Hains Point in general?

[JoeB]

@Megabeth 102576 wrote:

(Re: tickets, I got one last summer at HP. They never entered it into the system for me to pay. So, according to the ticket I received, after a certain time it’s null and void if not entered into the system. Also, it was from the NPS and not DC so even if it was put into the system, it wouldn’t show up on my license as points or anything…no connection.)

No such luck for me, I’m afraid, the ticket I got is labeled a “DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA NOTICE OF INFRACTION” even though it was signed by a US Park Police officer, and it’s already online in DC’s payment system here: http://dmv.dc.gov/service/pay-ticket

The officer did explain the same basic thing about the outcome with respect to points on my license – namely that since it’s a bicycling infraction it’s not supposed to trigger any demerit points with the VA DMV. Really wish I could find some actual proof of that from the VA DMV side of things, though.

But even despite the ticket, Beth, I really enjoyed the event. Many thanks for setting it up – we’re already looking forward to next year!! My kids both did their first HP loops yesterday (hopefully first of many, for years to come!), and I’d love to think they could look forward to those future loops without feeling like (and occasionally being treated like) a criminal just for riding sensibly & carefully through those intersections. As far as I can tell here: http://www.waba.org/advocacy/priorities/, WABA doesn’t see this as one of their top ten priorities – and to be clear: I’m not sure it should be a top priority. But I do think it should be somewhere on their radar screen.

So can anyone fill in my ignorance about WABA’s official or unofficial views about the stop signs at Hains Point? Is the idea of getting those changed to yield signs for cyclists (either at particular times/days/during events or permanently) too much at odds with the rest of their goals for cycling in DC? Anyone know who in particular I could follow up with about that, either here on the forum or offline?

[JoeB]

Good question, rcannon100 – I was awarded a citation today during the Hains Point 100, but compared to the guy getting carted off in handcuffs it looked like I may have gotten off easy.

Got my ticket for “T072 – DISOBEY TRAFFIC DEVICE OR OFFICER WHILE ON A BIKE” just before noon, after an oncoming driver waved me through the intersection by the gate at the northwest corner of the loop. Cop said that didn’t matter, I’m supposed to stop anyway and then I guess engage in a battle of arm-waving and confusion to sort out who’ll actually go through the intersection when.

Not the kind of hand-up I was hoping for from the HP100, to be honest, but I’m curious: did any other forum members pull a short straw today?

P.S. Nothing was mentioned about any beers in bottle cages, and in fact the cop was polite & professional throughout the whole thing. Mulishly devoted to hyper-literal enforcement of that particular stop sign at that particular instant, but still: politely and professionally mulish.

[JoeB]

@CPTJohnC 74446 wrote:

Was it sleazy when I grabbed a CaBi today at lunch time because it wasn’t raining at that moment, and I rode just about 2 miles for the sole purpose of getting in my daily ride? I sure think so. But I’m not proud. I’m sleazy.

I don’t find that sleazy at all. Similarly, sometimes you grab a bikeshare to go to lunch, then you get a little lost, then you find that you’re stuck in a traffic circle and just can’t get right, then you realize you’re already at the closest bike dock so you just park the bike in the exact same dock you took it from and you walk there.

See, e.g., http://www.strava.com/activities/105323394

[JoeB]

Yes, it’s yet another iced-over river pic, but I do think this one came out pretty well!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4451[/ATTACH]

[JoeB]

Team 6 has a new Strava page: Scoundrels and Nerf Herders. Scoundrels Assemble!!!!
http://www.strava.com/clubs/46402

Great name Jason – not sure if I’m more scoundrel or more nerf herder, but either way I already feel right at home on Team 6. BTW, my Strava name is Elihu Smails (and yes, I call my fancy bike “The Flying Wasp”) so don’t be surprised when you see Judge Smails ask to join Team Six’s Strava group.

And when you’re done adding me to the group, maybe you’d like to … drop by the yacht club? Mmm? MMMM???

[JoeB]

Pretty sure I’m in for this as long as the thunderstorms hold off – looking forward to it!

[JoeB]

Just signed up for next week’s “Advanced” clinic – I’m relatively comfortable changing the tube in a flat tire, before but could definitely use at least a refresher course on derailleurs and Fetzer valves and the rest of those more complicated bikey bits. Looking forward to it!

[JoeB]

Sounds great Jabberwocky – with any luck my schedule will cooperate and I’ll see you next week!

[JoeB]

All sounds good Pete, I’ll stay tuned. Thanks!

[JoeB]

1995! And in one word, it was *fantastic*. Everything Pete said above turned out to be absolutely true – I learned a TON on the ride (probably not surprising as a newbie) but a couple points stood out:

@Dirt 41232 wrote:

This is not intended to be a clinic to teach you how to ride a mountain bike. That said, I pretty much guarantee that you will learn something while you’re out riding though.

I actually preferred this ride in many ways exactly because it wasn’t a clinic. I’m sure I could learn a lot too from more specific training or skills work, but at this point more than anything I was just looking for a chance to get my tires back on dirt with a cool and fun group of people. And that’s exactly what this ride was.

I can add: I did have one small mechanical problem with cable stretch, which Pete and another rider got straightened out in about three minutes in between Accokink & Wakefield. Point being: this is not a supported ride in the sense of a maintenance tent or water stations en route, but I couldn’t have asked for better support for a newbie rider in the sense of: “Shoot, my bike stopped working.” Three minutes later: “Cool, that’s much better. Many thanks!”

@Dirt 41232 wrote:

That said, riding at night is one of the most beautiful and surreal experiences you’ll ever have on a bike. Moving through the woods at night under your own power is a pretty dang cool experience. Doing so with other riders is kind of neat. You’ll meet some new people to ride with. Some of them, I can say, are pretty amazing people.

Riding with this group was a lot of fun in and of itself – watching Pete mash that fixie over some pretty tricky obstacles was worth the price of admission alone – but riding trails at night was 100 times cooler than I ever expected it to be. You absolutely do need at least one really solid light (the 400 lumen setting on mine came in handy for the first time since buying it), but riding behind even just one or two other riders with lights really puts a surprising amount of light out in front of you.

I can imagine how really fast riders would need multiple lights to cover both the ground right in front of your tire and the ground 20/30 feet ahead, but at a casual pace with six or seven riders in the group there was plenty of light to see where we were going – but not so much that it was just like riding in daytime. Hard to describe (and wouldn’t have made sense to me until I tried it) but it really was a blast and I’m looking forward to doing it again soon.

So Pete: (a) many thanks again for your help with the bike and overall, and (b) IIRC, you mentioned a possible Wednesday night ride for next week, where would that one happen?

[JoeB]

@rcannon100 41807 wrote:

A three way substitution is taking place.

HANDICAPS
BEFORE :: AFTER
* * *
Team 2: 555 :: 555
* * *
Team 11: 522 :: 572

:p

What the…!!?!? VIOLATION! OUTRAGE! We humble, gentle riders of Team 2 have been mid-decade redistricted into last place!!?!? Get hot water! Get some disinfectant! Get some iodine!!

I insist on an immediate, sham trial for all involved, followed by summary imposition of sanctions. In particular, I’m thinking we make Team 11 and its co-conspirators ride the rest of the competition at like 10psi or something to compensate for their mid-game tweaks to the tilt of the playing field, but I’m open to ideas…

[pause. couple deep breaths.]

OK, fair enough, handicapping this sort of thing is far from easy, and sure, Robert and the rest of the “highly” “paid” arrangers of Freezing Saddles have actually done a spectacular job making this fun and interesting for everyone. So even though I do still favor sham trials as a general proposition, I’ll drop my demand for that kind of perversion of justice and instead just promise that all of us from Team 2 will respond to this outrage on the bike paths and the bike lanes and the cycletracks, and respond with vigor.

[Kind of. *Some* vigor. You know, as much vigor as can be worked up over this sort of thing.]

[JoeB]

@rcannon100 40247 wrote:

If it is going to be in the 60s this weekend, any interest in a group ride? I am thinking go out the WOD and have lunch somewhere? Something like

11 am Ballston to Vienna or Reston for lunch

Would love to come with, but I’m out of town this weekend from first thing Saturday morning through probably 2pm or so on Sunday. But I’m definitely going ride on Sunday, (unless I get back waaay too late), just to enjoy a nice shortsleeved January bike ride!

[Author]

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