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It seems worse. I think it’s been blocked every single morning I’ve tried to go through at about 8:30 to 8:45 a.m. And I’ve only made it through in the evening once in the last five tries.

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Two from Monday:

1) You: Secret Service Police car at 17th and Penn.
Me: On my bike westbound on Penn. just beyond the security barricades, waiting at the light at 17th to make a left turn to go south.
You: Light turns green, you immediately accelerate full speed with a right turn to go north on 17th and miss be by a foot or two. Umm, I know it’s a weird intersection because Penn is closed to cars, but you still don’t go right from the left side of the roadway without looking or warning. I’m getting sick and tired of riding past the White House these days. Why was Penn closed in the morning when Trump was in NY?

2) Me: Going WB on K St under the Whitehurst. I stopped at Wisconsin then kept going.
You: Going south on Wisconsin, blowing through the stop sign while turning right and missing me by a couple feet.
Me: “Hey, watch it.”
You: “Sorry, didn’t see you, you were in my blind spot.”
Sorry, dude, I appreciate the apology but: 1) you blew through the stop sign when there was approaching traffic that had already stopped and had the right of way; 2) the blind spot in a car is not looking out the drivers side window; 3) if there was a blind spot, you still can’t assume there’s nothing in it and go full speed ahead.

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If this was about fence jumpers and increased security, wouldn’t it be closed all the time? My hunch is that it’s shut down when Trump is going somewhere by car (which is pretty rare) or Pence is coming or going. Or perhaps when Ivanka’s motorcade is coming and going–if that’s the case, this is beyond absurd.

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@americancyclo 162928 wrote:

Heading eastbound in the morning, I’ve adopted this route, which avoids any shutdowns in front of the whitehouse and has a bonus of being faster, too.

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That also avoids me riding on the sidewalk on H from 20th to 19th. How is it that the IMF gets to close a street for SEVEN YEARS to renovate a building? They’re four years into the project with three more to go.

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@SolarBikeCar 158719 wrote:

I’m not sure if this is an attempt to pick last year’s scab and I should ignore you or if you have a valid point that I can do something about. I’ll assume the latter for now and see where this goes.

I have the lowest watt lights on the ELF. There is a brighter light option. So I think “insanely bright lights” is hyperbole. I don’t think riding in the dark is a reasonable option so suggesting one should turn off the lights when encountering others is crazy talk. More light is generally better than less. I’m also not sure why cyclists are looking at an approaching light instead of where they are going. Auto drivers learn this. Deer never did.

I could try designing a reflective housing that reshapes the beam by trimming off the top of the light cone. The fact the my lights are already much lower to the ground than a typical cyclist lights and lower powered should make them friendlier.

I often leave a light on inside the vehicle to illuminate the shell to provide some context for those who want to know what they are approaching. Does that help?

Did you have cataract or laser eye surgery that gives you poor night vision? I have stood 10, 15, 25 feet in front of my bike with the lights on and have not seen the problem you are describing.

I’m not sure if you had the light on inside the car or not. I didn’t see it. I truly had no idea what was coming at me. I hadn’t seen you in a while and wasn’t thinking it could be you. I really didn’t know whether it was a car, two bikes side by side, or something else. And the lights did seem much brighter than most bikes, though not as bright as the supernovas that some people use.

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@SolarBikeCar 158680 wrote:

The trail patrol asked me to run my lights during the day because approaching riders might not see me. (Go figure!) I haven’t ridden in the dark for at least a month so perhaps this comment is about trips last January and February. I find those who dim their lights with their fingers until a dozen feet in front and then bam full light to be unappreciative at how dangerous that is to oncoming traffic. Better to have a steady light that illuminates the trail consistently so one can train the eyes not to look into it like a deer but to focus on the edge of the trail so one doesn’t drive off the path. But I realize this is the place to vent and hopefully you’ll appreciate not having to worry about my lights until next November.

Yes, it was a couple months ago. But you’ve got insanely bright lights and it’s impossible to tell what’s coming at me–whether it’s your electric car, a regular car with a crazy driver on the path, a park maintenance vehicle driving slowly, or two bikes side by side. I rode into the gravel because I literally had no clue what was coming at me in time to protect myself. Please consider others when driving your electric car on the bike trail where it’s not supposed to be anyway (but I won’t rehash why your arguments are wrong).

Again, I love the idea of your ELF, but not on a bike or multi-use trail.

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@SolarBikeCar 158382 wrote:

Good to know. I was feeling curious. Did he blindly follow gps directions? Was it a new car and he wanted to try out 4-wheel drive? Was he having a senior moment. Really didn’t seem drunk or dangerous…just different. I stopped my vehicle thinking I’d get some answers by engaging in a conversation, but he continued on and so did I. I’m guessing from the snarky tone that your mind is more judgemental and less curious, Vern. But life has all types. Enjoy yours and ignore mine.

I try to ignore yours but it’s hard to do it when you’re blazing down the trail in your car in the dark with two insanely bright headlights that can’t be dimmed by hand like many conscientious cyclists do, and I ended up in the gravel along the trail because I couldn’t see where I was going.

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I meant to post this Tuesday but forgot. As I was riding up the Custis Trail westbound from Rosslyn, I noticed–for the second day in a row–an orange construction warning sign blocking half the trail/sidewalk saying “Steel Plates Ahead.” Given that the plates were in the road and not the trail, I saw no reason for the sign to be a trail hazard rather than a road hazard. I gently moved the sign into the roadway where it wouldn’t block the trail and to make it clear to drivers that there were steel plates ahead.

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@dasgeh 153619 wrote:

Honestly, I think they’re mostly mad about three spots:
As cyclists transition off the W&OD to Van Buren, they cross the path of pedestrians walking to the Metro. Pedestrians are oblivious and cyclists don’t stop.
Apparently cyclists never stop at the 4-way stop signs at Van Buren and 19th. Not even Idaho, but waiting-cars-be-damned-I’m-going-through. Neighborhood hates that.
Where the FMR Trail meets Van Buren, apparently cyclists suddenly appear in the roadway, scaring the bejesus out of drivers. It’s not a clear ROW situation.

As far as removing the trail, the neighborhood wants to close 18th St, which would mean that effectively, the trail would just be moved north, with the new alignment then 18th St. So cyclists would still be on Van Buren and it would only solve the last problem above, though it make it slightly more like cyclists take the “official” W&OD routing up Tuckahoe to the Trail.

As a bonus, less asphalt in Arlington, which is good.

I don’t see why it’s a four-way stop. I think everyone would be happier and safer if they eliminated the stop signs on Van Buren and only had stop signs on the east-west street.

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@sjclaeys 153650 wrote:

Big tree across the Custis Trail near Lyon Village right before the S-curve of death. No way to get around other than over.

I used my pro cyclocross skills, hopped off, quick hurdle, and was on my way. I wish it was always there–I could use the practice.

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I just looked on TV, and there’s a parade on my bike commuting route! I can’t wait to get Pennsylvania Avenue back from 15th to 17th. The detours the last two months have been annoying.

I do have to report lots of big black cars driving in the bike lines on Pennsylvania Avenue.

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@Steve O 152132 wrote:

Hi teammates,

A few of you know me, and the rest of you don’t.
I’m Steve O, and I am captain of this illustrious team. I’m looking forward to meeting everyone in person.
I live close to the EFC Metro almost on the line between Arlington and Falls Church. I commute every day by bicycle and use my bike as my main mode of (local) transportation.
I often attend Friday Coffee Club II at Java Shack and occasionally show up at the others. During FS off-season I organize Midnight Saddles rides and other social events with my bike riding friends.
This is my 5th year playing Freezing Saddles. The Bike Arlington scarf I received at the end of the first season has shrunk to 60% of its original length.

See you out there!

Steve, I’m surprised we haven’t crossed paths. I live right on the line between Arlington and Fairfax County north of EFC (by Williamsburg & Westmoreland). I split my work time between DC and Reston and try to ride 3 or 4 days a week.

I’m not a bollard buster, but i am a pylon killer. There’s a parking garage in DC that’s always placing an orange pylon in the bike lane on NY Ave just east of the White House. I always try to kick it over when I ride by, and once I got a kill–it fell over and cracked in half at the base.

I’m not bike on the Coffee Clubs but occasionally will stop by Vienna on Thursdays.

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@Steve O 151782 wrote:

Yes. The NVRPA has jurisdiction over the W&OD. Arlington over the Custis. The section of the trail that runs west from the Custis intersection to Lee Highway is, in fact, part of the Custis Trail, contiguous with the W&OD for that section. The County clears the Custis, the Bluemont Junction Trail, the 110 trail, and a couple of others. NVRPA has instructed the County not to clear its trail.

Should I mount studs this morning for my ride from East Falls Church to Chinatown (W&OD to Custis to MVT to Roosevelt Bridge to Foggy Bottom and DC streets)? Or will 23mm slicks be OK? Or put my cross tires back on for a little traction?

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@Steve O 150376 wrote:

What is needed then is a sign or two that says something like, “If you or someone you know has crashed on this boardwalk, please send the particulars to ______”

I wouldn’t be surprised if NPS determined that the best solution to the problem would be to remove the signs. Vigilante sign maker anyone?

Why don’t we just sneak over in the middle of the night and apply anti-slip paint ourselves?

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Am I going to have to deal with the closure of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House all the way through Inauguration Day? Arrgh. And speaking of road closures downtown, why can the IMF close H St between 19th and 20th for more than five years to renovate a building?

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