[KLizotte]

Regarding the guy in the video, that’s like taking a fixie to the extreme!

The threesome I saw had the real deal – skinny wheels and very, very tall. Packing up one of those to take on a plane must be a real hassle.

[KLizotte]

None of the ones I saw were fancy colors. Just black or dark gray. There must be some sort of penny farthing fraternity around here (or else some sort of convention going on).

[KLizotte]

Whew, so I wasn’t hallucinating!

Next time I’m gonna follow them.

[KLizotte]

I always go to Spokes on Quaker Lane, Alexandria. Haven’t been in since the warm weather started so am not sure how backlogged they might be. The techs have always seemed good.

[KLizotte]

Adding to the danger is the fact that Capital Bikeshare is expanding along the corridor which means more newbie cyclists will be going thru there. It’s possible that the thick CaBi tires will be big enough not to get caught in the groove but I presume most riders won’t know the danger of riding on metal (I learned this the hard way when I hit the expansion plate on the Wilson bridge ramp – splat!).

[KLizotte]

Hi Steve,

I suspected your wife had MS given the symptoms. My sister has MS too; fortunately my sis has been on some sort of medication that seems to have lessened the symptoms and stopped the attacks but regulating body temp is always a difficulty.

Too bad you will never know exactly what caused the bike to veer out of control. I hate not knowing things like that! Crashes make me more cautious but also a little more confident knowing that most of them entail little more than scratches and bumps.

Kathy

[KLizotte]

Naked cyclists ahead

[KLizotte]

Glad to hear she got a CT scan while at the ER; ERs always seem to be a crap shoot – you never know what you’re gonna get. Check her pupils frequently since an unusual size indicates inflammation. She’s probably fine given that the CT scan looked ok. This case certainly makes a strong argument for helmets. I went on a group ride Thursday night thru DC and was rather surprised by how many people were not wearing them (or any sort of blinky lights for that matter – grrrrr).

I understand a lot of helmet companies will send you a new one for free if you send them the damaged one. I suspect they do this in order to get a collection of crashed helmets for research purposes. I’d send mine in just for that purpose.

For road rash I highly recommend the hydrocollodial (spelling?) bandages. They work as a second skin and they work extremely well. I don’t know if they come large enough for your missus since I haven’t had road rash that big (yet).

[KLizotte]

Oh my god! I’m so sorry that happened to her (and you). Thank goodness the injuries weren’t worse though I would HIGHLY recommend getting more head tests done (e.g., MRI or CAT scan) and watching her carefully for the next few days (no driving for her I’m afraid) because it is highly possible that she has a brain bruise caused by the impact of the brain sloshing about and hitting the inside of skull. You may already know this but our brains sit inside our skulls in a thin resevoir of fluid that resides between the skull and soft tissue. Neurosurgeons look mostly for pressure on the brain from this kind of injury (the bleeding itself isn’t usually a big deal, it’s the associated inflammation). If she experiences any headaches over the next couple of weeks (esp the next few days), take her to ER asap.

Sorry for the alarmist advice but my dad blacked out one day while doing yardwork and fell forward and hit his temple on a concrete apron that surrounds the house. Obviously his momentum was significantly less than your wife’s (and of course he wasn’t wearing a helmet) but he suffered a serious brain bruise and was in the hospital for quite some time as a result. His recovery took months and he permanently lost hearing in one ear. I wouldn’t wish the experience on anyone.

Best to be on the safe side. A good reminder to all of us to keep it slow. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

P.S. Did anyone on the trail try to help? I’m rather alarmed you seemed to be on your own in dealing with the situation.

Kathy

[KLizotte]

@PotomacCyclist 4223 wrote:

I’d like to see 1 or 2 stations near Pershing Drive, perhaps at Pershing and Washington Blvd. The trip between Pentagon City and Court House/Clarendon is not easy to make in the 30-min. time limit (before incurring per ride fees), especially on the slower CaBi bikes. A station in between the two areas would encourage more riding between the two main CaBi areas in Arlington.

The other alternative route is to go over to the Mt. Vernon Trail and head to Rosslyn. Then ride over to Court House and Clarendon (and eventually Ballston). That’s not ideal in many cases. MetroRail does not offer a direct route between Pentagon City and Clarendon. This is a chance for CaBi to offer up a new direct path for those who don’t or can’t drive.

Perhaps next year, some stations could be added to the Columbia Pike corridor to further increase direct north-south CaBi trips in Arlington. In addition, the bike infrastructure could be improved. There aren’t many good bike routes between Pentagon City and Clarendon.

As a Pentagon City resident I completely agree with you. I really wish there was an easy, safe, relatively quick way to bike between PC and the Clarendon area. Seems silly to drive for the 10 minute trip.

[KLizotte]

@brendan 5214 wrote:

Gnats.

Brendan

I’m all in favor of pressuring government officials to start breeding and releasing copious amounts of bats in our area to eat all of the gnats. I understand bats eat mosquitoes too so we can get a 2-for-1 deal.

Of course the bat idea would have to be abandoned if they eat fireflies. You simply gotta love a bug that comes with its own blinky

[KLizotte]

@adamx 5227 wrote:

1. good thing little girl wasn’t hurt and dad didn’t explode.
2. good to take caution upon approach. in similar situations i take the next step and ring the bell – or audible – BIKE!!!
3. the multi use trails were not and never have been intended to be personal Time Trial Training grounds. they are point to point travel routes for a variety of users. Those of us and others who believe the are our personal training grounds are….uh…is idiots too strong?

Yes. lots of tears from the little girl but the dad said he rode the trail a lot and seemed quite level-headed. I’m sure he felt really bad for not realizing ahead of time she might try to cross the trail on her own. I’m quite sure he won’t make that mistake again and I hope that doesn’t deter him from taking his kids out in the bike buggy again.

As far as ringing the bell, I make copious use of my bell and voice but a really small child simply won’t understand what the signals mean.

I fully agree with you on your last point. Shame we can’t have cycles-only trails though.

Kathy

[KLizotte]

Rootchopper,

Wow, now that was one heck of a crash. Glad you survived (hopefully without too much damage) and no one else got hurt. I must admit I’m completely baffled by parents who bring their very small children out to walk/play on what is essentially an expressway for “vehicles” (of the slower variety of course).

Kathy

[KLizotte]

@Dirt 5136 wrote:

I heard back from Arlington on this. They’ve sent someone out to inspect it and will take action.

I have received no responses from any of the other agencies that I contacted. I will be contacting the United Nations later today.

Newsflash: The hole will not be filled in since the Fish & Wildlife Service has determined that it is a critical watering hole for endangered duckies. It is now considered a protected wildlife habitat and a cordon area of 100 miles will be established as soon as the various governmental agencies figure out who has jurisdiction. To that end, I spied bean counters on the George Mason bridge this morning counting cyclists (a.k.a. duckie killers).

[KLizotte]

*Augh* on Papillon Cycles in terms of scope of bikes avail for sale and overall salesperson helpfulness. PC was the first LBS I visited when I decided I wanted to buy a bike since I live down the street from them and they get good reviews for their repair serviced. The owner was downright rude and uninterested in selling me a bike. I ended up trying out three bikes and one of the bikes completely broke down a few blocks from the store since it had been assembled incorrectly. I was told they have a high school kid working for them that puts their new bikes together. The other two were so badly assembled and rode so rough that I almost gave up my idea of moving up the bike food chain from CaBi.

What a difference when I started trying out the Treks at Spokes! It was like going from a Yugo to a Mercedes. Papillon was selling Giant but I attribute the poor bike performance to assembly issues. Even if I had loved their bikes I was so turned off by the owner’s demeanor that I don’t think I’ll ever step across his threshold again unless I’m really, really desperate.

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