[LBSki]

@mstone 97998 wrote:

I’m curious why you wouldn’t either speed up or slow down a little.

As far as why to blink, a practical (if prosaic) reason is that it doubles your battery life.

Because, he was riding almost exactly my speed. I did go out of my way to speed up and pass him twice, and both times he re-passed me later on the trail. We played leap frog from falls church to georgetown. I suppose I could have just stopped and waited 5 mintues, and maybe that’s what I’ll do next time.

[LBSki]

I rode behind two flashing red lights (one on the bike, one on the bag, alternate patterns, very bright) almost my entire commute in this morning, and while it wasn’t dangerous, it was certainly annoying. Unless it is pitch black, like middle of december, hours after sunset type black, I always just put my rear red light on solid. And if it is flashing, I only use one. Riding behind a light flashing into your eyeballs certainly takes the joy out of an otherwise delightful morning ride. Those of you who ride with red blinkies when it’s not actually that dark out, is there a reason? Is there any evidence that it’s more safe? Especially want to hear from folks that run two alternating pattern blinkies.. why???

[LBSki]

@dcv 97416 wrote:

A cyclist fainted while waiting to cross. A few of us stopped to help (fast friendly guy was there too). The man hit his head on the ground, looked like he may have needed stitches above his eye. He was an older gentlemen, he didn’t seem steady enough to stand up after the fall. One guy called 911 (first responders got there in about 5 minutes), a women cleaned off some of the blood. We asked if we could call someone to pick up his bike, or if he wanted me to take his bike to my work garage in Georgetown. He had a bike lock and asked us to lock his bike up to sign post near the monolith. He was able to a speak coherently, hope he’s OK.

Glad to hear a few people were around to help. Thanks for the update.

[LBSki]

What happened at the intersection of doom this morning? As I was pulling up (maybe 7:40 a.m.), an ambulance was loading someone on a stretcher, right near the bike counter. Lots of bikes piled around, but there didn’t appear to be any cars involved. Person on the stretcher did not look good. Did anyone see this?

[LBSki]

Rider in front of me slipped and wiped out on the teddy roosevelt boardwalk this morning. He was fine, just a bruised ego. I know almost everyone claims to know this, but riders still wipe out there ALL the time, so PLEASE, slow down at the corner! Like, really slow down, like basically stop your bike before taking that turn if there is any moisture on the ground. I took a very nasty spill there early this year, and it makes me cringe nearly every ride.

[LBSki]

I was also wondering about the GW parkway crossing accident. I came by around probably 7:40 and saw the same thing – a few cyclists standing, and a bike in the road, and three cars. My thought was a driver stopped for the cyclist, and the driver behind her didn’t. It didn’t look like anyone was seriously injured, but I really couldn’t tell. I hate the crossing so much, it would shave about 2 miles off my commute, but I can’t do it, I’d rather keep going to 14th and loop back around!

[LBSki]

Yeah, I thought I noticed that the lead time was longer this week. It really does make a difference.

[LBSki]

I always take the road here, in the morning and in the afternoon. I recognize in the morning that I’m going the wrong direction. However, the majority of the time, there is a police cruiser or other vehicle parked nearly right in front of the sidewalk entrance, making it difficult to access the sidewalk. And, I just don’t see any reason to go out of my way to do so because the sight line is so clear, and the frequency of vehicles coming at that time of the morning is so low. And the smooth road is nicer to ride on than the bumpy sidewalk. I actually don’t know if I’ve ever encountered head on vehicle traffic in the mornings during my 20 seconds of salmoning.

I have heard of cops ticketing cyclists for doing this, but I think that might be an urban legend. I’ve litterally ridden right past parked cop cars without a second glance.

[LBSki]

When I first started biking to work, I used a running backpack that I had previously used for run commutes. It was a little daypack from REI, originally intended to hold a water bladder, which I took out. It worked really well, I liked that it was small, had pads, and centered on your back so you could hardly feel it. A few months ago I saw a deal for a Hydrapak Tamarack, and bought it. It’s basically the same thing, it had a bladder in it that I took out. The nice thing about it is that it has a specific pocket for a pump, and a pocket for an extra tube.

You’d be surprised at how much you can fit in a small bag, I’d err on the small side to start. I carry my work clothes, a change of clothes for the ride home (sometimes, if the temperature is going to change or what not), my wallet, phone, keys, and usually my lunch. The smaller day packs use space really efficiently,and you can build out so to speak, so the weight stays centered on top of your back, which is really nice.

Neither of my bags is water proof, and part of the reason I bought a new one is because the old one started to get a little funky after a few downpours and sweaty rides. I’m not hardcore about riding in the rain though, and when I do, plastic bags work well to protect clothing.

[LBSki]

I’ve moved from commuting by metro to biking most days. I started just one day a week and now usually ride four days a week. My savings since the start of the year, just in metro fare is over $400! I love keeping track of it, it’s a great motivator.

[LBSki]

@mstone 65639 wrote:

same on the W&OD

I had the same thought this morning – seemed like a normal number or cyclists too, but then when I crossed the bridge it was empty. I figured people woke up and went for a ride even if they weren’t going to work.

[Author]

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