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I f-‘ed up twice and then gave up on roof racks. At least for me, the cost of buying the hitch from U-Haul (not using any sort of expedited service) and having them install it was not significantly different that buying the hitch elsewhere and installing it myself. I did get rear-ended once after getting hitch mount rack, and while my bike was not on the rack at the time, the rack went through my rear windshield and sent glass everywhere, making me grateful for shatterproof glass.

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Thanks for posting. I thought the article was really funny, and reminded me of something that would be in the Onion.

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I called, spoke to Ms. Phillips. who is not the right person, and hope to hear back. The person who is breaking the glass is rather obsessive about engaging in vandalism, which might make them more dangerous than the actual acts they are doing.

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@ginacico 161275 wrote:

The worst part of my evening commute is getting from my office to the 15th Street cycletrack, heading to the 14th Street bridge. I wrote to WABA just restating the nightmare that they already know exists, but I’m sure those of you who are in or have to go around the Farragut – Lafayette Square zone can commiserate. A picture is worth a thousand words.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]14940[/ATTACH]

At one time, WABA was agitating to extend the 15th Street cycletrack past the Ellipse to Constitution Avenue. My recollection is that someone from WABA later told me this was unlikely to get anywhere because of the vendor trucks and the large amount of traffic that turns right onto Constitution from 15th.

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@dasgeh 161154 wrote:

The discussions of to-call-or-not-to-call are frequent in DC cycling circles. To sum up, most on this forum call most of the time on trails. Outside of this forum, lots of people don’t call passes, or only call when passing kids, or only call when passing pedestrians (not other bikes). Some just never learned to call passes. Some have very legitimate reasons that they’ve decided not to call. Things that pop to mind:

• Some pedestrians actually turn to see what the noise was, increasing the risk of collision.
• Some pedestrians will yell at cyclists who do call passes.
• The trails are so popular, if you call every pass, you end up calling for the whole ride (true story – this is my ride in Rosslyn – I just sing good morning songs from my kids’ preschool as I ride).

Until and unless there are clear signs indicating what people should do, I doubt you’re going to see much improvement in this area, from pedestrians or cyclists.

You are still better off calling out your passes most of the time.

First bullet point – that is why the cyclist needs to slow down. I called out “on your left” once to a jogger, and she jumped to her left and in front of me.
Second bullet point – response should be “F.U. too.”
Third bullet point – that’s why I got a bell.

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@bobco85 160029 wrote:

Surge 15 starts Monday, and my video is now up for biking around it!

Quick notes:

• Surge 15 will run from May 15th through June 16th
• All Orange Line stations east of Stadium-Armory will be closed (New Carrollton, Landover, Cheverly, Deanwood, & Minnesota Ave stations all will be closed)
• Free local shuttle buses will replace Orange Line trains
• Express shuttle buses will connect a few Orange Line stations to a few Blue/Silver Line stations

This bike route video uses parts of the route that I took folks along for the Purple Line, and it should show a couple of connections between the stations that aren’t very easy to figure out.

Here is the video. With Bike to Work Day approaching, I hope this helps those who are less experienced.

[video=youtube_share;HwKtaZcg_mU]https://youtu.be/HwKtaZcg_mU[/video]

Metro liked your videos so much, they are coming out with SafeTrack II https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dr-gridlock/wp/2017/06/01/metro-to-shut-down-parts-of-green-red-and-yellow-lines-in-next-round-of-maintenance-blitzes-once-safetrack-ends/?hpid=hp_local-news_metro-155pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.fdb10da92b75

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@Crickey7 160902 wrote:

I resolve to yell at everyone, or no one.

Maybe alternate days, and try to work in screaming goat sounds.

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@Vicegrip 160889 wrote:

Why is gender a factor in saying something to someone else or not? In the context of riding bikes on streets and trails and regarding bike behavior if it is OK to say to a man why is not OK to same same to a woman? I am not talking bad stuff but warnings or the like. Sure “get off your bike” is not a Dirt way to say something but it is simply rude man or woman. A new rider can be discouraged be they man or woman.

A little sprinkle of rule 5 so rude people will less insult your day. Rude is rude.

In addition to more overt sexist behavior, some people may take a more condescending or superior attitude with women than they would with men. And that is an attitude that woman may have to fight against more than do men. But I agree there are plenty of jerks out there who think they are superior to everyone, regardless of gender.

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@hozn 142211 wrote:

I had a Gutr and have a Halo. For me the Gutr seemed like a good idea, but was quite uncomfortable — can’t remember if it was interfering with the helmet or glasses or just bothering me above ears or what. I later bought a Halo which worked much better (though it does have more material, so may be a little hotter). So just a suggestion to try on with your helmet/glasses if possible (not sure who carries those products).

Does anyone have any more recent opinions on the Gutr or the Halo? I’m tempted to purchase one or the other at some place with a decent return policy and return it if it not comfortable.

Thanks.

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As pollution impact can be very location specific, I move to the front of the line when at a light to minimize the amount of exhaust I am breathing in. Other than that, not much else. There are at least some studies that indicate that if you only ride a few hours a day in all but the most polluted cities, you will be below the tipping point where the risks of exposure to pollution outweigh the benefits on exercise. https://qz.com/686131/how-long-you-can-cycle-before-the-harm-from-pollution-exceeds-the-benefits-of-exercise/

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@Tania 160052 wrote:

I saw a herd of about 30 cops walking in loose formation along Lafayette Square this morning around 8:20. I just figured it was another day in Trumpland.

Not sure about what you saw, but it is Police Week. That is also why there are flags at half-mast today.

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@Emm 159928 wrote:

This looks like an adorable little squirrel city. Just needs some squirrel sized catapults and trebuchets and we could have a real life squirrel Medieval war!

Keeping with the Monty Python theme from the Missed Connection thread:

Silly squirrel K-nig-hts.

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@GovernorSilver 159919 wrote:

Nah I’ll just lob the Holy Grenade of Antioch at him.

One, two, five.

Three, sire.

Boom.

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@jrenaut 159707 wrote:

Via Twitter from a forum member whose handle I’ve forgotten: VA 46.2 831

Its not an imitation of an official traffic control device. This provision is aimed at fake stop signs, etc.

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@Emm 159698 wrote:

According to posters, people called the police ALOT. So the police came and looked everything over…and did nothing. It took hours for anyone to remove the sign. Which is just frustrating. An illegal sign should be removed immediately, or at least moved to a spot it’s not visible and causing unsafe conditions.

I am not in anyway condoning what the guy did, but what was he doing that was illegal/is there is a statute prohibiting what he did? His sign does not look like an official sign, and I presume the police decided he was acting within his First Amendment rights, however reprehensible his actions.

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