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@dasgeh 19211 wrote:

The federal law has been around for more than a decade, and this hasn’t happened. Why would you think that Arlington allowing ebikes on its MUPs would lead to this? Moreover, the law limits the speed of the assist, so there’s necessarily a cap on that aspect.

The limiting factor, IMO, isn’t law–it’s battery technology. Batteries have been improving very slowly, but will almost certainly continue to improve and make ever faster bikes practical.

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@KLizotte 19124 wrote:

It seems to me that manufacturers might be better off if they focused a tad bit more on comfort instead of solely on performance. One shouldn’t need a degree in biomechanics to set up a bike for oneself and ride comfortably. I’m just sayin’….

It’s a chicken and egg problem. There are relatively few bike shops that don’t cater to the racing crowd or the gnarly mountain bike crowd. The manufacturers don’t have much of a distribution channel for bikes for normal people outside of wal-mart. Shimano dumped a ton of money into trying to sell an auto-shifting bike to leisure cyclists, and they gave up largely because people either got scared out of the stores or got steered away from the “lame” bikes into the carbon road bike they “really” needed. I have hopes that with more people cycling there will be some incentive to change, but right now it’s fairly tough for someone to walk in off the street into a bike store and get a decently priced, drop-bar commuter set up with racks, fenders, etc.

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@jnva 19115 wrote:

As far as experience and safe handling of an ebike going 20mph, this can be mastered in a week or so. It’s not that difficult.

Except, 20 is generally too fast for the close-in MUPs when other users are out and about–and the fact that anyone can jump on and do it in less than a week is exactly the problem…

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the maintenance vehicles will just drive right over them.

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steel is longer lasting in some ways, less so in others. if wet riding is a potential, aluminum might be a better choice…

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@PotomacCyclist 18438 wrote:

As for cleaning bottles, some brands can be put in the top rack of a dishwasher, including the insulated Camelbak Chill Jackets and Podium Chills. They are the same size as other standard plastic water bottles. I also put the bottle top in the top rack of the dishwasher too.

+1 dishwasher.

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Usually if it’s that far gone I just say something like “AAAAHHHH”.

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@pfunkallstar 18374 wrote:

Also, the Arlington County “Sharing the Way” guide informs us to “use verbal warnings only when necessary,” which is just plain awful advice. I let out a guttural, Braveheart-esque warning before every pass, it is good for society and the digestion.

I agree with the advice; you should use a bell unless there’s something that really needs to be communicated with speech.

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@CCrew 18054 wrote:

That section was slated since well into last year to be resurfaced. That was the answer I got last year when I questioned why the Hunter Mill to Vienna stretch near Clarks Crossing got done when it was in far better shape. NVPRA handles the logistica and planning, and IIRC they have a budget that says they only have enough $ to pave once every 20 years.

Well, it’s still a cadillac trail compared to the ones that haven’t been paved in more than 20 years. Some more basic maintenance would be nice, though. (Instead of repaving the whole thing, it would be nice to just plug up some of the cracks, like they do on the car roads…)

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Glad I found out about it here before going that way; the gravel would really annoy me right in the quiet stretch where you can finally speed up a bit.

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@bgfeldm 17745 wrote:

Sometimes on roadways bridges there are “Bridge May Be Icy” or “Bridge Ices Before Road” signs so what about “Slippery when Wet” signs.

signs spoil the natural beauty of the NPS lands

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are bows required?

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@JustinW 17708 wrote:

Another random thought – with the profusion of smartphone-carrying riders out there, would it help to put QR codes on all wayfinding signs? The codes could generate a “you are here” map on the user’s phone, complete with a list of what’s coming along the trail (in whichever direction they are going) as well as a “how to find _____ from where you are now”.

By the time that was implemented everyone would already have google maps, and qr codes would have been replaced by the next big thing.

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@GuyContinental 17666 wrote:

I suppose that the WO&D could be reworked with a separated lane design but it would be pretty dang expensive. Also, I suspect that the resulting narrower bike lanes could create some new and interesting congestion issues. Hypothetically, separated lanes could be incorporated on surface streets but I can’t think of many that are wide enough AND traveled enough to make it make sense. What direction is the county taking on this? More surface-street bike lanes or separated lanes?

I think the right of way for W&OD is wide enough for the most part to support two good size tracks (there’s already a horse track on much of it). Money is the real issue, and you might end up with a few electric poles in the middle of the path…

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yikes

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