[NickBull]

@Brett L. 195974 wrote:

At what point does a known dangerous situation that is not addressed become negligence? Whether it be bridges that are too slippery to ride on without breaking bones or intersections/roads that result in high rates of car/pedestrian collisions, at some point those responsible for rectifying a dangerous situation should be held accountable, no?

If there was some spot that had as many car accidents with people injured as the various wooden bridges, the Park Service would fix it. But since we are just piece-of-s!*t bicyclists they don’t give a … On the plus side, at least they’re not actively killing us.

[NickBull]

Anyone have any info on the condition of Rock Creek Trail between Maine Ave and Woodley Park?

[NickBull]

@semperiden 189213 wrote:

FYI. At the construction site near the Memorial Bridge on the MVT, they placed jersey barriers that effectively create blind corners.

They were also placing 4 inch high speed bumps after such blind corners this morning.

Yup, I went down on that f’ing speed bump.

[NickBull]

@sjclaeys 188030 wrote:

A beer garden, hardware store that has everything …

Haha, one of my family sayings is “If Ayers doesn’t have it, you don’t really need it.” (Ayers is the above-mentioned hardware store.)

As an avid cyclist and cycle commuter, I have to say … I hope they’re not going to sacrifice parking spaces in Westover for cycle paths of any kind. Parking is already scarce. And cyclists commuting through Westover are even scarcer. Not because of any lack of bike paths, but because no one commutes on Washington Blvd. If you want to commute, you commute on the W&OD or Custis, where you’re less likely to get killed. If Westover is your destination, then it’s easy enough to get there on back roads coming from the bike paths or through the neighborhoods.

[NickBull]

@Steve O 186805 wrote:

Aha! Don’t compensate. Just keep your wheels straight as best you can. The bike will compensate for you.

If an icy surface is sloped, then gravity is going to make your wheels want to slip sideways. The icy spots south of the trollheim are flat, but some of the the icy spots south of Memorial Bridge are a little too tilted for me to want to risk it.

[NickBull]

This morning, I got on the trail at Quincy and ended up just riding straight down the trail past all the detour signs. There was no evidence that any trail work is being done, other than the signage. No wonder they’re going to take a month!

[NickBull]

I’ve now ridden the mulch detour four times and it hasn’t been bad. But my narrowest tires have been 32’s and the tires I rode today are 55’s, so I don’t sink down far in the mulch!

[NickBull]

I’m looking forward to the next time that the Park Service does work on the GW Parkway. I assume they’ll be building mulch detours for all the cars

[NickBull]

Thanks for that posting, Dasgeh. I just emailed trails@arlingtonva.us about the hole in the brick section of the Custis just west of N. Oak St near Key Marriott. It’s been getting steadily worse.

[NickBull]

@KLizotte 145667 wrote:

Yes, but if the data were made available to news outlets it might gain some legs via negative coverage. OTOH, WABA’s crash reporting site might work too if properly filled in.

I’ve just started a thread to report your wooden-bridge MVT accidents, here:
http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?11054-Report-your-MVT-wooden-bridge-accident-here-Date-location-circumstances

[NickBull]

@semperiden 146212 wrote:

Went really slow going North bound through trollheim this morning and allowed myself at least 20ft from a cyclist that was ahead of me. Shook my head to a speedy cyclist that was going South bound at the start of the bridge. There should be signs that this is actually a skating rink when it is wet.

I’ve just started a thread to report your wooden-bridge MVT accidents, here:
http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?11054-Report-your-MVT-wooden-bridge-accident-here-Date-location-circumstances

[NickBull]

@ian74 143260 wrote:

Instantly made me think of this. Maybe his finger got stuck under his seat, then he reached under with his other hand to get it unstuck and then that one got stuck too.

Like this (but in bike form, scroll to 1:56)

…

I never did figure out what he was doing. Right after the crash, the guy behind me asked the crash-ee what had happened and the crash-ee said “I hit the brakes too hard.” I pointed out to him that he hadn’t hit the brakes at all, his hands were under the saddle. I didn’t ask why … figuring he wasn’t a very reliable witness!

I think Planes, Trains and Automobiles is one of the funniest movies ever made. I’d forgotten that scene.

Nick

[NickBull]

@dasgeh 138207 wrote:

You may not see it, but I doubt it is not happening near you.

I can’t remember the last time I heard a catcall on the trails. If ever. I don’t doubt at all that it is happening to women. But I suspect that the creeps who do this only do it when there are not other males around. Or only when other males of their own type are around.

[NickBull]

@Amalitza 138219 wrote:

I’m a looker-backer. (actually, I’m a looker-backer all the time not just when i know someone’s behind me, because i like to be aware of traffic around and behind me and not everyone makes enough noise to hear them coming. You just don’t know that because you’re not there to see me do it). Assuming you’re not following me for an unnecessarily long time on a deserted trail, I’m not doing it because I’m concerned you’re stalking me, I’m doing it to keep an eye on if/when you’re going to pass. Sometimes people pick what I’d consider inopportune times to pass, and don’t call their passes, and I just don’t like to be startled by it. If you want to make me less concerned that will happen you can announce yourself when you catch up to me– I generally assume cyclists who announce when they’re behind me will also announce before they pass, otherwise i have no idea if you will or won’t announce your pass. But I’ll probably still keep a bit of an eye on you back there. Nothing personal.

A mirror makes this safer … you can look back in the mirror while still looking ahead. Heck, when I’m walking downtown at night and hear footsteps coming up behind me, I instinctively look in the mirror, then realize I’m on foot and don’t have it.

[NickBull]

@Steve O 138109 wrote:

I bet a lot of the drivers are thinking, “Oh, yeah, I was just about to do that, but now that I’ve been reminded, I guess not.”

The other signs that I like are the ones that say “Bicycles Share the Road” which I am pretty sure drivers interpret to be a message to bicyclists that they should get off the road so as to better-share it with the cars.

[Author]

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