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@baiskeli 94602 wrote:

It is not true to say that it is legal to run in the street under any circumstances though. The law clearly intends that people not walk/run in the street unless they have no choice, e.g. there’s no sidewalk or the sidewalk isn’t usable. A slight risk of falling while running (which exists while running in the street too) isn’t intended as a reason.

And when your wife runs in the bike lane against traffic, she creates a whole new hazard by making it unclear which side bikes should pass her on, as described earlier.

At the place my wife was “blessed out” by the cyclist, she was running in a very residential area. If you know this neighborhood, it has some sidewalks, some homes without sidewalks, and she tells me that at the home of the cyclist who blessed her out their trash and recycling dumpsters are often on the sidewalk.

She runs with sharing the road in mind, doesn’t wear a headset (one of my pet peeves) and always gives way to cyclists.

Again, my points are – it is legal to run in the street – I think we all agree runners SHOULDN’T be in the cycle tracks – but let’s face it, it’s a fact of life and yelling at a runner about the legality of running there will never solve the problem.

And most importantly, I love living in a country where we have cycle tracks to argue about.

[nsfnsfdave]

@Sunyata 94573 wrote:

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In short, I do believe that running in the roadway (on low traveled roads) can be done safely, but that runners should stay off the infrastructure made specifically for cyclists. I also feel that runners should pay attention to what they are doing and take responsibility for their own safety. So yes, we should all try to get along. But in order to do so, we must follow the laws and rules put in place to keep us safe and take responsibility for our selves.

I couldn’t agree more. My wife runs on those sidewalks that are adequate, and the streets when they’re not. I asked her yesterday evening if she ever runs in the cycle tracks. She said sometimes it’s the best option, but she always runs facing the oncoming cyclists and is careful to get off when one approaches. My objection was to the statement “it’s illegal to run in the street” This is simply untrue.

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@rcannon100 94529 wrote:

Translation: My convenience is more important than your safety.

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Not Quite. My point is my wife’s safety (and that of other runners) is more important than your desire to have exclusive use of a piece of County property that her tax dollars helped to create.

If we’re talking safety, it should be about everyone’s safety, not just yours. She has the scars to prove that running on the sidewalks is dangerous. Let’s share nicely.

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@dasgeh 94509 wrote:

I’m glad you’re not a troll, though you seem to have missed a few posts about how it IS illegal to run in the streets where there’s a sidewalk. If that is your wife, I hope there’s a way to politely explain to her that the cyclists of Cherrydale would very much appreciate it if she would run opposing traffic where she insists on running in the street. (I’m not the only one who’s encountered her, and I’m not the only one that SHE has yelled out. I’m talking parents with kids on their bikes)

BTW, to the point about running in the bike lanes, Arlington County Code designates them for the exclusive use of bicyclists (with limited exceptions for motor vehicles in the preceding section):

My reading of the state law and the County law together is that, even in the event that running in the street is legal, it is NOT legal in the bike lane.

1. If all the laws were clear, we wouldn’t need lawyers. Let’s not get into whether county law trumps state law or vice-versa. I spoke to an Arlington County police officer who said there was nothing illegal about running on the street in Arlington. My check of the Arlington County code did not disagree with this. I doubt you could enforce a “No running in the street” policy in Arlington.
2. In reading your posts, I doubt it was my wife. We fight, I cuss. She has never used a foul word in the 25 years I’ve known her.
3. The whole sidewalk issue is moot as long as there is language which says you don’t have to use the sidewalk if you don’t think it’s safe. She has tripped quite a few times on the sidewalk and been injured, several times quite badly. She has never run into a bicycle in the street.
4. She’s obviously not the only one running in the streets, or this post wouldn’t be here.

I’ve been trying for years to get Arlington to fix the sidewalk in front of my house, where all the baby strollers take to the street because it’s so bad. They come out every so often and say “Oh my, there’s a tree root under there.” and the sidewalk never gets fixed. My street is a designated bike route (green sign and all). We have bikes, runners, walkers and baby strollers all sharing the street. Never had a problem here…

C’mon, Let’s all just get along.

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@dkel 94449 wrote:

§ 14.2-65. Riding and Parking Regulations.
E. Riding on sidewalk. Persons of any age may ride a bicycle upon any sidewalk, .

dkel, Thanks for correcting me, and to dasgeh, I don’t think I’m a troll and it’s entirely possible it was my wife you encountered.

The real point here is that it’s not illegal to run in the streets, except for I-66 where it’s no doubt posted that pedestrians and bicycles are prohibited (OK, I’m paraphrasing here).

We all need to get along. Each of us enjoys a different activity and we are all entitled to use our county facilities to enable that enjoyment. I’ve had several run-ins with pedestrians/runners myself, and I’ve certainly been guilty of more than one bone-headed maneuver vs. a car or two while riding. But I don’t expect to be denied the legal use of the streets and trails because another contingency thinks I shouldn’t be there.

Let’s just all get along..:o

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I’ve been doing the Fresh Bikes Arlington Tuesday ride for several years now, and I enjoy it immensely. I know the shop has put alot of effort into getting the police escort set up and helping calm the neighbors down about the 400 riders that storm through on the first Tuesday taco nights (and who the heck pays for the tacos?).

I do all my own repair and maintenance, and I’ve found them to be very helpful when I need a part.
I’m as cheap as anybody, and i used to buy everything on line to save a few $$, but I’ve been supporting them for a couple years because I want the Tuesday ride to continue. I know of many other rides sponsored by other shops that are equally well enjoyed. If we don’t support the LBSs, we may lose more than we might think.

[nsfnsfdave]

I’m a cyclist, my wife is a runner. A couple weeks ago she was “blessed out” by a cyclist for running in the street in the residential area just east of Washington-Lee HS. She was told it was illegal to run in the street and she should be on the sidewalk. She runs home from work and often is running after dark, and the sidewalks are frequently very uneven and over the years she has tripped and been injured several times, so she mostly runs in the streets now. The cyclist was abusive and threatened to call the police because as a “pedestrian” she was “supposed to be on the sidewalk”.

I called Arlington County Police and was referered to the Aelington County Code which is on-line and up-to-date. The officer said if it’s not specifically prohibited in the code it’s OK. I read the code from cover to cover and found that you can’t ride a bike on the sidewalk; you can’t ride a scooter or skateboard in the street, but I found no mention of any prohibition against walking or running anywhere. Therefore, we can deduce that it’s perfectly OK to run in the bike lanes (or in the middle of Wilson Blvd for that matter).

I have to agree with those who advocate that we all just try to be polite, even when someone is doing something stupid, but legal.

I don’t know what the law is in the district regarding running “in the bike lanes”.

[nsfnsfdave]

I’ve been riding many years and have built all my own bikes from frames with a variety of components, from 3×7 to 3×10 and many 2×9 and 2×10 setups. Cross-chaining should only result in slightly faster wear on all the components, in my opinion not enough to worry about. It should never result in excess noise. If both derailleurs are adjusted properly you should never get rubbing on the front derailleur no matter what the gear combination. And if you use good chain lube and keep everything else clean, you should hear little or no noise. I currently ride a 1996 trek with 53/39 and 11/28. I rarely get off the big ring and I frequently ride 53-28 on hills. This is cross-chaining at its worst, and I don’t have any rubbing, chain noise, or other issues.

Take it back and have them adjust it properly. The front derailleur on a triple has very little room for error. It must be adjusted to a precise setting with the cable length and stops and more important, the alignment of the derailleur to the chainrings (rotating it on the seatpost) is very critical. But if the shop does it correctly, you should not have it rub in any gear combination.

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