[off2ride]

I’ll be riding to do my usual breakfast stop @ $tarbuck$ @ Lyon Village. Getting used to riding to work in short sleeves with minimal layering. Hopefully the sun will heat things up a bit.

[off2ride]

Wow!!! It is pricey!!!

[off2ride]

Try http://www.garminconnect.com, http://www.mapmyride.com or http://www.ridewithgps.com for saved routes. Perhaps you’ll get a match in there.

[off2ride]

Yes, that intersection (Gallows and W&OD) is dicey if the cyclist was to cross it RED. After pacing with with this rider, he decides he wasn’t going to wait for the light to turn green to cross Gallows. Guess what happened after he crossed?

@mstone 17161 wrote:

That’s one that’s quite clearly configured to not interfere much with motorists. It will not give pedestrians a signal more than once ever N minutes. If you see the cross signal lit while you’re approaching, you know you’re screwed because it’ll be red by the time you get there and you’ll have to sit a couple of minutes. Yet while it makes sure cars don’t get inconvenienced too much, it has a very short cycle for pedestrians, and quite often there’s a scramble to clear the road when it’s backed up on both sides. What’s even more hilarious about the timing is that it is quite clearly possible to give peds their 20s in periods when there’s no traffic coming due to light timings up and down the street–quite often it doesn’t change until the cars from the next light turning green are just starting to reach the crosswalk. So I’ll bet it also generates a lot of motorist complaints. Ignoring the signal is pretty safe at slack times because the sight lines are good and it’s a mid-block crossing so there aren’t any turning cars. The only upside to the signal is that it gives people a chance to cross at times when the traffic is heavy enough that there are no breaks. Oh, and it’s out on a fairly regular basis, so everyone has to learn how to cross without the signal anyway.

[off2ride]

Forecast tomorrow will be windy with accumulations of bright spring petals on grassy areas.

[off2ride]

I’ve been commuting by bike in the DC area since the mid 90’s and I must say that when I witness riders do stupid things on the bike, I just shake my head. It doesn’t even bother me anymore. What does bother me easily is when I see young kids riding their bikes with their parents/guardians without helmets on. I confronted this guy once about his kid not wearing a helmet. I think he wanted to tell me to get lost but he knew I meant well so he just kindof gave me a lame excuse. So in return, I gave him the “rolling of the eyes” effect then left. Some people are just clueless.

[off2ride]

I talk to this cop almost daily at my job about cyclists that break the law in the city and basically he says who ever caused the accident, if it did happen, is the one that will be cited. He witnesses peds and cyclists break the law daily. Mostly for J walking while they’re browsing on their phone. Motorists that are pissed off at cyclists must have had a bad experience from cyclists. So now they have no patience for our kind. They see us as targets and probably will provoke given the chance.

I see a lot of riders just blast past red lights, stop signs without really looking. Earlier this year while riding through Falls Church, in the dark, (that section on the W&OD with back to back x-walks before the RT 7 overpass) this rider gave me an annoying grunt because I stopped for a incoming truck. Hmm let me see, it’s dark, I saw headlights to my left so I stopped. He saw the truck but decided to just gun it to the other side. The bozo makes it safely!!! I was just shaking my head. You see? My point here is some riders are too confident. They think that they are bullet proof or just totally oblivious to their surroundings. On the other side of this Earth, I’m not saying which country, peds and cyclists are NOT given ample space. They risk it every time they are out there so they dare not risk it. After all, coming home in one piece is truly a blessing.

[off2ride]

That is right. I would rather deal with bike traffic than Beltway congestion. At least if somebody is stopped on front you in the bike trail, the easy way out of it is to go around them not unless they need some kind of assistance. Basically the commute flows and I get my ride in for the day.

@Subby 16933 wrote:

I know this sounds trite, but the worst day on the Custis is still a million times better than the %^&* traffic I deal with on my car commute from McLean to DC. Sure, plowing over a kid is your outlier worst case scenario but everything else is really just a minor annoyance compared to sitting in traffic on suburban feeder streets, wanting to claw your eyes out.

[off2ride]

Save that for Sturgis Bike Week or a more functional Wing Suit will do the trick.[ATTACH=CONFIG]847[/ATTACH]

[off2ride]

Oh right. I was there a few days ago and yes, they have a lot of “on hand” Dahon folding bikes. Check em out Ponchera.

[off2ride]

Call Revolution Cycles in Georgetown. Sorry, I don’t know the number. They are an official dealer of Dahon folding bikes according to a reliable source.

[off2ride]

Now that’s not right. They will cut through just to set up a speed trap for motorists on the other side? If they were trying to apprehend a suspect and know that they can get the upper hand by cutting through to catch this individual, then YEAH by all means to stop the bad guy. Oh you wanna set up a speed trap? Go around sir!!!

@culimerc 16831 wrote:

Occasionally Vienna Town Cops will cut through from Cedar going towards the community center to set up speed traps on Park st.

[off2ride]

Sometimes it’s necessary for law enforcement to be the bike trail to investigate a call. I don’t think they will park their county vehicle on the street and do foot patrol. I rarely see motorcycle cops in there. Cops on bicycles, yes. It wouldn’t really matter if you started complaining that they were in there. If a certain badge has such history of cutting through, then the department will give him a bicycle instead.

[off2ride]

I was @ Haines Point today bout 5ish. Only did 1 lap. Yes, it’s a Zoo down there.

@KLizotte 16785 wrote:

Yup, the blossoms are out in full bloom (and really quite spectacular this year I must say) as are the tourists around Hain’s Pt and the tidal basin – even at 7:30 at night (not sure what they expect to see in the dark – weird).

Be careful heading south along West Potomac Park since the NPS is directing cars to use *both* lanes heading north. The drivers are far more interested in finding a parking space along the water than watching what is coming at them in the same lane. I came over from the MLK Memorial and couldn’t figure out why all of these ^@%$! drivers were going the wrong way till I got to the end of the road and saw the barrier.

[off2ride]

Saw them too. They were riding towards Columbia Pike. The question is “why”? (talking like Jack Palance)

[Author]

Posts