[PotomacCyclist]

I found several bike racks around Tysons Corner Center. I added them to the map.

I also found new candidates for highest bike rack in the DC region:

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These are on the small observation decks along the Wilson Bridge Trail, about 80 feet above the Potomac River. That’s far higher than the Silver Spring Transit Center bike racks, compared to the adjacent ground or water level. (It’s still possible that the Silver Spring bike racks are higher when compared to river level because the close-in MD suburbs are uphill from downtown DC and the Potomac River level.)

I’m not sure who would ever use those bike racks though. There are two of them at each of the three observation decks. Is someone actually going to say, hey, it’s a good day to park my bike here and wander around on foot? It’s not as though there are restaurants, bars or restrooms up there. There is a bench and a set of binoculars. Maybe someone would be worried about being distracted while looking through the binoculars? They were being bike-friendly with the construction of the trail and the decks, so I won’t complain too much. Just wondering about the utility of racks in those locations.

I’ve been across the bridge several times, but this was the first time I stopped multiple times. I’ve taken photos of National Harbor, Old Town and DC from the bridge before. But for some reason, I noticed the shaking a lot more. That is, the heavy rumbling and shaking that occurs each time a large truck or bus passes by in the adjacent road lanes. Maybe I was tired. Whatever it was, I got dizzy and nervous when I felt that rumbling. Since the decks have been there for a few years and nothing has happened, I assume it’s all safe. But that doesn’t counter the instinctive worry that I felt, 80 feet above the water, with not much I could do if the deck were somehow to tumble and collapse.

I noticed a heavy police presence. Probably part of stepped-up security after the California shooting. Officers were driving a police car along the bike trail itself, across the bridge and on the Maryland side. Not a complaint. I understand the need for security measures. But perhaps a motorized (and armored) police bike would be better on narrow trails, with a patrol car nearby as backup.

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Many of you may have crossed the bridge as well. But did you know that the boundaries of VA, DC and MD are all marked on the trail. The bridge crosses from VA through the southern tip of DC before reaching MD. There are brass lines embedded in the trail showing the exact locations of the boundaries. The photo shows the DC/MD boundary line.

The trail passes from VA to DC, then from DC to MD in the space of about 300 ft. It’s the only location where you can travel among all three jurisdictions in under a minute. The other location is at Little Falls, north of Chain Bridge. It’s probably not advisable to be swimming or biking around in those rapids…

[PotomacCyclist]

Conversation from the movie “Zombieland.” I happened to hear this line as I was changing channels. Somewhat gruesome but darkly humorous to some. Highlight to read:

“So he’s on one of those serious Tour de France bikes. You know, with the, like, the toeholds, right. And uh, he’s peddling. And the zombies
head is like caught in the gear. You know, with the hair and the chain just like, going around. Very cool.”

I haven’t seen the movie other than that brief clip.

[PotomacCyclist]

Crystal Drive in Crystal City. The LED lights flash in a pattern from the edge of the bowl to the center. There’s also a new speaker system that was playing music along with the light display. It’s in the courtyard across from Chick-fil-A.

Some may find it too glitzy and flashy but I don’t mind it. It’s not as though Crystal City is a historic district. I think the light structure adds some visual interest to Crystal Drive, something to break up the series of office buildings.

[PotomacCyclist]

It’s not Cheyenne Mountain and Stargate Command. Incorrect.

It’s actually in the DC area. I think this was just installed, maybe today or yesterday.

[PotomacCyclist]

Guess where this is:

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Yes, I was on a bike, although I stopped while I took this photo.

[PotomacCyclist]

I’m wondering if this old thread was revived by a spammer. While the post from the new acct isn’t spam (yet), it bears some of the markers of a spammer: reviving old threads for no reason, trying to post something that seems to relate to a thread but without any bike content whatsoever, new acct from an overseas country with no indication of any interest in bike issues or of visiting the DC area.

[PotomacCyclist]

I read a summary on Velo News about the same story. It seems as though the testing is inconclusive because it doesn’t include enough data points. Everyone already knows that Froome has extraordinary physiology. You can’t win the Tour de France without being extraordinary. The tests don’t determine if there was any cheating going on.

One of the most frequent criticisms is Froome’s relatively quick surge in recent years, after being a step below the top level before. The explanation is that he was affected by parasites that cause bilharzia. I don’t really know much about that, but it’s at least plausible.

Until there is more, I’ll continue to respect him as a Tour champion, while keeping in mind the history of doping in pro cycling (as well as in nearly every other major sport).

I really don’t see cycling as any worse in terms of doping than other major sports. Most of the superstars in baseball over the past 30 years have been found to be dopers or there is a lot of evidence to suggest that they were involved in doping. (Bonds, McGwire, Manny Ramirez, Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, Rafael Palmeiro, Andy Pettitte, etc.) Football doesn’t even test for growth hormone. Given how much the average size of the entire league has grown over the past 20-30 years, there has to be something going on besides “better diet and nutrition.” Almost every week, a pro football player gets suspended for PEDs. There isn’t much testing at the high school level and college level, when athletes can be taking a lot of the PEDs to bulk up. An assistant coach at a prominent NJ high school was caught with a bag of syringes and PEDs in his car last year. One survey I read about a decade ago found that a majority of the high-school athletes who responded, admitted to some PED use. (However, I don’t remember the sample size or the methodology and all that. But there are many verified doping cases, at least at the pro level, that it wouldn’t be surprising that doping in football was so widespread. There are also a lot of troubling cases of off-field violence. You have to wonder whether roid rage plays a part, or if it’s a carryover from the violence of the game, overuse of stimulants and painkillers, brain injury or a combination of those factors.)

Because all this has tarnished pro sports, I try to see the contests as experiences that can be more important than the individuals. It might be cool to meet some of them, but I don’t know if I would idolize them the way kids and a lot of adults do. The dopers who get away with it will get their money, fame and championships. But it doesn’t mean I have to respect them. (In other sports, it sort of turns my stomach to see A-Rod and Pete Rose on TV broadcasts. And now Bonds will become a hitting coach. McGwire was also a hitting coach and may still be.) Of course, none of that is as bad as when the Washington Nationals signed Elijah Dukes to the team. That guy threatened to kill his wife and all their children. All the other teams steered clear of him but the old Nats brought him in. He didn’t get into too much trouble when he was here, but his previous record was bad enough.

Some or most pro cyclists might be doping. But at least we don’t hear about the steady stream of off-field violence that happens especially with some NFL players. (Off-season murders almost every year in recent years, including a likely serial killer in Aaron Hernandez. That’s just insane.)

[PotomacCyclist]

There’s no such thing as a weirdo cyclist:

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[PotomacCyclist]

Vary the workouts to avoid the mind-numbing monotony of an indoor workout. I’m not sure if I’ll get a trainer this winter, but if I do, I plan to keep the workouts to a moderate duration. I might spice up some of the sessions with short sprints. It’s not always easy to sprint outdoors because you have to watch out for various hazards, or you get stopped at an intersection. But you can easily do sprints on a trainer (or spin bike). Just be sure to warm up before doing any high-intensity work.

I might try some Tabata sets too, on the bike and possibly on the run. I don’t want to burn myself out, so I’m not going to do those every week. I will also keep the number of reps/sets lower than during a peak training period. Maybe once every 10-14 days, with just one set of 6-8 reps. So it would be something like a good warm-up (15-20 min., starting easy and moving up to moderate effort and a couple slight pushes into medium-high effort, for a few seconds at a time), then a Tabata set of 6-8 reps of 20 seconds at near-max effort with only 10-20 seconds rest in between reps. A couple easy minutes between sets, if you choose to do more than one set. Then a nice cool-down at the end.

Tabata sets can be tough, so ease into them if you aren’t used to such high-intensity work. Try some easier sessions with a few high-intensity bursts, but with longer recoveries. Then shorten the recoveries on some workouts, until you’re ready to try the minimal-recovery Tabata workout. Some studies show that they can be effective. I just know that they can be very challenging (especially on the run).

Even on easier sessions, I think I might incorporate more drills, including high-cadence drills. That will keep your neuromuscular system sharp and your fast-twitch muscle fibers active. When I do drills (whether on the bike or the run), I don’t want to burn myself out. They aren’t major fitness sessions. They are technique and neuromuscular adaptation sessions. That’s how I see them. Thus, I can do them more frequently than I would a hard type of fitness workout. (You have to be careful about not doing too many of the truly hard workouts, because that’s a good way to get burned out or injured.)

But I don’t know if I want to deal with the fuss with extra wheels and tires. I might just use a spin bike occasionally and CaBi for some outdoor riding (as long as it isn’t too icy outside).

[PotomacCyclist]

FYI – Bixi went bankrupt, not Alta. Bixi was a supplier/contractor for Alta. I don’t believe Alta was ever in any immediate danger of going bankrupt. But Alta did sell off their bikeshare division to REQX. That was renamed Motivate.

I biked around College Park last week, for the first time ever. Doesn’t the University have over 37,000 students (undergrad and grad) plus more than 9,000 staff? 46,000+ people concentrated in a geographically small city, with most of them under the age of 30. That would seem to be enough to support a CaBi outpost. Wouldn’t it?

I know the Purple Line is supposed to include a paved trail extension between Bethesda and downtown Silver Spring. Are there plans to have any bike trails along the Purple Line east of Silver Spring, into College Park? It’s a bit of a hike. Most casual cyclists should be able to handle that distance (about 5-6 miles?), but it might just be far enough where most people wouldn’t bike the trip. I’d also guess that most people wouldn’t bike from College Park to downtown DC, especially on a slower CaBi bike. Are there are any really popular bike traffic routes in the general area, other than within the main campus, and between the campus and the Metro station? Is there a lot of bike traffic between the campus and Greenbelt?

I’ll be interested to hear how successful the Zagster program is, and whether CP and UMD decide to join CaBi in a few years (in place of or in complement to the Zagster program).

[PotomacCyclist]

@Brünø Moore 128990 wrote:

Purgatorial to Hellish.

I do it pretty regularly; it’s okay on Saturdays, less so on Sundays, clear late at night (but watch for potholes and the pitch black Bladensburg Waterfront Trail on your way back), and choked and miserable weekdays.

You’re almost better off taking Montana up to 18th, using the climbing lanes to get to Varnum, then going north on Arundel Road through Mount Rainier at 22nd/Eastern/Varnum before crossing the bridge at 38th and taking the NE Branch to Shortcake. It’s how I’m planning to get to work once Bikeyspace opens up in Ivy City.

…and yes, Shortcake is awesome. So are Franklin’s and Vigilante, both of which might have bike-related business stories of their own. I know Chris Vigilante bikes to the roastery from DC, and Mike Franklin had a bit of a “grrr, bike path” to “BRING ON THE CYCLISTS!” conversion once people started locking up on his racks and drinking all his beer.

Interesting choice of words, considering that the road goes through Cottage City, where the boy who inspired “The Exorcist” novel lived with his family. Modern observers tend to think that the boy was a prankster or seeking attention and not a victim of demonic possession, assuming that even exists. But it’s undeniable that news accounts of the boy inspired the novel and later the famous movie. So the “Exorcist” phenomenon has its roots in Cottage City.

[PotomacCyclist]

I knew which spot you were talking about right away, even though I haven’t ridden through there often this year.

Unfortunately, I encounter that sort of behavior on the Mt. Vernon Trail a lot. That’s why I really dislike riding there during peak periods (i.e., rush hours, mild weekends). Almost every time I ride in busy periods, someone will try to pass pedestrians or slower cyclists and cross the center line or squeeze in between two-way traffic, narrowly missing everyone. Although I have to admit that I’ve misjudged an occasional pass myself, and ended up doing something similar, I usually just slow down and wait for the other side of the trail to clear before attempting to pass. If it’s not safe, then I just continue at a slower speed.

There really is a mindset among a significant percentage of people that they have the right of way — on the other side of the center line — just because they are trying to pass. They don’t care if they force oncoming bike traffic to veer away, even though they are riding in the wrong direction on the other side of that center line. No doubt it’s similar to the driver mindset that they have the “right” to run a red light as long as they reach the intersection within a couple seconds of the light turning red (some sort of non-existent two-second rule).

I hope you weren’t too badly injured. Sometimes the injury isn’t apparent right away.

[PotomacCyclist]

I had only heard of Zagster in passing before. It seems that the bikes incorporate Kryptonite locks that are unlocked through a mobile app or a text message. The main docking stations do not have locking mechanisms, only racks for the bike locks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zagster#/media/File:Zagster_Bike_Station.jpg

According to the Wikipedia page, the company has bikeshare contracts with a few cities, some large companies and several universities.

I’ll have to look up reviews about their bikeshare systems, and how this works in reality. Because the bikes can be locked up away from the stations, does this mean their stations are more likely to be empty? Are those bikes more susceptible to theft, because of the external and accessible locks? Is the system effective overall? Better or worse than Bixi-style bikeshare, or about the same?

Their website suggests that Zagster systems can complement docking station bikeshare set-ups like CaBi: http://zagster.com/blog/why-zagster-makes-sense-if-your-city-has-a-bike-share/

I think at some point it would be nice for College Park/UMD to join Capital Bikeshare, whether or not they continue with the Zagster deal. Perhaps CP/UMD do join CaBi in three years, after the Zagster deal expires. Bike infrastructure might be better between CP and surrounding communities by that time. I can see some benefits for Zagster in a campus setting, but there are also potential downsides, such as not knowing where bikes are, if stations aren’t as important in that system. CP bikeshare users would not be able to use CaBi elsewhere in the DC area without signing up for a separate CaBi membership. If Prince George’s goes ahead with plans to add bikeshare at Greenbelt, then a future CP/UMD CaBi system could make even more sense.

Maybe UMD doesn’t think that the students travel off campus enough so that the incompatible bikeshare systems are not a major issue. I don’t have any insight into this so I’m not making a judgment on that call. Just wondering about how the CP/UMD bikeshare plan will work.

[PotomacCyclist]

Note the usual objection from an audience member, that cyclists don’t pay for road infrastructure and that it’s “outrageous” to spend taxpayer money on bikeshare.

A councilmember pointed out that transportation infrastructure is subsidized. I think he should have emphasized that ALL transportation infrastructure and EVERY transportation mode is heavily subsidized, including car driving.

In any case, the council passed the motion by a unanimous 8-0 vote.

[PotomacCyclist]

Interesting that the City of College Park website includes a link to the Capital Bikeshare site, under the Programs and Initiatives/Sustainability category.

http://www.collegeparkmd.gov/

I located the notice of the decision on the Zagster deal, but only by digging through search results on the site. The City Council meeting minutes are not easily accessible or organized on the site (unless I’m overlooking something).

http://www.collegeparkmd.gov/document_center/MayorCouncil/2015Minutes/090815RM.pdf

From page 4 of the minutes:

15-G-100 Award of contract for bikeshare to Zagster, Inc., in an amount not to exceed
$300,000 for the City-funded portion of the program, subject to review and
approval by the City Attorney

A motion was made by Councilmember Kabir and seconded by Councilmember Wojahn
that a three-year contract for a College Park Bikeshare System be awarded to Zagster, Inc.
in an amount not to exceed $300,000, contingent on the approval by the University of
Maryland of a contract with Zagster, Inc. with generally the same terms and conditions,
and subject to review and approval of contract terms by the City Attorney.

Councilmember Kabir said this contract represents the city portion of the bikeshare system.
Zagster, Inc. was one of three firms that responded to a Request for Proposals to provide a
bikeshare system both on- and off-campus. The City and University have determined that
Zagster’s proposal is the most responsive, economical and flexible compared to the other
bidders. It is anticipated that the College Park system will launch in January 2016 with a total of
125 bikes, 250 docks and 14 stations. Final decisions on station locations, membership rates,
branding and marketing will be made in conjunction with the University and Zagster.

Comments from the audience:
Dave Dorsch, 4607 Calvert Road: $300,000 is a lot of money. Why do we have to pay them
to come to the City when they charge for the bikes? We should be asking how much they are
going to pay us. Why do we have to subsidize it? We pay for road infrastructure but bicyclists
pay zero. It is outrageous to spend taxpayer money to bring bikeshare to the City.

Councilmember Kabir clarified that whoever wants to use the bike will have to pay for it. Ms.
Schum said we hope the system will pay for itself, but someone has to initiate it and own it; it is
typical that governments do so. In this case, it will be the City and the University.

Councilmember Wojahn said that transportation infrastructure is subsidized and that if we want
our transportation system to work effectively we need to invest in it.

The motion passed 8 – 0 – 0.

[Author]

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