[PotomacCyclist]

I hope it was just the pregnancy and labor that caused the mother to flip out like that. Otherwise, I feel sorry for the baby.

[PotomacCyclist]

In my experience, most drivers will not consider slowing down at those GW Parkway crossings, but some do. The problem for runners and cyclists is trying to figure out if a car is going straight, or turning onto the ramp, (at the Washington Blvd crossing, just to the south of Memorial Bridge) as I pointed out in the previous post. This is an issue because there is rarely a break in the traffic. During busier times of the day, the cars head up the parkway almost non-stop. So the cyclist/runner has to wait quite a long time before a break in the high-speed traffic, or they have to guess at whether that next car is going straight or turning. One of those trail crossings is just too close to the ramp turnoff.

I’m surprised that there aren’t more accidents at those crossings.

There are plans to pave the dirt trail along Rte. 110, up to Memorial Drive near the Arlington Cemetery Metro stop. That would be an alternate path for those who wish to avoid the dangerous crossings. But even that trail will involve a grade crossing. I don’t know if the project is funded or not, or what the timetable is.

[PotomacCyclist]

There have been ongoing discussions about the STOP signs on the W&OD on The WashCycle. I got the impression that those signs should not be there. They confuse the heck out of everyone involved. Some cyclists stop. Some don’t. Some car drivers stop. Some don’t.

Even though I know that I “probably” have right of way, I still stop at the sign, simply because I know there’s a good chance that the next driver to come along is not aware of the laws, doesn’t care about the laws or is too distracted to know that there’s a trail crossing. It can be frustrating when a well-meaning car driver stops to let cyclists pass, but cyclists can’t see around that car to check if there is still fast car traffic in the adjacent lane. I will give such drivers a friendly wave to acknowledge them. If I can manage to peek around and see that the other lane is clear, then I’ll cross in the crosswalk. But if there are no good sight lines, then I’ll wave the car on.

Re the women who was killed at the GW Parkway crossing, she was stopped on the trail. The car driver stopped to let her pass. Another driver behind the stopped car swerved out of the way and ended up causing the crash that killed the cyclist. The cyclist did nothing wrong.

All of those grade crossings south of the Memorial Bridge are dangerous in general. Given that crash, I now sit back a bit from the edge of the road if I’m waiting there. I’m not going to take any chances. I’ll hold back about 10 feet more than I would otherwise. The problem with that crosswalk is that it’s very difficult to tell if cars are turning onto that ramp or continuing onto the main road. That section of the trail needs to be re-designed somehow. A bike/pedestrian bridge would be ideal, but expensive. Because of the jumble of on and off ramps, it’s not easy to find a good spot to place a grade crossing. But there are a lot of smart people in the area. Someone has to be able to figure out a cost-effective solution over there. Anyone have some spare cash that they’d like to donate toward building a bike/pedestrian bridge? Please?

[PotomacCyclist]

Contador did look better, but Cadel Evans continues to impress. Voeckler is still hanging around, though his lead slipped a bit. Phil Liggett casually mentioned last week that Voeckler has the biggest tongue in cycling. Not because of anything he said in interviews, but because he sticks his tongue out and licks his lips repeatedly when he’s working hard on a tough climb. Lance Armstrong tweeted that he now thinks Voeckler has a chance at holding on, but other commentators still think he’s a long shot to win. Though I’m not French, it would be cool to see an underdog like him win the title.

Andy Schleck is not looking so great. We’ll see how he does in the hard Alpine stages this week.

I’ve been watching most of the stages, especially the mountain stages, but I haven’t recorded any of them. But I’m going to record all of the remaining ones on the DVR. I get very inspired to ride and train when I watch the tough mountain stages of the Tour de France. (While the final sprints in the flat stages are fun to watch, the early part of those days are kind of boring. No one attacks much on those routes.)

As of today, I have to agree that Cadel Evans has the title for the taking. Contador will challenge him but he has a significant time gap behind Evans. I don’t know if Contador could drop Evans on an attack this year. Unless Andy Schleck was lulling the other top riders into a false sense of security the other day, he doesn’t look that good. Not good enough to win. We’ll find out pretty quickly if Voeckler has any chance at all to hang on. Even if he does, he’s supposed to be a weaker time trialist. That will hurt him on Saturday.

[PotomacCyclist]

Bike Arlington rocks!

[PotomacCyclist]

@acc 5894 wrote:

I watch when I can wrestle the remote away from my children.
I noticed this morning they were booking along around 32 mph with a tailwind. I thought to myself I’d need hurricane force winds to achieve that speed on a flat.

I don’t have words to describe the admiration I feel for the riders. Day after day they subject themselves to pure punishment. Watching them climb makes my chest hurt, watching them descend makes me bite my lips hoping they don’t fly off the mountain. And in general I want to feed them. Really skinny dudes. Remarkable human beings though, I’ve enjoyed watching them.

ann

Top American cyclist Levi Leipheimer posted from his iPhone today that they hit 48 mph on the flat road today.

Some of the cyclists are skinny but some of them look more… normal. Also keep in mind that most of them cut weight before the Tour and try to lose as much bodyfat as possible. If you look at pictures of Lance Armstrong during interviews when he was racing at the Tour, his face looked incredibly gaunt and his cheeks were sunken in. Almost no extra bodyfat at all. But if you watch interviews during his retirement period (2006-2008), his face looks normal. He doesn’t have that scary bony look.

So the cyclists are even skinnier than they normally are in the off-season.

Andy Schleck is probably skinny all the time. He’s much thinner than even the other pro cyclists. On the other hand, Thor Hushovd is pretty big. He’s 6’0″ and about 180 lbs.

But the weight control can be a problem for the cyclists. Some studies indicate that elite cyclists have lower bone mineral density than the average adult. That could be the result of the restricted diet or the lack of weight-bearing exercise on the bike. This is why it can be a good idea for cycling specialists (pro and amateur) to add some weight-bearing cross-training (strength training, running).

[PotomacCyclist]

For Facebook users, you can browse through the daily photo galleries on the Tour de France page:

http://www.facebook.com/media/albums/?id=103512969698091

[PotomacCyclist]

The connection to the MVT at the north end of Long Bridge Park is listed on the recent Arlington County bike projects list. But I don’t think it’s currently funded. The north section of the park and the aquatic center won’t be built for a couple years anyway. I doubt the connector could be built before the northern section of the park is finished. That probably won’t be until 2013 or later.

As for the southern section of the park, the official website has a new photo gallery, dated June 2011. Work crews are making steady progress. Hard to tell if they are still on track for an October opening date or not. I can’t tell either way.

[PotomacCyclist]

The W&OD can suck you in like that. I think it’s kind of funny to see the warning signs for horses on the trail. I still haven’t seen any horses out there, only on the Mall (NPS rangers).

[PotomacCyclist]

I put Chamois Glide on my skin before putting on my tri shorts (De Soto). I haven’t had any issues since I started doing that again. I forgot about that in the early spring and developed some minor chafing problems.

I like the tri shorts because the pad isn’t as thick as with regular bike shorts. No diaper sensation.

For current saddle sores, petroleum jelly works well. You can use it for any type of chafing or windburn. I don’t know if it’s good for Lycra so I probably wouldn’t use it immediately before a ride.

[PotomacCyclist]

@KLizotte 5851 wrote:

The biggest problem with the Mall right now is its popularity, esp now that summer is here. I ride the Mall every day on my commute and dodging peds is a real challenge. It would be super helpful if the NPS would install (or paint existing pathways) cycleways with “no peds allowed” signs; that way, peds and cyclists could largely avoid one another. Without some “traffic management” I fear adding CaBi stations will just exacerbate the current congestion.

Jefferson and Madison Drives are good east-west routes on the eastern half of the Mall. Slower traffic than on Independence and Constitution Ave. without too many jaywalkers.

[PotomacCyclist]

I saw some clueless guy riding a moped on the MVT near Gravelly Point last year, heading south toward the airport. I told him that he wasn’t supposed to be on the trail with a motorized vehicle. He just sped off in the other direction and ignored me.

[PotomacCyclist]

@Mark Blacknell 5778 wrote:

Welcome to Washington, DC, acc.

Actually, wasn’t acc asking the tourists for directions?

[PotomacCyclist]

@Mark Blacknell 5782 wrote:

If anyone has any ideas on how to make this kind of list/news easier to track, post it here. Arlington County staff are very open with what they’ve got, but there’s often a practical barrier in updating and sharing new information.

The idea to have pinned forum threads is interesting.

The Arlington County website needs a better navigation system. After several attempts, I can’t figure out how to access project pages on that website when starting from the main page. There are a few links that either lead to “page not found” notices, or they redirect to the main page of arltransit.com or some such page.

There should be a link to an index of ongoing infrastructure projects. I saw a menu item for infrastructure but that page describes the team and what they do. I didn’t see a list of the projects.

So my suggestions would be (1) a better way to access such info on the Arlington Co. website, and (2) pinned forum threads on this forum site. The main county website could include a hyperlink to this website too.

[PotomacCyclist]

@Mark Blacknell 5783 wrote:

Let me play a familiar role, K. – prepare to be disappointed some more. Arlington still doesn’t have any good N-S solutions in the works (and that isn’t a slam on staff – it’s a complicated and *expensive* issue).

The Washington Blvd. Trail will help with the Pentagon City/Court House route. So will any upgrades to the Arlington Blvd. Trail, west and north of the road. There are supposed to be some improvements as part of the ongoing 10th St. interchange overhaul. But it’s going to be a while before these projects are finished.

[Author]

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