[rcannon100]

Yeah there is a bike at work – I think the person riding it must work at Pot Belly. It is regularly parked out on the sidewalk, with a U lock locking the front-quick release tire to a railing. I keep wanting to leave a note, but then I figure I dont want to tip off anyone else that this bike is essentially unlocked.

[rcannon100]

Part of the answer depends on what type of parking garage you have.

I work at a govt agency in SW. We have a good parking garage, with restricted key access, and attendants. The racks are in the core – not next to the garage door – so parked bikes are not visible to the outside. And access to the garage is restricted to govt staff. In this environment, you see a lot of high end bikes on the rack.

If the racks are away from an open garage door, and there are attendants, and access to the garage is restricted in some way (as opposed to say a shopping mall where anyone is wandering around – restricted access meaning only people who should be in the garage are in the garage), that seems like a relatively good situation.

Lots of people at my work leave their U locks on the racks. I guess I dont understand that – but I guess I like to stop places on the way home and a lock is useful. With a pannier bike bag, I just throw the lock in the bag – the weight makes no difference.

[rcannon100]

I was reading a description of the Cygolite and noted that it is described as having these settings:
* High
* Med
* Low
* Daylight flashing

These are the batter powered high powered strobe lights that blind on the bike paths at night. I note that the vendor is describing the flash mode as “daylight flashing.” That should tell us something right there – that the flash mode is not intended for night time riding.

I got hit by four of these ultrabright strobes on the way home friday at sundown. It was not fun. Could not see a thing.

[rcannon100]

Thanks to all. This has been quite helpful.

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@chris_s 9352 wrote:

Bicycle Parking Guidelines by the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals seems to be the reference that everyone cites. The 2nd Edition seems to only be available for sale, but the first edition appears to be downloadable for free and address all the essentials.

Publication Homepage
Free 1st Edition PDF

Um….. SWEEET! That is a home run. Thank you.

Is there anything else? This seems like exactly the thing I am looking for; a professional standard OSHA like recommendation thing.

SWEET. Thank you.

[rcannon100]

First, yes, the brilliant strobes are horrible. If you have a death-strobe, it would be nice to tame them on the trail.

I just have regular LEDs. They are on blinky. While blinky is unnecessary on the Custis, I go: Lee Hwy, to Custis, Crossing Scott, in the Rosslyn Death zone, through the Roosevelt parking lot, along the GW, around the Jefferson, and then to my office in SW. The point is that I am on and off of roads, and crossing roads, the whole way. I can certainly understand why its easier to set a light and leave it.

But those brilliant strobes are simply blinding and a danger on the trails.

[rcannon100]

@zanna_leigh 9230 wrote:

You can RSVP to the meet-up on our new facebook page!

https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=164742220284458

Link did not work. What Facebook page??

[rcannon100]

Yes, the MVT / 14th street bridge – part of a major renovation project by NPSGW, typically shows a complete lack of thought. They have created a sharp 90 turn (its worse than before isnt it?).

But I also wonder that its not a problem that will solve itself. Once grass takes on that ground in the triangle between the MVT and the 14th Trail – I assume bikers will just start wearing a grove and cutting across the law. I already do it when the ground is not wet and soft.

The improvements to the bridge are significant. But its unfortunate that they still do absolutely thoughtless things like fixing this trail intersection when they could of. Designing it right the first time usually costs de minimis. Having to retrofit a solution usually costs significant.

[rcannon100]

And of course most bikers are paying personal property taxes. Simply because I am a bike commuter doesnt mean I dont have a car (It just means the car is sitting in the driveway at home ) I pay personal property tax – but use the road much less than others – and subsidize their use of the roads. Transportation-welfare is great; cyclists subsidizing petroleum guzzlers – while we have to fight epic battles simply to get a safe street crossing.

[rcannon100]

Havent seen this announcement… probably just missed it. But they say you need to hear a message nine times until you are totally numb…

http://www.arlingtonva.us/calendar/default.aspx#EventDetails_16008

October 5, 2011, 7:00 PM

Arlington County has developed a proposal to rebuild the roadways,
trail and sidewalks in the Rosslyn Circle area to improve public
safety and to enhance access between Rosslyn and the Key Bridge. The
proposed Lee Highway and Custis Trail improvements include trail
upgrades along westbound Lee Highway (Route 29) between N. Oak Street
and N. Lynn Street. Intersection improvements, lane reconfiguration,
trail widening, curb extensions, wider curb ramps, signal
modifications, and increased trail separation are proposed. Agenda
will include a staff presentation of the project’s draft engineering
plan and attendees are invited to comment on the design plan and
potential alternatives.
Location: Arlington Temple Methodist Church, 1835 N. Nash St.

[rcannon100]

Yeah some friends circulated that article yesterday on facebook. I suspect that you probably could poke holes in the methodology pretty easily. And my first guess is that you could correlate the rise in aggressive driving to two things: the dramatic increase in traffic demand and the all but absent enforcement of traffic laws. My guess is that people-pushing-back is a weak variable, and I would also suggest that its a constant variable. People were as unlikely to push back 20 years ago as they are today – but traffic volumes have changed, political leaders (except for Arlington) have failed miserably in smart growth traffic planning, and law enforcement has become a joke.

I came back from graduate school in the NE 20 years ago, from a place where if you stopped at a red light you WOULD get rear ended. I came to Arlington, had not adjusted back to Arlington culture, and had a ticket almost immediately. That was good. Now days, its not a question of whether someone will run a red light, its a question of how many cars will run the red light. There is no enforcement.

So is this all about us “speaking up.” I dont think it is. I think you make your choices – and yes, occasionally, speaking up works. But most of the time this is about your karma. I passed a woman on Lee Hwy on the sidewalk / designated bike path; she yelled at me “This! Is! My! Sidewalk!” I laughed and didnt say anything. Another jogger, I passed on the Custis hill and rang the bell, but I am old and slow – on the hill he passed me back – and then at the top I passed him again, again ringing the bell. BOY did he cuss at me.

If you take it upon yourself to fight aggressive driving, you are going to arrive fried. You are going to become argumentative and combative. You are going to ruin your karma. I am an older gentler rider / driver… and I will just let the nut-jobs go. I seriously doubt I am going to change the nut jobs; I know I can change myself; and I recognize where the real solutions are here (better enforcement, better infrastructure, smart growth).

[rcannon100]

Look under your seat! New iPads for everybody!

[rcannon100]

Okay. Okay. I have one. I was biking east on the Custis trail in Rosslyn. There was a police officer on the North West side of Lynn Street standing watching traffic. This should be good, I thought. So I watched. The light was green for traffic going west on Lee Hwy. Then it was yellow… then red. Sure enough, two cars blew thru the red light and turned onto Lynn street right in front of the cops.

Now, guess how many tickets he issued???? NONE. ZERO. ZILCH.

I know, right?!?!?

It’s care free day, dammit. Where is my prize

[rcannon100]

And remember, the super-geniuses in the ACPD every now and again will show up on the W&OD and ticket bikers for being in the park after hours – even tho ArlCo is “bike friendly”

I’m just a commuter – but I alter my route in the winter to avoid going into dark underpasses.

[rcannon100]

As an old courier and commuter, I always use to lug my stuff in a backpack. Did I mention the “old” part. I began to feel it -bikers back – I had acquired some Transit Panniers for a trip and now use them for commuting. They are quite great – sort of like stuff bags – can get a tremendous amount in them.

Someone mentioned observing a commuter lose his panniers on a speed bump. That’s a problem; my old panniers fell off all the time. The new Transits strap on MUCH better and never budge. So yes, cheap panniers suffer fallage. A key feature is ease of strapping it on and off.

For a little while I continued to use a backpack to carry a laptop. I would strip all the weight out of the laptop — meaning the battery – put the weight in the pannier, and put the laptop in the backpack. I dont carry a laptop any more but I would not hesitate to put in my new panniers — and I am thinking about getting a netbook anyway.

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