[RideTheWomble]

Agreed. The proper procedure is for the car to cross into the bike lane where the leftmost line goes from solid to dashed. When a car follows this procedure, it lets me know his/her intentions, allows me to slow behind the car or safely pass it on the left, and keeps the car from right-hooking me.

[RideTheWomble]

The EPA employee shuttle habitually blocks the bike lane at Potomac Ave. and Crystal Dr. in Arlington. They’ve even placed a claim on the bike lane area by putting an official sign for a stop there, for Pete’s sake. CaBi isn’t the only head-scratcher of a bike-lane-blocker around here.

[RideTheWomble]

…while I was already on hold with 911 (which lasted for about five minutes by the way)

I understand this was a huge deal to you, and that you were upset. 911 is for emergencies where a serious crime is in progress, or there is an immediate threat to human life, though. In other words, someone is having a heart attack, or an armed robber is threatening a cashier, or there’s been an accident, and someone needs an ambulance NOW. By calling 911 with an issue that’s not as serious as those types of things, you may be contributing to those 5 minute holds.

I keep the Arlington Police non-emergency number in my phone for stuff like this – (703) 558-2222. This happened pretty close to the jurisdictional line, but they’d still have been able to help. Most importantly, you would have given the dispatcher the discretion to prioritize the call. I suggest putting the police non-emergency numbers for the jurisdictions where you ride in your contacts. If you have a fender-bender, see some new graffiti, notice a stranded vehicle that needs help, have a kitten up a tree, or any number of scenarios where someone isn’t bleeding out, you’ll have the number.

Having said all that, the recumbulator driver does sound like a cowardly douche, and it’s disheartening that he brought needless conflict to the trail and messed up your bike.

[RideTheWomble]

I could not be happier about this development. This has been the second-most-dangerous part (the first being Lee and Lynn, of course) of my regular rides for years. This de-escalates the tension between cars accelerating to highway speed and cyclists just trying to get back on the trail without getting killed. I am VERY happy about this!

[RideTheWomble]

Thanks for arranging the meetup. That was an incredibly information-dense session. I left reenergized, and ready to take a deep dive into some of these datasets, APIs, and data visualization tools.

[RideTheWomble]

I was a US Army scout platoon leader in a former life, so this topic is near and dear to me. Go to some place like REI and get yourself a map case. If you have PX privileges, the uniform sales store is an even better choice.

The idea is to fold the map so the parts you will need are visible on the two sides of the case. That way, you don’t have to take the map out. If you keep the map dry and clean, and minimize handling, it will last a long time.

The larger the map case, the more map you can expose. You’ll have to decide where the sweet spot between, “compact enough to fit in my jersey pocket,” and, “big enough to show my epic ride,” is.

You could also laminate your map with sticky acetate, but, IMO, that makes it too unwieldy for use on a bike.

[RideTheWomble]

That part of the trail belongs to the Arlington PD. If you call them on their non-emergency number, 703.558.2222, and tell them the truth about what you see, they’ll be able to respond in an appropriate manner. They’re probably quite familiar with this person. I called them about a guy who was actually sprawled across the trail, in some type of chemically- or medically-induced distress, and they handled the situation with compassion.

[RideTheWomble]

…an added benefit of the Crank Brothers pump I have is that it has a high volume/low volume twist adjustment at the bottom.

[RideTheWomble]

What’s better, race-facing someone for ten years, or yelling, “PEEEEEEETE!” like it’s day one at Parris Island, every time you see someone?

[RideTheWomble]

…a hovercraft 100 feet off the ground, with a long telephoto lens.

[RideTheWomble]

Yep. I rode through there yesterday. Red is working. White (green?) walk/ride was out.

[RideTheWomble]

..and another thing – I’ve ridden with Pete, and he does not need any stinkin’ robots to endanger himself!

[RideTheWomble]

…which means I have no idea what you all are talking about, and I’m not going to ruin my day by going and reading the comments.

I know all about the Rock ’em Sock ’em Robots, though!

[RideTheWomble]

A huge percentage of ArlNow commenters are habitual cranks who post all day, every day. I’d take anything they say with a huge grain of salt. I’ve gotten to the point where I just read the stories via an RSS reader, and avoid the negativity altogether.

[RideTheWomble]

@Tim Kelley 9980 wrote:

One last thing–which corner of the intersection was out?

It’s the corner you’d reach first if you’d just pedaled up from the Roosevelt Island parking lot. In other words, you’re looking across Lynn towards Arlington, with the I-66 off-ramp to your left.

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