[Rootchopper]

I spot checked the MVT from my car from Collingwood to Old Town. Lots of standing water and wet leaves. Didn’t see any trees down. Dyke Marsh boardwalk looked okay.

[Rootchopper]

I can see Mount Vernon Hospital out my back window. We don’t share a power grid tho.

[Rootchopper]

A simple thing these constrcution crews could be required to do is post a phone number for road users to call if they think the detour or plates or other temporary change is dangerous. As you know, there were numerous changes to the configuration of the Mount Vernon Trail at the Beltway over the last ten years. Things were mostly safe until the Jones Point Park project to rehab the area beneath and near the newly completed bridge. The Jones Point contractor was incredibly inventive in creating seriously dangerous temporary changes to the trail, often on a weekly basis. Right hand turns with dark fences, pavement that would not support the weight of a bike, and many more. Cyclists were bitching up a storm but it seemed like nobody was responsible. Simply providing unambiguous contact information would have helped greatly (and may have led to some design modifications in the final configuration).

[Rootchopper]

This happens to all of us now and then.

Good on you for the apology.

I wasn’t one of the two you are addressing this to but I might as well be. I am passed by aggressive riders all the time on the trail. (Last night it happened four times.) It’s particularly unnerving when I am preparing to pass someone and a cyclists comes past me at high speed without warning. It’s not usually newbie cyclists; it’s mostly experienced riders who should know better.

[Rootchopper]

If I haven’t driven in a long time, I sometimes unweight my butt when the car is about to go over some bumps. The flip side is when I sit on my recumbent and reach for the seat belt. 😮

[Rootchopper]

Well, there was that dead rat on the MVT at Gravelley Point this morning….

Once while driving to work on the GW Parkway I stopped to let a mother duck escort her ducklings across the road. A big black SUV swerved around me and wiped out mom and a couple of the babies. The rest went waddling in panic all over the place.

[Rootchopper]

I feel a strange thirst coming on.

[Rootchopper]

I’ve been riding Brooks saddles for a long time. I recently bought a Zimbale bag that is significantly smaller than a Barley and bigger than some of the rolls I’ve seen. It’s essentially a Carradice knock off made in Korea.

BTW, I would prefer to have a bigger bag, myself. Santa, can I have a Barley bag? I’ve been good.

[Rootchopper]

For a few hundred yards in the new Jones Point Park, there are three lanes on the Mount Vernon Trail. The lane on the far right is designated for pedestrians. The other two are bicycle lanes. More often than not pedestrians use the bike lanes anyway.

[Rootchopper]

@OutsideTheLaw 33506 wrote:

“Also, 2 blocks away, I watched in amazement as two drivers blew through a red light to make a right on Lynn Street. They did slow a bit, just rolled right through. A cyclists turning onto Lynn from the opposite direction was nearly hit by one of the cars.”

I assume the writer means at Lynn and Wilson? My experience there is that the westbound traffic on Wilson (coming from the Artisphere/Route 110 areas) routinely run the red or glide through making the right onto northbound Lynn, and that cyclists making the left off east bound Wilson in order to head towards Key Bridge need to be extremely deferential to those cars. It’s not as bad as the Corner of Doom at Lee/Lynn, but it’s treacherous. Funny part is that there are frequently cops there looking for people who run the light northbound on Lynn (coming from the Route 50 area, heading towards Key Bridge), but cars seem unimpressed by that.

I was at 19th and Lynn, but I am familiar with the police often stationed at Wilson and Lynn.

Wilson, 19th or the off ramp from I66 all have the same problem, impatient drivers turning right on red without stopping.

[Rootchopper]

I’ve been commuting into Rosslyn now for a little over a year. The frequency of accidents at the Lynn/Lee intersection seems to be about one per month. Would it kill Arlington to place a police officer there at rush hour until the whole thnig can be redesigned?

Also, 2 blocks away, I watched in amazement as two drivers blew through a red light to make a right on Lynn Street. They did slow a bit, just rolled right through. A cyclists turning onto Lynn from the opposite direction was nearly hit by one of the cars.

[Rootchopper]

I watched a DC cop pivot on his Segway and nearly take out a distracted jaywalker on G Street NW this morning. He missed the walker but just shook his head and gave me a funny look. When you think about it, Seqways are incredibly conspicuous but this walker was looking down at her not-so-smart phone.

[Rootchopper]

This was my third year in a row doing the metric century at Backroads.

Many, many thanks to all the people that made this ride happen. You did a wonderful job. Great check in, t-shirt pick up, mechanical support, rest stop food and porta potties.

The weather was incredibly nice all three years. The Potomac Pedalers really ought to diversify into meteorology.

My helmet is off to the vastly improved road etiquette of the riders over last year. There were handful of people who were challenged by the stay-to-the-right concept but they were very much in the minority. Local car and truck drivers were very patient with us too.

I only have a couple of suggestions for a better ride next year.

1. Will the leaders of the pace lines please call out your passes? This may be the norm but those of us riding on the right often can’t hear you coming. Some of the riders in the pacelines were within inches of my left arm.

2. For some reason the second rest stop at the Fairview church only had fruit. Some solid food (Goldfish or pretzels) would have been helpful. (The volunteers there could not have been nicer, though.)

If I make it four in a row, I’m bringing my recumbent. I want a piece of some of those amazing downhills on a faster steed than my touring bike.

[Rootchopper]

This was my fifth 50 States Ride. I thought WABA and the volunteers did a fantastic job. I thought the start was going to be a disaster, filing all those bikes down a narrow path but it worked out fine.

For the first 10 miles or so I fell in with a very chatty and funny woman who was doing a great job keeping us on our toes through downtown. It turns out she was a course marshall named (if I recfall correctly) Dolores.

I watched one rider in a black t-shirt cruise through red lights and stop signs without looking. He was oblivious. I can’t believe he didn’t get in an accident.

Once we cleared the Capitol Hill, Idaho stops were the rule. The city has way too many dumb traffic lights with long cycles. 40 seconds is a long time when there are no cars in sight. Worse yet, were the steep speed humps and rumble strips that have been installed all over town. Texas Street had several. This street doesn’t go anywhere! Why would they need a speed bump every 100 yards!

My one suggestion is to move the after party back to Grill from Ipanema. Mellow Mushroom seemed overwhelmed by the crowd.

[Rootchopper]

Thanks for this. I was in front of this jackass for about a block. I stopped to let him get to a bus stop. I passed him amd took the lane to take a left on Malcolm X. He pulled out and coninued to honk his horm.

[Author]

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