[Rootchopper]

Mark

If WABA’s stated advocacy priorities are mostly about expanding bike facilities. There is no mention in the list of priorities (that I can see) of these chronic infrastructure bad apples. That needs to be addressed.

The Wilson Bridge Bollard farm is new and it is flat out appalling. Bike commuters have tried again and again to deal with this evolving travesty (pretty much on their own) as one unsafe detour after another was installed. Now we are left with an apparently permanent, very unsafe stretch of trail. I am asking WABA to step up.

[Rootchopper]

@pfunkallstar 21460 wrote:

+1 for invoking Kooky Governor! As with any advocacy campaign, we need a solid and current knowledge base to argue from. To that end, I would look to someplace like GMU to conduct an independent traffic analysis of the intersection – possibly for a civil engineering class (they have an excellent program). It is a fascinating confluence of circumstances and certainly an issue that would keep a small group of students occupied for a month or so. http://civil.gmu.edu/

One thing we need is for local advocacy groups to re-focus on safety instead of expansion. The WABA.org website has an advocacy page that doesn’t mention any either the Rosslyn or GWMP problem areas. These have been problems for years. Better to add a bike lane in DC than to keep riders safe in VA? The Wilson Bridge thing popped up practically overnight. Where were the advocates that some of us have been financially supporting for years? Are they talking to the responsible authorities.

Sorry for the rant, but three obvious problem areas on my commute are getting worse and do not appear to be getting attention. How many more people have to be carted away in ambulances?

[Rootchopper]

The only way these two problem areas will get fixed is if someone from the top pushes down on the bureaucrats who are failing to act. Jim Moran should be made aware of the GWMP problem. At BTWD in Rosslyn he talked the talk about extending the MVT to Chain Bridge. I’d much rather see the crossings around the Memorial Bridge fixed properly.

As a commuter who has nearly been killed in Rosslyn this year I am personally endangered by VDOT’s inaction every day I ride to work. VDOT is unresponsive because the top of the food chain is the kooky governor who has other causes on his plate.

As for the Wilson Bridge underpass, the new bollard farm is a travesty. What the hell were these people thinking?

[Rootchopper]

I don’t like the Brooks saddle on my Bike Friday so I rode that today. If it gets soaked, I have an excuse to replace it.

I have been commuting and touring for longer than I want to admit. Here’s what I do: check radar before leaving. Keep an eye out for shelter (I also did the entrance to a church thing once.) If it’s just raining, ride. Once you are wet stopping will only make you cold and wet. Stay visible. If possible use a trail not the road (I commute on the MVT so no problem for me.)

If windy, beware of widow makers. (Big limbs dropping from above.) If really windy, remember these words from Ron White: It’s not that the wind is blowing, it’s what the wind is blowing.

I hate lightning and hail hurts. I take shelter. Reluctantly.

Wear an old cycle cap under your helmet. The visor will keep the rain out of your eyes.

The only other issue is when water gets in my eyes it stings. So I have to pull over because I can’t see.

Good luck to all tonight.

[Rootchopper]

If they want to restrict access they could have put the bollards at the top of the hill near the Washington Street deck. If you need to go from the trail into the high rise apartment parking lot, some other arrangement that impacts a fraction of the bike/ped traffic could be added (it’s going to be needed anyway).

And while I’m at it the other side of the Wilson Bridge at the end of South Royals street is a cycling nightmare. A manhole cover in the shade of the bridge stick up several inches. The path is blocked by yellow bars. The detour, soon to be permanent part of the trail, has gaps between the pavement and the sidewalk, gravel, a utility box that sticks up above grade and a telephone pole.

I seriously doubt that when this is all done it will be ridable.

[Rootchopper]

On the way home last night I was about 7 miles into my commute when Jason came by. This dude is one thorough Samaritan! His repair so far has held for 28 miles and several hills (including the infamous Rosslyn connector).

[Rootchopper]

There is a light at the intersection of Fort Hunt and Collingwood Roads near my house. On the weekends it is set to quickly turn green for waiting vehicles. I found that it actually turns red in all four directions then turns green for cross traffic when triggered by a bike. In other words, you don’t get a green just the expectation of one.

[Rootchopper]

The cause for me was user error. I am pretty good about cleaning my chain regularly and I don’t mash the gears. I have tens of thousands of miles of riding under my butt and I have broken 2 chains. I bought the chain took after the first break and have only used it once to help someone else. Often times breaking a chain can result in a stiff link.I used the chain tool to fiddle with the pin in homes of freeing up the link last night. It didn’t work and from the looks of the broken link I didn’t get the pin all the way back in place.

I carry all kinds of stuff with me. Spare tubes, tire levers, a Topeak pump, multitool. I can’t put patience in my saddle bag. It’s why I quit golf (and the fact that I suck at every club in the bag.) You have to forget the bad shot you just made and address the situation with a calm head. I looked at the broken chain and all I can think about is “I’m late!”

I guess I need to pack some Zen.

[Rootchopper]

Well, I crashed there a month ago on the same bike. I think there’s a jinx on that connector.

[Rootchopper]

Here are some pix from my day. Special thanks to the dodos working on the Jones Point Park rehab near the Wilson Bridge for screwing up yet another detour on the Mount Vernon Trail in time for all the new bike commuters.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rootchopper/sets/72157629802312798/

[Rootchopper]

I never got to the Air Force Memorial or the Iwo Jima Memorial. At Marshall and Meade I and several hundred others were denied access to Marshall Drive and told to turn around. I have no idea if I was even on the right part of the course since I was given a Family Ride map by the volunteer at the start. This turn around led to a massive salmoning and chaos at the 50 ramp to Meade.

I subsequently learned that riders were allowed to go to the IJM and Air Force Memorials.

There were no marshals at all to direct us once we returned to DC so my group ended up wandering around Foggy Bottom in traffic.

This isn’t the first time Bike DC has been a mess. I’ve done it after hurricanes, after 9-11, and in the pouring rain. The problems with those rides were beyond the control of the organizers. Today’s wasn’t. They simply were not up to the task.

It’s ironic that the self-guided 50 States Ride has minimal support and is much more festive. (And a hell of a lot harder.)

[Rootchopper]

The pole is still there as of this evening.

[Rootchopper]

If it makes you feel any better I have had to fix six flats in the last two weeks, And it’s incredibly buggy outside. And the wind is always in my face. And they seem to have steepened every hill. Oh, I forgot to mention being doored twice.

Actually I have crashed twice this spring.

Does that help?

[Rootchopper]

Rather than address the problem, the NPS decides to harass people instead. Wouldn’t it make sense to put down some markings to indicate where bikes are supposed to go when they come off the bridge? Now that I think of it wouldn’t it be a perfect place for a short cycle track? And while they are at it they could remove the ugly jersey barriers all over the grounds of the Jefferson Memorial. They’ve been there for ten years now. NPS could put up bollards, or a landscaped wall with plantings.

[Rootchopper]

Sorry to hear about your pain. I road over 60 miles yesterday and I had the expected soreness from the increased distance. i even had some numbness in my hands.

I think your problems could be related to the gel saddle. Gel saddles are okay for short rides. Very cushy, in fact. Over long rides, howvere, the gel gets compressed and so do the nerves it i ssupposed to be protecting.

I am a big advocate of leather saddles. They may feel uncomfortable for the first 200 miles or so, but after that you’ll forget you are sitting on one. I’ve used both sprung – Brooks Champion and B67 – and unsprung – Brooks B17 – saddles. I do not much like the B67. It’s cushy but too wide for my posterior.

Last fall a bike commuting friend of mine decided to ride from Vancouver to San Francisco. She asked me for equipment recommendations. I told her to get a B17. She bought one off Craigslist and loved it.

I know a couple who ride brevets. These rides are well over 100 miles in length (they did 188 on Saturday). They ride on B17s too.

You can try one out risk free. Go to WallBike.com. They have a money-back guarantee.

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