[runbike]

@fuzzy 59332 wrote:

I tried to catch up so I could yell aloud ‘CHEEAAATTEER’ but she was running red lights….. She looked to be under 35. I hope her battery died on the big 15 street hill.

The attitude she gave you while passing aside, I’m just curious as to why you think she’s a “cheater”? I’m under 35, in good shape, and commute by bike with an electric motor. I could write a much longer post listing out why I go electric, but it basically boils down to: no shower at work and the bike allows me to keep my focus on running competitively and putting in the miles necessary to do so.

In the future instead of thinking (and god-forbid yelling) “cheater”, maybe consider that her fitness goals are different from yours. I’d be pretty ticked off if someone yelled “CHEATER” at me on my commute into work, especially since most days I’ve already wrapped up a running workout before hopping on the bike.

[runbike]

Not sure it will help, but I created a “see-click-fix” for this issue – http://seeclickfix.com/issues/638919

Go and vote/add your comments!

[runbike]

@baiskeli 58221 wrote:

Next legal questions:

and the big picture questions:

1. Should there be a stop sign there? Does it enhance safety?
2. If not, what else can we do? Cyclists come flying down that hill and they can’t see cars or pedestrians coming from their left, and they can’t see the cyclists. It’s not a great situation.

Here’s a crazy thought – get rid of that exit from the parking lot altogether. The limited sightlines for drivers/cyclists/peds make it unsafe and cars can easily loop around to go back out the Fort Meyer Drive entrance/exit and THEN make a right on Lee at the light. Problem solved.

[runbike]

@AlexBikeCommute 58201 wrote:

What I’m sitting here wondering is: should we have NOT called 911? I tend to err on the side of caution…. so, I think if I ever see anyone jump off a bridge again (which I hope I never do) I will again call 911.

I’m sure people called 911 when these bros jumped from the Key Bridge wearing burger king crowns (don’t worry, they survived) – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3py-hfHDz58

[runbike]

…rocked. A nice day, few cars, hit all the lights down Custis and made my 7 mile trip in 25 mins flat. Oh and I didn’t feel like I was going to DIE at the Lynn/Lee intersection of death (due to the aforementioned lack of cars).

[runbike]

I’m down for an e-bike meetup (regular bikes also welcome).

Downtown is good for a late-morning coffee/lunch. Another option is to meet somewhere for an e-bike HH out in VA (not sure if that’s where you commute from 83(b)), but I know a few of the e-bike crowd (jnva, dasgeh, and myself) are out that way.

I will make sure the battery is charged for stromer test rides

[runbike]

I’m a big fan of http://www.imapweather.com for its radar images and loop of the past 45 minutes, which makes it easy to see where the storms are heading. Capital Weather Gang actually embeds imap’s radar loop into their blog postings and on the CWG “Weather Wall” – http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitalweathergang/2008/08/weather_gang_weather_wall.html

[runbike]

@KLizotte 55924 wrote:

So how much pedaling do you do on it? In other words, are you getting power for the entire ride? Is it much heavier than a normal bike?

Depends on the bike. The Stromer has no throttle so there’s no motor assist without pedaling. You can dial 4 different power settings and with the highest boost it doesn’t take much pedaling to get up to speed and stay there.

It IS a heavy sucker…62 pounds. On the Custis downhill into Rosslyn I’m pretty much on the brakes the whole way to keep it from running away on me. The motor provides boost up to 20mph and then cuts out, which you definitely notice because you’re suddenly pedaling a tank.

[runbike]

@americancyclo 55864 wrote:

Did I see you on Pimmit and again on barbour yesterday? I had my little one in tow, so you totally beat me on the hill up Pimmit. If not, there’s another stromer out there!

Nope, not I. My commute ends in the Westover neighborhood of Arlington.

Darn, and I thought I was going to be the only one with the cool new toy on the streets of NOVA!

[runbike]

After contemplating it for a few months, and reading a lot of the back and forth on this forum I finally decided to purchase an e-bike (specifically a Stromer ST1) and become a full-time cycling commuter. 2 days in and it has been absolutely amazing. I’m shaving about an hour total off my regular round trip commute by metrobus, and I’m arriving non-sweaty at work (which is key due to lack of shower access).

I am riding on the trails (Custis) and I know some take issue with this. However, based on my admittedly limited sample of the past two days I’m really just about average for speed on the trail. I would say I was passed about as many times as I passed others. I know if I was on my Jamis road bike I’d be much quicker, albeit much sweatier.

As dasgeh also pointed out, I’ve also noticed that the incentive to run stop signs/lights, or make less-than-safe passes is totally gone. And I have way more confidence on the road as well since I know I can accelerate and keep up with traffic flow much better.

Anyway, if you see me out there please say hi. I might even let you try out the Stromer for a quick test spin

[ATTACH=CONFIG]3134[/ATTACH]

[runbike]

@chris_s 53644 wrote:

That parking lot is such a zoo

Seriously, why is it that at almost any time of day that parking lot is slammed with cars (most of which slowly cruise up and down looking for the closest spot)? I always tell my wife that I refuse to go to Harris Teeter between the hours of 4 and 7:30pm on weekdays when the percentage of inattentive soccer moms driving huge SUVs through that parking lot exceeds all known safety parameters.

[runbike]

@thucydides 51461 wrote:

Doesn’t that take you through that awful Lee Hwy/Old Dominion intersection?

Not to mention adds about 4 miles to the map I posted above.

[runbike]

This way – https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=N+West+St&daddr=38.9240609,-77.1247109+to:38.927477,-77.121312+to:N+Glebe+Rd&hl=en&ll=38.907064,-77.150974&spn=0.078145,0.154324&sll=38.925747,-77.121878&sspn=0.009766,0.01929&geocode=FRdwUQId30lm-w%3BFRzvUQIdmitn-ym1JejX7LW3iTFoeBHf26rhkQ%3BFXX8UQId4Dhn-yn33zhA8rW3iTFYdX5sp-VTYA%3BFZYCUgIdJkZn-w&dirflg=b&mra=dpe&mrsp=2&sz=16&via=1,2&t=m&z=13&lci=bike

[runbike]

thucydides totally hit upon one other reason that I forgot to mention!

When you’re running in the street, you gain those valuable few 10ths of a second of extra visibility for cars coming to a stop-signed intersection perpendicular to the direction I’m traveling. We all know that in an ideal world cars would come to a complete stop at the stop sign (or white line before the crosswalk if there is one), look for pedestrians/cyclists potentially coming from either direction, and then move on. But we all know how it really plays out – car usually comes way too fast and comes to a (rolling) stop as far out as possible, usually blocking the crosswalk. We’ve all had the experience where we end up walking behind a car because they didn’t check for pedestrians first and got stuck waiting to proceed through the intersection. When I’m running I often have to stop quickly, or jump sideways due to inattentive drivers failing to stop/look properly and some are pissed because to them, I came out of nowhere. Running in the street makes me visible a few seconds earlier than I would otherwise be and so cars tend (and I stress tend) to not be so aggressive to get through the intersection. Just wanted to add those two cents.

And to 83(b) whose points I fully agree are valid, I’m still going to keep bending the rules but it won’t be me you’re giving the stink eye to, or passing closer than necessary because I work hard to maintain that vigilance and will be sure to not inconvenice you (and others) when I see you coming. For all the other nitwits you see out there, please keep doing what you’re doing because at some point those reminders might just sink in

Really appreciate this thread BTW – this forum has been totally helpful to me as the occasional bike commuter/frequent roadrunner. Thanks to you all I’ve figured out how not to be a ninja during those dark winter months (if you ever passed a runner heading west on the custis trail with reflector vest and headlamp, that’s me) and learned of many new great cycling routes for my weekend excursions. Many thanks.

[runbike]

Had to jump in on this one. As you can see from my username I tend to do just a bit more running than biking.

So yes, I am one of those runners who tends to end up in the street more often than not. I do this mainly for the reason cited earlier; while some may think it’s bunk, any runner will tell you there’s a definite difference in how you feel at the end of a mostly concrete vs mostly asphalt run.

However, when I run in the street I completely recognize that I don’t have the right of way and follow a few simple guidelines so as to hopefully not irritate anyone:

1) Run against traffic. As my college cross-country coach used to say, “It’s a hell of a lot easier to jump out of the way of what you can see coming at you.” I can’t tell you how annoying it is when I see people running or even WALKING with traffic in the street.
2) Run in the parking lane as much as possible (if one exists).
3) When you see an approaching car, get back on the sidewalk so they don’t have to swerve wide around you.
4) If you’re in the bike lane and see a bike coming towards you, get back on the sidewalk so they can have their lane.

I guess my basic philosophy when street running is “Don’t be an inconvenience.”

Also, a big qualifier here is that most of my street running is done on less busy Arlington side streets, although I will do some bike lane/parking lane running on roads as busy as Yorktown, Patrick Henry, Williamsburg, etc. No way would I ever run in the bike lane on Clarendon or Wilson and honestly, I’m as ticked off as anyone when I see people running there, especially when they’re going with traffic. Why would anyone want to run there either? So much pollution from cars and so many people on the sidewalks. Why not just head over a few blocks to the wonderful side streets/trails that parallel the main route?

Anyway, I hope that you’ll understand most serious runners totally get it; we don’t want to inconvenience the legitimate road users. And I know, I know…running in the street is against the law with a sidewalk present. Well so is running a four way stop on my bike even when I can clearly see that no one is at or approaching the intersection; doesn’t mean that I don’t do it from time to time :p

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