[Steve]

@NicDiesel 62645 wrote:

I think you’re ignoring that most people can’t afford to live closer in, even if they wanted to put up with smaller yards. Hence why the exurbs continue to grow and people willing become mega commuters not to share a wall or floor with someone.

Loudon County is literally the wealthiest county in America. They are plenty wealthy. Falls Church City and Fairfax are #2 and #3.

That being said, I understand what you are saying, that many people in DC can’t afford to live in the city. My point is that the suburbs would be even more expensive if it weren’t for the fact that the Government made it cheap by subsidizing the suburban development. If, say, the Government had spent that same money on developing the cities, you would probably find much more affordable city housing.

[Steve]

@NicDiesel 62623 wrote:

A stronger argument would be “affordable” housing in the suburbs and, in places like DC and Los Angeles and Chicago, the exurbs.

Some might disagree with this. Suburban sprawl happened for lots of reasons: government backing, automotive lobby, decline of cities from industrial revolution thru WWII, etc. It was cheap because of government backed loans for new development coming out of WWII, government backed roadway projects, etc. Part of the reason you see local governments now trying to pull people back into cities isn’t just for livability/walkability, but also because the sprawl is so expensive to maintain.

I guess what I’m saying is that while affordable to the individual buyer, this was mostly because the government paid for it. There were lots of political/economical reasons that the government wanted people to move to the suburbs. You still see it today in how important “New Housing Starts” is for an economic indicator and evaluation of politicians. It’s hard to measure the economic value of fixing up a house.

[Steve]

@Hancockbs 62595 wrote:

Why is it that joggers seem enamored of wearing dark colored clothing on unlighted MUTs before the sun rises, while eschewing any reflectors or lights? This is especially bad on MVT near the airport where the car headlights are shining in your eyes anyway. I can’t tell you how many near misses I’ve had. I hope they keep being misses!

In defense of runners, I just don’t think they think about it much. I used to do it before I rode. Runners don’t move nearly as fast, and so the dark doesn’t make it so hard for them to see. I don’t think they really understand how hard it is on cyclists, because the closing speeds are so much faster.

[Steve]

@dasgeh 62445 wrote:

Why not just turn south on Ohio to get to the Jefferson to get to the Bridge?

I think Ohio was closed today?

[Steve]

@jrenaut 62363 wrote:

Here at one large federal agency, where I’m working in the morning before going to work at the bar (I was serious about that), I just had to scoot back my chair and wave my arms to get the motion-activated lights to come back on.

Hahaha. This made my day. This used to happen to me all the time when I shared an office with one other person, but a cube wall blocked the sensor from my desk area. On days when my office mate was out, this would happen a decent amount. There is nothing that reminded me of how sad and sedentary office life is more than the lights turning out because I hadn’t moved.

[Steve]

@DaveK 62342 wrote:

Turns out that “Memorial Bridge is closed” means closed to cyclists too. That was an annoying detour. And not one cop could tell me for sure until I actually got up to the bridge that it was closed.

In defense of NPS, the official press release did state, “Road closures will include pedestrian closures at each closure site.” While that is not completely clear, it seems like a decent attempt. They also noted that bicycles were on the prohibited item list for entering the event area.

Odd though that nobody could answer that for you. I came up the 110 trail and was surprised to see police barricades so far west on the bridge (I thought it would just be blocked east of the circle. I had to scoot around a barricade in the sidewalk and stopped to ask if I could ride the sidewalk up to MVT and he said yes, but that I couldn’t cross the bridge when I got up to it. I guess like any event it just depends on who you ask if they know the rules or not.

Edit: You go from DC to Arlington, don’t you? I guess maybe that’s why we got different answers, as we approach from different sides.

[Steve]

Is it one of the forum folks that rides a red and black (Specialized, I think) e-bike? I’ve seen that one out a few times, and think it’s pretty sharp.

[Steve]

@dasgeh 62113 wrote:

Why the hate?

But to answer your question, there are a total of 35 miles (? just a guess, based on the fact that the Loop is 17) of trails in Arlington.

Plus a big part of the loop, the MVT, isn’t Arlington, at least I don’t think. Some of the trails have speed limits. Those aren’t exactly followed either. The safety concerns about possibly having slightly faster ebikes on the trail seem to be completely overcome by the safety benefits associated with ebikes putting more cyclist out on streets. After all, most trail rides begin and end with some street riding.

[Steve]

@papalena 61928 wrote:

Just another data point: I’ve a long wheelbase recumbent that I’ve taken through those hairpins many times with no dismounts or problems (other than having to slow way down around the corners). End-to-end length of that bike (I just measured it) is 85 inches.

Having said that, I usually take the sidewalk “Anacostia Riverwalk Trail” (ART) to East Basin Drive and over to the 14th St bridge. Which brings up: What is the deal with the ART there? I just noticed an “ART begins here” sign today on Maine Ave underneath the Case bridge (going southbound) — and after that, nothing, no signs. Where exactly does the ART go to around the fish market? The sidewalk sorta disappears at the end of the fish market leaving you at an abrupt and narrow 90 degree turn into a fish market parking lot entrance. Are you supposed to be on Maine Ave at that point (going SE is ok, but NW bound would be salmoning), or cutting through the fish market parking lot (always a dangerous idea, although it seems popular) or what? I didn’t notice any ART signs around there, where it would really be helpful.

It’s hard to tell. I *think* that Water St would actually be the part that is considered the ART, becasue there are ART signs, IIRC, along the boardwalk portion south of the Police Station leading to Ft. McNair.

[Steve]

@TwoWheelsDC 61921 wrote:

FWIW, I saw a tandem successfully navigate it without dismounting during 50 States ride last year…

That’s pretty impressive.

Google street view actually has a pretty nice image of one of the two turns: http://goo.gl/maps/u8Dy1
I’ve never been on a bakfiets, so I don’t know exactly how hard it’d be, but here’s one turn in case you’re curious dasgeh.

[Steve]

I can’t see the route because ridewithgps doesn’t load on my work computer, but if it goes over the Case Bridge, I’d compeltely agree with consularrider. There is a tight switchback getting on that bridge that would be very hard with a bakfiets. From Yards Park, you can just take the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail to Potomac, cross South Cap St and head north on the western sidewalk, take P St. until it deadends back onto the ART boardwalk which leads you to Water Street until it ends at the fish market, take the wide sidewalks along Maine, and down East Basin to 14th St. I know it sounds complicated, but this is all the ART. The sidewalks are wide and used for bikes all the time, Water Street is very wide and safe, and it avoids Case Bridge. Just my $.02

[Steve]

@mstone 61762 wrote:

This could be a fun: if you had a million bucks for trail improvements, where would you spend it?

Political bribes. Let’s be honest, a million bucks probably can’t buy you much construction. The best you could do with a million bucks is try to influence someone into giving you more than a million. I’d do it with bribes rather than advocacy, just because it sounds like more fun.

[Steve]

I’ll be there. I think my buddy Matt is going to come too.

[Steve]

@consularrider 61668 wrote:

Someone I’ve ridden with took a similar class through Cycle Life in Georgetown a couple years ago. It was once a week for about two months and was sponsored by Park Tools. The Park Tool website includes a locator for Park Tool school participants. That’s all well and good, but I went into a couple of the shops websites and this isn’t something that they prominently featured, probably have to contact the shop directly to see what they are doing. Still, it is something I’d like to do.

Yep, I did the Park Tools School at Spokes (http://spokesetc.com/about/park-tool-school-pg965.htm) and really enjoyed it. It sounds like maybe mine was a little bit less hands on than Liz’s, but still I thought a worthwhile time for a novice. I learned quite a bit and it has helped me with at least the minor repairs and adjustments that I have made over time.

[Steve]

@NicDiesel 61510 wrote:

I’ll be doing that but I need to get outside in the winter time and ride or I’m going to go insane in Minneapolis this winter.

This won’t keep you warm, but TwinSix has two pretty cool Minnesota cycling t’s that you might find interesting:

http://www.twinsix.com/gear/mens-casual/pedal-mn-cranks-brakes-lakes-t
http://www.twinsix.com/gear/mens-casual/pedal-mn-sabo-t

[Author]

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