[Terpfan]

@WillStewart 10448 wrote:

See the thread on accidents, very closely related. NEVER say “I’m fine” as a problem could arise later after the adrenalin and endorphins wear off. Say “I don’t know” until you can get a medical assessment.

http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?1383-Crash!!-You-ve-had-an-accident-with-a-car.-What-do-you-do-now

Sounds like an assault case to me – were the cops witnesses? If not, did you get any witnesses names? It sounds like the Escalade driver admitted his actions to the officers – can you get a copy of the report?

I wish I had those points written down from the link. I was so surprised that I had been tackled that I really wasn’t thinking about anything else other than what the hell is going on here and why. The cops said they did not see him tackle me, but they heard him yelling when I was on the ground and that’s what prompted them to come over.

I’m sure there were witnesses, but nobody stopped that I could tell. Part of the problem was I was down on the ground in the cycletrack focused only on the guy above me and the squad cars over to my left. By the time I got up the police were asking us both questions and checking me for injuries. The only guy I’m sure saw it was the homeless gentleman at McPherson Square who looks over that way and yells ‘Good Morning’ every day to people walking right there.

The guy did admit to the police that he tackled me. It came in the beginning during a brief exchange where the cops asked what happened. As I explained that he tackled me, he said damn right I tackled him. The cop asked him again saying to clarify it was he saying he tackled me and he said yes, i tackled him.

[Terpfan]

Thank you all for the advice. I’m leaning toward filing charges after discussing what happened and the DC code with an attorney friend. He said switching positions he would have demanded the charges be filed on the spot and would contemplate civil action against the driver as well (I disagree on the latter).

[Terpfan]

I’m glad they’re doing it. Hopefully they educate the officers too. My dealings with them this morning taught me they don’t have any clue. The only ones who seemed to understand were the ones who owned and used bicycles, big surprise, right? Interesting with the always riding on correct side of road since the cycletracks by default place you on the wrong side if you’re heading one direction. Still glad they’re being proactive.

[Terpfan]

I’d prefer to be blinded then run across some of these people who think that camoflauge is a good riding tactic.

[Terpfan]

@PotomacCyclist 10326 wrote:

Well, actually don’t look straight up. The space station will pass at about 30 degrees above the horizon between 5:25 and 5:35 pm today in the DC area.

I saw the station several years ago when it passed directly overhead. It’s very bright but sort of small from this distance. It looks bigger than most stars, but maybe a little smaller than Jupiter.

If you’re riding your bike, stop first. It’s not safe to be looking up at the sky while you’re riding (unless you’re driving a tank).

http://www.nbcwashington.com/weather/stories/Sunspots-Space-Stations-and-Satellites-in-the-Night-Sky-133359423.html?sky

Your last line is definitely a good one for emphasis! Had that problem as a lady on one of the rental bikes was staring straight up at Marine One on the 14th St Bridge and coming directly toward me. I realized yelling was pointless because she couldn’t hear. She finally looked down at just the right moment.

[Terpfan]

Probably because if they have never seen it done before and are confident they can do it then they have collosally forgotten something. Case in point, when they built the Montgomery County Courthouse they originally installed concave windows that created light beams responsible for melting some rear view windows in cars and paint on some cars. Then when they finally opened the same courthouse they forgot to complete the final sewer hookup leading to a bunch of a raw sewage with no pipe to flow into. Alas, how could anyone possibly doubt their design capabilities?!

[Terpfan]

I was chatting with my girlfriend who occassionally jogs on parts of the MVT about bikes passing her. She runs with her headphones in, but is generally cognizant of surroundings and wears bright colored running gear. Anyway, she told me she normally can’t hear people saying ‘on your left’ but has no problem hearnig the bells. I think that’s a pitch/intonation situation. For what it’s worth, I started only using my bell for runners and realized I was getting a much better acknowledgement rate than saying on your left.

[Terpfan]

An open-house type day where people can listen in to different explanations/lessons at different tents. Eg how to change a tire/chains/etc here. How to break on slick pavement over here. Common rules of the road to follow, over here. And yah, beer would increase turnout.

[Terpfan]

Going back to the original question, your answer Roscoe was when you noticed the correlation to the bad drivers. It’s a regional thing although I don’t find it as bad as NYC.

With that said, Rock Creek has always had cyclists on it and sometimes packs of cyclists. That’s nothing new and as a driver I much preferred them there rather than on say Connecticut Avenue or 16th Street, etc. And quite frankly, I have been behind people driving 15mph on that road.

My biggest pet peeve is so many folks don’t say ‘on your left’ or ring their bell when passing on MVT. I get that sometimes in the more remote parts you can hear the cyclist coming, but at other parts you can’t. So if you divert for a stick and didn’t hear the call then it’s a collision waiting to happen. The worst is when it’s happening around the hill turns. Alas some folks just don’t seem to care. I’m a big guy and the one day I accidentally hit them because they don’t call it out is not going to be a pretty sight for them or for me, but probably more so for them. Live and learn.

[Terpfan]

How did it go?

[Terpfan]

Well sometimes I think the money spent on C&O is wasted as it seems to wash away every three years or so. The trick to the advocacy is showing how it’s actually reducing costs to the system as a whole otherwise you run into the classic farebox recovery dilemma–aka that 40-60% of most rail trips are subsidized by vehicle gas taxes and more rail riders equals less revenue to pay for more costs. It sounds like the fund is in DOT, but someone should try getting it moved to NPS or maybe even HUD with a dedicated revenue source.

[Terpfan]

We have wheel bender racks in our garage. It’s a pay-to-park garage, but most of the people are monthly permit holders and others have to stop with the attendant. You wouldn’t even know there were two racks in the garage unless you had parked near them. I was using a coil and ulock at first, but switched to just the ulock. I’ve seen one bike with no lock at all there almost every day. Seems relatively safe, especially with so many bikes parked on along the street. The other item with our parking garage (and I suspect many other garages) is that the ticket they give you for parking records your license plate and make/model/color of car and that does not seem criminal-friendly to me.

[Terpfan]

Thanks all

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