[Terpfan]

@ursus 140573 wrote:

The video is private.

Woops, I think I fixed it now.

[Terpfan]

Well, I almost ran over a large black snake on the MVT. I was passing a jogger by the Belle Haven Marina and when I glanced down I see a large rat black snake, mouth open, on the whole left side of the path. Needless to say, it was a much closer pass of both than I would have preferred. I said “snake” to the jogger who half jumped off the trail. Gutsy snake at a peak time on the trail. I’ll see if it shows up later on my camera when I charge it up.

[Terpfan]

Oblivious Lexus driver utilizes entire bike lane and half of road lane last Friday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWi0YvSoyRg

I honestly think the woman was oblivious to even me being right next to her at the red light (for those wondering, the road here kind of forces cars/bikes to curve left somewhat in intersection to continue on it, so it’s not like I came off the sidewalk there). Pretty sure she was on her phone. Either way, she proceeded to ride up the hill in the bike lane for several hundred feet before eventually correcting herself.

[Terpfan]

@Amalitza 133930 wrote:

They didn’t plow it. It melted. I’ve been watching it incrementally shrink all week.

Think we can ever get them to use a streetsweeper on it? I did a VDOT item submission a few weeks back, but nothing. So the only way I get the crap out of the lane is to literally drive my tire over it when I know I can go slow and have a clear sight-line, but that’s really not a viable long-term solution.

Plus side, I’ve had very few issues of people coming remotely close to me in that stretch since the installation (save the little spot right by library entrance where it ends).

[Terpfan]

@KLizotte 140423 wrote:

Am I crazy or are there a lot more tour buses out there than usual for this time of year? It seems like every high school in America has decided to come visit our great city. I have only two words for these folks: Disney World.

You’re not crazy, but many of those tour bus drivers are crazy. This morning on Independence Ave, one tour bus driver decided he needed two lanes for several blocks and kept gyrating back and forth. He almost hit two cars and I didn’t even dare to come near him on the right for fear of becoming of a pancake. Meanwhile, in Old Town, they seem to think they’re precluded from following parking laws. I guess the plus side is that more tourists on bus means less tourists confused by our roads.

[Terpfan]

Is there a list of afternoon pitstops anywhere? Just curious if any on my commute home. Would love to come to this beer one, but just swiped from little sleep. Then again, it’s beer and bikes given away ha.

[Terpfan]

Always smart to be the niche in any marketplace if you can. I don’t think it was as much of a thing when we bought our house three years ago, but our realtor did say we were not the first people to tell him that being close to a reliable bike way into DC mattered. In fact, he had acquired some of the local biking maps at the time and kept them on hand just for the purpose to give perspective.

[Terpfan]

@lordofthemark 139976 wrote:

I have never seen conditions on the MVT both so crowded, and so smooth. Usually the most crowded times are evenings and weekends, when the combination of rambling pedestrians, and unpredictable bikers (both slow newbies and fast Freds) creates chaos and stress. This AM was as crowded as that, but was all either BTWD cyclists, or US Army runners. It was a sight to behold.

I’ve seen it this crowded, but not this crowded and smooth. I think that’s a sage observation. Literally I only saw one person not call and make a bad pass. I also observed people I presume are newer to it carefully observing the more seasoned vets and mimicking their behaviors (I say that because I watched a rider get passed with calls/bells and then she passed another rider saying “to the left”).

It also helped that it was a beautiful day. Now if only we could convince them not to mow the grass on a heavy biking day for the trail.

[Terpfan]

Signed up.

Let’s not be first losers this year 😎

[Terpfan]

I felt like I was dragging today, but agree that there weren’t many out and those out were courteous riders. The highlight of my ride was the woman saying “good morning” in a cheerful voice as she passed folks on the MVT. I was in one of those mindsets of ‘ugh, im dragging, im going to be a little late to work, i wore one layer too many, etc’ and then the cheerfulness sort of clicked me out of it to see the nice side–that I was riding, that being late would be no big deal, and so on. Funny how the little things can make a big difference.

[Terpfan]

I once called someone out (this was a few years ago) for not calling his pass near the 14th St Bridge. Dude flat out does a skid stop and then asks if I want to fight. The answer for me was something like ‘no, on my way to work, just want you to call passes so I don’t get hit.’ Maybe the same guy is still around. Seemed to have some anger issues. Alas, with what a million plus users a year, I guess the MVT is due to have a few bad apples.

[Terpfan]

My wife wanted to go walking this weekend along the MVT. I usually try to avoid the trails like the plague on nice weekends unless it’s real early in the morning, but I went along with it. And, afterward, I remembered why I avoid the trails. I had a cyclist actually attempt a pass of two other cyclists coming right at me. That bleeping forced us both to literally jump off the trail to avoid a head-on collision and I didn’t add my wife is noticeably pregnant. The best part was the guy yelled at all of us (two cyclists he was passing and my wife and I) for not clearing the way, whatever that means. He was the worst offender, but I watched another cyclist basically almost fall after another crazy pass. So, this is a PSA to use the trails on the weekend at your own peril.

Of course, there were some good riders/walkers/etc too. One guy even had a dog running alongside him (leashed) and he called his passes, gave distance, and so did his dog–that was just impressive. Also, giant rat snake in a tree, which I watched almost fall onto a guy. I can just imagine a 4′ snake falling onto someone now. That would have been a site to see.

[Terpfan]

So they are watching the videos. Awesome, I have some to send their way then, albeit I’m not a resident of the District.

[Terpfan]

@Emm 138584 wrote:

They have the Belle View Blvd crossing mentioned on page 6-14 with an action to “Provide Traffic Calming Measures to facilitate crossing of GWMP”. Not sure if that also means “add a crosswalk and a paved entrance to the trail” but it’s something at least.

They actually have about 5 of those recommendations for GWMP/MVT. I think they’d help alot, although I doubt they’d be perfect–the crosswalks and signs by Memorial Bridge are considered traffic calming measures, and they’re still dicey crossings.

Good call. I found it too further down.

In my comments to them, I pretty much said they could widen that part of the roadway at Belle View (I’ve seen a few accidents), build a crosswalk, and a little connector from crosswalk to MVT and that would be splendid. Plus consider it a transportation route thus snow removal is a must, remove bollards, and try to make those wooden bridges more flat without pitch/turns/etc and maybe more sticky paint or plex stuff. Those were my selfish asks of them.

[Terpfan]

Lot of pluses, but also some minuses. I noticed they’re proposing a Belle View Blvd from Ft Hunt Rd to the GWMP “off-road connector.” They seem to have no idea about VDOTs bike lane and sharrows. I don’t think we need an off-road thing there. I just want their next recommendation of a traffic calming device to facilitate crossing the GWMP. Really, I would simply love a crosswalk. Maybe even connect said crosswalk to trail with pavement, but I would settle for just a crosswalk ha.

Also, it looks like they’re kicking the can on snow removal:

“The NPS maintains several Memorandums of Agreement (MOA)
that support maintenance of trail and trail bridge assets. As
needs and demands increase across the region for snow removal,
lighting, and more amenities, MOAs with local governments
and partners will allow the NPS to accomplish more in terms
of maintenance needs. The NPS does not have a Service-wide
set of design standards for paved trails. The study recommends
the development of comprehensive trail design standards and
guidelines for the NCR that address a variety of topics including
trail width, snow removal, clearances, and safety features, among
other factors, as well as the recognition of high-volume corridors.
Standards should incorporate innovative, sustainable and
durable materials that could help reduce long-term maintenance
requirements.”

[Author]

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