VikingMariner
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VikingMariner
Participant@Sunyata 181921 wrote:
I talk to the squirrels. It seems to work 98% of the time.
Chipmunks on the other hand… I have no idea what makes sense to them. Music, bells, and talking do not work.
Dances with Squirrels. Will be contacting you soon with a movie deal as soon as I finish the script. We gonna be rich.
November 2, 2018 at 12:02 pm in reply to: New bike lane markings on Pershing from Washington to Arlington Blvd #1090960Participant@Brendan von Buckingham 182195 wrote:
The 5 block stretch of Pershing from Washington Boulevard to Arlington Boulevard has been restriped for bike lanes at the curb and a buffer of parked cars. This is the sort of infrastructure that does not improve cycling conditions. This stretch of roadway was generously wide with ample room for a median, cars, bikes, a door-zone and parked cars. Now cyclists are encouraged to take a narrow lane full of gutter clutter that zig-zags and peek-a-boos with drivers at multiple curb cuts and driveways. And the worst part of this section of roadway (crossing Arlington Boulevard westbound from the bus shelter corner) is still unimproved.
Agree! Same on Wilson Blvd climbing up the hill into Courthouse. No room to maneuver now when someone opens a passenger side door. Almost got hit several times since the new installation as those doors can completely block the path. Drivers have also started parking partially into the bike lane. J-walking pedestrians are also difficult to see and reaction time for hard braking is reduced with no room to maneuver around. Good intentions for sure with the new design but it was not carefully thought out. The design also forces you to ride through debris that the County does not clean up, increasing the risk of flats. I’m taking other routes now that decrease the probability of flats and car doors smacking me down.
October 23, 2018 at 5:00 pm in reply to: As Traffic Deaths Rise, D.C. Officials Propose More Bike Lanes And Slower Speed Limit #1090725ParticipantThere’s really only one way to fix this–national driver licensing with testing and re-certification for motor vehicle drivers every two or three years. It’s too easy to get a license for life and forget every traffic safety concept and law. Driving a car is not in the Bill of Rights. It’s a privilege. We should use Germany’s per-licensing driver education as a model. Can’t maintain control on a skid pad (which approximately rain, snow, and ice conditions)–no license for you. Don’t remember why tailgating is one of the most dangerous things you can do behind the wheel–no license for you. Can’t remember every law for all 50 states? Oh, well; that’s why there needs to be one law of the law. More than 100 people will be killed today in traffic accidents. It’s time we took some real half measures to fix this problem instead of pretend measures like the current proposal. The problem is not cyclists or right turns on red. The problem is the majority are horrible motor vehicle operators with far below average driver education and maturity.
Participanthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3DEoIKhoZM
hahaha
Hardly a fight. Very sensitive in many ways I guess. Okay. Bye, bruh. I’ll stop. If we meet, it would be my honor to buy the beer. Cheers.
ParticipantBut seriously folks, if bike lights hurt your eyes in broad daylight, assuming it’s not a psychological pathology (i.e., characterized by adaptive inflexibility, vicious cycles of maladaptive behavior, and emotional instability under stress), please see an eye doctor as you make have one or more of the following medical conditions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtmOfsyAWcg.
God bless you. I hope it all works out for you. Hang in there. Hooyah.
ParticipantCommon sense time. Ride at night with a strobe on and you may blind yourself. Do it in fog; same outcome. Use the flash on a bright sunny day–good to go and save lives, maybe your own, particularly at trail intersections. Do it at night, welcome to the Darwin Awards competition. Strobe in a tunnel–boom, no common sense.
European laws–people seem to be making up stuff. Cycled in Germany for three years; they have the toughest laws on it. Strobe at night? Well of course not. Do it in the day, no Polizei giving you a ticket. If you do ride at night you must have two front and two rear non-flashing lights per Article 67 of the Road Traffic Licensing Regulations (StVZO).
New riders, turn on your flashing lights in the hot sun on the trail. In 50 years riding, I’ve forgotten more about cycling than some of these new kids ever knew. lol If someone interrupts your day to tell you different (and that will usually be a male aged 30-35’ish with a substandard kit and a low-end road bike, who acts like the trail Keystone cop) just ignore them or say mind your own business, sir. Take your made-up trail rules back home. Good day; stay awesome.
I look forward to the winter months when the less experienced riders give up and there are only happy, carefree, true cycling people on the trail.
ParticipantHarden up.
ParticipantRe: ” You need side lighting to get their attention.”
Modern high-end lights are include the sides. Also a coming to a stop or low speed and turning the wheel left or right gets the attention of motor vehicle operators at trail intersections. Every ride I see traffic stop for flashing daytime lighting. Also see pedestrians with their backs facing me take note–in many cases turning their heads, waving, or saying thank you as I pass. Made up local rules on a website are no substitute for actual safety. The price of these lights have come down in the last two years. Everyone should get them and it’s only a matter of time before manufacturers make them standard equipment on high-end bikes.
In 50 years of cycling, flashing lights turned out to be one of the best pieces of low cost equipment that has certainly made my rides safer, and not just for myself. There is no way that even a strobe light in broad daylight even at 5 meters could impair someone’s version even if a person looked directly into it. But how do I know that? Because I see many more people with strobe lights on the trail–the number has probably increased eight fold and for good reason. Police strobe lights (even school bus strobes) have much more power on and off the trail. Why it is that we never this complaint during the day? These imaginary pains and complaints should just end.
New cyclists–don’t let these strange ideas distract you from taking the necessary steps to protect your safety and the safety of others.
This discussion reminds be of the helmet arguments back in the day.
ParticipantJust to stir the pot, how are lights okay on the road but not on the trail? Do the trees on the trail reflect light back like a magnifier in broad day light? lol omg wtf
In 50 years of cycling, some of it racing, I have never heard such unfounded claims that a battery-operated bike light could “hurt” someone’s eyes on even a cloudy day just on the trail only. The culture of cycling certainly has changed in the last five years, like the guy, who tapped someone on the head and caused a crash because he had some imaginary rule about passing other cycles.
For less experienced riders, keep your lights on when on the trail. Cars will see you at road intersections and so will pedestrians, with their back to you when they see a light reflecting off a sign or tree in a “merciless flash” of light. If anyone has the eyes hurting from such a low power light please see an eye doctor or psychologist. Please do not challenge someone on the trail about it because there are the truly crazy out there that may slab you for not minding your own business (not me though because I will just laugh at you for being harmlessly silly).
Cycling is not about controlling the behavior of others. It’s not about taking your personal problems out on other people while riding. It’s about being free and happy. It use to be about breaking the rules sometimes. It’s about taking risks. It’s about having a health respect for larger vehicles and making peace with others rather than viewing it as combat.
Please don’t take this as an angry post because honestly I’m laughing. This thread is so funny! Beers are on me if I see any of you in person. Seriously, bike light on trail only hurts your eyes. Wah-hahahaha! Now I’ve heard it all. smdh
ParticipantParticipantWorks great. Saved my life many times. Still it’s a bike light that is an under powered strobe (front and rear). It’s not going to blind anyone in broad daylight on a sunny day. Where the trail intersects with the road, it does stop traffic so crossing is safe. It’s one of the best pieces of tech I’ve seen in 50 years of cycling. Everyone should get strobe lighting for daytime riding.
ParticipantIt’s all ’bout hydration, son. I use dis.
ParticipantIt’s all ’bout hydration, son. I use dis.
ParticipantMay 21, 2018 at 12:08 pm in reply to: LCSO Investigating Assault on Washington & Old Dominion Trail #1087461 -
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