How Long, Lord, Must We Cry for Help?? Intersection of Doom Edition @Arlingtonva @VaDOTNOVA @NPSGWMP @Jim_Moran #bikedc

Answer: Decades.

This map from the National Park Service 1990 DC Trails Plan was recently posted to the local bike forum. It shows that by 1990, the Intersection of Doom was well established as a dangerous intersection.  I moved into Arlington in 1989 and I remember biking through the Intersection of Doom on the way into town.  The Intersection of Doom has been marked on the local bicycle map as a "dangerous intersection" for as long as I can remember.

I'll admit it.  A LOT of the identified problems on this map have been fixed.  Thank you NPS.  But it also indicates the situation.  Where NPS was the only jurisdiction involved in solving the problem, the problems have been generally addressed.  At the Intersection of Doom, we have five - make that four - jurisdictions (Arlington just bought out the private land owner) involved in solving the problem and nothing has gotten done.

Meanwhile, recently a woman hit by a car at the Intersection of Doom reportedly had insult added to injury when a NPS officer came to her hospital bed - not having witnessed the accident - and issued her a ticket for not being in the crosswalk.

Let's be clear where fault lies.  It doesnt lie with the cyclists.  It doesnt lie with the pedestrians.  It doesnt lie with the car drivers.  

It lies with the local governing authorities including Arlington County, VADOT, DC, and NPS who have identified this as a problem for decades, have been lobbied by cyclists to fix this for decades, and whose idea of a solution is to blame the victims.

Fix the Intersection of Doom! 

Do. It.

Phoenix Derby is Saturday

Phoenix Derby

Biking to Work in bad Weather #bikedc #btwd #btwddc

Tomorrow's forecast is not promising. NOAA is calling for high winds, heavy rain, and lightning.

I have to admit.  I am pretty much a 100% bicycle commuter and I bike straight through the winter.  But it doesnt mean being stupid.  Here are some tips about biking in bad weather:

• Weather services are wonderful - lots better than way back in the day.  Pull up the local weather radar and see where the storms are.  If a storm is coming, I will change my schedule to miss the storm: leave early; leave late; or shoot the gaps between the storm fronts.
• Use good gear.  Wear clear eye protection to keep the rain out of your eyes.  Use good bags that keep your stuff dry.  Make sure your brakes are in good working order. Use fenders to reduce the spray on yourself and others.
• Be visible.  If cars had difficulty seeing you before, they certainly will have trouble seeing you with rain messing up their windows.  Wear high viz colors and lights.
• Surfaces may be slippery.  Some cyclists use different tires in different weather conditions. This may also increase your braking distance.  And heavy rains may wash debris onto your route.
• Have an exit strategy:  Can you hop on the subway or a bus if it gets bad?  Can you lock up your bike and stop in a coffee shop to ride out the storm?  
• Dont ride during lightning.
• Be careful of flash floods.  Many trails in my area dip down next to creeks and are regularly flooded during strong storms.  Do not ride through floods.
• Be careful that what looks like a puddle on the road might be a pothole.

Follow Rule #5: Dont be stupid.  If you feel uncomfortable with the weather conditions, either delay your trip or dont cycle that day.

Clean your bike off when you get to your destination to avoid rust.

Sources

10 tips for riding in the rain, Active.com

Cold Weather Biking Tips, Bike Arlington

Cycling in icy conditions and bad weather, Bikeradar

Bang! Avoiding Lightning on Your Bike Tour, Traveling Two

KidicalMass Arlington Ride Schedule

Just in time for the ABCs of Family Biking (an excellent event put on by Kidical Mass DC and friends), Kidical Mass Arlington has a schedule for 2014!  Details, as usual, at our website: kidicalmassarl.blogspot.com ,

It's shaping up to be an exciting year: Taste of Arlington, Father's Day, Tour de France, Arlington County Fair, Clarendon Day and joint rides with Kidical Mass DC and the newly formed Kidical Mass Alexandria!

For the 2014 Spring-Summer-Fall season, we're generally riding on the third Sunday of the month, with some bonus rides thrown in, and some adjustments for some special events. Here's the plan, with the usual caveat that things happen, and you should check the website for details and confirmation.

Sunday, May 18 – Taste of Kidical (a ride to the Taste of Arlington)
Sunday, June 1 – Kidically Spring
Sunday, June 15 – Daddy Kidical (Father’s Day Ride)
Sunday, July 6 – Tour de Kidical (Ride to watch the Tour de France)
Sunday, July 20 – Kidically Arlandria – Joint ride with the newly formed Kidical Mass Alexandria
Sunday, August 10 – Fairly Kidical (a ride to the Arlington Fair)
Saturday, September 27 – Kidically Clarendon (a ride to Clarendon Day)
Saturday, October 4 – Arlington Fun Ride Family Ride

Don't forget to double check the website right before the ride to confirm details.

The ABC Check

Recently I have been volunteering with a local youth organization leading Saturday rides. The kids in the program are riding bicycles that might be referred to as "vintage" or "refurbished." These are bikes, and bike components, that have seen some wear. The first ride that I went on, we saw one flat tire and two busted chains. We also have had cranks fall off. 

Ideally, these are things to be avoided. A good habit to get into before you go for a bike ride is your ABC check: air, brakes, and chain. 

Check your air: Mountain bike tire pressure can be around 30 to 50 psi, hybrids can be 50 to 80 psi, and road bikes can be 80 to 110 psi. Good floor pumps come with gauges. You should also come to know when your tires are properly inflated simply by squeezing them. On bicycle rides, I always carry tire irons, a patch kit, a portable pump, a spare tube, and tire boots (and have used them many times). I also carry a wrench for those bikes without quick releases. You should also check the tire for wear. 

Check your brakes: both front and rear brakes should be in good working order. Most modern brakes have adjusters in the lever to increase the braking power as the brake wears. Never ride with worn out brakes. I carry a multitool that includes allen wrenches that can be used to make adjustments. 

Check your chain, cassette, and crank. Your chain should be properly lubed and clean. Without lube your chain will not move properly, can rust, and jam. Too much lube and it becomes a dirt magnet. Too much dirt and the chain will not shift properly, and may cause "chain suck" where it fails to properly come off the flywheel. Depending on weather conditions, I clean my chain everyone one to two weeks. This can be as simply as wiping it down with a rag. I also carry a chain breaker and a few quick links. 

It is good to teach new riders to deliberately go over a quick ABC check of their bike. After a while, it becomes instinctive. Walk up to a bike, give it a quick look over, squeeze the tires, squeeze the brake lever, and go. 

Source: The ABC Quick Check, NHTSA (crediting the League of American Bicyclists); Basic Bike Check, League of American Bicyclists; ABC Quick Check, Bike Collective.

Phoenix Derby May 17! #bikedc #arlingtonva

The Phoenix Derby is around the corner!  Perhaps one of the zaniest bicycle races in the area, it involves a course that flies through the garages of Crystal City, includes hopping bails of hay, people dressed in unusual outfits, stopping and playing quick games of cards, and all types of mayhem.  It is a festival of the bi-zar.

The Crystal City Phoenix Derby is a unique cycling event that combines speed and high-energy fun in a cool urban environment while showcasing the D.C. region’s only youth-oriented bike nonprofit organization. We invite riders of all abilities to test their skills on our race course designed and built in an underground parking garage. The Crystal City Phoenix Derby features a variety of race formats including a non-competitive open course ride, a head-to-head stationary sprint race, team relays, and a special kid’s course. The general public is also invited to try out the course or just watch the action from the chic confines of the Phoenix Lounge, a display area of bikes build by Phoenix Bikes youth and bar built in the center of the action!

There will be all types of races, including kid races - and lots of volunteer opportunities.

The Phoenix Derby helps support local youth cycling organization Phoenix Bikes.

Intersection of Doom - Another Near Miss @arlingtonva @arlingtonDES #bikedc

Arlington County said that fixing the Intersection of Doom was not in the Future of Rosslyn Plan because no one had brought it up in a while.  Besides that being baloney with a slice of pickle, it appears prudent to document any known Doom incidents.

Today at ~5:45 pm a woman was standing on the west corner of Lee Hwy and Ft Myer Dr.  The cross walk light turned white, indicating her turn to go.  She stepped into her peddles and proceeded into the intersection not but barely.  A station wagon going south on Ft Myer ran the red light several seconds after it had turned red, swung right, and proceeded west on Lee Hwy.  The station wag missed the cyclists by not but barely.

Every cyclist and every pedestrian standing on the corners yelled at the station wagon which sped (and I mean sped) away.

Arlington: Fix the Intersection of Doom