@contrarian: *How many people read that opening sentence and thought, "How is he going to finish this one?" LOL

A bill to make bicycling on sidewalks legal unless the locality prohibits it did not get out of committee I don't have overly strong feelings on sidewalk riding. I hop on and off them in a couple spots at times if it's convenient or if I'm at my destination, but avoid them as a general rule. I think laws on sidewalk cycling are kind of like the sodomy laws that were on the books in some states until recently (or perhaps still are on the books). The law is kind of pointless if it's never enforced. Has anyone ever gotten busted for sidewalk cycling? Are these laws ever enforced, with the possible exception of the DC CBD, but even then...

Good one. Felt like a little salt in the wound since my Surly was just stolen a few weeks ago, but a good one nonetheless.

$15 million out of a $10 billion budget?! That's a whopping 0.15% of the city budget! All this bike stuff is going to bankrupt us! Since we all know the war on cars is going strong, I assume the District's outlays for automobile infrastructure will be well under $15 million this year. ;-)

@unclejed I've seen it a lot, too. Or people just treating the far end of the crosswalk as the stop line, instead of using, oh I don't know, the STOP LINE as a stop line. I just navigate around them as carefullyas I can and give them a stink eye if they're looking and occasionally a finger if it's well deserved. Yesterday near on the Mall (Jefferson and 15th) on the evening commute, I saw a cyclist do what I've so often wanted to do, give a good open hand smack to a the trunk lid of a guy's fancy Beamer that had stopped smack dab blocking the crosspark, er, crosswalk. Driver rolled window down, "pleasantries" were exchanged, and everyone moved along. Ballsy move on the part of the cyclist... something I've only ever dreamed of doing. DB in the BMW got what he deserved, though.

Yet another reminder of why I only pick up the Examiner for the free NYT crossword in the back on those rare days I take metro. Hardly ever even glance at the headlines of stories within. Thank you for taking on his mindless drivel with reasoned thought.

Speaking of infrastructure, might I also point out the ridiculousness of the road design there? I took a look at the crash scene on Google Maps, and there is a shoulder on the road, but it's only ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE ROAD! Can any genius transportation engineer explain to me why a road would be designed like this?

There's plenty of logical arguments against mandatory helmet laws. Washcycle and other posters here have made the case quite clearly IMO. Too bad people would rather demonize and patronize those with legitimate concerns about a helmet law (like its likely impact on ridership levels) and oversimplify the position of those against the law as being against helmets altogether. The whole law presupposes that cycling is inherently dangerous, which it is not. Again, a point well made over the years by Washcycle. If this passes, it screams out for acts of mass civil disobedience. I am picturing a massive group ride with no helmets on going from police station to police station, or perhaps around the state capitol in Annapolis while wearing snarky tee shirts.

Ray Lahood was on Diane Rehm for a full hour this morning. I missed almost all of it because I was in a meeting, but I hope to download the podcast. Just a heads up to those who might be interested. I assume he talked a fair amount about bikes...

Totally agree w/ 7. Love the last paragraph. It captures perfectly what started running through my head when I saw that this letter complaining about DC was from a woman in Crownsville. Tip to anyone living thirty miles away from their job and complaining about the time it takes to commute: Want a shorter commute? Don't live thirty miles from your job! Simple enough.

Congratulations!!! and Congratulations!!!

I meant seven years. (I'm a walking incarnation of the holy hand grenade scene in Monty Python this morning...)

Happy belated Blogiversary! Five years of amazing stuff. I've been full-time bike commuting about three and a half of those five years and reading this blog religiously as well. It's hard for me to imagine a world without TheWashCycle! Thanks!

This actually looks to me like the signs you see as you approach this park in Alexandria along the MVT from the north. http://goo.gl/maps/yCD1L The MVT is a better alternative to continue through to Old Town anyway. I usually ride past here a couple times a week on my way from work to class. I can understand if someone took issue with the ban on bikes here, but I don't personally. There are these switchbacks and some choke points along the path along the river (IIRC), including a couple spots with stairs (again IIRC).

Bicycling improvements to Oxon Hill Road would be a godsend. Currently, the shoulder comes and goes, it's a bumpy, potholed mess. A decent bike lane would make the ride to Fort Washington an enjoyable experience. Agreed. As for the G'town attempted bike theft, I have a feeling I know what will happen in that case... or more accurately, what WON'T happen. http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2012/09/why-bike-theft-so-hard-stop/3274/

Fixing it for you... 49-year-old Patrick McCusker of Cockeysville was riding a bicyclist [sic] and collided with a bus. I'm guessing that McCusker was riding a bicycle and not a bicyclist. Why am I not surprised that the fine editorial staff over at WaPo managed to miss that, too.

It was either a good sprint or the bottom of a hill... but I think it is feasible.

Another take on Wiggo's comments here. My favorite line from the piece: Someone will be bound to leave a comment here saying, “A helmet saved my life.” Someone else will be bound to write, “When you are dragged for ten feet under a London bus, a bike helmet won’t save you.” I just saved you both the trouble. You’re welcome. Perhaps something like this should become standard disclaimer on all your helmet-related posts, Washcycle. ;-)

That crosswalk does look nice. I'd like it more if it had curb bumpouts at the corner, but that sort of traffic calming measure is more expensive than paint. I don't think that the sharrow needs to be smack in the middle of the lane, but I generally think they should be positioned at least as far out as the right tire track of the majority of traffic, and this doesn't seem to be even that far out, so I'd say minor sharrow fail here, but not egregious.

I would imagine that there's a bit of lag time between adding parking and seeing it utilized more. Cycling even just a mile or two to a metro station is a lifestyle change for some, if not most, so it may take some time between them seeing the new racks, deciding they want to do a multimodal commute including a bike, and finally tuning up/buying a bike and starting to ride to the station. The other big issue, perhaps bigger issue, is (perceived) safe routes to the station from where someone lives. I'll go out on an uneducated limb and say this is probably a particularly big issue at some of the farther out metro stations surrounded by 6-8 lane 45 mph arterials... If people can't get there by bike to begin with, all the parking in the world won't make a difference.

Phillies phans in the 'Burgh?! Traitors, I say! (or transplants) That's the wrong end of the state!

Meant to post this here instead of in the more topic-specific war on cars post for this morning. Sorry for the double post. From the Alexandria BPAC list: "Around 7:45 a female cyclist was hit crossing the GW parkway just south of Memorial Bridge. She appeared to be in critical condition. This continues to be a dangerous crossing." How many victims will it take before they do more than paint a couple rumble strips?

From the Alexandria BPAC list: "Around 7:45 a female cyclist was hit crossing the GW parkway just south of Memorial Bridge. She appeared to be in critical condition. This continues to be a dangerous crossing." How many victims will it take before they do more than paint a couple rumble strips?

Bike polo was a demonstration sport at the 1908 Olympics. Fascinating...