It does seem strange that the sharrows closest to Monroe St are painted up against the curb. Not sure what that’s about.

By far it is the worst road surface on my 6 mile commute to work in the city. Not being a civil engineer I’m wondering why does the utility work leave the road with so many potholes and uneven ground? Why it is left in such an awful condition?

The driver makes a fast wide turn into the right lane where the cyclists are. The shadow of the SUV announces the angle of motion and it’s not good. At the last moment the driver moves back toward the center lane and instead of stopping for the red light, s/he speeds up and goes through even after the first cyclist yells out “RED LIGHT!”

I’m happy nobody was injured because you can see how close the Jeep driver came to causing a collision. Here’s the video:

The more persistent problem about trash/recycle days involves the new contraflow bike lane on R Street between 2nd & 3rd NE. The trash bins are left in the bike lane and leave a narrow path for cyclists that is essentially the dooring zone. The trash bins should be on the grass not in the travel lane.

This video shows how ugly it is to ride behind a trash truck and what the bike lane looks like on trash/recycling pickup days.

A plastic bag stuck in the chain can bring a ride to an abrupt stop.

This morning I had trouble staying in gear because wet leaves were stuck in the rear cogs. Probably should have stopped to get them out but it was cold and I didn’t want to gunk up my gloves. Eventually the leaves broke down and riding smoothed out. Not as lucky tonight.

This evening as I was rushing home to vote I didn’t think twice about riding past a plastic bag next to a stop sign. As I tried to accelerate past the intersection my gears wouldn’t change. I looked down and found an old empty plastic bag wrapped up in my tension pulley.

Be careful on the roads and watch out for (leaf) litter this fall.

Today on the ride home I was digging the reduced humidity. Riding through less water has to make the ride easier. Less friction perhaps? Anyway, the ride was great and by the time I crossed the DC/MD border I knew I was home free. Not so lucky today.

As I approached the Mount Rainier traffic circle in the left lane I was scanning for cars already in the circle. No cars were there but there was a driver in the right lane who was also scanning for traffic before entering. We both decided it’s free so it’s go time. We simultaneously enter the circle in our own lanes and the driver of the SUV starts to cut me off. There isn’t anywhere to go except the curb or to slam my breaks which doesn’t seem smart (no time to see what’s behind me) so I yell out, “Hey! Watch out!!” She then scoots back into her lane and she continues traveling east on Route 1 while I continue to ride in the circle and exit on 34th.

So, lady in the black SUV, please don’t change lanes in the tiny traffic circle. It’s a two lane road not a single road for your SUV. If you must change lanes, don’t do it without looking to see if someone is there. I have a flashing headlight, a day-glow orange bike and an orange safety vest. I’m visible but you do have to look outside of your automobile.

On July 12th a van driver buzzed me since it seems s/he couldn’t wait a few moments to pass when there was more room. I can’t make out the logo on the back of the van but the plates are MD A168984. 

Music: “Robot Summer” by Gurdonark

After it happened, I rode across the street to the Mount Rainier police department to report the incident to an officer who promptly pulled the driver over (!) and brought him back to talk to me and ticket him.  Looking back, it feels fortuitous that everything turned out as well as it did.

Here’s the video (click on “HD” for maximum quality):

Music by BOCrew.

I recorded this buzzing near the strange intersection where Rhode Island Ave meets 7th and R  streets. The traffic going west on R was partially blocking the southbound traffic on Rhode Island. I continued past the stopped cars and since the light was red, decided to continue up to the front of the line of cars instead of hanging back with the gridlock.  That wasn’t such a good idea because as soon as I neared the front of the line the light changed and the drivers began to go.

I didn’t have a good chance to “take the lane” and partly because of that the driver of the Toyota Camry (MD licence plate GWR358) decides to give me a buzz rather than waiting for a clear 3 feet of passing space. If you watch closely you’ll see her pass me at the beginning of the video when she’s in the lane next to me (thank you). By the end she’s … well go ahead and see for yourself:

Music:”Valiha Trance” by 7thHeaven // 2010 – Licensed under Creative Commons