Rage Against the Cyclist

This morning I witnessed an all-too-common site: a motorist expressing anger at a cyclist. What was the cyclist doing? He was riding lawfully down the road, on the right side of the lane. The driver, and not just someone driving to work, she was driving a DC Public Schools School Bus, was in full rage, pumping her fist and white-eyed. Now, I suppose it's possible the cyclist may have made an illegal move that I didn't see, but if so, should a professional driver (in the presence of children) be expressing road rage on the job?

But as far as I could tell what was pissing off the city employee (trained in safety, I'm sure) was the mere presence of the cyclist on the road. "Get the hell off the road!" is the thought I'm sure was going through her head -- it's an attitude I experience every time I commute by bike to work.

"Share the road" applies to city employees. At least it should.

Near Miss

I was commuting home on the bike last night. Biking on DC city streets has its dangers. Biking on DC's streets at night ups the ante.

Usually the biggest danger I see (or don't see) are un-illuminated joggers on the George Washington Parkway trail. If you ever wonder if there are any optimists left in the world, look no further.

My commute starts south of Reagan National Airport. So I head home this time of year in the dark on the GW trail...it seems there are joggers who go out of their way to wear dark clothes with no reflective gear. I wish they knew how invisible they are at night. Fortunately most running shoes have some reflective material on them, so I watch for flashes of light on the path (I am not an optimist, I have a strong headlamp and tail light).

But it wasn't an invisible jogger that caused my near miss last night. It was an oncoming jogger on the wrong side of the path.

This happened at the foot of the 14th street bridge sidewalk, where it crosses E. Basin Drive behind the Jefferson Memorial heading into Haines Point. Some joggers think they are safer if they jog facing traffic. They are mistaken, as any cyclist who has rounded a blind curve to confront a jogger on the wrong side of the trail can tell you. But I saw this guy coming, the area is lit and there were no blind curves.

When someone's coming straight at you on your side of the road the inevitable game of chicken begins. It's unavoidable. Do I move to the left? What if there is oncoming traffic behind the guy, but on the correct side of the road? What if he moves to the same side of the trail with me? Then we're back in the same boat. Since he's breaking the rules of the road, I think he should give way. But I'm a damn cyclist, he's thinking, "screw him!" (Though he gets the longer hospital stay if we collide, so screw yourself). If this were on water, the rules of the road dictate that the more maneuverable vessel give way to the lesser one. Which one of us is that? I'm faster, but am more dependent on being on pavement for maneuverability. He can jog on grass with no problems, I would risk skidding. I'm also larger, with my bike, so there's more of me to move.

As it happened, he moved to "his" side of the trail in time.

But my "near miss" wasn't really this jogger. It was the car I almost didn't see because I was so focused on the jogger. The path here crosses E Basin Drive and I didn't see the car barreling down the road destined to be at the same spot as me and my bike. I did see it "just" in time and thankfully I have good breaks and that I didn't go flying over the handlebars.

It's my fault for not seeing the car -- but a good case-in-point about any distraction, whether it be unlighted joggers on the wrong side of the road or shirtless ones acting as eye candy -- on DC's dangerous streets.

Congress Suddenly Interested in Respecting DC's Voters?

HT: Joe My God.

DC Mayor Adrian Fenty and Council Chair Vincent Gray were called on the carpet by Congress for not allowing the majority of District residents to vote on the civil rights of a minority. Let's listen in:

At a hearing on proposed changes to the city's Home Rule Act, two Republicans on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee grilled Fenty and Gray about why the District will not allow a public vote.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (Utah), the ranking member of the subcommittee that has oversight over District laws, noted that voters in 31 states have rejected same-sex marriage. "I'm disappointed the people are not getting an opportunity to vote on this issue," Chaffetz said.

Yes, you see, Congress -- Republicans in particular -- really care about respecting the wishes of DC's voters. That's why they've blocked attempts to actually giving DC voting representation in Congress. And why they feel they can waltz in and undo actual initiatives approved by District voters.

Case-in-point: Medical Marijuana. In 1998, 69 percent of DC's voters approved a ballot initiative authorizing medical marijuana. 69 percent.

And then, since Congress respects the will of the peeple so much, former Rep. Bob Barr, a Republican from Georgia, stepped in, said no, and through an amendment killed the implementation of medical marijuana which had won approval from DC's Congressional subjects voters.

To the meddlesome members of Congress: if others can vote on my equal rights, I want the same opportunity. Fair is fair.

And it's great that you want to respect the will of the people of the District of Columbia. Do that all the time, not just when it fits your narrow social homophobic agenda.

Bike vs. Car. Again.

I witnessed an accident this morning. A cyclist was coming east bound in the crosswalk (with the light) across 24th street at Lincoln Circle. A car in northbound lane of 24th ran the light and blocked the crosswalk...and stopped because of traffic in front of him. The cyclist, a young woman, frustrated by being cut off, slapped the hood of the guy's car. Bad move. But wait...there's more.

The driver, enraged, gets out of his car and starts running toward the cyclist. Crap, I thought, he's going to attack her. Except he forgot one thing: to put his car in "park."

So he steps for the cyclist and his car keeps going down 24th street without him, edging over into the left lane (maybe it thought the cyclist was going to hit it again). In doing so, it nearly pinned the cyclist and the driver against another car. Fortunately the hothead driver was able to get back in and put the thing in park (not before howling in pain).

Luckily no one was really hurt, though I expect the car driver to have some nasty bruises.

I called 911 and filed a statement with the police once they got there and sorted things out. As I was leaving the car driver came to me and introduced himself (one wouldn't think that after you've almost crushed a cyclist under the wheels of your car that you'd turn it into a networking opportunity, but this is Washington). I politely told him to share the road...to which he began explaining to me it was the cyclists' fault.

Sensing that my work there was finished, I remounted my bike and made it (safely) to work.

Kill the Bikers

More evidence that DC motorists want to kill the cyclists:

The roommate of one of your SWDCBloggers was intentionally struck by a car
early Saturday morning just north of the National Mall. He was riding south on
14th St., NW approaching Constitution around 1:15 a.m. when a driver began
cursing and yelling at him to "get off the road." The driver then gunned his
engine and rammed into the bike.The intersection where the crash occurred is
located inside the Central Business District, within which, under DC law,
cyclists must ride on the roads and may not ride on the sidewalks.The cyclist,
who was wearing a helmet, was treated at The GWU Hospital and released with
non-life threatening injuries. Witnesses identified the license number of the
car, which is registered in Virginia. If anyone has any more information or saw
the crash, please send us an email.

Why I Like Living in DC

Because places like this are just a few minutes by bike from my front door. It's on the C&O Canal towpath. This is the canal built along the unnavigable upper Potomac and the photo is one of the many locks and lock houses you see along the way.

And of course this is also just a little over an hour from my doorstep by bike.

DC Brings 2nd Amendment Challenge to the Supremes

This will be interesting. DC is appealing a recent court decision that struck down DC's 30-year handgun ban. The law makes it illegal for DC residents to have handguns in their homes. I agree with the appellate court that this ban is unconstitutional, violating the second amendment, which says:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Some say this amendment only applies to "militias," in my view, "the right of the people" wording and legal precedent at the time the Bill of Rights was passed which was that individuals could be legally armed suggests otherwise.

At any rate, how has the handgun ban been working out? You can see the map of DC and murders between 2004-2006 below, courtesy of Wikipedia. The red or solid dots were killings committed by guns.

For DC Cyclists

There's a new bike service shop on 14th street, with the creative name of "14th Street Bike Repair." If you're tired of the backlog at City Bikes and the (usually) good natured condescension of the service staff there, give 14th street a try. They're offering same day service with no back log. I tried them yesterday and was satisfied.

202-351-9410 or bikerepair14th@yahoo.com. 1320 14th street, NW (across from Dakota Cowgirl).