Thursday Morning Commute - You'll never get into NAMBLA like that

Good morning

• From the ANC-6A listserv "Today, while driving, I witnessed an adult male biker dressed in a yellow and black bike outfit jump off of his bike and viciously attack an elementary aged boy.  The man, a white male with dark hair and glasses, chased the boy, pushing him up against a wall and proceeding to hit and choke him.  Once he released the boy, he grabbed the boy’s school books and proceeded to throw and kick them around.  He then picked up the child’s notebook and throw it into the water. I pulled over, confronting the man by repeatedly asking “Are you an adult?!”  Eventually, as he seemed to register my presence and what I was saying, he agreed, saying “You’re right,” and then he picked up his bike and rode off." On the one hand I want to know what preceded it, on the other, I can't imagine anything that justifies the response. In a somewhat related story is this from Anne Arundle County crime news "A man pushed a boy from a bicycle, then rode away on the bike."
• DDOT has started land acquisition and preliminary design work for the South Capitol Street Project, which includes replacement of the current Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge. The new bridge will be much more bike and ped friendly with wide sidepaths (ATLs) replacing the very narrow ones that now exist. South Capitol will become much less like a freeway, but there won't be any new bike lanes or trails related to it. BTW, the 11th Street Bridges project is looking to be a little behind schedule, the first section was supposed to open summer 2011, which ended last week. 
• The Metropolitan Branch Trail's Phase II (in DC) took a step forward with a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). "The issuance of the FONSI completes the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 process for the Metropolitan Branch Trail project and allows for the preparation of the extension of the trail from Fort Totten to Takoma."
• The MTA Purple Line project team has scheduled a follow up meeting to address questions raised about the Purple Line and CCT at the Sept. 13 Lyttonsville Station area work session. The meeting will be held on Monday, October 3, 2011 at the Gwendolyn E. Coffield Community Center at 2450 Lyttonsville Road, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 at 7:00 pm.
• Arlington County's Bicycle Advocacy outreach covered usual topics and new ones.
• The 2nd Annual Arlington Fun Ride to benefit Phoenix Bikes will be held on Saturday, Oct. 8 from 8:30 a.m. to noon, sponsored by the county government, school system and Bike Arlington.
• Mount Vernon Trail detour near the Woodrow Wilson Bridge to start soon and last for three weeks.
• A new commuter parking lot in Loudoun includes bike parking. That's a step forward. 
• A bike trail is coming to MoCo's Little Bennet Regional Park - in 15 to 20 years. In the interim, an 8 foot wide sidewalk will serve as a MUT

Comments

[Jmgorman]

There's nothing wrong with the current configuration of the Douglas Bridge so long as cyclists use the correct side.

[Read Scott Martin]

Dollars to donuts that enraged cyclist was struck by a thrown object. Can't condone the reaction but I sure recognize it.

[Crickey7]

That's a pretty good guess. I've ridden through some of the worst neighborhoods in DC, and the only people I ever had trouble with were elementary and middle-school aged boys.

[oboe]

A year or two ago I had a gallon milk-jug filled with water swung at my head by a kid who looked like he was a fifth or sixth grader. Not sure what I would've done if he'd connected and I'd remained conscious.

Attacking a kid is never justifiable, but then again, when I was a kid, the idea of attacking an adult was unthinkable. Mostly because we knew that if we did, we assumed we'd get our ass kicked.

Actually, something very similar to this happened once when I was in elementary school and one of my friends threw a snowball at a passing car. Guy got out, chased us, held my friend up against a wall, and told him if he ever caught him doing it again, he'd rip his face off.

Needless to say, it's not something any of us ever did again.

[Brendan]

Baba Booey

[Crickey7]

Well, if there's no physical injury to the junior terrorist, I'm with oboe in putting this into the "life lessons" category.

They do grow out of it, but sometimes need manual correction to keep 'em straight.

[MM]

Clearly a case of of the rarely documented "acute black carbon rage syndrome".