Tuesday Morning Commute - Burning like a silver flame

Good morning

• One reader reports seeing a cyclist crash into one of the yellow bollards along the Mt. Vernon Trail in Alexandria yesterday around 6:00 pm. "The cyclist was bleeding from his left ear and the back of his head, and had some decent road rash on his left shoulder area.  After several minutes of us telling him not to move and that help was coming, he began to respond to voice, etc.  When the Meds showed up I told them that he was "out of it" when we first approached just so they wouldn't assume that he was "fine", because he appeared to have struck hid head quite hard."
• Phoenix bikes is the featured non-profit this month for Busboys and Poets Change the World Wednesdays.
• A visionary wants to take illegal parking to places it's never been before. 
• Life on the Edgewood is concerned that a rendering of a park in the median of L Street in NoMa doesn't include a ramp down to L Street. I'm not too concerned. I think it was just left out and that the ramp is highly likely to happen. 
• Old 11th Street bridge deck coming off, but it could be replaced with another bridge later. The portion over O Street SE is already gone.
• There won't be much green paint in the L Street Cycletrack.
• The New York Times' list of "Innovations That Will Change Your Tomorrow" includes three for bicycles: a fork that can be locked in place to deter theft, a rod and internal gear drive train and plastic frames. The first of those is the best idea of the three.
• A Washington Post writer tries bike commuting for a couple of days. The 17 mile ride takes him 50% longer than driving, but it's much cheaper. And he bumps into the foolishness that is the rush hour restrictions on Metro.
• More on John Diehl. "The truck also had two orange cones in the bed of the truck, which are visible in the video. When he was presented with the tape, Diehl said that "he didn't know what to make of (it)." However, when asked by police if it was his tag that was spotted on the vehicle, he said yes."
• A discussion of going car free on Kojo naturally mentioned biking.
• And then there is this:

Comments

[contrarian]

I remember bikes in the 1970's with anti-theft handlebars. And you see them a lot in Europe. They offer no protection against a thief with a car.

Shaft drive bicycles are even older, dating to the 1890's.

We already have plastic frames, although they're usually marketed as "carbon fiber." There's no specific innovation here, just the expectation that in the future materials will be invented that are better than the ones we have today.

I hope the rest of the article is better.

[MM]

Those bollards are really obnoxious, since the trail is narrower around them and the pavement isn't in great shape. But I do have to say that this section of the MVT is one I can see cars somehow finding their way on to the trail. With all the office buildings and such, I wouldn't be surprised to see some jackass thinking it's a driveway. But concrete filled steel posts (is that what they are?) are totally unnecessary.

[charlie]

are we supposed to infer that Diehl wasn't aware of the two orange cones (someone borrowed his truck) or he didn't know what to make of the tape (didn't know he was taped and the consquent brouhaha). Sloppy writing.

[Kathy]

I'm rather dismayed that Premium Rush, the movie, glamourizes really bad cyclist behavior. You know there will be copycats and this will not help our cause in the public eye.

[Barry Childress]

More bollard crashes : http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/article/20120605/NEWS01/206050304/Another-cyclist-injured-after-bike-trail-barrier-crash

FHWA guidance: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/recreational_trails/guidance/accessibility_guidance/bollards_access.cfm