Ride In 5/10

I threw my bike in the bushes, drive side down no less, before leaving for work as soon as I decided that I would run back inside to grab my growler to bring with me so I could stop at Whole Foods on the way home. Sometimes epiphanies manifest themselves through dramatic physical outbursts as the lives of the early medieval saints demonstrate. Yes, I'm equating my decision to pick up beer after to work to the various actions of the paracletes and  holy fools of late antiquity. So, we'll see how that goes. I haven't fully thought through my means of transporting it without spilling, but that's why I do two blog posts a day.
Bike commuting can be a fairly solitary activity. I like that about it. It's hard, though, to appreciate that when you're on a bike trail surrounded by a lot of other bicyclists. This is my paradox- I want more people to use bikes for transportation, but when I'm on my bike I want to be alone. It's not anything bike-specific, just general misanthropy. One of the worst things you can do as a bike commuter is to substitute another rider's judgment in place of your own. I made this mistake today when I decided to follow the path of the rider in front of me as he rode first through some broken glass (luckily no problems) and then stay directly behind him as he rode too close to the curb (like 6 inches away). It wasn't a section of road where there's on street parking, so getting doored wasn't a concern. The primary problem with riding too close to the curb is that is gives the appearance to motorists that there is adequate space to safely pass you. This was not the case and this was brought to my attention when the first car drove by with maybe a foot to spare. I felt rather dumb about following this guy's exact path because I knew at the time that I was inviting trouble. So, rule of thumb: if you don't want motorists to pass you when there is sufficient room for them to do it safely, don't ride in a manner that suggests that there is enough room. Being accommodating to other road users is important, but you shouldn't do it at your own expense.
I saw a guy with Rastafarian dreadlocks screaming into his phone. Due to his accent, I could only pick out the explicitness.
I know that Arlington County plans to restripe or repaint or sharrow-fy the stretch of Clarendon Boulevard that goes downhill from Courthouse to Rhodes, but in the mean time, could they add some watch out for bicyclist markings in front of that parking garage? I see way too many drivers cavalierly entering and exiting that garage without thinking about approaching bicyclists. They can do something similar to what DDOT did on 15th street in front of alleyways and parking garages, namely paint big bicycles perpendicular to the bike route so that incoming and outgoing drivers can see them and might think, hey, bicycles.
CaBi in the wild in Rosslyn. Looks like he was heading down from either Pierce or Rhodes towards the Metro.
I think that Mark Turgeon is in town and staying at the Key Bridge Marriott. Not very secretly. Though your own bus would be a cool fringe benefit.

I saw a guy riding on the bridge with both a messenger bag and a corrugated cardboard box slung over his shoulder. Odd. I don't even know how the box was affixed to him. Maybe twine? I hope it wasn't holding cupcakes, the main export of Georgetown, because they'd get ruined.
I tried to be a friend to pedestrians for my ride through the District and I stopped at every crosswalk to allow people to get across the street. I got one "thanks," so it was worth it.
I think that local news sites are getting out of control. I don't even know where Insectm is and it has its own -ist site?

 

 Overheard in Insectm- bzzzzzzzz.