Ride Home 7/6

This blog tends to be more interesting when I include pictures of stuff I see. Of course, I say this to preface a post that doesn't include any pictures, so I might be setting myself up for disappointment. Whoops. Um, here's a picture:

Not on my ride home. 

There's now a second bike, a step-through, that is locked up next to the bike that's always locked up to the stop sign at the intersection of New Mexico and 42nd. I think they're nesting. If tricycle shows up next week, mazel tov!
I've decided that I hate pedestrian countdowns on the walk signals. They're patronizing and demeaning and they make drivers speed. If they're so useful, why not put them on the traffic signals and countdown the drivers?
Stuck temporarily behind the D2 bus. UC TRFK? Yeah, right in front of me.
No one on R, no one on 34th. Still wish that bike lane was finished. Maybe before Tommy Wells' second term.
I saw a guy who was dressed as a somewhat-superbiker but I could tell that his heart just wasn't in it. It's like he drifted that way because there was simply no alternative- he was sold the "bike as sport" package and he went with the mega tycoon wash. He had aerobars, but no bell. Will your aerobars get you past the completely unaware pedestrians? Will they? WILL THEY? (Note: I did not yell this at him)
I rode the Custis for a while and it was sparse. A few pedestrians (some were walking fast. Is this the way to be the PR representative of the walking community?), a couple of bicyclists in each direction. I got to Veitch and saw two kids (teenagers) on bikes heading up Lee Highway and I was like "wonder where they're going" so I rode behind them a while, but then a 3Y bus came and I was like "huh, better get out of the way of this bus" so I biked past the kids to find myself nowhere in particular on Lee Highway. There was a red at the next light, so I was like "let's go left"  and then I was like "oh crap, the green light in that direction just turned yellow" and then I was like "ok, nevermind, I'm cool" and then I ended up on Cleveland which intersects Key about two blocks later, where I was third in a stretched-out bike caravan consisting of four bikes, one of which was transporting a child in a child seat.
Digression: for semi-fatuous coverage of the Tour de France, you should read the Bike Snob synopses on the Bicycling Magazine website. It's pretty great.
Saw a guy who might live in my building riding a Surly LHT while wearing some heavy cotton pants. It's Washington in the summer. You don't need to do this. You're already scoring enough martyrdom points by riding a bicycle. You're just gilding the lily.
Don't do stupid stuff like this: I came to a red light at Fairfax and Quincy and wanted to turn left, but I was on the far light lane. I saw the crosswalk countdown clock (again, these are evil) at 3 and cut in front of the stopped cars through the crosswalk. As I got halfway across the street (and as the light on Fairfax changed from red to green), I rode diagonally across Quincy, between the crossing pedestrians and over to the bike lane. This is both bad manners and dangerous. Just wait. (I like to publicly confess my transgressions so as to create a 'teaching moment' as well as square myself with the universe)
Pinarello Dogma 60.1. I don't ride one, but a guy I was stopped behind at George Mason does. He said hey. I said how's it going. He said "good, but it could be cooler." I said "yeah, but it's July." He said "yeah, all right" and smiled. It was the cleanest bike I've ever seen.