A plea for civility when cycling

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think we found OP

OP here, and no I wouldn’t just park my car in the middle of Pennsylvania Blvd! Ridiculous.

But the driver yesterday was double-parked in the bike lane because THAT’S where the double-parking lane IS. Where else was he supposed to stop? So now the driver was supposed to go out into the driving lane to leave a tunnel for cyclists? How would that be safe for anyone but maybe the cyclists so long as they’re seen? Or the driver is supposed to go round and round rush-hour Clarendon for 10 minutes to find a spot a 10-minute walk from CVS? To spend a half-hour for a 2-minute errand?? How does THAT make sense???

Bikes are another form of vehicles on the road. So cyclists need to deal with the challenges motorists face, or they need to stay on bike trails and off busy streets. Truck drivers need to make quick deliveries. Police officers need to make quick stops between calls to refresh and refuel. And drivers need to stop off after work to pick up a prescription. In a busy city, all will double-park for a few minutes. They put flashers on, you wait your turn, then you pull out and pass. If you can’t handle that, don’t bike and don’t drive.

[Anonymous]

I dislike annoying cyclists as much as the next person, but there is no such thing as a double-parking lane. Double parkers are worse than the worst of cyclists.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I dislike annoying cyclists as much as the next person, but there is no such thing as a double-parking lane. Double parkers are worse than the worst of cyclists.

This. They’re only thinking of their own convenience with no regard for others. Sometimes errands are inconvenient and you are not able to get ideal parking. Deal with it like a responsible grownup, don’t create safety hazards for others. Nothing short of an absolute emergency gives you that right!

[Anonymous]

The irony of OP’s post re: civility is quite the lol.

[Anonymous]

But the driver yesterday was double-parked in the bike lane because THAT’S where the double-parking lane IS. Where else was he supposed to stop? So now the driver was supposed to go out into the driving lane to leave a tunnel for cyclists? How would that be safe for anyone but maybe the cyclists so long as they’re seen? Or the driver is supposed to go round and round rush-hour Clarendon for 10 minutes to find a spot a 10-minute walk from CVS? To spend a half-hour for a 2-minute errand?? How does THAT make sense???

There is no such thing as a double parking lane. The driver should have either found a legal parking spot or driven to the CVS about a mile away at Spout Run/Langston Blvd that has a parking lot. Double parking is rude to cyclists AND other drivers. Don't do it.

There's an a-hole cyclist that fits the description that has screamed obscenities at me for existing as a pedestrian around Rosslyn, but in this case I think the cyclist was right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mamils cannot be tamed. How else is a middle aged man in lycra supposed to rekindle the aggression from his long forgotten angsty adolescence?

What the hell is a mamil?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mamils cannot be tamed. How else is a middle aged man in lycra supposed to rekindle the aggression from his long forgotten angsty adolescence?

What the hell is a mamil?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamil

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

But the driver yesterday was double-parked in the bike lane because THAT’S where the double-parking lane IS. Where else was he supposed to stop? So now the driver was supposed to go out into the driving lane to leave a tunnel for cyclists? How would that be safe for anyone but maybe the cyclists so long as they’re seen? Or the driver is supposed to go round and round rush-hour Clarendon for 10 minutes to find a spot a 10-minute walk from CVS? To spend a half-hour for a 2-minute errand?? How does THAT make sense???

There is no such thing as a double parking lane. The driver should have either found a legal parking spot or driven to the CVS about a mile away at Spout Run/Langston Blvd that has a parking lot. Double parking is rude to cyclists AND other drivers. Don't do it.

There's an a-hole cyclist that fits the description that has screamed obscenities at me for existing as a pedestrian around Rosslyn, but in this case I think the cyclist was right.

Don't double park -- and don't scream and cuss at people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

OP here, and no I wouldn’t just park my car in the middle of Pennsylvania Blvd! Ridiculous.

But the driver yesterday was double-parked in the bike lane because THAT’S where the double-parking lane IS. Where else was he supposed to stop? So now the driver was supposed to go out into the driving lane to leave a tunnel for cyclists? How would that be safe for anyone but maybe the cyclists so long as they’re seen? Or the driver is supposed to go round and round rush-hour Clarendon for 10 minutes to find a spot a 10-minute walk from CVS? To spend a half-hour for a 2-minute errand?? How does THAT make sense???

Bikes are another form of vehicles on the road. So cyclists need to deal with the challenges motorists face, or they need to stay on bike trails and off busy streets. Truck drivers need to make quick deliveries. Police officers need to make quick stops between calls to refresh and refuel. And drivers need to stop off after work to pick up a prescription. In a busy city, all will double-park for a few minutes. They put flashers on, you wait your turn, then you pull out and pass. If you can’t handle that, don’t bike and don’t drive.

What is this double-parking lane you speak of?? This is not a thing OP! He is supposed to stop in an actual parking space, regardless of how long his trip to CVS will take. What you describe, the driver going round and round to find a spot, is exactly what is supposed to happen.

This is such a bizarre rant I almost think I'm missing that it's satire. You can't honestly thing someone is supposed to double park and throw their flashers on to go into a store??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like more of an asshole problem than a cycling problem.

asshole and cyclist are synonyms

Yes, because no one driving a car has ever yelled at anyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think we found OP

OP here, and no I wouldn’t just park my car in the middle of Pennsylvania Blvd! Ridiculous.

But the driver yesterday was double-parked in the bike lane because THAT’S where the double-parking lane IS. Where else was he supposed to stop? So now the driver was supposed to go out into the driving lane to leave a tunnel for cyclists? How would that be safe for anyone but maybe the cyclists so long as they’re seen? Or the driver is supposed to go round and round rush-hour Clarendon for 10 minutes to find a spot a 10-minute walk from CVS? To spend a half-hour for a 2-minute errand?? How does THAT make sense???

Bikes are another form of vehicles on the road. So cyclists need to deal with the challenges motorists face, or they need to stay on bike trails and off busy streets. Truck drivers need to make quick deliveries. Police officers need to make quick stops between calls to refresh and refuel. And drivers need to stop off after work to pick up a prescription. In a busy city, all will double-park for a few minutes. They put flashers on, you wait your turn, then you pull out and pass. If you can’t handle that, don’t bike and don’t drive.

No, this is not true. I would never double-park and leave my car there; it's POSSIBLE I'd double-park while I was driving if I was waiting for someone to come right out of the store, but only if they were literally walking out of the store and about to get in the car. But if I had to run into CVS myself, I'd park my car somewhere that wasn't a traffic lane (or a bike lane). There is no such thing as "the double-parking lane." If you can't handle going round and round rush-hour Clarendon for 10 minutes to find a spot a 10-minute walk from CVS for your 2-minute errand, to use your phrases, don't drive.

[Anonymous]

He was double-parking IN RUSH HOUR?

[Anonymous]

Agree ... There's no such thing as a "double parking lane" ...

I bike to work through DC most days ... drivers def park in the bike lane and I don't scream at them, I just go around ... that's just my temperament etc.

But treating the bike lane like your parking spot is wrong, just like treating a 'car lane' like your parking spot would be wrong, esp during rush hour when folks are trying to get by.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He was double-parking IN RUSH HOUR?

Right? For once, the cyclist is not the asshole here…

[Anonymous]

I hate cyclists, but stopping and PARKING (!!?) in the middle of the road and creating a safety hazard for basically everyone just to save yourself a few minutes is one of the most rude and selfish things I’ve ever heard of. No matter what fancy name you try to give it.