I recently heard that you can use 66 during HOV if you are going to the airport. I have spent years working around the issue on how to get to the airport during HOV. Now I read in the Washington Post that people are using a loop hole to get on the dulles access road and i66 during HOV by visiting a business in at the airport. Very interesting.
Category: Commute
Pedestrian Safety in the city
The washington post has an article on improving pedestrian safety in the city, but they only hint at one very easy thing that could make the urban D.C. or any other cities streets safer for pedestrians. The article suggests “Give pedestrians a few seconds head start at stop lights, before cars are given a green signal.” This is a good start but what we really need is to separate the pedestrian walk signal from the traffics green light. As a driver when I see red I stop then look to see if it is safe to do a turn on red, when I see green I have been programmed to go. The same thing is true for pedestrians when you see stop you don’t cross when you see walk you walk. It is counter intuitive for a driver or pedestrian to see a green light or walk sign then have to proceed with caution because pedestrian or car might be crossing into your path. Every day I see drivers sitting waiting a green light while pedestrians are crossing, stressing out the drivers trying to make their turn before the light turns and pedestrians scared that they are going to be run over by aggressive drivers.
We need to separate the pedestrian crossing signal with green lights. The walk sign should only be lit when all traffic has been signaled to stop for a safe traversal of the crossing. This will make it much safer for pedestrians and easier for drivers. It may even make the traffic flow more smoothly in an already congested city.
Bike to work day 2008
I biked from home to the Herndon Monroe park and ride, then took the bus from Herndon to West Falls Church, then biked to Rosylnn where I stopped at the Bike to Work Pit stop. From there I biked to work.
The flat section in the middle is the bus ride, where I turned off the GPS
(if you are on an rss reader, click the story to see the map)
New Bike
I picked out a new bike on sunday to replace my stolen 97 hard rock specialized. I picked up my trek 4300 yesterday but the weather was so crappy that I didn’t ride it more than 100 feet to car for the journey back home. So this morning I strapped on the odometer and took off for my daily commute to the park and ride. Not exactly spectacular for a first trip but enougth to get the heart following and get to know the new ride. So I now have two bikes one for serious long distance rides and one for commuting and rough paths like the c&o canal. this bike rides differently from old hard rock and is a very different ride compared to my portland. hopefully I will get as many miles out of my new mountain bike as I did my old one
Dulles rail approved
This is good news, the FTA approved the metro extension out to Dulles Airport, only another 5 years before it is finished. For the moment Fairfax county is doing an excellent job of providing frequent commuter buses during rush hour from west falls church to the Herndon Monroe park and ride
Electric 4 seater bike
I am very tempted to by the electric bike at $400 x3 for the solar panels it almost sounds reasonable when you compare it to petrol.
Loose lithium batteries can nolonger be checked
This is a new one on me, According to the Washington Post you can no longer pack loose lithium batteries in checked luggage.
To help reduce the risk of fires, air travelers will no longer be able to pack loose lithium batteries in checked luggage beginning Jan. 1, the Transportation Department said Friday.
If packed in plastic bags, batteries may be in carryon baggage. The limit is two batteries per passenger.
Mmm so does this mean I am allowed to check a lithium if it is still in its original packaging?
The more they make it more difficult to fly the more I wish the US had a reasonable train system or god forbid actually wanting to drive instead.
Bike Stats (new bike)
ODO 512
AVG 14.1
max 25.2
time 23:51
trp 5.6
I have Trek Incite 8i wireless odometer that bought at the same time I bought my bike. I have been getting strange Max speed readings on and off for since i got it. I finally tracked down the porblem. If I put it to close to my mac book laptop the speed indicator goes crazy. I tried switching off the blue tooth and wifi transmitters on the laptop and I had the same problem. So that unit is going to be retired in favor of my new christmas present, a Garmin Edge 305 GPS/heart rate/cadence/Speed/altitude/kitchen sink monitor. The only problem is I forgot to turn it off last night so it died 2 mins into this mornings commute, OOOPS.
I can tell you this much for today
Total time: 2:08
26 cal burned
distance .44 miles
heart rate 131 bpm
max 15.2
Yesterday (on old bike, with hy)
Time 0:46:13
559 cal
6.69 miles
avg 8.7
max 20.2
For the mass transit lover in me this is good news.The washington post is reporting that Maryland is adding more trains to the Baltimore/DC MARC schedule including more evening trains.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/12/AR2007121202416.html
All I can wish for now is weekend service.
Petrol Prices
Paying by the liter in the uk taught me to watch gas prices. The washington post is saying that the price of regular has gone down 9 cents a gallon over the last 3 week. I haven’t seen much evidence of that close to our house, but we did get regular for $2.89 a gallon in Baltimore over the weekend which is 16 cents cheaper than the cheapest of the gas stations near our house.
On a related note my car is about 40 miles away from passing the 100,000 mile mark. Maybe I will treat it to an oil change, a battery and a car wash.
