A mother and daughter are planning to wake up early tomorrow morning to prepare a special treat for local bike commuters. They’re calling it “Yay for Bike Riders Day.”
The plan was hatched by a second grader who told her mom that she wanted to “say thank you to all the nice bike riders she sees every morning on her walk to school.”
In Virginia, 84 people died and more than 2,000 people were injured while walking or biking on roadways last year.
To help reduce risky driver and bicyclist behavior, the state is holding its second annual Bicyclist and Pedestrian Awareness Week, starting on Sunday.
The Capital Bikeshare system will feature 1,100 specially-designed bikes that visitors or commuters can rent. Mechanics have started assembling the bikes in a local warehouse.
“History in the making,” said Crystal City Business Improvement District President Angela Fox on today’s installation.
Last week’s nightly closures of the Custis Trail under I-66 have been extended through Wednesday. Construction is still taking place on a framework, intended to protect bicyclists from work related to the I-66 widening project.
The closures will take place between 9:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. Any trail traffic during that time will be detoured. The detoured route will be marked and will take cyclists and joggers farther east to a pedestrian overpass.
The interview, published on Sunday, revealed that Fisette is really, really into cycling, as transportation, recreation, and as spectator sport. It also revealed that Fisette is burning the candle at both ends at Clarendon’s Silver Diner — he goes there for late night food and for morning breakfast meetings.
When he’s not biking to work or presiding over an eight-hour-long county board meeting, Jay Fisette can also be found at Whitlow’s on Wilson. “Whitlows serves a great meal,” he said.
Arlington County Fair Starts Today — The Arlington County Fair will get off to a soggy start today. The gates will open from 5:00 to 10:00 tonight for outdoor activities. The indoor festivities (vendors and such) will get underway tomorrow night.
Hillside Park Still A Work in Progress — TBD takes a look at Rosslyn’s Hillside Park, which is being revamped courtesy of a local developer. The work is behind schedule, but is expected to be completed in the fall.
Walter Reed Drive has some new road markings and signs that may seem foreign to most drivers.
The markings, found in the middle of the right-hand travel lanes between South Glebe Road and Columbia Pike, are called “sharrows,” or “shared lane markings.” Together with “Bikes May Use Full Lane” signs, they signal to cyclists and drivers that bicycles have the right to travel down the middle of the lane.
Arlington Joins Region-Wide HOV Enforcement Effort Today — Today Arlington police will be joining Virginia State Police and other local law enforcement agencies in an effort to crack down on HOV violators. During the morning and evening rush hours, police will step up HOV patrols on I-66, I-395 and other local highways. More from WaPo’s Dr. Gridlock.
Injured Vets Stop at Iwo Jima Memorial on Cross-County Bike Ride — A group of 18 bicyclists, many of them wounded veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, stopped in Arlington last night on their way from San Francisco to Virginia Beach. The vets stopped at the Marine Corps Memorial to see the retiring of the colors ceremony. More from the Associated Press.
Dangerous Curve Near Roosevelt Island? — Bicyclists on the Bike Arlington forum say that a sharp curve on the Mt. Vernon Trail near Roosevelt Island has been the site of numerous wipe-outs, at least one of which resulted in broken bones. The main problem with “Deadman’s Curve” seems to be that the painted wooden surface gets extremely slippery after it rains or even when it’s humid. Posters are calling on the National Park Service to make the surface more abrasive to prevent further accidents.
Arlington Caterer Ditches Plastic Bottles — Shirlington-based Main Event Caterers has done away with bottled water — at least the kind that’s plastic and disposable — in favor of a reusable glass bottle system. The company, which is already 100 percent wind-powered and carbon-neutral, says the move will significantly cut down on waste. “We believe that businesses have a responsibility to not only protect but also improve our natural environment,” a company rep said in a press release.
A rebel faction of tradition-bound military officers has declared a legal war on the management of Army Navy Country Club for having the temerity to allow Arlington to build a bike path along the northeastern edge of the golf course.
A gang infestation, hoards of recreation-seeking youngsters and liability issues are a few of the undesirable consequences that the dissident club members fear. The officers, 14 in number, have enlisted a lawyer and are suing the club.
Words by Barry Skidmore of People-Powered Arlington. Photos by Mark Blacknell.
Brooke Miller of Team Tibco won the women’s elite race, sprinting to a dramatic finish that saw her one of her competitors flip her bike and crash 50 meters from the finish line.
The Air Force Cycling Classic Clarendon Cup, one of the premiere events in U.S. professional cycling, was held right here in Arlington yesterday afternoon.
Hundreds of spectators braved sweltering heat to watch cyclists whiz by on the short, circular course.
