Monday, May 30, 2011

Be Careful...

From: http://www.thewashcycle.com/Cyclist-Runner crash on the W&OD

Someone wrote in with this eyewitness account and it is reminder that pedestrians have the right-of-way on the trail and it is critical that we, as cyclists, treat them with great deference.

I witnessed a crash on the W&OD this morning. A cyclist rear-ended a runner. I was riding my bike and was catching the cyclist at the time and saw what happened very clearly. The cyclist was at fault. She just rear-ended the runner, who was in the middle of the trail. I told her it was her fault, to which she replied, "he was in the middle of the trail." I said, "and so were you." Though he was in the middle of the trail, she had plenty of space to pass. In fact, she was right on the orange line in the middle when she hit him. Cyclist and runner fell. Runner had cuts/scrapes on hand and no other injuries. Cyclist was fine so far as I could tell. I stayed around only long enough to make sure there were no injuries and to tell the cyclist (not so nicely I am afraid) that it was definitely her fault and she needs to be more careful. I am afraid I could have been nicer to her and maybe she wouldn't have been so defensive. I told her that as a cyclist I'd like to support her, but I really couldn't because it was clearly her fault. I don't know whether she gave an audible warning that she was going to pass. I didn't hear any and I was close, so if she did it was faint. In any event the runner didn't move right (which he said he always does). She just plowed down the middle of the path anyway. It happened on a long straight part of the W&OD through Falls Church where we could see the runner for a long time. There was no other traffic and the runner did not deviate from running a straight line.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Viva Vienna

Reminder from: WODtrailpatrol Yahoo! Group
Title: Viva Vienna
Date: Monday May 30, 2011
Time: 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Location: Vienna
Notes: Vienna street festival

Friday, May 20, 2011

Trail Events--Sunday May 22nd

Leesburg 5K
Time: 9:00 am - 11:00 am
Location: Leesburg
Weight Watchers of Leesburg 5k. 65 participants expected.

Great Strides"
Time: 8:00 am - 2:00 pm
Location: Leesburg & Vienna
Great Strides Leesburg & Great Strides Vienna. 500 people participating in each event (1000 total)

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Trail Event--Saturday, May 21th and 22nd

St. Timothy Bike-a-thon
Time: 9:00 am - 2:00 pm
About 20 youth and 5 adult cyclists riding from Arlington out to Purcellville on May 21st, riding back to Arlington on May 22nd.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Trail Event--Friday, May 20th

Bike to Work
Time: 6:00 am - 9:00 am
Thousands of area commuters will participate in the annual Bike to Work Day event. Many of those will be on the W&OD Trail. Several of the ride's "pit stops" are located along the W&OD Trail; including Reston, Herndon, Vienna and Merrifield. For more information on pit stop locations, please go to www.waba.org.

Thursday, May 12, 2011

May 14 trail event

Got Your Back" 5k run
Time: 8:00 am - 10:00 am
Location: Reston
Notes: Got Your Back" 5k in Reston (using short area of trail around Sunrise Valley Drive). 500 people from 8 AM to 10 AM.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

"Just when you thought the trail was safe"



The electronic sign at the eastern end of the 495 overpass construction was changed to read "CAUTION ZOMBIES AHEAD". While I looked for zombies, I did not see them. Sorry about the quality of the photo. It was the best I could do with my cell phone. However, ABC chanel 7 was there interviewing trail users and looking to film the zombies.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

summer must be coming soon

The fountain at the trail's end in Purcellville has been turned on; a sure sign that warm weather is here to stay. Other items of note: the crossing at Cochran Mill (mile 30.5) has been repaved and the vending machines at the Smiths Switch rest area are out of order.