Monday, March 4, 2013
Users can now walk or ride on Vienna trail from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling will be giving out free lights this week.
Sunrise and sunset will no longer bind walkers, runners and cyclists using the Washington & Old Dominion Trail. On Friday, the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority extended the hours of the trail for the first time, posting nearly a dozen signs from Shirlington in Arlington County through the far town limit of Herndon announcing new hours of 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. The NVRPA said the decision was driven largely by the needs of commuters, who — especially during winter months — have no other choice but to use the trail after dark. Many of those commuters pass at some point through Vienna, the trail's midpoint between Northern Virginia's northwestern suburbs and the top of the trail near Arlington. “As we all look for ways to reduce our …
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Bringing a bike on vacation gives you a new way to see your destination, our columnist says
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Tim Fricker
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Tuesday, June 12, 2012
As regular readers of this column probably know, I’m a big fan of folding bikes. With the right bicycle, you can combine your riding with various other forms of transportation, for both practical riding and recreation. I’ve carried my folding bikes on buses, cars, planes, trains and subways ... and now, on a ship! On May 25th, most of my family, four generations worth, boarded the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Enchantment of the Seas in the port of Baltimore. The occasion was my mother’s 85th birthday, and the destination was Bermuda. I’d never been on a cruise before, nor had I been to Bermuda, so I was very excited. Before leaving on the trip, my girlfriend and I decided we’d look into bringing our Brompton folding bicycles, so we’d have …
Monday, June 11, 2012
On Wednesday, students will try to be first Vienna school to hit single-day rider record
To cap off a year-long bike/walk to school effort marked by several milestones — including a sweep of both Vienna bike/walk challenge trophies — Vienna Elementary School students and parents are aiming for one last record before school lets out for the summer. On Wednesday, the community hopes to be the first Vienna school to have 100 students bike to class in a single morning — an accomplishment that, for a school about three and a half times that size, might seem far fetched. But given participation throughout the year and in recent weeks past, Safe Routes to School Coordinator Sean McCall says it's feasible. The school maxed out at 78 bikers during this year's week-long challenge in May, and in a last-minute effort on Friday, 92 student…
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Here are a few tips for cyclists and car drivers to keep everyone safer on the road.
I’ve been writing for the Patch now for almost two years, and one thing is clear: the articles that get the most attention, that produce the greatest number of comments are the ones about how cyclists interact with others, whether on the road or the trail. And there’s a common theme to many of the comments as well as many comments on other blogs, websites, news columns, etc. and that is that cyclists must learn to behave better, and follow the laws more fully. I’ve said it myself, and it’s absolutely true. Scofflaw cyclists put themselves and others at risk, and foster animosity toward cyclists in others. But that is by no means the whole story, and it troubles me the degree to which people focus on that side of it. Take a look at comments…
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Vienna elementary schools among those participating in inaugural event nationwide
Blue bikes, pink bikes, tricycles and trailers far outnumbered the cars along the rolling hills in neighborhoods near Wolftrap Elementary School on Wednesday morning. The 80 students and their families who showed up to ride in the school's largest bike train to date were some of the thousands across the country expected to participate in the inaugural National Bike to School Day, a celebration that aims to create more excitement about using two wheels to get to school. The national event is organized by the National Center for Safe Routes to School, which sponsors International Walk to School Day each October, and the League of American Bicyclists, which plans programming in May for Biking Month, including Bike to Work Day on May 18. More …
Monday, April 30, 2012
The trail is not a personal training or playing ground. Whether you are a cyclist,
walker, or runner, safety comes first.
I wasn’t planning to re-visit the W&OD and folks’ behavior out there so soon, but given the feedback I’ve gotten on my articles, and some recent experiences of my own and others, I feel I need to say a bit more about it. The most upsetting news I heard in this regard came from one of our W&OD Trail Patrol members who came by the shop the other day. He told me that a long-time member of the Patrol, who patrols on foot in the Vienna area, has decided to quit the Patrol after having been hit TWICE by speeding cyclists. Not passed too closely, but actually hit, while wearing a high visibility Trail Patrol vest. There is NO excuse for this sort of occurrence. None. And as a result, we are losing a member of the Trail Patrol, the very people who…
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Patrick Street collision closed road until 6 p.m. Tuesday
Update 4/4 9:45 a.m.: A 21-year-old bicyclist is believed to be at fault in a Tuesday afternoon crash on Patrick Street. According to Vienna police, a vehicle was traveling along eastbound Patrick Street around 3:15 p.m. Tuesday. While the car was passing by a driveway apron at the back of the Cedar Lane Shopping Center, the bicyclist rode out into the roadway and was struck by the vehicle. The male bicyclist sustained a broken leg and head trauma but is expected to recover. No charges were filed. --------- Original 4/3 4:19 p.m.: Afternoon Crash Closes Patrick Street Vienna Police have shut down Patrick Street between Desale and Park Streets to investigate a crash involving a car and a bicycle. The road will remain closed until about 6 p.…
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Weekly walk to school initiative attracted nearly 200 students last week
The kiss and ride is still a large part of the daily routine at Vienna Elementary School, but at least on Wednesdays, students are leaving parents' cars and big yellow county buses behind in favor of their own two feet. Last Wednesday, 194 students were counted walking or biking to class during the school's "Walking Wednesday" initiative -- just more than half of the school's 388-member student body and more than double the number of students counted during the school's best day of the Vienna Walk/Bike Challenge. "We are regularly seeing over 150 students from all over town walking on Wednesdays and the charm and coffee table has become a small social scene," said Sean McCall, a Safe Routes to School leader and parent Since it kicked off …
Monday, March 19, 2012
As warm weather arrives, best practices for sharing the lanes with motorists
The early spring we seem to be having means we’ve suddenly got a lot more cyclists out and about. My last column was meant as a “refresher” for folks riding the trails, so today we follow up with a similar reminder for sharing the roads with automobiles. Even a mild winter like the one we had typically means a lot fewer folks riding, so drivers and cyclists are out of practice in dealing with one another. Let’s see if we can ease the transition a bit. First, remember that as a cyclist on the road, you are generally expected to obey the same rules and regulations as a motorist. That means you must ride in the same direction as automobile traffic, NOT opposite. Some people think it’s safer to face traffic, or believe they were taught at some…
Monday, February 20, 2012
Now's the time to get your bike and gear ready for the upcoming season, our columnist says.
Spring will be upon us before you know it, and it’s time to start thinking about riding your bike again. This year, many of you might have kept riding through this unusually warm winter, but I’m guessing most folks have left their bikes in the garage or shed most of this season. Well, it’s time to get ready for the warmer, longer days of spring! To start with, now is the time to make sure your bike is ready to roll. I can’t tell you how many people walk into their local bike shop on the first warm, sunny weekend in April, asking to get their bikes “tuned up” for the season. Many are surprised and disappointed to learn that they may have to leave their bike with the shop for a week or even more. The simple fact is that when “the season” …
Ben
6:36 pm on Monday, March 4, 2013
A good thing that makes official what is practically happening anyway. If this stops people being pulled over by the police for doing what many do anyway, then its good all round. The police have better things to do. The trail may require more lights than the Virginia road, but on the road you often have street lighting and obviously car headlights to pick you out. Not so on most of the trail. … more ›