bicycling

Woman Critical After Crash at Weekend Bike Event

By ARLnow.com

ACFD Arlington County ambulance (file photo)A cyclist was hospitalized in critical condition after a crashing during the Air Force Association Cycling Classic in Crystal City on Sunday.

The crash happened near the beginning of the amateur, non-competitive Challenge Ride Sunday morning.

“There was a collision at the beginning of the course on [Route] 110 underneath 395,” Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman Ashley Savage told ARLnow.com. “A female cyclist was transported to George Washington University Hospital in critical condition. Two additional victims suffered minor injuries and were released from the hospital on Sunday. The cause of the crash is under investigation.”

A witness suggested that the crash might have been caused by a medical issue, though that has not been confirmed.

“She was all alone and nobody within several feet of her,” the witness reported. “Her bike just started to wobble and she went down.”

Another participant in the ride described the incident as “a very serious crash involving multiple riders” on the first lap.

At last check, the woman was said to be in stable condition at the hospital.

Air Force Association Cycling Classic Returns This Weekend, Will Honor Fallen Cyclist

By Adrian Cruz

Air Force Cycling Classic Crystal Cup (file photo)This weekend, over 2,000 cyclists will gather in Arlington for the annual Air Force Association Cycling Classic.

The Cycling Classic will hold races for all levels of cyclists ranging from amateurs to elite.

The first day will take place in Clarendon and the second will take place in Crystal City. On Sunday, before the normal slate of races and rides, the event will honor the memory of a fellow cyclist and race competitor.

A ceremony will be held Sunday morning to honor former Navy SEAL and two-time Challenge Ride gold medalist Tim Holden, who was killed last summer after being hit by a car while riding his bike in Bethesda. A special presentation will be made to Holden’s wife, Pam, as part of the ceremony.

The weekend’s schedule is as follows:

Saturday, June 11 (Clarendon)
  • 8:00 a.m. – Amateur Races
  • 10:05 a.m. – Women’s Elite Pro Race
  • 11:35 a.m. – Kid’s Race
  • 12:00 p.m. – Men’s Pro Race 
Sunday, June 12 (Crystal City)
  • 6:45 a.m. – Coin Ceremony for Tim Holden
  • 7:00 a.m. – Challenge Ride
  • 10:20 a.m.  – Men’s Pro Race
  • 12:25 p.m. – Kid’s Race
  • 12:35 p.m. – Women’s Elite Race

File photo

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Rosslyn skyline

Garvey Out-Raises Gutshall — Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey out-raised Democratic challenger Erik Gutshall by more than $20,000 in April and May. Garvey raised $57,143 to $36,751 for Gutshall. Both candidates received donations from about 300 people. [Washington Post]

More People Biking to Work — The traffic woes and Metrorail headaches caused by Metro’s SafeTrack maintenance work is apparently pushing more people to commute to work via bike. On Monday, Arlington’s “Bike-o-Meter” near the Key Bridge recorded 2,325 bike trips, double the normal number for a Monday around this time of year. The pleasant weather probably helped, too. [WJLA]

Outdoor Lab Exceeds Fundraising Goal — Saturday’s fundraiser for the Arlington Outdoor Lab shattered the $50,000 fundraising goal, garnering pledges of $84,000 for the educational facility. [Falls Church News-Press]

New Chef at Water & Wall — John Leavitt, previously of Provision No. 14 in D.C., is taking over kitchen duties at Water & Wall in Virginia Square from proprietor and chef Tim Ma. Expect a new menu to roll out next month. [Northern Virginia Magazine]

Credit Union Branch Opens in Crystal City — The Lafayette Federal Credit Union has opened a branch at 2231 Crystal Drive in Crystal City. The 80-year-old local financial institution will mark the opening of its seventh branch with a grand opening celebration next Thursday, June 16 at noon. [Layfayette FCU]

County Plans Transportation Changes During Metro SafeTrack Work

By Adrian Cruz

SafeTrack logo (image via Metro)With Metro’s SafeTrack plan beginning June 4, Arlington County has released its response to the planned service cuts.

The first stage of SafeTrack involves single tracking on the Orange and Silver lines between Ballston and East Falls Church. Trains will run every 18 minutes, with additional Orange Line trains running from Ballston to New Carrolton.

In response, Arlington County will supplement WMATA’s efforts to assist travelers with its own. ART routes 55 (Rosslyn-East Falls Church) and 52 (Virginia Hospital-Ballston-East Falls Church) will use 40-foot buses instead of the usual 35-foot buses to add capacity during the surge. The county is also considering adding a bus lane on Lee Highway to speed up 55 buses during rush hour.

Capital Bikeshare will also be expanded, with capacity increases at the Ballston and Rosslyn stations along with a new Bikeshare station being installed at the East Falls Church station. For new or inexperienced riders, “bike trains” — bicyclists riding as a group — will be run between Rosslyn and East Falls Church, stopping at each Metro station along the route.

Along with the transportation additions, the county will make changes on the streets around the main Metro hubs, removing some street parking and converting streets to bus-only during rush hours.

Metro has released the following YouTube video to explain the SafeTrack surge.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Canadian Forces Snowbirds fly over D.C., with the Air Force Memorial in the foreground

Memorial Day Traffic to Peak Thursday — Heading out of town for Memorial Day? Try to avoid driving Thursday afternoon or evening, which is expected to have the worst traffic of the holiday period. A better time to leave is between 8 p.m. Thursday and 11 a.m. Friday. [Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments]

Ideas for Making Arlington More Bike Friendly — Chris Slatt, chair of the Arlington Transportation Commission, has 10 “big ideas” for making Arlington even more bicycle friendly. [Greater Greater Washington]

Elaborate Model of Ballston Quarter — At the International Council of Shopping Centers’ convention in Las Vegas there is an elaborate model of the future, renovated Ballston Quarter mall. [Twitter]

French Program at Wakefield Honored — Wakefield High School’s French program is one of 10 such programs in the country this year to receive the Exemplary Program Honors award from the American Association of Teachers of French. Enrollment in Wakefield’s French program has reportedly doubled since 2011. [WJLA]

Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman

Photos: Bike to Work Day in Arlington

By Jackie Friedman
1/10

Today is Bike to Work Day around the D.C. area. More than 1,500 people were expected to participate in Arlington alone.

This year Arlington County hosted seven “pit stops” for the event — in Ballston, Crystal City, East Falls Church, Rosslyn, Shirlington and at Penrose Square on Columbia Pike. Six were morning pit stops; the seventh, also in (or, at least, near) Shirlington, is an “afternoon party” at New District Brewing, from 4:30-6:30 p.m.

The two biggest stops were Ballston and Rosslyn, where bicyclists gathered en masse, enjoying the nice weather and offerings from various vendors in a festival-like atmosphere. At the stop in Rosslyn, Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) pedaled in and gave a brief speech.

“Let’s make Arlington and D.C. a better place to live,” he said.

Tim Kelley, marketing manager for BikeArlington, said that Bike to Work Day started in 2002 and has become a fun annual tradition for bike commuters and occasional cyclists alike. BikeArlington was expecting 500 people to stop by the Ballston pit stop and more than 1,000 at the Rosslyn location.

Air Force Association Cycling Classic Returns to Arlington Next Month

By ARLnow.com

Air Force Cycling Classic Crystal Cup

(Updated on May 9) A weekend of cycling races is on tap for the weekend of June 11-12.

The two day Air Force Association Cycling Classic, sponsored by Boeing, is returning to Arlington for its 19th year next month.

The races will take place around Clarendon on Saturday, June 11 — busy streets like Wilson Blvd will be closed to traffic around the race circuit — and around Crystal City, the Pentagon and the Air Force Memorial on Sunday, June 12.

More details from a press release:

Kids Race: The Ethan Klancnik Memorial Kids Race supports Tay-Sachs Awareness and Prevention, and will take place in Clarendon on Saturday, June 11 and in Crystal City on Sunday, June 12.

Air Force Association Cycling Classic’s Clarendon Cup: This professional race showcases a form of cycling involving a series of high-speed bike races that take place on a 1km course on city streets. As part of the prestigious USA Cycling Professional Road Tour, the Clarendon Cup is known as one of the most difficult criterium races in the U.S. due to technical demands of the course and the quality of the participants.

Challenge Ride: The Challenge Ride is an amateur, non-competitive, participatory ride, open to cyclists of all abilities. The ride will be held on a closed, 15km circuit in and around the Pentagon, Crystal City and the Air Force Memorial. Bronze, silver and gold medals will be awarded for those who can complete 2, 4 or 6 laps within the 3-hour course closure (June 12, Crystal City). Races incorporated in the Challenge Ride include:

  • Thales Corporate Challenge
  • Navy Federal Credit Union Armed Forces Challenge
  • USAA Congressional Challenge

Some proceeds from the event will benefit wounded Air Force personnel.

“The Air Force Association’s Wounded Airman Program is the primary beneficiary of the event, receiving proceeds from pledges made by Team Sabre and from additional fundraising activities throughout the weekend,” said the press release. “The Wounded Airman Program supports wounded, ill and injured Airmen with adaptive equipment needs, financial support and care and quality of life items.”

Registration for the kids ride and for the races is open online. See photos from previous years here, here and here.

ACPD to Promote Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety This Week

By ARLnow.com

Critical pedestrian accident near the intersection of N. Highland Street and Clarendon Blvd (file photo)The Arlington County Police Department will hold its 2016 Spring Pedestrian & Bicycle Safety Awareness campaign this week.

From 8:30-10:30 a.m. tomorrow, and from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Thursday, Arlington officers will be participating in a special detail in the Crystal City and Clarendon areas, promoting the campaign and enforcing traffic law violations by motorists, cyclists and pedestrians.

“Approximately 25 percent of the traffic fatalities in the Washington area are pedestrians and bicyclists, with nearly 90 deaths per year,” ACPD notes in a press release (below). “Motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians are reminded to pay attention to one another and always proceed with caution and care for each other’s safety.”

On Tuesday, April 26, 2016 from 8:30 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. and on April 28 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., officers with the Arlington County Police Department’s Special Operations Section will be out promoting the 2016 Spring Pedestrian & Bicycle Safety Awareness Program. This safety enforcement detail will be held in the Clarendon and Crystal City areas. This campaign will run from April 11, 2016 through May 8, 2016. Officers will enforce violations of traffic laws by motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians. Members of the media are invited to attend to cover the detail.

The detail is part of the 2016 Street Smart Pedestrian, Driver, and Bicyclist Safety Campaign and the Arlington County Police Department’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Awareness Program to promote pedestrian and bicycle safety across the region. These programs are designed to carry out education and enforcement campaigns throughout the year in order to ensure everyone shares the roads safely. Approximately 25 percent of the traffic fatalities in the Washington area are pedestrians and bicyclists, with nearly 90 deaths per year.

Motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians are reminded to pay attention to one another and always proceed with caution and care for each other’s safety.

File photo

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Blooming in Barcroft (Flickr pool photo by Dennis Dimick)

VDOT Holds HOT Lane Meeting — Last night VDOT gave the first formal public presentation of its plan to expand the I-395 HOV lanes and convert them to High Occupancy Toll lanes. The meeting was held at Wakefield High School and addressed issues from toll pricing to transit improvements to sound walls. [WTOP, Fox 5]

Bike-on-Bike Crashes Problematic for the Law — A new article asserts that Arlington County Police normally do not file reports for bike-on-bike crashes. “This is a bike accident. Life happens,” an officer reportedly told a victim after one recent incident. Incomplete or nonexistent police reports have frustrated victims and attorneys seeking legal redress — and led to the hiring of private investigators who try to gather evidence and find witnesses. [Washingtonian]

Disability Advocates Protest in Arlington — Disability rights advocates made their frustrations personal yesterday by protesting in front of the Arlington home of Vanita Gupta, head of the U.S. Justice Department Civil Rights Division. [Disability Scoop]

Proposal: Allow Older Cabs in Arlington — The Arlington County Board on Saturday is expected to consider a policy change that would allow older cabs on the road, among other changes. Currently, cabs entering service may be no older than two years old and then must be retired after reaching seven years old or 350,000 miles. Recognizing advances in vehicle reliability, the new policy would do away with the two year provision and set the maximum age of cabs at 10 years old. [Arlington County]

Free Donuts for Lawyers Today — It’s Be Kind to Lawyers Day and to mark the occasion Sugar Shack Donuts on Columbia Pike is offering a free “house donut” to lawyers today. Sugar Shack is also beginning a promotion that will give select customers free donuts to distribute to their favorite local teachers. “To participate, folks just need to use the hashtag #Treats4Teach to tell us on Facebook or Twitter why they should be picked to deliver donuts to their local school teachers and to which school,” said a press release.

Nice Weather at Last — After this morning’s rain, expect clearing skies and pleasant weather that should stretch into next week. [Twitter]

Flickr pool photo by Dennis Dimick

Conte’s Bike Shop Now Open in Virginia Square

By ARLnow.com
1/14

The new Conte’s Bike Shop in Virginia Square quietly opened for business last week.

The store, at 3449 Wilson Blvd, is awaiting some additional window signage and product inventory before holding its grand opening.

Located between two other well-established bike shops along the Orange Line corridor — Freshbikes in Ballston and Revolution Cycles in Clarendon — Conte’s hopes to compete on selection, price and service.

Conte’s is primarily a dealer of bicycles from Giant, the world’s largest bike manufacturer. The store also offers Liv bikes, Giant’s brand aimed at female cyclists, and BMC bikes.

Revolution, by contrast, is primarily a Trek and Felt dealer, while Freshbikes offers brands like Cannondale, Specialized, Cervelo, Santa Cruz and others. It’s not dissimilar to there being a number of car dealerships offering different makes of cars along a given corridor.

It’s a return to Arlington for Conte’s, which previously lent its name to what its now Freshbikes. About five years ago Conte’s decided to stop franchising and the store at 3924 Wilson Blvd was renamed in 2011. Co-owner and store manager Charles Conte called Freshbikes and Revolution “great” stores, but said he’s looking forward to serving Arlington again.

“We create a level of professionalism in the marketplace that will give customers another choice,” he told ARLnow.com Friday. “There are too many people who cycle in this community without having enough choices.”

Conte’s, which will celebrate its 60th anniversary next year, has seven other stores throughout Virginia, including one that opened at 7121 Leesburg Pike in Falls Church a few months ago. Conte said “several” new stores are in the works, but declined to provide additional details.

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