CommuterPageBlog

To Platoon or Not to Platoon?

Note: This article by Chris Eatough originally appeared in the July, 2011 issue of Spokes Magazine.

 
There is no doubt that cycling is on the rise in our region.  More people are discovering the convenience and fun of getting around by bike, and bike lanes and other helpful infrastructure are popping up everywhere.  I notice this everyday as I travel around Arlington, D.C., and Maryland by bike and it's great to see.  As I find myself sharing space on the road with fellow cyclists, I have been experimenting with different riding styles to see what is more comfortable and efficient.  In particular, riding alone or forming spontaneous bike platoons.  Each style has its own merits.  Here is what I have found:

The Merits of Bike Platoons
Forming a spontaneous bike platoon involves joining up and riding with another cyclist, or cyclists and riding as a group that flows down the road and through intersections like a single unit.  Of course, this should not be too close for comfort.  Leaving breathing room of at least four feet on all sides is advised. 

Riding as a platoon increases the visibility of cyclists to drivers, creates more order and predictability in their actions, and simplifies the interactions between bikes and vehicles.  Bike platoons generally behave more like vehicles than individual cyclists, which is a good thing.

I find the ideal size of platoons to be two to five bikes.  More than that becomes unwieldy.  Five cyclists riding as a platoon takes up about the same amount of space on the road as a car, and it's easier for a car to make one pass of a five bike platoon than it is to pass five bikes riding individually.

These platoons often form at intersections as several cyclists find themselves waiting together for their turn at a traffic light or stop sign.  If the group forms here and stays together, they will often find that passing through upcoming intersections as a platoon is more controlled and less random.

Additional benefits include making new friends, increasing the camaraderie among cyclists and the opportunity to pick up new skills and safe riding habits from others.  Riding with experienced cyclists with good skills and safe habits is the absolute best way to learn for a less skilled cyclist.  Even those of us that have been riding for a long time still have something to learn.

Merits of Riding as Individuals
There are certainly some advantages to riding alone as well.  Primarily, staying away from other cyclists reduces the chances of crashing with another cyclist.  Any touching of wheels can cause a crash. Riding alone also makes the individual cyclist the sole decision maker.  This includes choosing the pace and not be slowed down or rushed by other cyclists, deciding whether to go through the intersection as the light turns from green to yellow, and what position in the travel lane to take.

My Preference
Like many aspects of my bike riding, I like variety.  Some days I want to ride at my own speed with less interaction with other cyclists, but more and more recently, I enjoy the unity of the bike platoon.  This is especially the case on roads with lots of intersections and interactions with vehicles.  Thankfully, more cyclists on the roads means more platoon opportunities.
 

 Chris Eatough is the Bike Arlington Program Manager. BikeArlington is an initiative of Arlington County, Virginia to encourage and enable more people to go by bike more often. To stay up to date on biking in Arlington, follow BikeArlington on Twitter or visit the Washington Area Bike Forum.

Let’s Talk About Bikes

Like many of you, bikes and bike transportation find their way into many of my conversations.  Of course, I don't mind.  I love to talk about bikes!  These interactions generally fall into three categories, depending on the background of the person I'm talking to:

1.       Biker to Biker

2.       Biker to non-believer

3.       Bike to curious non-biker

Category 1 is the most comfortable.  If I'm talking to someone who rides themselves, they usually "get it" and the banter generally moves in the direction of a great trail to ride on, a recent epic ride, the current weather and riding conditions, or the latest bike equipment.  All fun stuff that leaves everyone energized and thinking about the next ride.

Category 2 can be more awkward and difficult, but can also be satisfying in their own way.  The non-believers often have the attitude of "never in a million years" and might see bikes as a kid’s toy or a recreational vehicle that some people use for exercise.  The fact that biking is a valid transportation mode that is very practical and sustainable is usually lost on these folks and the reasons that it's not for them (whether these reasons are valid or not) may well be deeply cemented in their minds.  These conversations can be frustrating, but usually there is some ego boost value in the conversation, to know that I easily accomplish something healthy and beneficial to the community that they consider so impossible and unrealistic. 

Category 3 is maybe the most interesting to me.  These are the people that are not biking currently, but are at least somewhat intrigued in the concept.  They are often curious, ask many questions, and you can almost see them visualizing themselves riding to work, riding to run errands, and riding for many of the short trips they currently make by car.  They probably see some barriers (again, they may or may not be valid), but they also show at least some awareness of the benefits of bike transportation, and they might even be thinking "maybe I could do that too, if…" I love having conversations with these individuals, helping them break down their barriers and obstacles, and giving them the confidence to try integrating bike riding into their everyday lives.

For some insight into the fascinating category 3 group, take a look at the graphic below.  This slide shows just one small piece of the results of the 2009 Resident Transportation and Green Study, conducted by the Southeastern Institute of Research and LDA Consulting for Arlington County. The full survey and results can be found at Commuterpage.com/research. 

The question asked was "what could Arlington County do to make it easier for you to ride a bicycle" and the survey group is representative of the general population.  Note the most common response at 38% was "Nothing would encourage me."  Bah humbug.  These are probably the Category 2 folks from my classification above.  They are not biking now, and there is not much that can be done to get them biking.  However, the good news is that 62% of Arlington residents do have some input on what can be done to make it easier to ride.  Some of these folks might be riding already, but many fall in the "curious non -biker" group of Category 3.  These are the people with at least a glimmer of hope that can be helped!  The responses are mostly infrastructure related, and many of them are being addressed, particularly in the more urban areas of Arlington, D.C and Baltimore.  Of course, we need more, and the survey results certainly strengthen the case for separated bike facilities such as bike lanes, cycletracks and off street bike trails.  These features also contribute to "make it safer" covering all of the top three on the wish list. 

I also believe that many of these curious non bikers often just need a nudge of encouragement, a vote of confidence, and some information on safe routes for bike riding, safe cycling classes, and other resources such as BikeArlington.com, goDCgo.com and WABA.org.   We can all provide this nudge in our daily conversations and interactions, especially when we notice we are talking to someone in the most likely to be influenced category 3 group.  What’s in it for us bikers?  More people riding means more motorist awareness of cyclists which leads to safer riding conditions.  Increased bike transportation also justifies increased investment in bike lanes and other infrastructure, leading to more people biking.  The virtuous circle that benefits all of us. 

So enjoy your conversations about bikes at the water cooler, the stop light, or the grocery store, and be aware of what category your acquaintance falls in.  Focus in on those that show a glimmer of interest and whenever possible, give them some encouragement and help them envision themselves incorporating cycling into their daily lives.  The right nudge might just lead to one more person on a bike and that means better biking for all of us.

Chris Eatough is the Program Manager of BikeArlington, an initiative of Arlington County, Virginia to encourage and enable more people to go by bike more often. 

BikeArlington Year End Review (Part 3 of 3)

Continuing on last week’s yearend report and our post earlier this week, we’re back one last time to talk about the Evaluation and Enforcement components of what Arlington County’s bike team has been up to this year:

Evaluation:

 
●Installed automated bike counters on multi use trails:
Permanent, automated bike and pedestrian counters have been operating on the Custis and the Four Mile Run trails for more than a year.  These counters run 24 hours a day and use infrared and in-ground sensors to collect data on trail usage.  Many of the counters are intelligent enough to be able to distinguish between a walker/runner and a cyclist.  This provides a huge amount of data on the volume, behavior and timing of people using Arlington County trails. 

In 2011, even more automated bike and pedestrian counter devices countywide. These will be added at more trail locations and also on street locations throughout the county.  This will provide even more data on bike use in Arlington County that will be useful for future planning and operations strategies.

●Volunteer bike counts for the National Bike/Pedestrian Documentation Project:
Every year in September volunteers from the cycling community take part in county wide manual bike and pedestrian counts.  This data collection ultimately provides important information for use by governments and bicycle and pedestrian planners on a nationwide level.

Results from the manual and automatic counts will be released in a comprehensive report on BikeArlington.com in 2011.

Enforcement:

 
● Streetsmart regional campaign  kickoff in Arlington:
Arlington hosted the fall 2010 Streetsmart campaign kickoff which took place in at the intersection of North Lynn and Wilson Boulevard in Rosslyn on November 9th. This is an ongoing regional program organized by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments to promote and educate on bike, pedestrian, and motorist safety and interaction.  The focus for the fall campaign was on conflicts among separate modes of transportation while turning in high pedestrian areas.  Enforcement activities began on Monday the 8th with warnings issued to drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. Tickets were issued during morning rush hour on Tuesday the 9th. Coverage of the event was picked up by local TV channels and garnered many print and online stories as well.

Thank You!

BikeArlington would like to extend a special thanks to everyone who helped make 2010 such a productive “Year of the Bicycle.”  Creating a bicycle friendly community and nurturing bike culture is a collaborative effort, with a great commitment from many different divisions of Arlington County staff including the Arlington County Board, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning team, the Transportation Engineering & Operations team and the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources team. 

Additionally we’d like to thank all our urban village’s organizations, including the Crystal City, Rosslyn and Ballston BIDS, as well as the Clarendon Alliance and the FAST team in Potomac Yard for all of their help and support.

Lastly, we’d like to thank the Arlington Bicycle Advisory Committee which has been a wonderful resource as well as all of the local bicycle shops and bicycle friendly businesses in Arlington.  Here’s to another great year coming in 2011.  See you out there on the trails and bike lanes!

 BikeArlington is an initiative of Arlington County, Virginia to encourage and enable more people to go by bike more often. To stay up to date on biking in Arlington, follow BikeArlington on Twitter or visit the Washington Area Bike Forum.

BikeArlington Year End Review (Part 2 of 3)

Continuing on last week’s year end report, we’re back again to talk about the Education and Engineering components of what Arlington County’s bike team has been up to this year:

Education:

 
●Bike Safety Classes:
BikeArlington held 13 Bike Safety classes between May and October 2010.  Everyone was welcome to register for the classes, and most were free of charge.  Almost 200 people received safe cycling education through these classes at 3 levels of instruction:

• Confident City Cycling 1 classes for intermediate riders looking to improve general riding skills and awareness.  The first part was a basic rules of the road classroom component and the second part included an on-bike element with a focus on general handling skills. 
• Confident City Cycling 2 classes teaching more advanced cycling techniques such as quick stops and avoidance maneuvers.  These classes included “on the road” instruction.
• Learn to Ride classes for adults who had never learned how to ride a bike.  These classes taught the most basic skills of biking such as balance, steering, stopping, starting, and pedaling.  Bicycles for the Learn to Ride classes were provided by the Revolution Cycles City Hub.
   

 
●”Sharing the Way” campaign:
From a joint effort between BikeArlington and WalkArlington, the flyer for “Two Wheels or Two Feet, Sharing the Way” was designed, printed and distributed at events such as Bike to Work Day, BikeDC, and at the County Fair.  This flyer educates bikers and walkers on the proper way to share multiuse trails and sidewalks and is also available at the WalkArlington and BikeArlington websites.


 
●Walk and Bike to School Day:
BikeArlington and WalkArlington helped organize another successful Walk and Bike to School Day on October 6^th.  The location varies each year and in 2010 the event was held at Taylor Elementary School.  Safety literature was distributed and the morning events included singing, dancing and music by an alumni band, all enjoyed by a large crowd of students, parents, teachers and administrators.

Engineering:

 
●Installed new and replacement bike racks:
New and replacement bike racks were installed through the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor, including 5 new decorative bike racks in Rosslyn by the Rosslyn BID.  The aging “Bike pit” at the Ballston Metrorail station was recently renovated and the parking facilities, which included a short but cumbersome flight of stairs, was replaced with an at-grade donut configuration which allows the for more accessible higher security racks.  Installation of new bicycle racks in Rosslyn-Ballston corridor commercial district brought the total number of available racks in the area to 74. Furthermore, a new rack installation contractor has come on board and more than 50 new racks are slated to be installed.

 
●New Arlington County Bike Map:
The Arlington County Bike Map has been a popular document for several years, and is often called out as the best map of the County, period.  The newest version of the map is even better.  Moving from four route categories and colors (Bicycle Lanes, Shared-use Trails, On-street Bicycle Routes, and Other Recommended On-street Routes) to three categories ( Off-street Trails, Bike Lanes and Sharrows, and On-street Routes), the new network provides a much cleaner and easier to follow system.  The updated network appears in the 2011 edition of the Arlington County Bike Map which will be available in January.

 
●Installed/marked new bike lanes and signage:
Over the course of 2010, Arlington’s bike infrastructure system was expanded. There are now 50 miles of shared-use off-street trails, 31 miles of bike lanes and sharrows, and 78 miles of recommended on-street bicycle routes.  New bike lanes, sharrows and corresponding signage can be found on North Quincy Street, Walter Reed Drive, Old Dominion Drive, North Lynn Street and Army Navy Drive, to name a few.  For more information on sharrows, Arlington’s newest street marking for bikes, read here.

Part 3 of the BikeArlington Year End Review will continue later this week with the summary of enforcement and evaluation activities.  Check back then for the details on Arlington’s Bike/Ped documentation project and our participation in the regionwide Streetsmart campaign.

 BikeArlington is an initiative of Arlington County, Virginia to encourage and enable more people to go by bike more often. To stay up to date on biking in Arlington, follow BikeArlington on Twitter or visit the Washington Area Bike Forum.

BikeArlington Year End Review (Part 1 of 3)

2010 was a big year for biking in Arlington.  More people are talking about biking, and yes, more people are actually doing it.  Biking became safer through improved infrastructure and education, and there are now more options than ever to go by bike.  Read on for a summary of bike initiatives, activities and improvements from 2010.  It’s a long list, so we have broken them down into the categories of Encouragement, Education, Engineering, Evaluation, Enforcement.  These are the same 5 E’s that the League of American Bicyclists uses to rank Bicycle Friendly Communities – Arlington ranks as silver. 

Here’s to even more progress and hopefully a gold ranking in 2011!

Encouragement:

 
●Launched a new and improved BikeArlington.com website built on a new platform that incorporates Web 2.0 and social media outlets:
www.BikeArlington.com and an online forum went live on January 1, 2010 to coincide with Chairman of the Arlington County Board Jay Fisette’s announcement of the 2010 Bicycle and Pedestrian Access and Safety Program.

The BikeArlington Twitter account continued to gain momentum throughout the year and the bike forum expanded regionally through partnerships with goDCgo, WABA and now has almost 1,500 posts. The forum can be found at WashingtonAreaBikeForum.com

 

●Expanded Bike to Work Day to include three pits stops in Rosslyn, Crystal City and Ballston:
Bike To Work Day was held on May 21^st.  Rosslyn hosted 700 attendees, Crystal City hosted 406 attendees and Ballston hosted 314 attendees, which in total was the highest number ever for combined Arlington County pit stops.  Additional media attention was garnered from the announcement of the new Capital Bikeshare regional bike sharing system.

●Continued on the past successes of the annual "Bike DC – The Washington and Arlington Community Bike Ride" event:
Right on the heels of Bike to Work Day, Bike DC was held on Sunday, May 23^rd and more than 3000 riders from across the region participated. Breakdown of Jurisdiction Registered riders: Arlington - 443, Alexandria - 278, DC - 718, Maryland - 690

 

●Launched Capital Bikeshare regional bike-sharing service at a joint kickoff with the DC Department of Transportation:
Capital Bikeshare launched on September 20^th to major media coverage including Fox TV and Washington Post front page of the Metro section.  With 114 stations across the region (14 in Arlington, 100 in DC) membership quickly reached more than 5,000 members and more than 100,000 trips in the first two and half months. The program is changing the face of transportation in the region and a winter contest is slated to begin January 1^st to encourage cold weather ridership.  Capital Bikeshare Facebook and Twitter accounts both have more than 1100 very active members.

 

 
●Promote the the League of American Bicyclists Bicycle Friendly Business (BFB) Program to bring bike culture into workplaces:
Through a region wide workshop and with the assistance of BikeArlington six new Arlington businesses won Bicycle Friendly Business Awards in September, making a total of seven nationally recognized BFBs in Arlington. BikeArlington and Arlington Transportation Partners continue to assist businesses in applying for this program. The complete list of Arlington BFBs is as follows:

Silver: Arlington County Government, Corporate Executive Board, Crystal City BID, Destination Sales and Marketing Group, Phoenix Bikes, Revolution Cycles (awarded in 2009)
Bronze: Java Shack

 

●Assisted with Arlington’s Car-Free Diet campaign to promote biking:
BikeArlington assisted with the Ross & Todd Car Free Skeptics campaign on their efforts to go car free for 30 days by providing bike mentoring and routing.  In the end both Ross and Todd successfully completed the challenge and Ross even ended up selling his car!

●Collaborated with Arlington Transportation Partners (ATP) on outreach efforts to make workplaces, properties and hotels more bike-friendly:
All ATP commuter services for businesses, commercial properties and residences included the promotion of bikes for transportation.  While touching on all urban villages in Arlington, ATP’s fall “Redefine Your Commute” campaign centered on Crystal City with a focus on Capital Bikeshare and cycling in general.

●Established partnerships with Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) and other organizations to promote biking:
We are lucky in Arlington to have such great partners in the BIDs and local alliances.  The Crystal City BID is a shining example.  Sponsorship of Capital Bikeshare and the Revolution Cycles City Hub program, hosting the finish line activities of Bike DC, and running a successful Bike to Work Day pitstop are just a few of the endeavors that the Crystal City BID committed to in 2010.  That’s more than most states do in a year to promote bike culture!  The Ballston Partnership also assisted with the Bike to Work Day pitstop in Ballston and are keen to raise the status of biking in Ballston now that they are becoming a fully fledged BID.  The Potomac Yard Transportation Management Area also provided funding for a Capital Bikeshare station in their area.

●Developed and printed a new and improved Arlington County Bike Map:
Arlington already has a great bike map--and it's about to get even better! BikeArlington along with Arlington County planners and engineers, with feedback from the Arlington Bicycle Advisory Committee, have worked together to finalize a new bike network. A completely new map will be distributed in January 2011.

 

●Organized and promoted bicycle related community events to build bike culture and encourage more bike use:
BikeArlington attended and promoted many group rides put on by local bike shops including the Conte’s Tuesday Night bike ride and the Revolution Cycles City Hub Hub Spins, Lunch Spins and Ugly Sweater Ride. Additionally, BikeArlington took part in community events such as the St. Patrick’s Day parade through Clarendon, the Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment Green Living Expo and the Arlington County Fair.

Playing on last year’s success, BikeArlington held three more Lights for Bikes giveaway events through which more than 100 sets of front and rear bike lights and reflective bands were given away to those who would otherwise ride without them.

Other highlights from the year included a BikeArlington/WABA “Movie Night” as well as the National Bike Summit held in Washington DC.

For a recap of and video tour of Arlington County’s highlights in 2010 check out the below video:

The BikeArlington Year End Review will continue next week with the summary of education and engineering activities.  Check back then for the details on Arlington’s bike safety classes and bike lane additions.

  BikeArlington is an initiative of Arlington County, Virginia to encourage and enable more people to go by bike more often. To stay up to date on biking in Arlington, follow BikeArlington on Twitter or visit the Washington Area Bike Forum.

Spin Your Reels: Bike Movie Night at the Arlington Cinema 'N Drafthouse

Date: Wednesday, February 17, 2010 
Time: Doors Open 6:30pm, Movie starts at 7:00pm
Tickets: Arlington Cinema 'N Drafthouse

Cure those winter bicycling blues with an exciting biking movie!  BikeArlington and WABA invite you for an exclusive Blu-ray screening of Race Across the Sky.

Race Across the Sky is a documentary covering the 2009 Leadville Trail 100 bike race, one of the most intense endurance races of all time - and candid conversations with Lance Armstrong, Dave Wiens, and other elite and amateur cyclists who overcame extreme challenges to participate in this grueling race. View the trailer here.

Location:
Arlington Cinema 'N Drafthouse
2903 Columbia Pike
Arlington, VA, 22204
Phone: (703) 486-2345

Directions:
Via Metro:
Blue Line to Pentagon City Metro Stop.  Bus Route 16 runs very frequently along Columbia Pike with a stop at the corner of Columbia Pike & Walter Reed Dr.

Via Bike:
Visit http://www.ridethecity.com/dc and map out the best bicycle route to the Arlington Cinema 'N Draft House.

To purchase tickets and more information, please click HERE. 
 
BikeArlington is an initiative of Arlington County, Virginia to encourage and enable more people to go by bike more often.  To stay up to date on biking in Arlington, follow BikeArlington on Twitter.    

Bike Vs…

Have you ever wondered whether there’s a faster, more efficient way to make your daily commute? Most of us have several options for our commute-- car, train, bus, biking, walking... 

At BikeArlington, we believe that for a commute within the DC urban core, biking is often the fastest mode.  More importantly,  we are willing to put our theory to the test!

We are looking for some commuters to “challenge” BikeArlington by giving us the basic details of your daily commute. We will make the same trip by bike, compare times, and report back on our experiences and results.  That is the essence of Bike Vs…

To ensure a fair Bike Vs. comparison, we’ve set some ground rules: 

• Trip time is door to door.
  
• All trips will be made during morning rush hour, 7-9am.
  
• Cyclist will obey all traffic rules, wear office attire (plus helmet), and ride at a comfortable and reasonable pace.
  
• Trips must start or finish in Arlington County (we are BikeArlington after all), and the whole trip must be inside the D.C. Beltway.
  

The commute details we need from you, Bike Vs. challengers, are:

• Your first name.
  
• Start point of your commute (street block address or building address is fine if you don’t want to give your home address).
  
• Finish point of your commute (street block address or building address).
  
• Mode (or modes) of commuting you typically use.
  
• Total time for your daily commute, door to door, during morning rush hour (be honest!)
  

If you’re ready for the Bike Vs. Challenge, just provide your commute details in the comment section below, or send to info@bikearlington.com.  Once we get your details, we will ride your route, time it, and report back with the comparison!

BikeArlington is an initiative of Arlington County, Virginia to encourage and enable more people to go by bike more often. To stay up to date on biking in Arlington, follow BikeArlington on Twitter.