FABB Blog

 

Critical Manners in Vienna

About 12 cyclists turned out for the first ever (that we know of) Critical Manners/Mass ride in Vienna, or for that matter, in Fairfax County. Antoine McGrath put the ride together starting at The Soundry. Antoine lead the way, sound system/bubble maker in tow. The tunes and bubbles added a nice touch to the ride, which was very social, relatively slow, and fun.

We rode along the W&OD Trail to reach Clarks Crossing Road and a climb up to Beulah Road and back to Maple Ave. We obeyed most traffic signals and didn't disrupt traffic too much, although one motorist couldn't be slowed for even a few seconds on  Beulah Rd and insisted on blowing his (or her) horn for an extended period. Given there was a solid yellow line on our side and the lane was too narrow to share, it wasn't legal to pass anyway.

From there we took a right on Maple Ave./Rt 123 and took over the outside lane. We were quite a sight, slowly cruising through Vienna, music blaring, bubbles flying, and curious motorists giving us plenty of room as the passed on the left. We had no problems as we made our way to Nutley Street and south to the  Vienna Metro Station. We returned via a back route to/from the station through Nottaway Park and Tapawingo.

After the ride a few folks returned to The Soundry, a nice little gathering place beside the W&OD Trail in an industrial strip development. Besides coffee and snacks there are several artists studios, a gallery, and a music space. The gallery will be the site of Biketastic!, a bicycle themed art exhibit opening next Saturday, July 31, as a benefit for Bikes for the World.

Thanks to Antoine for putting the ride together. Watch for notices about future rides at the Critical Manners Facebook page.

Labels: critical manners, town of vienna

posted by Bruce Wright at 11:28 PM permalink