The driver behind me, in a light-gold newish Cadillac, laid on his horn and waved his hands at me from inside the car. I gave a shrug to say “what do you want me to do?” There was no room to pass the stopped traffic on the right, and I wasn’t going to dart out against traffic in the eastbound lane of Florida just to save a few seconds. The driver got out of his car, and we had the following conversation:

Driver: “Get your cracker-ass off the road, I’m trying to get my kids to school!”

Me: “Give me a *ucking break, there’s a red light, where do you want me to go?”

Driver: “On the *ucking sidewalk, you’re lucky my kids are here, or I’d beat your ass.”

The driver was ready to continue this conversation, but at this point, the light had turned green and I was on my way. This exchange left a particularly sour taste in my mouth. Yes, I realize I did not respond in a way to diffuse the situation—that’s just what came out at the moment. I’ve been mulling this over though, trying to figure out what it’s about. Did the 4 feet of space of Florida Ave that me and my bike take up seriously delay this guy from dropping his kids off at school?

Was it really necessary to resort to a nasty racial slur (and in front of his kids)?

Writes a friend of mine in a conversation on Google Reader*:

I'm wondering what the world would be like if every time a black person had an experience with racism they told someone about it who then published it on the Internet.

*Dear Google: Reader is useful! Don't kill it!

Photo by Mike Hicks

Experts Weigh In: The House is setting up a fight with the White House over school vouchers for low-income D.C. students, which the Obama administration is opposing on the theory that Congress really shouldn't be deciding who goes to which schools in the District. And like all issues, the future of D.C. education policy can be easily reduced to snappy soundbites from political operatives who have no stake in and know nothing about the situation! Just ask Georgia state Sen. Judson Hill, a Republican who bills himself as "the conservative leader who delivers," and muses to Politico: "Parents should have the say in their children's education before teachers or a union. Restricting parents control and supporting unions first only reinforces the fact that the president is not on the side of children." Pithy! Thanks for contributing your generic talking points to our local issues, Sen. Hill; it only, uh, "reinforces the fact" that D.C. should be run by Washingtonians. -1

Only Voters Pay Fines: When they're not writing legislation affecting a city they like to pretend they never even set foot in, members of Congress apparently like to spend their time parking illegally and running red lights. An investigation by Roll Call finds at least $15,000 in unpaid tickets pending against cars owned or driven by lawmakers (though some, like would-be New York Mayor Anthony Weiner, paid their tab when the paper called them). City law allows members of Congress to park without paying meters wherever they like as long as they're on official business—which seems like a decent provision to revisit in our time of budgetary crises. -2

There's Something About a Tweet That's Magic: Traveling between D.C. and points north by rail often means delays of uncertain causes and lengths. But now, thanks to the power of social networking, it will mean delays of uncertain causes and lengths with 140 character rationalizations—Amtrak has launched what it's calling a "pilot program" to tweet out status updates for major problems, using the catchy Twitter handle @AmtrakNEC (for Northeast Corridor). If all goes well, maybe next they'll start sending LinkedIn requests to Acela passengers. +1

Cars to Pedestrians, Cyclists—Drop Dead: Getting around the District without the protective cushioning of at least a ton of steel, plastic, glass, and a combustion engine is increasingly dangerous. Last year, the number of people hit by cars increased 25 percent over the year before; by now, three times a day, someone meets the business end of a vehicle. (Follow @StruckDC for a grisly tally.) Officials just kicked off a new campaign aimed at pedestrian and bike safety, which will include ticketing... pedestrians and cyclists. The good news: Once they're on the ground, they're very easy to hit with a ticket. -2

Yesterday's Needle rating: 63 Today's score: -4 Today's Needle rating: 59

On Monday, D.C. Fire and EMS announced via Twitter: "reported cyclist struck – Minn Av & Baline[sic] St NE 2:38 PM Apr 26th."

Contacted by City Desk that day, spokesperson Pete Piringer thought the tweet was mistaken. A cyclist hadn't been hit by a car, Piringer had heard, a pedestrian had been hit by a bike. Piringer also said he believed police had been called in to "sort it out" between pedaler and walker.

Though we asked police for details regarding the incident, cops had a hard time finding a report relating to the crash. This morning, however, police spokesperson Gwendolyn Crump let us know that police had located the info and that a cyclist had been hit by a car, after all.

It wasn't an accident, however. The facts of the bike-crumpling are startling: A mom allegedly plowed into her son on purpose.

Crump emails:

"This was a domestic dispute between mother and son. It occurred at the gas station on Minnesota Ave.  The mom was driving a Saturn and apparently intentionally hit her son, while he was on a bicycle.  The son got off the bike and threw it on the car causing damage to the vehicle.  When the police arrived the son ran off from the location.  This case is being investigated by Sixth District Detectives."

Crump says there have been no arrests so far.

12th Street and New York Avenue NW, April 14

TheWashCycle has more on an April 8 meeting to discuss the Sherman Avenue redesign, which is planned to make the artery more bike-friendly. I'm trying to track down the cyclist to get his or her side of this. My e-mail address is at the bottom of this post.

My morning ride through Rock Creek Park is one of the best parts of my day, and it's even better in the rain, when joggers and other distractions are few and I can ride in a head-clearing Zen state.

But the bike path is covered with squishable threats to this Zen state. Namely, worms, who for whatever reason, crawl out in the rain. If you want to avoid them, you end up swerving around like Monsieur Hulot. If another cyclist is approaching, avoiding worms is downright dangerous! So this is my question: Is it OK, morally, to flatten a worm when your safety and that of others is not in question? Or should one ride in a state of vegetarian terror?

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty has his passions, and sometimes your passions pay off.

Avid competitive cyclist Fenty is reportedly on the brink of pulling off a veritable coup by luring the Giro d'Italia, one of the three premier European grand tours, to D.C. for its initial stages in 2012.

For his efforts, Hizzoner was feted at an Italian Embassy event on Feb. 25, where he was bestowed with a new Colnago racing bicycle, given to him by famed Italian cyclemaker Ernesto Colnago himself. It came complete with his name inscribed on the top tube.

When LL saw that Fenty has been gifted an awful nice bike, he consulted Washington City Paper's resident bike expert, Operations Director Jeff Boswell. Turns out "awful nice" doesn't being to describe it—Boswell fairly swooned when informed that Fenty got himself a Colnago.

"One of the most storied brands in modern bicycle racing," Boswell tells LL. "The highest quality, made by hand in Italy."

As for Colnago the man: "He's a king," says Boswell.

LL placed a call to Colnago's American headquarters, in Chicago. There he reached Billy Kanzler, who was quite familiar with the machine gifted to Hizzoner. It was an Colnago EPS—the company's "flagship" hand-made racing frame, tricked out with top-of-the-line Campagnolo components.

"That thing was giddy-up," says Kanzler.

"Giddy-up" has its price. The frame alone retails for $5,500, Kanzler says. And with accouterments, Fenty could expect to pay at least $12,000 for the bike.

"It was a gesture of good will," he adds, "and we have a couple of dealers in Washington, D.C., so having Italian cycling come there would definitely help our brand."

But will Fenty get to keep his sweet ride? Public officials can't accept any gifts worth more than $10 from folks looking to do business with the city.

LL first asked about the fate of the bike last Wednesday. A week later, and after many phone calls and e-mails, the mayor's office still had no answer for LL as of last night.

LL also inquired with Kathy Williams, general counsel for the Office of Campaign Finance, who in turn inquired with the Office of the Secretary, which handles matters of protocol and official gifts for the mayor. Williams says she was told the bike would be accepted as part of a "gifts to government" program, but no mayoral official would tell LL that directly.

"A decision is still being worked out," says spokesperson Jack Pfeiffer.

Photo courtesy of Colnago

Paul Sharp of the Omni Shoreham e-mails about the snowy path I blogged about yesterday. "We'll take care of the path," he writes. "My chief engineer is a rock star." I stopped and spoke with a rock star this morning, who confirmed he'd cleared the path and was doing a little tree care while he was at it. The path looks great. Doing things you don't have to do because they make the city a better place is the essence of the urban compact.

WTOP's Mark Segraves has the hot scoop: He is reporting that Mayor Adrian M. Fenty regularly uses motorcycle-mounted police to escort his cycling team as they train throughout the District and Maryland. This happens during weekday business hours, leading to traffic backups.

Moreover, Segraves says, Fenty and his team, D.C. Velo, use the cops to run red lights and stop signs (mere misdemeanors in LL's book) as well as traverse thoroughfares verboten to cyclists, e.g. the Clara Barton Parkway along the Potomac.

WTOP's video is above. Fenty, in comments to Segraves, declined to address the story, except to say if he did anything illegal, he won't any longer.

More from Segraves' piece:

According to sources familiar with the mayor's security detail, Fenty became furious after he spotted WTOP videotaping a recent bike outing. L

Last month, Fenty spotted WTOP with a video camera as he rode along Rock Creek Parkway. Minutes late, as Fenty and his teammates rode along the parkway, the mayor darted across the road and onto the bike path, where he dismissed the police escort and took off through the woods.

A few days later, when WTOP caught up with the mayor and his bike team again, they had moved their training ride to Bethesda, where more than 20 cyclists – along with a D.C. Police escort – tied up traffic along Goldsboro Road, MacArthur Boulevard and other major roadways.

UPDATE, 4:55 P.M.: Not to detract from Segraves' report, and his extensive videodocumentary evidence, but Examiner's Bill Myers aired a similar report almost a year ago.

The Giro d'Italia—one of the three grand European cycling tours—is considering starting its run in Washington, D.C. "in the coming years," before jetting all the competitors across the Atlantic to continue the race.

This momentous news comes courtesy of Cycling News, which in turn got the tidbit from a dispatch in Italian sports rag La Gazzetta dello Sport. LL was unable to find the original reportage on that publication's Web site.

Race director Angelo Zomegnan is quoted saying, "There exists a concrete interest from the city of Washington." Adds Cycling News, "Mayor Adrian Fenty will help the bid. He is a fan of cycling and competes in triathlons to stay in shape."

UPDATE, 11/5, 2:45 P.M.: Fenty spokesperson Jack Pfeiffer says there indeed have been discussions about hosting the start of the race, "but nothing is final."

"The city welcomes discussions with race officials and share their enthusiasm for the District to serve as a host city," he said in a statement.

File photo by Mike DeBonis

D.C. cyclists are planning a local route as part of the national Ride of Silence tomorrow that will pass the places where Alice Swanson and Ian Wolfe died, as well as American Univeristy, where Brent Hurd, killed while cycling in India, taught.

The ride will start at 7 p.m. at the Jefferson Memorial and will be over by 10 p.m. The WashCycle, which planned the route, encourages people to wear a helmet and to bring a black armband to remember those injured on bikes. "If you have been injured while cycling," the site says, "please wear a red armband instead. As we will be riding at dusk you should also bring reflective clothing and lights for your bike."

The Ride of Silence, started by a Dallas-area cyclist in 2003 to honor an endurance rider killed by the mirror of a passing bus, is not sponsored by anyone and it's free. Anyone can participate in tomorrow's D.C. ride.

Photograph of Alice Swanson's ghost bike at the 2000 block of R Street NW by Darrow Montgomery

Nope, it just might have been cruising through the Third Street Tunnel on his bike.

Now, LL is aware that said tunnel was the site of much misery on Tuesday, as a holding pen for holders of inaugural tickets denied access to the Capitol grounds (cf. "Purple Tunnel of Doom"). He means not to make light of their suffering.

It's just that it's not every day that you get to ride your bike through an underground interstate highway artery and take advantage of a fabulous shortcut across the Mall. LL was prepared to bike as far east as 4th Street NE to get around to the south side of the Hill, where he was supposed to gain access to the ceremony, but he decided to give the tunnel a shot when he passed the Massachusetts Avenue ramp. It cut a good 10 or 15 minutes off his commute.

At the time LL came through, around 8:15 a.m., the lines up to the purple/blue entrances were still rather orderly, and he was able to zip right through. If only he had a video camera to remember the moment...but blogger Nikolas Schiller did! Experience the thrill:

Ryan Bowen rode his bike from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., a journey he's cataloged on his blog Biking for Obama. Today he and a group of supporters met up in the parking lot at Gravelly Point, near National Airport, for a quick ride to the Jefferson Memorial, where Congressman Earl Blumenauer presented him with a ticket to the swearing-in.

Karen ComenComer and Monique Buzzarté are friends from TakomaTacoma, Wash., and New York City, respectively. They joined Bowen and the 20-strong posse at Gravelly Point, both are riding folding bikes. Comen Comer has seven bikes, including the folding job: two tandems, a mountain bike, a tri bike, a commuter bike, and a fast break bike, which I don't know what that is. She takes the folding bike with her whenever she travels.

Comen Comer says that she thinks the Mount Vernon Trail, on which the group rode in, is "touristy" and "cute," she says there's a debate over whether bikes belong on trails or on the road with other vehicles. "I'm from New York, and I love not dodging cars," says Buzzarté by comparison. Buzzarté found the small wheels on her folding bike a challenge: "It doesn't do hills," she says.

Comen Comer does hills: "Biking's a very important part of my life," she says.