And Christians should be forgiving, but what's the likelihood of that ever happening? Give it up, Smithers.

My favorite are the stay-at-home moms who walk four-abreast and take up the whole honking path. Up there with the ones where ride up behind them and say "Passing on the left" and they GET INTO THE LEFT LANE.

I'm thinking more of a TJ Hooker thing, with William Shatner about to give some "lousy punks" a beatdown, but Adrian Zmed has to hold him back.

has anyone thought to expand the capacity of the trail to meet the needs of multiple user groups?

haha i know, i crack myself up sometimes

I would pretty much guarantee (without knowing anything about this story beyond what's written here) that the complaints came from the residents of Bethesda that live right off the trail, and who like to use it for walking dogs, baby strollers, etc. I remember riding down from the car dealership, and it takes a mile or so before you clear all of the local riff raff clogging up the lanes before you get free and clear to really start riding. I suspect the problem lies with different understandings of the purpose of the trail, especially in sections with easy access to side streets/backyards.

My favorites are the snotty moms with the multiple birth strollers that are wider than one lane. I'm glad your fertility drugs worked, lady, but that doesn't mean you get to block me with your spawn.

Clearly, they need to widen the trail. Four lanes in each direction!

An idea may be to create dual trails, where feasable. Parts of the W&OD trail between Falls Church and Ashburn have dual sections. One is the former rail line and one is a former maintenance right-of-way road for the RR and electric company. One trail is straight and encourages fast cycling while the other has more curves and has more shade.
Another option is for bikers to buy a really loud horn or bike-mounted P.A. system, a la the red bike in Pee Wee's Big Adventure. Make the four-abreast 'ladies who power-walk' wear forhead-mounted rearview mirrors. Everyone happy?

I'm one of the Lycranauts zooming by your fat ass on my bike while you're smoking a cigarette and watching your dog make a nice stanky turd pyramid in the middle of the trail that you no intention of cleaning up.

I'm one of the people in the silly shirts with the pockets in the back and shoes that make me walk funny when I clip out of the bike, yelling at you to get out of the way when you're at a dead stop in the middle of the trail talking on your cell phone.

I'm the jerk in the padded spandex pants who nearly kills you while you're making out with your girlfriend/boyfriend in the middle of the bridge because it's just oh, so romantic.

If you look carefully, every mile or so, rules are posted for acceptable behavior on the trail. Be courteous. Keep right, pass left. Give audible warning. Any cyclist worth a damn does these things with gusto. Why don't you?

So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that the silly-looking cyclist zooming by you trying to get a workout in may not be the jerk here. Maybe it's you.

I don't know what padded spandex pants look like. Please post a picture of you wearing one. Thank you.

people with ipods walking on the trail should just be run over. period.

if you want to go out in nature and then cocoon yourself off from the rest of the world, your removal from the gene pool strikes me as cosmic retribution for your stupidity. you can't hear the biker warning you to get out of the middle of the trail? oh, i'm sorry, if only there was something we could do about that. i know! punish the bikers!

caveat emptor, or something similar to that, says i.

Well speedometers are pretty reasonably priced, and quite useful, also once you have access to one you get pretty good at judging your speed in general.

That being said, why don't they set up a sort of rush our system on the bike trail in the area, where between 645 and 915 in the morning its strictly enforced bicycles only with no speed limit, and in the afternoon between 4:45 and 7:15 its the same deal. The rest of the time its open to everyone and there is an enforced 20 mph speed limit. That way you don't need to worry about the idiot runners with their ipods when you are trying to get to work, and they know that when they are actually allowed to share the BIKE trail with you they can expect you to be on your best behavior.

Instead of tickets, why don't they just put up one of those "Your Speed: ___ mph" signs they put up around school zones and stuff? I mean, besides the reason that everyone would just speed up to see how fast they can go?

Put the bikers back on the streets where they can be the prey instead of the predators.

I never cease to be amazed and the stupidity of the herd of people on these trails... Treat it like a road, people.

You shouldn't park your fat ass in the middle of the expressway to figure for some inanane conversation on your cell phone that, btw, no one else wants to hear.

You shoudn't take two lanes so no one can get by you.

If you'r slower, stick to the f*cking right. If you have to stop, even better--get off the damn road.

And you shouldn't be wearing an iPod so loud that you have no clue what the hell is going on around you!

And for people graced with great legs and lycra, you're not supposed fly around traffic like that a-hole we all hate in the ridiculously overpriced sports car. (One great case of road rash should cure those tendencies.)

(And I've driven the BW Parkway--I know these rules don't apply)

I totally agree with Warshington, if they are going to attempt enforcement of a speed limit on a bike path, it should be exempt during rush hours while bikers are speeding on their way to work.

For dcist's enjoyment, I link you to the angriest bike-commuter-&-blogger-in-DC's post last month.

And remember, if you encounter a biker in the road, fer pete's sake, give him/her at least 3 feet of clearance! It's the law.

California has speed limits on many of its bike trails. I know people who have been busted on their way to work for exceeding the 15 mph limit.

There's no reason why the District or Montgomery County couldn't set up bicycle speed traps to assist the local budgetary pressures.

I would like to see the day a cop can catch my Madone!

How about a bicycle dystopia, a sort of Mad Max world where everyone is an apoco-mutant and rides bikes in large roaming hordes?

That would be sweet. Redo Mad Max with bicycles. Lance Armstrong to play the title character. Hinault can come back as the Toe Cutter.

...what needs to be done is more signs for proper etiquette and rules.

You're assuming that people on the Capitol Crescent Trail (a) can read and (b) actually give a fat rat's fart about etiquette. These are the same people who, when their ride is over, will climb into their Escalades and give the finger to grandmas, passing ambulances, and funeral processions. And even if they don't have a car, they will stop at Starbucks for a bathroom break and pee on the rim out of spite.

So this 15MPH speed limit only affects the Maryland portion of the trail? So once you're in DC, you're free to ride like you've got a roman candle up your butt, right?