Pete Signs Removed From Bridge!

[Steve O]

Is there anyone who would like to lead the effort to make it official? As an anti-bureaucrat, that is not my strong suit. I tried to volunteer ImaCynic, but he went silent.
I will be happy to be part of a committee (or gang, or whatever we want to call it) that will work to move it forward. I am not qualified to lead such an effort.

[Starduster]

I was reminded recently that there is another way to honor our man Pete Beers. I normally would rather honor a person's birthday, or how they lived, instead of how they died. But there is a location on the Lake Accotink trail, and an anniversary approaches...

At the far western end of the trail, where it becomes Danbury Forest Drive for a bit:


My image from Sept 4, 2020:

I rode the MTB portion of that trail on the Trek. A Stupid Bike Ride indeed!

Sept 7, 2020, with Sue Fuchs:


And from Aug 29, 2021:


I have not been back there in the 2 years since, and I am told our memorials to Pete have vanished. Could've weathered away (it's been 2 years, y'all) or preserved by the family as mementos. Sounds like an excuse to go for a bike ride!

[Starduster]

I was reminded recently that there is another way to honor our man Pete Beers. I normally would rather honor a person's birthday, or how they lived, instead of how they died. But there is a location on the Lake Accotink trail, and an anniversary approaches...

At the far western end of the trail, where it becomes Danbury Forest Drive for a bit:


My image from Sept 4, 2020:

I rode the MTB portion of that trail on the Trek. A Stupid Bike Ride indeed!

Sept 7, 2020, with Sue Fuchs:


And from Aug 29, 2021:


I have not been back there in the 2 years since, and I am told our memorials to Pete have vanished. Could've weathered away (it's been 2 years, y'all) or preserved by the family as mementos. Sounds like an excuse to go for a bike ride!

I'm gonna bump this. Today is August 30. A sad day when #dirt became a legend. A ghost bike was never the solution here-Pete was not taken out by a reckless motorist. Whattaya do-raise your fist to the skies and rail against God for such an improbable demise? But we *can* adorn the site with reminders of what a big goofball of a cycling angel Pete was, and pay that spirit forward.

[lordofthemark]

Early on, Henry investigated the proper process to apply for naming. You can see the information near the top of this thread. In post #18 on that thread, Henry provided more detail after speaking with NVRPA.

Apparently, someone came to the conclusion (or, perhaps given post #8 on that thread, it was a foregone conclusion) that the defined process was too burdensome or might not provide the outcome our community desired, and took matters into their own hands instead.

I'm with Imacynic - the guerilla naming was a fun and clever thing to have done, but we shouldn't have expected it to have lasted forever. Be careful advocating for ignoring rules and regulations - unless you're willing to sacrifice the "bureaucracy" you like as well as the parts you don't like.

As anyone who has worked in a bureaucracy knows, sometimes bureaucrats themselves do work arounds when bureaucracy is too burdensome, and that does not necessarily mean dispensing with the valuable parts. It is in fact what keeps bureaucracies working. I believe perhaps it was Harvey Mansfield either quoting or paraphrasing Machivelli "a conspiracy against the law to save the law" Pardon if I misrember, this was 1977.

I would say one next step might be finding out which agency removed the signs? Another would be informal outreach to some friendly folks at NVRPA or elsewhere.

[Starduster]

So yesterday...I decided to go for a classically Stupid Bike Ride, to honor the legend of Pete Beers. Three years ago, I made a pilgrimage to this site by taking a road bike on Lake Accotink's mountain bike trail. Today, I took Das Kettler. I will let you decide which bike was more out-of-place. The bikes & I lived to tell the tale. ("Well that's no fun!")

The impromptu shrine remains, and now has an addition that celebrates the big goofball of a cycling angel that Pete was...

#wsgfabr #bemorepete #youareloved

A weather-worn Hello Kitty sticker remains, years on.




All bases covered.


On Das Kettler...
Pluses: Full suspension. Its Sachs hub had the gearing in 1st to haul its "gossamer" weight up the sharp climbs.
Neutral: The plump Schwalbe Marathon HS420's didn't have the best tread pattern for this surface but didn't slip much. (Fyi, 30 PSI rear, 28 PSI front, as low as I dared go.)
Minuses: "Gossamer" weight = 42 lbs. And a slightly worn coaster brake was no fun on gravel downhills. It was tough to modulate and balance with the front brake. So I didn't go charging back the other way as I originally intended.

[consularrider]

So yesterday...I decided to go for a classically Stupid Bike Ride, to honor the legend of Pete Beers. Three years ago, I made a pilgrimage to this site by taking a road bike on Lake Accotink's mountain bike trail. Today, I took Das Kettler. I will let you decide which bike was more out-of-place. The bikes & I lived to tell the tale. ("Well that's no fun!")

The impromptu shrine remains, and now has an addition that celebrates the big goofball of a cycling angel that Pete was...

#wsgfabr #bemorepete #youareloved

A weather-worn Hello Kitty sticker remains, years on.




All bases covered.


On Das Kettler...
Pluses: Full suspension. Its Sachs hub had the gearing in 1st to haul its "gossamer" weight up the sharp climbs.
Neutral: The plump Schwalbe Marathon HS420's didn't have the best tread pattern for this surface but didn't slip much. (Fyi, 30 PSI rear, 28 PSI front, as low as I dared go.)
Minuses: "Gossamer" weight = 42 lbs. And a slightly worn coaster brake was no fun on gravel downhills. It was tough to modulate and balance with the front brake. So I didn't go charging back the other way as I originally intended.

I rode Pete's Tour of Alaska on Wednesday, the only marker when I went by the site was the worn Hello Kitty sticker that Hoofnagle put on the downhill warning sign. The ribbon around the post must have been added later.

[lordofthemark]

Idea. Suppose the ask was NOT a sign saying "Pete Beers Bridge" but a sign with the quote "We should all go for a bike ride - Pete Beers" so not implying naming the bridge. The only issue would be NVRPA's signage policy, rather than naming policy(and no need to for VDOT or ArlCo involvment)? Would this be an easier ask?

[Steve O]

As anyone who has worked in a bureaucracy knows, sometimes bureaucrats themselves do work arounds when bureaucracy is too burdensome, and that does not necessarily mean dispensing with the valuable parts. It is in fact what keeps bureaucracies working. I believe perhaps it was Harvey Mansfield either quoting or paraphrasing Machivelli "a conspiracy against the law to save the law" Pardon if I misrember, this was 1977.

I would say one next step might be finding out which agency removed the signs? Another would be informal outreach to some friendly folks at NVRPA or elsewhere.

These are fine ideas. Who wants to take them on?