Spring again. Another year of roadies on Hains Point, tour buses, high school classes on the National Mall, and wait!
What’s that? Something’s different this year.
This spring also features Capital Bikeshare tourists. I saw this group as I rode by the Jefferson Memorial on Ohio Drive ealier this week. What a great way to tour the city!
I came upon another group in the 15th Street bike lane, heading toward the White House, but I wasn’t quite as enthusiastic about them. They were riding about 8 miles per hour, and I was running late for work. Hurry up, tourists!
However, I much prefer the Washington, D.C., visitors when they traverse on foot or by bike as opposed to tour buses (where they hopelessly clog up the sidewalks) or cars.
You can cover so much more ground by bike than by foot. CaBi allows riders to rent a bike for $5 for one day or $15 for five days of use. Because riders still have to pay any hourly fees they incur after the initial 30-minutes of riding, I recommend tourists study the Bikeshare map before getting on their bikes.
Due to so many of the sites being located on National Park Service land sans Bikeshare stations, there’s an art to planning a D.C. day tour that allows you to easily pick up and drop off a bike.
It’s fun to pedal around town, but you may want to go into a museum or check out something that requries walking. You don’t want to leave the CaBi bike unsecured. Plus, you know how those hourly charges add up.
People will figure it out, though, just like the guys in this photo are doing. Go tourists, go! Welcome to Washington, D.C. Thanks for using Bikeshare!
Chasing Mailboxes 