Commute & Transpo
-
Friday Coffee Club Turns Three
Today we celebrated three years since that first tweet from Felkerino introducing Friday Coffee Club, a weekly D.C. meetup of commuting cyclists around the area. Three full years, and we’re still meeting and enjoying morning beverages together. I don’t want to overanalyze the reasons why people continue to come to Friday Coffee Club, but I’ll throw a few thoughts onto… Continue reading
-
Combating Cynicism Through Active Commutes
Today I was reading David Foster Wallace’s commencement speech “This is Water.” In it, he addresses the theme of selfishness, as well as the tedious aspects of adult life and how we all construct and view our life experiences. Our challenge, he says, is to step outside ourselves, take an active role in interpreting our surroundings, and… Continue reading
-
Giving Thanks for Bike Rides
Ten years ago I began life as a daily bike rider, after years of mass transit and more driving than I care to remember. My bike was my tour guide, encouraging me to explore and familiarize myself with the city. Because of bike rides, I gained physical strength and confidence. Continue reading
-
“Bikes” All The Go: From 1904 to 2014
Two weeks ago, I attended “Pedaling Through History: A Look at Cycling Collections Across the Library of Congress,” a one-day exhibit at the Library of Congress. I learned about it via Rambling Rider so hat tip to her and all those fancy things people say. “Pedaling Through History” was a compact display full of ye olde treasure.… Continue reading
-
Washington, D.C. Bike Commute Scrapbook
What a week. Four sparkling summer days, top notch training, and a ride along with a friend on a couple of days, too. I celebrated the end of my Bike Friday Tikit field trips to Northwest D.C. with a photo safari on today’s ride home, in part to stretch out my time in the afternoon… Continue reading
-
@SharrowsDC Ride Along in #BikeDC
As a child, I spent part of my summer days taking swimming lessons. My sister and I would walk with Jeff, the neighbor boy, to the bus that would take us to our swimming lessons in the town seven miles down the road. I did not like swimming lessons, but I enjoyed the walk to and from the bus.… Continue reading
-
Switching It Up: Bike Friday Tikit Commutes
Last week someone asked me how many bikes I own. I generally deflect this question because anyone who is surrounded by bad influences (I’m looking at you, Felkerino) and has the money can purchase multiple bikes. So I have more than one bike, but do not consider it any sort of accomplishment. That said, the… Continue reading
-
Bike Commute Hoarder
Lifehacker recently posted an article called the Cycling Commuter’s Daily Bag that essentially emptied out a bike commuter’s pannier. Curious, I looked through the items listed and the accompanying photos. The number of items this person carried to her job was shocking. The article did not go into the mileage of the woman’s daily commute, but during… Continue reading
-
Unexpected Triumph on a Double Hairpin
You know those people who say “My favorite part of my day is my bike commute?” Yeah, I bet you do. They’re giving me a headache. Continue reading
-
Alex Baca Farewell Tour #leftandleaving
Over the past week I’ve been thinking about our #bikeDC friend, Alex Baca, who has left D.C. (for now, at least) for a new opportunity San Francisco. As part of Alex’s farewell activities, of which there appeared to be several, some of us coordinated an “Alex Baca Farewell Tour.” The weather even cooperated to bring… Continue reading
-
Our House, In the Middle of Our Street
Whenever we hop on our bikes, we not only expose ourselves to all sorts of elements, but we also come face to face with other bike riders. Despite that, riders do not tend to talk to one another. We share space, but generally our only apparent common goal is coming and going each day from home to work… Continue reading
-
Cherry Blossom Farewell: Petals, Puddles, and Pavement
One of my favorite times in Washington, D.C., is when the cherry blossoms reach out to say hello to all of us. Another is when these delicate petals fall, leaving a textured pink layer over grass and pavement. Continue reading
-
Flow Like Water
The fleeting pink and white blossoms cover the city. Sun shines and spring breezes blow. Families and field trips congregate on our sidewalks. And hey, how about those tour buses! Yes, it’s cherry blossompalooza in Washington, D.C. In previous years I dreaded this scenario. But thanks to my regular midday runs that have exposed me to this… Continue reading
-
#BikeDC Meets #BikeNYC IRL: Dmitry Gudkov
Tuesday, the mighty social networking tool known as Twitter paved the internets to an in real life (IRL) encounter with photographer Dmitry Gudkov. Among other projects, Dmitry is the photographer behind #BikeNYC, a dynamic series of portraits of the people who ride bikes in New York City. Through it I have learned about the people of the… Continue reading
-
Winter Run on a D.C. Snow(man) Day!
After yesterday’s dumping of snow over Washington, D.C. many schools and businesses, including my employer, declared a snow day. Yahoo! I fuel up on espresso, throw on my Gore-Tex Salomons, and hit the road. Snow days allow me to be a tourist in my own city. This “found time” frees me, and I can pad about… Continue reading
-
D.C. Iced Over
A week of freezing weather fostered some icy ambience in the city. We’ve all been out taking cell phone pictures of the Potomac River’s icy overlay on our bike commutes. Continue reading
-
Friday Coffee Club Turns Two
Can you believe it? Two full years of Friday Coffee Club. Thanks to Felkerino for starting it all, and to #bikeDC for keeping it going strong. Happy 2nd Anniversary, Friday Coffee Club! Photo credit to Felkerino for the top two pics. Continue reading
-
How Did I Get Here?
And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack And you may find yourself in another part of the world And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife And you may ask yourself Well…How did I get… Continue reading
-
The Big Confusing Dilemma of What to Wear While Bike Riding Around Town
When I rode my bike as a child I did not give much thought to the clothing I would wear while riding it. Have bike. Wearing clothes. Shoelaces tied. Will travel. Remember those days? Fast forward a few decades and what to wear while biking has become much more wrought. Currently, there are a couple… Continue reading
-
Commute Essentials: Klean Kanteen Cages
A few years ago I began commuting with steel Klean Kanteen bottles. I liked using the steel bottles, but because Klean Kanteens are narrower in circumfrence than a standard plastic water bottle and I use stainless steel cages almost exclusively, the metal on metal made the Kanteens rattle away on city streets like nobody’s business. I… Continue reading
-
Friday Coffee Club: Big Bicycling Edition
One of the reasons I love living in Washington, D.C., is because it is a destination city. Every day my path intersects with tourists who are out and about, taking in the sights, and most often blissfully oblivious to my bike bell. Today, as Felkerino and I enjoyed our pre-work morning at Friday Coffee Club… Continue reading
-
Anticipation: a Bike Commuter’s Friend
Do you ever have commutes where you feel like you are in the middle of an urban obstacle course? Dodge this! Veer around that! Watch out for the crazy driver! No one is following the rules! As I rode through the post-work milieu today, a particularly gorgeous early summer day in the city, I realized… Continue reading
-
Bike Parking in the City: Issues and Etiquette
Bike parking in the city can be a tricky business. Many parts of the city (at least the ones I visit in the District) do not have enough racks to accommodate all the bikes of those who want to park in the area. Bikes get crowded onto racks or, if those are not available, we… Continue reading
-
Velo Orange Mixte Commutes & the Search for the Ideal Bags
Lately I’ve been on a mission to ride all of my bikes more often. This is partially due to needing to clean the Surly LHT as well as change out a tube, but also because if I’m going to own multiple bikes I feel should make the effort to ride them all. The past… Continue reading
-
Friday Coffee Club: On Firsts and Farewells
Friday Coffee Club started when a tweet went out from Felkerino to #BikeDC suggesting a Friday morning rendezvous at Swings Coffee, a local coffeehouse near the White House Plaza. The original edition of Friday Coffee Club looked like this: Continue reading
-
The Pennsylvania Avenue Bike Lane Dilemma
Washington, D.C., welcomed the Pennsylvania Avenue bike lanes to the city in the middle of June 2010. These lanes, as all #BikeDC riders well know, are situated in the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue and run from 3rd to 15th Street Northwest. Pennsylvania Avenue is one of the main thoroughfares of the District, particularly during the… Continue reading
-
What Word Sums Up Your Cycling Experience?
With the D.C. area’s celebration of riding your bike to work known as Bike to Work Day happening this Friday, I’m revisiting some inspiring words from the #BikeDC cyclists I interviewed several months ago. One of several questions I asked of this group was: What word or phrase describes your D.C. bicycling experience? I love… Continue reading
-
The Bike Commuter Code: Part 2
The Bike Commuter Code has spurred a lot of insightful conversations and comments from fellow commuters. Brian, of Tales from the Sharrows, even wrote his own post about my post which you can find here—meta blogging! Thank you to everyone who contributed their ideas. After reading all the tweets, comments and emails I have a clarification… Continue reading
-
The Bike Commuter Code
Having commuted in Washington, D.C., for several years, I’ve noticed that many of us operate under an unwritten set of rules that I’ve been calling the “bike commuter code.” I don’t know where this code originated or if it’s just the way cyclists silently agreed to operate in the city. Distinct to the rules of… Continue reading
Chasing MailBoxes 