Commute & Transpo
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How Do You Move Through the Stoplights?
Have you ever thought about how much traffic lights influence your commute? I bet you have. Traffic lights might have even figured into how you originally laid out your commute route. I bet you know every single stoplight on your route by heart. You know exactly where it is, and precisely how long it takes… Continue reading
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What’s Your Advice on City Cycling?
With the influx of riders taking to the streets this spring (oh how I’ve dreamed of using the word influx in a post), I thought I’d feature the advice BikeDC peeps have shared about cycling in the city. The BikeDC Speaks interview series featured eight D.C.-area cyclists– six women and two men– and their perspectives… Continue reading
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How to Make the City a Better Place for Cyclists
As I wrote last week, I’m bringing back the BikeDC Speaks series to highlight some of the questions and issues it raised. This time, I’m also asking you to share your ideas and suggestions. Last week’s post asked about the best advice anyone ever gave you about cycling. This week’s question is: What could the… Continue reading
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Blossomwatch 2013!
On March 20 of last year, the cherry blossoms peaked in Washington, D.C., and by this time of the month only the most stalwart of flowers clung to the trees. That is far from the case this time around, where the tourists have arrived in droves to appreciate the blossoms that have yet to cover… Continue reading
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What’s the Best Advice Anyone Gave You about Cycling?
Back in the fall, I put together a series that explored D.C.-area cyclists’ views and experiences about riding in the city. #BikeDC Speaks featured 8 local cyclists– six women and two men. Some contributors began commuting regularly within the last year or two while others have commuted for several years. Thanks again to all the people… Continue reading
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Errandonnee Rewind: Eric P. of BikeDC Becomes a Utility Cyclist
As my blog staff compiles results, I’m taking a few posts to share some Errandonnee participants’ adventures who chose to share their stories, not through Twitter or blogs, but through their control card or narratives. This week features BikeDC friend and errandeur Eric P., who tells a lively story of how the Errandonnee helped foster… Continue reading
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The Politics of Bike Parking at Work
I recently began a new job, and my lovely setup of parking my bike in my office is no more. I now work in a cube and have no space to park a bike. I could use my Tikit or Dahon folder, but I have not put the time in to make either of them… Continue reading
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Winter Weather: Testing Your Mettle and Your Wardrobe
It is unusual for D.C. to go into the deep freeze, but it happened this week. We’re experiencing the coldest weather we’ve had since March 2009, according to Capital Weather Gang. Given that we seldom have snow or ice during the winter months, the cold and wind are the primary deterrents to riding, as opposed… Continue reading
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Inauguration Weekend & Pennsylvania Avenue Bike Lanes
The city is almost ready for Inauguration Day. Yesterday I tried to capture the final preparations from a perspective slightly higher than ground level. On my commute home I took the Pennsylvania Avenue bike lanes in order to see the Art of Weiwei projection on the exterior of the Newseum. This is only on display from… Continue reading
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The Wheel of Influence
Why did you start riding a bicycle? Who are the people that influenced you? I’ve been giving these questions heavy consideration as I think about the reasons that I started to ride and continue to do so today, especially when I see the numbers showing how few people ride bikes. While the data I’ve come… Continue reading
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D.C. Commute Scenes: Getting Ready
It’s been a while since my last “D.C. Commute Scenes” post. Guess everything became routine landscape the past few months. Not lately, though. Right now, big things are happening right here in Washington, D.C. (Insert snide comment here if you feel like doing so.) The city is rapidly preparing for the presidential inauguration. People are out… Continue reading
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Employers: Setting the Tone for Bike Commuters
Since I began commuting nine years ago, I’ve worked for three four different employers. All have been located within five miles of my residence at the time, and that short distance encouraged me to leave the Metro behind and either bike or walk to work. Now I exclusively bike or walk to my office, something… Continue reading
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Giving Thanks for Good Stories
I hope you have been enjoying the Coffeeneuring Rewind posts as much as I have. I’m learning so much about the places people visited, coffeeneurs’ beverage preferences, and assessments of the beverages served. I also have a growing database of coffeeneuring destinations in various parts of the country. This week, I took a small break… Continue reading
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I Voted… In My Socks
Today was Election Day, and like a good citizen who believes in our democratic process, I rode over to my D.C. polling place after work to cast my vote. I parked my bike in the rock star parking zone right outside the community center and walked in to cast my vote. As I stood in… Continue reading
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My Washington D.C. Neighborhood, Post-Sandy
It’s been a dramatic couple of days here. High winds, rain, and perpetual monitoring of the Weather Channel with one eye while looking apprehensively out the window with the other as tropical storm Sandy pelted our region. Fortunately, the area where I reside did not lose power and damage to our immediate area does not… Continue reading
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Commute Trade-Offs: Safety
Seldom does a commute not involve some kind of trade-off. Bike commuters are often dealing with compromises, and my sense of safety is often one of those. Take yesterday, for example. I had to run an errand out in Bethesda. The first half of it had to be via car (Booooo. That’s a compromise already!).… Continue reading
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Get On the Sidewalk!
Most days, riding my bike is one of the most pleasurable activities of my day. Fresh air, exercise, breeze on my face, and pride in my mode of transport abound. Every once in a while, though, something happens to disrupt these moments of reverie. Like yesterday, for example, when I was riding to dinner with… Continue reading
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Bike Commute Guide: The Essentials
Today I’m talking commute basics, as somebody recently asked me what to keep in mind when making the transition to bike commuting. It took me back to when I dusted off my old Ross mountain bike and said to myself, “Metro no more. I’m going to make this bike commute thing happen.” Happily, it wasn’t a tough transition to… Continue reading
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Baseball Will Break Your Heart, but Coffeeneuring Won’t
What a weekend! The Nationals came so close, but could not eek out a place in the next round of post-season play. What’s a coffeeneur to do but shed a few tears, get on the bike, and go for a latte? That’s what I did. Felkerino, Ultrarunnergirl, and Mr. Ultrarunnergirl coaxed me out the door. The sunny… Continue reading
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You Wear a Helmet, Don’t You?
Helmet use is an evergreen topic widely debated by cyclists and non-cyclists everywhere. Conclusion? No one agrees and this debate will rage until the end of days. I decided to jot down a post about helmet use yesterday, when talking to a friend as I prepared to leave my building on my bike. Somebody walked by and… Continue reading
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BikeWrappers: Review and Giveaway
With the arrival of fall, night creeps in a little earlier to push out the daylight. Time to think about nighttime riding and making yourself even more visible to traffic. While a head- and tail-light are critical for rides after dark, there are other accessories worth considering for your bike, too. A couple of months… Continue reading
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Bicycles are Not Cars: Girl on a Bike on #BikeDC Speaks
We’re back for the final installment of the #BikeDC Speaks series. If you ride in the D.C. area and do any blog reading or tweeting, you have probably heard of Girl on a Bike, aka Kate. A regular commuter and excellent blogger, Kate regularly participates in a lot of local #BikeDC events. I’m thrilled that… Continue reading
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Getting Comfortable in the Saddle
One of my blog readers, Trish, recently asked the following question about comfort in the saddle: I searched your blog to see if I could find your thoughts on comfort in the saddle, which is my biggest obstacle to long rides. I’ve been doing metric centuries every weekend, but beyond that I think my rear… Continue reading
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The National Bike Challenge and Teams Friday Coffee Club
You may or may not know this, but the National Bike Challenge happened. The goal of the challenge was to get more people out riding their bikes and logging their miles. The League of American Bicyclists, Bikes Belong, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, and Endomondo sponsored the three-month event, which took place from June 1-August 31. Specifically, the… Continue reading
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Using Shared Infrastructure Sharingly: Chris on #BikeDC Speaks
After several weeks of #BikeDC Speaks posts from the women of the #BikeDC community, we are back this week with a guy’s point of view on riding in the D.C. area. Chris is another familiar face from #FridayCoffeeClub and, if you ride along MacArthur Avenue, you may spot him there as well. During his years of commuting… Continue reading
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Getting Better All the Time: Leslie T. on #BikeDC Speaks
Leslie T., superhero transportation cyclist, and I go way back to the days I first began riding with the D.C. Randonneurs. If there is a way to get there by bike, Leslie will figure out it. When work requires her to travel, she takes a bike along. Vacation? It usually involves a bike. Getting around… Continue reading
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Making Yourself Part of the City: Laura M. on #BikeDC Speaks
Time for another edition of #BikeDC Speaks. This week’s post is brought to us by D.C. bike commuter and transportation cyclist Laura M., also known as @grafxnerd on the Twitterverse. Twitter and the magical #BikeDC hashtag is how I first “met” her! Laura has a keen eye for detail which is not only apparent in… Continue reading
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Freedom!: Ultrarunnergirl on #BikeDC Speaks
Kirstin, aka Ultrarunnergirl, is one of the many great people I’ve met through #FridayCoffeeClub (which you should think about attending, if you do not already). As her blog suggests, Kirstin is an ultrarunner as well as a cyclist, and is one of few people I know who also run commutes when she’s not out bike… Continue reading
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Don’t Overthink It: #BikeDC Speaks to Joan O.
Now that the big vacation has ended, #BikeDC Speaks has returned to the front page! This week features a guest post from Joan O., a transportation and recreational cyclist who calls Arlington, Virginia, home. I’ve gotten to know Joan from seeing her out and about on some of the same roads I regularly travel. She’s… Continue reading
Chasing MailBoxes 