bike commuting
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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
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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
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Summer Commutes on the Velo Orange Mixte
I tend to have an overall preference for diamond frames, and never considered myself a mixte sort of person. However, a couple of years ago Velo Orange was selling off a batch of their mixte frames at the attractive price of $300 so I mixed up the bike stable by adding a mixte to it.… 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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Cycling-Specific Commentary: Ride Safe!
If you regularly ride a bike, you know that people will say some weird stuff to you. Stuff they wouldn’t say if you were, say, walking. Or, let’s say, in a car. This week, the phrase I kept hearing whenever I left my office with my bike in tow was “Ride safe!” Me: “Have a… 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
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#BikeDC Speaks to Lisa S.: Growing Up as a Cyclist
What better way to send us into the 4th of July holiday than with another edition of BikeDC Speaks? This week features Lisa S., who I know through randonneuring and Friday Coffee Club, our weekly bike commuter gathering at Swings. Lisa also writes an engaging blog, Rambling Rider, about her rides as well as the… Continue reading
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The Perfect Commuter Bike: my Surly Long Haul Trucker
Recently, I took a break from riding my Surly Long Haul Trucker because it was just too dirty to ride. Every time I touched the bike I deposited dirt somewhere on my person. I washed it over the weekend (OK, Felkerino washed it over the weekend) and now it’s too clean to ride. In the… Continue reading
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It’s Life Changing: Marc M. on #BikeDC Speaks
This week I’m launching a series of guest posts called “BikeDC Speaks.” And I don’t mean “Passing on your left.” We’re going beyond that. This series explores local cyclists’ thoughts and views about their bicycling experiences in the D.C. area. My first post features Marc M., a fellow Tweep and FridayCoffeeClub regular. Thanks so much,… Continue reading
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The Evolution of a Transportation and Recreational Cyclist
Today as I rode home listening to my chain plead loudly for me to lube it, I thought back to my return to cycling as an adult. I had used my bike some for transportation in college, but after graduating and moving to Des Moines, Iowa, I essentially stopped cycling and drove most places even… Continue reading
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Bike to Work Day and #FridayCoffeeClub
This past Friday, the D.C. area celebrated Bike to Work Day. We had perfect sunny weather and only a hint of cool air in the morning so lots and lots of people (over 12,000, according to some reports) took advantage of the bike holiday. I don’t know how those numbers compare to the regular commute… Continue reading
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That Sign on Ohio Drive. BIG SIGH
For the past month or so, the National Park Service has kindly placed a brightly lit sign on the northeast side of Potomac Park (by Hains Point) that “encourages” cyclists to stop at intersections. Specifically it says this: “Bicyclists must obey traffic LAWS.” For a while, the Park Police were stopping cyclists who rode through… Continue reading
Chasing MailBoxes 