biking dc

Snow!

2010-02-10T03:11:00.000-08:00

Snowpocalypse in full effect. First picture is looking south down 14th St from Clifton. Notice the stragglers wandering through the roads and the line of buried cars to the left. Pretend its ash falling and one of the men is Viggo Mortensen. Second picture is looking up 18th St in Adams Morgan. Right after I took this a cab tried to pull out and got stuck sideways in the middle of the road, blocking a plow. Fail. Third pic was on the walk over towards Dupont. There are trees down all over the place. Lastly, the Real World house is looking ever so cold, lifeless, and empty, yet still haunted by the throbbing ghost of Andrew's sexual frustration.

Hain's Point

2009-11-06T17:03:00.000-08:00

Bought some new tools last week and got the fleet back up running strong. They weather has been good for riding. Nice and cool. Did some laps down at Hain's Point on Wednesday. That place is funny. It attracts the see-and-be-seen types as well as the POWER CYCLISTS! which are often an overlapping category. The weird thing is that so many people drive there to ride their bike. Wtf? Just bike there you lazy asses. You're going to do like 90 laps anyways, so the distance can't be the problem. Anyways it's still always fun, and a great place to watch the sunset on the water after a ride.

biking walking dc

2009-10-21T09:17:00.000-07:00

I think I need to rename this blog to 'walking DC' since that has been my only mode of transport the past few days.

Equipment Failure

2009-10-19T19:03:00.000-07:00

Alas, my bicycle is broken. Actually several of my bikes are broken, and I've lent my only working one out to a friend who crashed and broke his in half after hitting a divet in the road left by construction work. Anyways, I somehow lost a nut that holds the crank to the bottom bracket, producing the crippling effect of my crank falling off while I was riding. I didn't exactly see it coming, but I knew something was coming. I had that feeling of dread induced by the subtle, yet progressively worrying change in how it was handling.

At least the rain stopped, so my walk down New Hampshire will be a dry one tomorrow morning.

Rain.

2009-10-17T15:47:00.001-07:00

Is this rain ever going to stop? It's been raining about four days straight now, and it's supposed to rain tomorrow as well. Walking around with a wet ass from the water flicking off my wheel is getting old quickly.

Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Rad Cyclist

2009-10-09T07:39:00.000-07:00

Wow, more big news this morning. Congrats to Obama for winning the Nobel Peace Price, you know, no big deal. Pic HIGHLY related.

RIP Ben

2009-10-08T18:25:00.000-07:00

I just heard Ben Ali died last night. I was in Ben's Chili Bowl last night too, and nothing seemed amiss. They probably didn't even know yet.

Bummer.

Bike Lanes.

2009-10-08T15:46:00.000-07:00

Here's a map DDOT puts out of DC's bike lanes. This is a pretty good resource for someone planning their commute. In reality though, DC's bike lanes are pretty meh. They seem to start and stop at random points, and bike lanes that actually cut across town are few and far in between. I think they should bike lane-etize more of the state streets. Many of those are how people actually travel across town or come into the city. Bike lanes on some of these artery streets would make it safer for the people that brave them every day and encourage more to do the same.

My Top Candidates:
Rhode Island Ave
Florida Ave
Massachusetts Ave
Maryland Ave
Pennsylvania Ave

DC needs more bike lanes, and not just bullshit ones like on New Jersey Ave by Capitol South metro. That things like 4 feet long.

2009-10-07T20:31:00.000-07:00

The annual Bike DC event is coming up on Oct. 17th. Car-free biking at it's finest. Seems like a good introduction to biking in the city. It also appears that they managed to get part of the GW Parkway closed for cyclists. Biking down the GW Parkway just seems like it would be really fun. I am intent on someday realizing my dream of biking around the beltway.

Just kidding, the beltway is for commuter suckers.

Bike House

2009-10-07T11:53:00.000-07:00

Something wrong with your wheels?

For the mechanically disinclined, a banged up bike often means an end to the fun. Especially if you're broke. Fortunately, theres still time to visit the Bike House this season (Saturdays 12-3pm) for some help. This community-based bicycle repair group will help you figure out and fix what's wrong with your wheels.

This is a great idea. Especially for the chronic DIY type like me.

-Thanks to Emily for letting me know about this.

Luke-warm off the presses...

2009-10-07T07:52:00.000-07:00

Here's a Washington Post article on the sad state of DC's bike messenger industry. Post-9/11 security and digital filing of documents have taken their toll on our cities favorite professional cyclists.

This City Paper article on helmet use in DC is worth reading. Wearing a helmet sucks but I still do it as much as possible. The idea of my head doing this on the concrete does not appeal to me.

Riding on the Sidewalk

2009-10-06T18:35:00.000-07:00

I made this blog, in part, to offer suggestions to people new to or thinking about biking in DC as a primary mode of transportation. DC attracts a lot of transplants and interns. If you are one of these people, biking is a great way to see and familiarize oneself with a beautiful city. However, I'd like to offer a couple tips.

Suggestion #1: Stay off the Sidewalk.

Ahh, the sidewalk. The comforting pavement of the pedestrian. Seemingly innocuous, the sidewalk actually begins to hate you as soon as you step onto a bike. While the flows of traffic in the street may seem daunting, sidewalks and crosswalks are even worse. It's even illegal to be on the sidewalk downtown (golden triangle area) but I've never seen it be enforced. Pedestrians + vehicles backing up/parking/exiting parking structures at rapid speed + irregular pavement = bad news for you. While all these are hazards, the worst part is navigating a crosswalk.

I have had contact with cars three times in the past year. Two of them were in a crosswalk. Cars in the right lane of traffic routinely pull right into the crosswalk with their eyes on oncoming vehicles to their left. You don't want to be in the crosswalk when this happens. In fact, cars pull into the crosswalk all the time. You never know where exactly a vehicle is going to stop.

The reason crosswalks are so dangerous for bikers is that (1) drivers are generally NOT looking for them and (2) bikes move much faster than pedestrians.

I was hit and knocked down by a van in a crosswalk by a driver attempting to make a left turn in April this year. I had a walk signal and was leisurely pedaling through the crosswalk, when he rolled right through me.

While I had the legal right of way, I made two crucial mistakes here that left me on the pavement.

1. Riding on the sidewalk.
2. Failure to make eye-contact with the driver.

In situations of ambiguity, always try to make eye contact with the driver. This will let you know whether the driver sees you. Eye contact is a great method of opening a line of communication with a driver and getting a good idea of what the hell they're doing.

Suggestion #2: Beware Maryland/Virginia plates while biking in DC.

DC is a city full of people that have no idea how to drive in DC. The wonderful sprawling suburbs of Montgomery, Howard, and PG counties in Maryland raise and nourish thousands of drivers that often find themselves driving through the district with no idea of what they're doing or where they are going. These people generally are often entirely overwhelmed when driving in DC from the one-ways, cramped lanes, high pedestrian density, and complicated street layout. Accustomed to the spacious and well designed roads of Montgomery County's suburbs, they are often frustrated by the slower pace of traffic in DC and tend to accelerate/brake/change lanes erratically. This population are the major offenders in terms of stopping in the middle of crosswalks at lights. In many areas of Montgomery County and other exurbs, pedestrians are much rarer and the sanctity of the crosswalk is routinely violated.

Therefore, be aware of the drivers around you. Maryland/Virginia drivers often suck at driving in the city, so give them some berth. Especially when pulling up next to one at a red light- you never know if they may suddenly try to make a turn as the light changes right through you. Remember: Eye contact!

Here is a great site for understanding common hazards for cyclists in the city. Check out "Collision Type #3: The Crosswalk Slam" for more detailed information on why you should stay off the sidewalk.

Oh, and don't be put off if a driver goes by you and yells "GET ON THE SIDEWALK!". They just as routinely yell "FAGGOT!!". Ignore them. God sends these people to hell. They are generally the worst of the MD/VA drivers and are entirely unaware of DC's biking laws.

You have equal rights to the road.

Bike! Bike!

2009-10-06T18:05:00.000-07:00

The purpose of this blog is to promote and highlight issues related to biking in DC.