Bike to Work Day: The Discussion

[Woody]

FOUND: Illuminite jacket

[Tim Kelley]

Here are a few highlights from Rosslyn: http://www.commuterpageblog.com/2011/05/bike-to-work-day-2011-rosslyn-photo-recap.html

[JustinW]

Stopped @ the Conte’s pitstop / Ballston – just down the street from work. Lots of bikers there @ 8:30-ish, lots of happy and agreeable staff to distribute goodies to the boys and girls, and even the Chik-Fil-a (?) cow suit dude. Plus coffee and bagels from Java Shack. Jay Fisette was pressing the flesh and aiming for biking cred. Compared to previous years, the range of ages of attendees was notable (makes me not feel *so* old anymore). Great event, and really nice to see even more folks out on bikes than usual. Barvo WABA + BikeArlington!

[WillStewart]

@JustinW 3754 wrote:

Stopped @ the Conte’s pitstop / Ballston – just down the street from work. Lots of bikers there @ 8:30-ish, lots of happy and agreeable staff to distribute goodies to the boys and girls, and even the Chik-Fil-a (?) cow suit dude. Plus coffee and bagels from Java Shack. Jay Fisette was pressing the flesh and aiming for biking cred. Compared to previous years, the range of ages of attendees was notable (makes me not feel *so* old anymore). Great event, and really nice to see even more folks out on bikes than usual. Barvo WABA + BikeArlington!

I registered for the Ballston stop and took a quick look at the map, which made it look like it was at the Ballston Commons Mall. Rode around and never found it. Came back and zoomed in on the map and Conte’s it was indeed (I was 1/2 a block away at one point, didn’t look South).

I’d bet they’d get 3-4 times as many people if they set up the pit stop close to the Ballston Metro.

[skreaminquadz]

@CasualBiker2011 3743 wrote:

My first BTWD! My office just moved to a new space right off the W&OD and I’ve been talking about riding to work, but never did. My goal is 2-3 days a week. I loved it today, everyone was smiling. I stopped at the pit stop in Merrifield and made out like a bandit! Water bottles, coupons and breakfast. About a dozen folks waiting at the Gallows Road crossing, more than I’ve seen on a nice weekend. Great fun!

Awesome – and welcome. It’s great to read posts like this. Enjoy the ride home!

[PotomacCyclist]

@Brock 3741 wrote:

I swung by BicycleSPACE on my way to Freedom Plaza, then grabbed breakfast at my local stop, NoMa – I work from home, so on Bike to Work Day I just go make a big circle.

My favorite part: saw a tall bike here in NoMa. I’m not sure where he was going, but I’ll bet that’s not his daily ride.

Do you mean the penny-farthing guy? I saw him riding on the Mt. Vernon Trail last summer. Apparently he rode that bike at the Air Force Cycling Classic-Crystal Ride last year. It’s possible that it really is his daily ride.

[PotomacCyclist]

@txgoonie 3733 wrote:

I saw the EMTs going down there with a stretcher and was sincerely hoping that’s not what it was:( Didn’t wanna be a looky-loo or somehow in the way, so I took the alternate street route. Hope all is okay.

Crystal City Pit Stop. Props to the CC BID for upping the ante and being out there all week.

Any idea when we find out who won those free bike jerseys? The top 50 riders this week get a Crystal Ride bike jersey. I missed one day so I’m a little worried that I dropped out of the top 50. (I don’t even know how often I’ll wear the jersey, but I still wouldn’t mind winning one. Hey, I get competitive about these things.)

A lot more people there today than on the other days this week. I took advantage of the bike mechanics tent and had the derailleur cables on my mountain bike adjusted.

It would be interesting to have something like this once a month during the spring and summer.

[Greenbelt]

Bike to work day 2011:
[video=vimeo;24019241]http://www.vimeo.com/24019241[/video]

[DaveK]

@PotomacCyclist 3758 wrote:

Do you mean the penny-farthing guy? I saw him riding on the Mt. Vernon Trail last summer. Apparently he rode that bike at the Air Force Cycling Classic-Crystal Ride last year. It’s possible that it really is his daily ride.

There’s a p-far often locked up in our garage bike room at my office. Not going to name names but I’ll bet it’s the very same. I’ve also been behind someone on the CCT riding a p-far on his cell phone.

[Brock]

@PotomacCyclist 3758 wrote:

Do you mean the penny-farthing guy? I saw him riding on the Mt. Vernon Trail last summer. Apparently he rode that bike at the Air Force Cycling Classic-Crystal Ride last year. It’s possible that it really is his daily ride.

Nope, more like this: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2ClsUlay59Q/TSUV85HUnNI/AAAAAAAABkQ/–87S7Fyxkw/s1600/tall-bike.jpg&imgrefurl=http://pinatavalentines.blogspot.com/2011/01/what-up-with-that-gigantor-bike-edition.html&usg=__cswhqmOqtb-8FmWl4Fx5I82fM0A=&h=339&w=275&sz=26&hl=en&start=0&sig2=ZzERltI1lkKHarUQ6z_m5A&zoom=1&tbnid=HoOHEmiwfsGO4M:&tbnh=154&tbnw=125&ei=d7nWTcT9HsrpgAfd3cmnBw&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dtall%2Bbike%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DX%26biw%3D1232%26bih%3D683%26tbm%3Disch%26prmd%3Divns&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=810&vpy=283&dur=2147&hovh=249&hovw=202&tx=99&ty=90&sqi=2&page=1&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:10,s:0

[txgoonie]

@PotomacCyclist 3759 wrote:

Any idea when we find out who won those free bike jerseys? The top 50 riders this week get a Crystal Ride bike jersey. I missed one day so I’m a little worried that I dropped out of the top 50. (I don’t even know how often I’ll wear the jersey, but I still wouldn’t mind winning one. Hey, I get competitive about these things.)

A lot more people there today than on the other days this week. I took advantage of the bike mechanics tent and had the derailleur cables on my mountain bike adjusted.

It would be interesting to have something like this once a month during the spring and summer.

Nice idea!

As far as the jerseys go, I too missed the first day. (Even though I did ride in that day, I took the street route, which doesn’t cross the Waterpark, and I just plain forgot about it.) Anyway, I talked to the CC dudes and got the impression there weren’t that many people there on Monday, maybe 20. So, you very well may still be in the money if you hit 4 days.

[Justin Antos]

Great video! I was the guy who walked by with a cup of coffee and an unnecessarily-skeptical look at 3:48. I blame the lack of caffeine up to that point. nice setup!

[JimF22003]

I hit the pitstop in Tysons about 7:30 this morning. I actually had to go a little “extra” to get to it, since my office is right where Gallows crosses Rt 7. I haven’t ridden on Int’l Drive before, especially during rush hour, so that was an adventure… Only a couple of other riders were there when i got there, but the folks at the booths were all great. I even won a prize, which was a choice from the box o’ goodies. I picked up another inner tube. Can’t get enough of those

[Riley Casey]

Greenbelt makes me feel really unhappy about not taking at least a few seconds of iPhone video at the Silver Spring pit stop at the Discovery Plaza. Everyone there was in such a great mood. Smiles everywhere, people singing along with the DJ, a mom getting some adjustments done to her daughters bike by the folks from Silver Cycles. Whole Foods giving away fruit and power bars without any sort of mega advertising presence ( shocking ). Lots of bikes, lots of energy, a much higher turn out women compared to last year it seemed ( not a scientific sampling ). A larger commuter bike presence as compared to road & tour bikes at least for the 15 minute window I was there. My office fronts on the street that the CCT exits on to at the Silver Spring end and the number of riders was much higher in the afternoon. A great BTWD.

[winlock]

I need to share a sobering story from bike to work day. My wife and I were heading out for dinner in Fairfax around 7pm last night, when we witnessed a truck literally run over a cyclist. The cyclist was going west on Rte 236, and the truck pulled out from a side street near Burke Station Rd without seeing him, possibly because he was on his phone. We were first on the scene before the ambulance arrived and it was terrible. The young man in his 20’s was screaming in pain from the tire tracks on his back, and we tried to keep him still. There were bits of his purple bike to work shirt rubbed into the pavement. We are hopeful that he will recover, since he could move his legs and remained conscious. However it was beyond sobering, as we have contemplated biking to work many times. As a civil engineer, I am going to renew my efforts to create safe bike lanes, and hopefully can still find the courage to get out there on my bike. Drivers please wake up and realize the life and death responsibility here.

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