CaBi needs to be better known (a little story)

[lordofthemark]

Fairfax folks seem to be unaware of it

So, this Saturday I was in synagogue in Alexandria. It just happened to be the Bat Mitzvah of the daughter of the Mayor of Chicago (whose family attended our synagogue when they lived in Washington – our rabbi is from Chicago). Good idea to have it here, where the kid grew up, rather than in Chicago where the focus might have been more on the Mayor.

Naturally all I said to Rahm was “Mazel Tov”

But I joked with a fellow congregant (who happened to be from Fairfax) that I should have said “and good luck on the bike share rollout”

“bike share?” Blank look.

“Yes, like CaBi, what we have here. Capital Bikeshare”

“Cabi?” Blank look.

Tried the joke on someone else, same result.

Even though I haven’t joined CaBi, its kind of on my radar screen. This reminds me how, in becoming a cyclist, I’ve just entered ANOTHER small group with a marginal culture.

[baiskeli]

@lordofthemark 53884 wrote:

This reminds me how, in becoming a cyclist, I’ve just entered ANOTHER small group with a marginal culture.

AKA civilization.

[Bilsko]

Funny thing is that Gabe Klein was also in town this weekend – any chance he was at that Bat Mitzvah?

[Bilsko]

Marginally related:

I wonder how long before a CaBi shows up docked in NYC….or a CitiBike shows up docked in DC.

[lordofthemark]

@Bilsko 53900 wrote:

Funny thing is that Gabe Klein was also in town this weekend – any chance he was at that Bat Mitzvah?

I am sorry to say I wouldn’t have recognized Mr. Klein.

I also attended Friday night (a bit unusual for me lately, but it was my father’s yahrzeit and I was there to say kaddish (hebrew/yiddish explained on request)) and seeing Rahm my first thought was “Is he here for Chicago business, or to fix things at 1600?” Wasn’t until his daughter got up to say the blessing over wine at the end that I realized it was the eve of her Bat Mitzvah ceremony.

[PotomacCyclist]

@Bilsko 53901 wrote:

Marginally related:

I wonder how long before a CaBi shows up docked in NYC….or a CitiBike shows up docked in DC.

I took a wrong turn on CaBi the other day and suddenly found myself in Philadelphia…

[Tim Kelley]

@Bilsko 53901 wrote:

I wonder how long before a CaBi shows up docked in NYC….or a CitiBike shows up docked in DC.

I was curious about this so I asked around: I think what would happen is that even though the bike and dock/locking mechanism looks the same, the software running the kiosk wouldn’t recognize the bike and you couldn’t dock it. Even if you did manage to dock the bike and get it to lock, since the backend software is completely different (and in no way communicates with the software in other cities) you wouldn’t officially be checking the bike back into the system so you’d get dinged with all the overage fees and after 24 hours the bike would be considered stolen. You’d probably be getting a phone call…

[dasgeh]

@Tim Kelley 53961 wrote:

I was curious about this so I asked around: I think what would happen is that even though the bike and dock/locking mechanism looks the same, the software running the kiosk wouldn’t recognize the bike and you couldn’t dock it. Even if you did manage to dock the bike and get it to lock, since the backend software is completely different (and in no way communicates with the software in other cities) you wouldn’t officially be checking the bike back into the system so you’d get dinged with all the overage fees and after 24 hours the bike would be considered stolen. You’d probably be getting a phone call…

Yeah, but you guys could probably get away with it. It would be a fun little field trip…

[americancyclo]

@Tim Kelley 53961 wrote:

you’d get dinged with all the overage fees and after 24 hours the bike would be considered stolen. You’d probably be getting a phone call…

So if you could manage 11mph, you’d get to DC BEFORE that phone call.

[mstone]

@PotomacCyclist 53936 wrote:

I took a wrong turn on CaBi the other day and suddenly found myself in Philadelphia…

Mehak, is that you?

[mstone]

@americancyclo 53984 wrote:

So if you could manage 11mph, you’d get to DC BEFORE that phone call.

And then you have to get it back. Sounds more like a task for Sisyphus than a fun day.

[lordofthemark]

https://chi.streetsblog.org/2019/05/10/emanuel-discusses-his-plan-to-bicycle-around-lake-michigan-after-he-leaves-office/

[accordioneur]

@lordofthemark 53884 wrote:

(whose family attended our synagogue when they lived in Washington)

It’s like the Air Force One designation. Whatever synagogue the mayor is attending gets designated Temple Emanuel.

[Author]

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