DC Bike Ride – successor to BikeDC?

[Mark Blacknell]

On behalf of WABA, thanks to everyone who came out to ride. And extra thanks to folks like Dana and Kathy who were out there standing around in cold rain all day so the rest of us could enjoy the ride.

On behalf of myself – I think this was a good start to an event that could serve DC well in the future. Yes, lots of logistics lessons to be learned (I think I started shaking my head at what was to come about 2 miles into the ride, as the lanes narrowed). And the kid’s participation and cost of registration/inclusion issues are clearly on the list for next year’s edition. I am generally optimistic about those outcomes.

(The self-selection of pace corralls was interesting. Runners might be used to it, but I’m pretty sure that 95% of people who use bikes have no idea whether or not they could hold a 18mph pace vs. a 12mph pace. I started well up front (as a strategy to avoid the inevitable cluster)(@ry that comes with big ride starts) and had planned to drift back and chat with friends, but as I saw more of the course – yeah, no, we kept on moving. Well, until we hit the police escort, which was rolling along at . . . 14mph. And then stopped b/c the head of the ride was running into the tail. C’est la vie.)

[baiskeli]

@Mark Blacknell 140183 wrote:

On behalf of WABA, thanks to everyone who came out to ride. And extra thanks to folks like Dana and Kathy who were out there standing around in cold rain all day so the rest of us could enjoy the ride.

On behalf of myself – I think this was a good start to an event that could serve DC well in the future. Yes, lots of logistics lessons to be learned (I think I started shaking my head at what was to come about 2 miles into the ride, as the lanes narrowed). And the kid’s participation and cost of registration/inclusion issues are clearly on the list for next year’s edition. I am generally optimistic about those outcomes.

(The self-selection of pace corralls was interesting. Runners might be used to it, but I’m pretty sure that 95% of people who use bikes have no idea whether or not they could hold a 18mph pace vs. a 12mph pace. I started well up front (as a strategy to avoid the inevitable cluster)(@ry that comes with big ride starts) and had planned to drift back and chat with friends, but as I saw more of the course – yeah, no, we kept on moving. Well, until we hit the police escort, which was rolling along at . . . 14mph. And then stopped b/c the head of the ride was running into the tail. C’est la vie.)

It turned out well. I’m glad it’s back.

One option for kids who would be self-propelled (or bigger kid with disabilities partly propelled by dads with aging knees on big heavy tandem bikes) is a shorter course for kids and families.

[dbb]

@Mark Blacknell 140183 wrote:

And extra thanks to folks like Dana and Kathy who were out there standing around in cold rain all day so the rest of us could enjoy the ride.

The ride was successful because of all the volunteers yesterday. I just happened to be hollering as Mark rode by (and he had to slow down for the ramp and u-turn) so he noticed me.

While I thought marshaling would be WABA-ride like (where you blend into the pack and provide a modicum of leadership), the stationary approach allowed me to see everybody and on the way out, to have the entire Whitehurst freeway to myself when getting to my duty station.

[dasgeh]

@baiskeli 140184 wrote:

One option for kids who would be self-propelled (or bigger kid with disabilities partly propelled by dads with aging knees on big heavy tandem bikes) is a shorter course for kids and families.

THIS. I would LOVE to work on a potential shorter route for kids. (I offered this for this year, but was told it was too late).

I’m told they’re submitting permits for next year NOW, so would love an update.

[baiskeli]

Yes, thanks to all the volunteers!

[sjclaeys]

@Judd 140119 wrote:

Pics from the ride. The second picture is where the whole group of riders was stopped for 10 minutes about two miles from the end of the the ride.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ha, that’s me in the back in the red coat, arms folded and thinking when are we going to get the show on the road!

[Judd]

@sjclaeys 140212 wrote:

Ha, that’s me in the back in the red coat, arms folded and thinking when are we going to get the show on the road!

Photobombed! Just twenty more minutes…

[mstone]

@Mark Blacknell 140183 wrote:

And the kid’s participation and cost of registration/inclusion issues are clearly on the list for next year’s edition.

My 12 year old loved it. My 10 year old probably would have loved it, but I didn’t want to be outnumbered. Biggest issue for her was waiting patiently for the start. There was already a bail-out for a 10 mile or so course, wasn’t there? A family rate would be a nice touch.

[consularrider]

A four part series a 4x speed, but otherwise unedited. I started in the 12 mph corral.

[video=youtube_share;3ckLGf7tgec]https://youtu.be/3ckLGf7tgec[/video]

[consularrider]

[video=youtube_share;I8xCco_Kd0I]https://youtu.be/I8xCco_Kd0I[/video]

[consularrider]

[video=youtube_share;RgqW-2zspcg]https://youtu.be/RgqW-2zspcg[/video]

[consularrider]

[video=youtube_share;kdYS9a5ab4o]https://youtu.be/kdYS9a5ab4o[/video]

[americancyclo]

@Mark Blacknell 140183 wrote:

On behalf of myself – I think this was a good start to an event that could serve DC well in the future. Yes, lots of logistics lessons to be learned (I think I started shaking my head at what was to come about 2 miles into the ride, as the lanes narrowed). And the kid’s participation and cost of registration/inclusion issues are clearly on the list for next year’s edition. I am generally optimistic about those outcomes.

Speaking of outcomes, where do we find out how many participants there were, and how much was raised for WABA’s Vision Zero initiatives?

[americancyclo]

got it from the source:
7111 total riders
399 youth riders (8-18)
118 ride along (3-7)
$38,750 raised for WABA

Can someone do the math please?

[Kitty]

@americancyclo 145694 wrote:

got it from the source:
7111 total riders
399 youth riders (8-18)
118 ride along (3-7)
$38,750 raised for WABA

Can someone do the math please?

*grabs calculator wistling to herself*
*hits enter*
*frowns*

Just on a simple calculation of dollars per rider… $5.44. This truly is the dismal science.

[Author]

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