Lets hope the weather forecast is wrong…

[cvcalhoun]

A friend tells me Friendship Heights was open. But my concession to the weather was to go down the CCT, not Wisconsin Avenue, so I didn’t check it out personally.

Apparently the 23rd and Pennsylvania people got moved to Georgetown Waterfront.

[Terpfan]

@GuyContinental 85511 wrote:

RULE 5 BTWD!

Heading out, GB and I are supposed to lead a ride to Tysons. Spectacularly bad idea…

Brave souls rally in Rosslyn! (and then when your convoy of first time riders doesn’t show up, come to Java Shack… bring a towel)

So there I was sitting there in bed thinking, ride, don’t ride, ride, don’t ride. I open up this thread and I’m leaning don’t ride then suddenly I see this post, Rule 5. That was the motivating factor.

But I should warn others that the MVT (not surprisingly) has some areas where the Potomac has crested–usual spots just north of OT by the little hill with a curve, a little by Gravely Pt, and then fairly significantly in stretch leading up to Memorial Bridge but before the boardwalk. I think the worst will be around now since high tide is 9am something.

Also, where are the afternoon stops on the way home? I feel like maybe I can snag some of the cool swag that other folks got like another lock–never mind, saw other thread about it.

[brendan]

Erin and I rode the ten-ish blocks down to Busboys & Poets (Mt. Vernon Triangle) BTWD stop. Had coffee, got shirts and swag ziplock baggie, discussed keene bike sandals and the weather (of course) and then biked…back home, since today is a work-from-home day for us (beach trip this afternoon).

My second BTWD, and the first one where I got in early enough to get a t-shirt.

B

[Fast Friendly Guy]

@dkel 85541 wrote:

Rockford10 and I rolled out with our older son just before 7:00 and hit the officially-closed Falls Church stop, where I got a donut and a $20 gift card to Bikenetic (though no BTWD shirt)! Dropped our son off at school, and went out to East Falls Church where we got “Bike to Metro, Metro to Work” shirts (not the BTWD shirt!) and free Kryptonite U locks, even though we weren’t registered there! Then back by the Falls Church stop where we met our younger son with Granddad on their ride in. Merrifield got us coffee and bagel, then Rockford split off to go to Tysons, and I hit the Vienna stop (which I almost didn’t see back in the Whole Foods parking lot) for more coffee and a water bottle. It barely rained at all except right as we started out. So massive score on swag, pleasant ride, and hopefully we’ll get our BTWD shirts when Falls Church reschedules their event (which they promise to do).

Excellent! Congratulations on your bounty–Wow, a Kryptonite U-Lock! Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy (and wife) (and kids) (and Granddad)

[jtcallahan]

Well I made it from Mt. Vernon to Fairfax for 28 miles. I left home at 5:15 and rode through the last of the worst weather in the first hour. By the time I got halfway it was tapering off and was pretty much done for the last 45min of the ride. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt!

Check out the Fairfax County Parkway just north of Backlick Rd!
[ATTACH=CONFIG]5615[/ATTACH]

[ERandall]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]5616[/ATTACH]

Things were hoppin’ over in Rosslyn!

Happy BTWD everyone!

[Riley Casey]

Silver Spring stop was going strong at 8:15 am. The rain had slackened substantially by then from the torrents of 7 am. Looked like a smaller turn out of exhibiters than last year, kind of matching the lower turn out of riders but it did mean that everyone fit under the Discovery building overhang and had a ‘relatively’ dry space. Many of the usual suspects hung in like Silver Cycles, WABA and the County Police. Whole Foods had better coffee there than they serve in the store. Not sure how that works, perhaps it just tastes better on BTWD – when one is all wet after not finding his rain pants.

Happy BTWDay to all and to all a better BTWD happy hour!

[SarahK]

So glad I rode today! The rain wasn’t half as bad as I was expecting, and it was so cool to see all the other brave souls at the Rockville Town Square pit stop!

[cephas]

@SarahK 85560 wrote:

So glad I rode today! The rain wasn’t half as bad as I was expecting, and it was so cool to see all the other brave souls at the Rockville Town Square pit stop!

agreed! Call me a pessimist, but I was expecting torrentials.

[mstone]

Woke up at 5, looked out the window, went back to bed. Left the house maybe 6:30 or so. I was actually pretty dry for the first 18 miles or so, then the clouds opened up about the time I got on the custis from the W&OD. I’m bummed that I didn’t get a patch kit, but I did get my t-shirt.

[rcannon100]

It was torrential before 7 am.

Saw many brave souls at Rosslyn! Pictures coming (didnt not bring my machine in with me today for fear of Noah). Excellent job to BA which was out since 5 am! Braving the nastiness musta not been fun. By 9 am almost all the staff was doing the BoatToWorkDay dance to keep warm.

[bobco85]

I went first to the Rosslyn pit stop where I ran into GB and GuyContinental. After stocking up on swag, taking a couple of pictures, getting a $10 credit added to my ZipCar account (awesome!), and thanking everyone for being there in the downpour, I headed onto the Custis toward East Falls Church. Along the way, there was a tree down (thank you to the cyclists who warned me as I was approaching it, I passed the favor on to others as well) on the Custis trail near where it passes underneath the 21st Street bridge in McCoy Park. People biking the other way on the Custis trail seemed to be smiling on their commute, either that or gritting their teeth in the storm.

When I made it to the East Falls Church stop, the rain was no longer in monsoon mode and had become more moderate. The pit stop there was just at the entrance, shielded from the rain by the I-66 and train overpasses. Sponsored by WMATA, they had 2 tables, one with Metro goodies including lights and bags, and the other run by the Metro police that were giving free Kryptonite U-locks (not bad) if you registered your bike with them (I did so, making me registered both with Metro police and Arlington County).

Next stop: Ballston. I took the W&OD to the Bluemont Junction trail to see more of Four Mile Run, and it had become rapids in a couple of areas. The underpass at Wilson Blvd was heavily flooded, so I opted to cross Wilson Blvd (not too bad). At the corner of Quincy/Wilson Blvd, I swear that was Dickie who gave me a thumbs up as he headed onto Quincy while I was waiting at the light to turn onto Wilson Blvd to get to the Ballston pit stop. Picked up my t-shirt and some more swag, but sadly my ride was over as I biked the last 2 blocks to my workplace (it was fun, though).

Best part is that my work clothes (triple-bagged in plastic bags) were completely dry and my rain jacket and new rain pants kept me dry. Okay, that was the second best part. The best part really was getting to bike this morning in the rain and seeing all the other craz- er, cool, people

[silent_chief]

My pit stop was closed! (Takoma Park Gazebo) What are the alternatives for me? I really want to keep my t-shirt streak alive!

[jamilkb]

Also..what is this “Rule#5” people keep mentioning???

[rcannon100]

@silent_chief 85568 wrote:

My pit stop was closed! (Takoma Park Gazebo) What are the alternatives for me? I really want to keep my t-shirt streak alive!

“Mirroring the after work, bike-commuter social scene, this year’s Bike To Work Day will include five evening “pit stops,” with food, drink and other amusements. According to Douglas Franklin of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, “this year we have expanded the afternoon pit stops from two to [five]! Small number of events but I like the percentage increase!” Official afternoon pit stops are at East Falls Church, Silver Spring, College Park, Columbia Heights and the Georgetown Waterfront. Most afternoon stops open at 4 pm. See http://www.biketoworkmetrodc.org for details

[Author]

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