Pit Stop on Columbia Island

[KWL]

What!? A BTWD pit stop at Columbia Island? I didn’t know that (waiting for Tim’s response). I’m glad they put the signs up. Now I’m up to 5 pit stops to hit tomorrow morning. Del Ray, Crystal City (for the jersey), Columbia Island, Rosslyn & Georgetown. I think I need to call in late(r) to work.

[PotomacCyclist]

I saw the sign too. Are there that many people going to the marina early on weekday mornings? Maybe so.

[KWL]

I am sooo disappointed. Stopped by the marina and all that was there were the signs. I do see it is not listed on the official pit stops map.

[Emm]

Same thing i checked it out after you gave me the tip at crystal city. Maybe it’s an evening pit stop?

[PotomacCyclist]

Completely false advertising. I thought the NPS had a rule against signs on the MVT too. I think the Columbia Island Marina vendor posted the signs on their own. They aren’t connected with Bike to Work Day. They didn’t sponsor a pit stop. They are just riding on the coattails to drum up some business, by posting signs that are likely unauthorized.

It’s like all those (questionable) South of the Border signs you see on the highway in the Southeast, heading to the North Carolina/South Carolina border. (Are those still there?) 114 miles to go to South of the Border. 43 miles to South of the Border. Then when you get there, all you find is a junky store filled with $1 plastic trinkets and T-shirts with rude phrases, and a mediocre diner.

[KWL]

I thought seriously about flattening all the signs as I left to prevent any others from venturing down there, but then realized I really wasn’t too sure what the situation was. Not until I checked the pit stop map did I realize it was bogus.

[KWL]

@Emm 115893 wrote:

Same thing i checked it out after you gave me the tip at crystal city. Maybe it’s an evening pit stop?

I am truly sorry for giving you that false information. The ride through the grove is pretty, though.

[PotomacCyclist]

If you hadn’t posted the photo, I would have anyway. All the blame lies with the restaurant/bar operator at the marina. I never go there anyway, but I might have in the future. I will avoid that place now.

[Tim Kelley]

@KWL 115844 wrote:

What!? A BTWD pit stop at Columbia Island? I didn’t know that (waiting for Tim’s response).

That’s okay–it’s not in Arlington so we weren’t promoting it. I’m not offended. :p

[Emm]

@KWL 115913 wrote:

I am truly sorry for giving you that false information. The ride through the grove is pretty, though.

No need to be sorry. It was a pleasant detour

[PotomacCyclist]

But it was close enough to Arlington that many/most of the people who got roped in were likely Arlington residents.

I would imagine that NPS will receive some complaints about this. NPS might complain themselves, if those signs were unauthorized. The restaurant/bar operator is under contract with NPS. They can’t really afford to flout NPS regulations. If they get NPS angry enough, they could lose their contract. (Unless someone at NPS really likes the operator.)

[dasgeh]

@PotomacCyclist 115905 wrote:

Completely false advertising. I thought the NPS had a rule against signs on the MVT too. I think the Columbia Island Marina vendor posted the signs on their own. They aren’t connected with Bike to Work Day. They didn’t sponsor a pit stop. They are just riding on the coattails to drum up some business, by posting signs that are likely unauthorized.

It’s like all those (questionable) South of the Border signs you see on the highway in the Southeast, heading to the North Carolina/South Carolina border. (Are those still there?) 114 miles to go to South of the Border. 43 miles to South of the Border. Then when you get there, all you find is a junky store filled with $1 plastic trinkets and T-shirts with rude phrases, and a mediocre diner.

You did not just insult SoB.

[PotomacCyclist]

The detour is nice, but I would have had more time to get to other, actual pit stops if I hadn’t taken that side route to the marina. So that’s kind of annoying.

[CaseyKane50]

I too got hooked by this, except I got to help two new riders find their way to Memorial Bridge.

[PotomacCyclist]

@dasgeh 115955 wrote:

You did not just insult SoB.

It’s not just because of the trinkets. It’s because of the signs. I would imagine that some people would have issues with the caricature of Mexicans in some of the signs.

Aside from that, I never found it that interesting, even as a kid. I thought there would be some spectacular attraction after all those signs. Then when you get there, you find some fireworks, some mini-statues with thermometers (which probably had mercury in them), some cheesy T-shirts and diner food. It’s like getting excited about a tourist shop in DC that sells T-shirts made in Bangladesh that say “Witness Protection Program” or whatever. I’m not against tourism or tourist activities, but I’d like it to be interesting. Especially when there is so much advertising for it. So in that way, I see it as similar to the Grand and Great Columbia Island Marina bar Bike to Work Day false-advertising Scam of 2015. If not for the scam, I might have been able to secure an extra bagel at the Georgetown pit stop. That puts me out about 30 cents!

[Author]

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