Post your ride pics

[PotomacCyclist]

The police were prepared for a May Day protest in front of the White House on Wednesday. Rows of police cars and motorcycles on the closed-off section of Pennsylvania Ave. Officers on horseback too. Maybe there were more protesters earlier in the day, but I didn’t see many in the early evening. The tourists were taking pictures with the motorcycle officers and the horses.

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[jrenaut]

Rest stop 2. Almost half way

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[mstone]

Beautiful day on the towpath.
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[Boo Boo]

[PotomacCyclist]

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[cyclingfool]

Anything in particular going on at Ukrainian embassy? Or just noteworthy given current events?

[KLizotte]

@cyclingfool 84299 wrote:

Anything in particular going on at Ukrainian embassy? Or just noteworthy given current events?

Saturday was Embassy Open House day for all non-EU countries. Next Saturday it is EU Embassy Open House Day. So maybe that is why?

[PotomacCyclist]

It was part of the Around the World Embassy Tour event:

http://www.culturaltourismdc.org/portal/signature-events

About 50 embassies were open to the public. Many hosted music performances, sports demonstrations and more. I was interested to see if the unrest there had an effect on their open house. I couldn’t tell. The staff members were younger, so they were unlikely to be senior diplomats. They had a few information tables for Ukraine flights, the military and culture. There were traditional costumes on the walls and a few tables downstairs where Ukrainian craft items were available for sale. The interior courtyard was cozy. It looked almost Parisian.

The Thai open house was much more elaborate. They had the costumed mascots out in front, waving to everyone on the street. The small jazz combo was playing at the entrance. They were pretty good. The two women were singing lyrics in Thai as they played jazz and blues numbers, and later an Eagles song, sung in English. They had a folk music ensemble inside, Thai food (for sale), elaborate carved soap flower sculptures and Thai massage demonstrations.

Both of those embassies are in Georgetown. The others were too far away to visit on the same day.

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Next weekend, it’s the European Union’s turn. Their embassies will host open houses, except that the French and German events will be co-hosted at the French Embassy. I went to the Danish open house last year. They had everything set up outside the embassy itself. They had a large outdoor photo exhibit featuring scenes from Denmark. Many if not most of the photos showed people riding bikes.

http://www.euopenhouse.org/

The week after that, Cultural Tourism DC, the group that helps to organize all of these events, co-sponsors Fiesta Asia, a street festival on Pennsylvania Ave., showcasing many Asian cultures.

The Cherry Blossom Festival is the highlight in March and April, but all the embassy tours and the street festival are the highlights in May in DC, as far as big cultural events go. They’re all free too, although a few lectures have fees. Some of the food is free but they charge at some places. Depends on the embassy.

[dbb]

So among the 30,000 riders in the Five Boros Ride yesterday in NYC, I came across a familiar face.

Zanna comes rolling up on me hollering my name. I was wearing team colors and she still has the BikeArlington jersey as a search image.

Se said she was having a grand time and was a volunteer at the Five Boros event.

While the ride was great, there were enough cyclists to cause traffic backups (among cyclists!) Zanna and I had a chance to chat as we walked our bikes.

[consularrider]

@PotomacCyclist 84303 wrote:

It was part of the Around the World Embassy Tour event:

http://www.culturaltourismdc.org/portal/signature-events

…Both of those embassies are in Georgetown. The others were too far away to visit on the same day.

Check with Dirt, he has a 170 embassy route we did about three years ago. Of course that was mostly ride-bys with photo ops, not tours.

[bobco85]

@dbb 84314 wrote:

So among the 30,000 riders in the Five Boros Ride yesterday in NYC, I came across a familiar face

Zanna comes rolling up on me hollering my name. I was wearing team colors and she still has the BikeArlington jersey as a search image.

Se said she was having a grand time and was a volunteer at the Five Boros event

Awesome, I did the Five Boro Bike Tour yesterday, too! It was my (and my sister’s) first time riding this, and it was really cool going through all the neighborhoods and riding on the bridges. I’ll put some pics up later today.

@dbb 84314 wrote:

While the ride was great, there were enough cyclists to cause traffic backups (among cyclists!) Zanna and I had a chance to chat as we walked out bikes.

Massive understatement. The back-ups were crazy, and I’m pretty sure we walked about 2 miles total of the 40 mile ride. Not comfortable with cleats, although I did put my covers on. My sister and I signed up on the first day of registration thinking “Hey, we’ll be near the front at the start because of this!”, but because we didn’t opt for the $325 VIP pass (which automatically puts you in the first group) and our last name starts with “S-V” we got rider numbers in the 30000’s and were relegated to the third (last) group where we caught up with the slower 2nd and 1st group riders in the massive traffic back-ups.

I loved the ride, but the organization needs to be more based on skill/endurance level so they have less back-ups. Because of the back-ups, it ended up being a 40 mile ride with an average speed of 8.9 mph, i.e., painfully slow. Other than that, my sister (who did the longest ride of her life including the few miles to/from the start/finish) and I had fun and loved seeing all the cool sights (including biking on the Verrazano Bridge, which is awesome).

[dbb]

Heading north in Manhattan towards Central Park

The Queensboro Bridge from Manhattan into Queens

The Brooklyn-Queens Expressway heading towards the Verrazano Bridge

I’m not sure how they assigned start times. We were supposing that the groups were placed in the last wave. Last year I was in the first group and didn’t experience any traffic. Wouldn’t it be way cool if we got enough people cycling so we could complain about inadequate capacity on the trails?

[PotomacCyclist]

@consularrider 84318 wrote:

Check with Dirt, he has a 170 embassy route we did about three years ago. Of course that was mostly ride-bys with photo ops, not tours.

I went inside the embassies. I also started late in the day, and the open house event was supposed to end at 4 pm. I left the Ukraine embassy around 3:45. No way I could have made it to Embassy Row then. However, the Thai embassy stayed open until 6 pm.

Not surprisingly, Russia did not participate in the event. I don’t think they ever do, so it’s not just this spring’s events that convinced them not to join in. Even countries like Colombia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan and Iraq participated. Afghanistan and Egypt had signed on, but dropped out before Saturday. South Korea dropped out too for some reason, but they are one of the active embassies year-round, like France, Sweden and Austria. All of those countries host various music, arts and academic events throughout the year.

[bobco85]

On Saturday, I headed with my sister to the NY Bike Expo and later some biking around the city including along the East River Bikeway, Hudson River Greenway, and Central Park. We got caught in a late afternoon rain, but it was only temporary and we were close to home.

bike valet outside the NY Bike Expo; tube changing contest
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I discovered a blender bike which I’ve been wanting to ride for years but could never found one; bike sharrows at the expo; drinking the (blended) fruits of my labor (a delicious smoothie)
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saw ShawnOfTheDread there; pano of the expo
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lunch break at Battery Park (Statue of Liberty in distance) with a 2-for-1 deal from Chipotle for Five Boro Bike Tour participants; tulips in bloom along the Hudson River Greenway
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riding the Hudson River Greenway under Joe DiMaggio Highway; pano of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir in Central Park
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[bobco85]

On Sunday, my sister and I rode in the TD Five Boro Bike Tour, a 40-mile tour of all 5 boroughs in NYC. It was fun, but as I said before there were massive back-ups. Nonetheless, we enjoyed ourselves and the many sights of the different neighborhoods. If you have a spare $325, opt for the VIP pass because you will be in the first group and avoid the crowds (my sister and I did not so we got put almost in the back). After the ride, we took the ferry from Staten Island back to Manhattan (this is included in your ride fee) which offered a great view of the Statue of Liberty. All in all a great ride, but if you aren’t willing to pay a few extra hundred dollars, you will get caught in the crowds.

my sister and I, ready to start the ride; over 32,000+ riders joined us
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passing by Radio City Music Hall; riding along FDR Drive adjacent to the East River
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FDR Drive under Carl Schurz Park; crossing the Queensboro Bridge (I got yelled at for getting on the barrier here, but it was worth it)
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the most epic helmet battle ever; pit stop underneath the Robert F Kennedy Bridge
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pano at the Brooklyn rest stop; crossing the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge was freaking epic (especially getting to go downhill on the other side) and a nice way to end the ride at the festival on the other side
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