Sandy Hook Ride on Washington

[baiskeli]

@Dickie 45028 wrote:

Hey Folks.

I just spoke to the organizers of the SHROW and the one problem they are having is finding/organizing parking for the three support vehicles near the capital building. They will need to park 3 vans so underground parking might be a problem. I never drive near the capital building or work in the city… anyone have some suggestions I can pass along… or even better a hook-up?

Union Station’s parking garage would work. Above ground parking, no time limit. Getting a van in there should be no problem, since it’s used as a bus depot. Almost next door to the Capitol building.

http://www.unionstationdc.com/parking
http://usrcdc.com/garage.php

[Dickie]

@baiskeli 45053 wrote:

Union Station’s parking garage would work. Above ground parking, no time limit. Getting a van in there should be no problem, since it’s used as a bus depot. Almost next door to the Capitol building.

http://www.unionstationdc.com/parking
http://usrcdc.com/garage.php

Thanks baisekli, much appreciated. I will pass along the info to the SHROW folks.

[baiskeli]

@Dickie 45056 wrote:

Thanks baisekli, much appreciated. I will pass along the info to the SHROW folks.

If they want to know exactly where it is, tell them to watch “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” specifically, the scene where Mr. Smith goes to Washington (by train).

[Greenbelt]

@Meganomics 45012 wrote:

Hi, everyone–

this is Megan Odett, Kidical Mass DC’s organizer. I apologize for the long-overdue response to this post, which a member of this forum [edited for member’s privacy] forwarded to me last month.

As luck would have it, I happened to run into Monte Frank, one of the ride organizers, yesterday in the offices of Senator Susan Collins of Maine–he was there to invite the Senator to join the ride, I was there to advocate on behalf of some issues for my day job. Given the unpredictable state of my health (I’m currently pregnant with Future Cyclist #2), I’m reluctant to commit to joining the ride personally, as I’ve had to cut my bicycling to one or two very short rides a week.

However, I would be delighted to promote the ride and invite other DC-area parents to join. Thanks for bringing it to my attention!

My sense is that most DC parents would prefer to join the ride at 12th & Monroe or points south. Is the information posted by Jeff above the most current ride schedule? I can send it out to the Kidical Mass DC e-mail list, put it up on the Kidical Mass DC website, and also post it to the Brookland and Bloomingdale parents’ listservs.

You can e-mail me with logistics, etc. at KidicalMassDC at the “G” to the “mail” dot com.

Thanks,

Megan Odett

Hi Megan — I think this is the latest schedule, as modified in the post above, so with luck we’d hit the Monroe Street bridge/Met Branch area around noon.

11:00 – Leave Proteus Bicycles.
12:00 – Arrive at CaBi station at 12th and Newton St
12:15 – Florida and R streets, NW
12:20 – 15th and P streets, NW
12:30 – White House (Lafayette Park)
12:40 – 14th and D streets NW (Penn. Ave median cycletrack)
12:45-ish — (possible diversion to take pictures at the Washington Monument etc. if the schedule is running on time)
1PM – Arrive at finish location — U.S. Capitol — exact location TBA but probably the West Front

[rcannon100]

@Dickie 45028 wrote:

Hey Folks.

I just spoke to the organizers of the SHROW and the one problem they are having is finding/organizing parking for the three support vehicles near the capital building. They will need to park 3 vans so underground parking might be a problem. I never drive near the capital building or work in the city… anyone have some suggestions I can pass along… or even better a hook-up?

How close do the vehicles need to be? You might ask the Capital Hill Bike Shops.

Union Station. Plenty of clearance – but the exit of Union Station is a tough one. I bottom out with my mini van. The buses from the bus depot go out a different exit than the paid public parking.

Other options: NATs Stadium, altho a lot of their lot parking is used for daytime parking – I think there are some parking lots unused during the day.

RFK stadium. Not sure what the situation is there now, but that is where tour buses used to park.

Hains Point.

SW Washington DC along the water front.

They could even prob park at one of our houses —- could park at my house in N Arlington

[dasgeh]

Have they contacted their Congressional representation re: parking?

[Greenbelt]

For anyone interested in a truly idiotic ride (BAFS final showdown points?), Ben and I are riding up to Baltimore on Tuesday morning to meetup with SHROW.

We leave Greenbelt Elementary school at 5am, get to Bmore at 7:30am, turn around and ride back the Proteus (10:30) and head to DC (11:00). PM me if interested. We’ll be taking a medium/brisk pace, rain or shine, will need good see/be seen lights (will be daylight savings and dark until 7am), provisions etc. -Jeff

[Dickie]

@Greenbelt 45551 wrote:

For anyone interested in a truly idiotic ride (BAFS final showdown points?), Ben and I are riding up to Baltimore on Tuesday morning to meetup with SHROW.

We leave Greenbelt Elementary school at 5am, get to Bmore at 7:30am, turn around and ride back the Proteus (10:30) and head to DC (11:00). PM me if interested. We’ll be taking a medium/brisk pace, rain or shine, will need good see/be seen lights (will be daylight savings and dark until 7am), provisions etc. -Jeff

Yep, you two are officially nuts… wish I could join you, but I will have to settle for seeing you at Proteus…. best of luck!

[Greenbelt]

Times unchanged, but here is an updated info sheet for the final leg of the ride from College Park to DC. -Jeff

Sandy Hook Ride on Washington — Meetup for Final Leg to DC

On Tuesday, March 12th, Team 26, a group of 26 cyclists representing each victim of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, will stop in College Park on their way from Newtown, CT to Washington DC to press Congress for common sense gun safety laws to reduce gun violence. Information about the Sandy Hook Ride on Washington is available on its Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/sandyhookrideonwashington.

Local riders are invited to meet Team 26 for a pitstop at Proteus Bicycles in College Park, and then join them on a group ride to Washington DC. The shop will host a reception for local riders starting at 10am. Team 26 is expected to arrive at about 10:30am, and we will set off for DC as a group at 11:00am.
The ride to DC will highlight local bike trails, including the Anacostia Tributary trails in Maryland, the Metropolitan Branch trail in DC, the 15th Street Bikeway, and the Pennsylvania Ave. median bike lanes. We will pass by the White House and arrive at the U.S. Capitol grounds at approximately 1pm. There will be a reception near Capitol from 1pm to 1:30pm.

The College Park to DC ride will take a moderate pace and there will be experienced riders to help guide first timers along the route. The course is mostly on paved trails, quiet residential streets, and bike lanes. Riders are welcome to join the ride along the way. Metro stops are alongside the route in several locations and Capital Bikeshare stands can be found near the Brookland/CUA Metro station, along R Street NW, and along 15th Street NW. (Note, full-size bikes are not allowed on Metro trains during rush hour, 7-10am and 4-7pm on weekdays.)

Please keep in mind that this is not a supported bike ride, so be prepared for changing weather and have a Metro farecard or other plan in case you have a mechanical problem, need to bail out etc. There may be police escort for parts of the ride, but unless directed by the police, please obey all traffic signals and take personal responsibility for your safety at all times.

For riders heading back to College Park, the group from Proteus will return at about 1:30pm or 2pm and arrive at the shop around 3pm. The total round-trip ride distance from College Park is about 30 miles.

The full itinerary for the day is as follows:

10:30-11am – Team 26 arrives at Proteus Bicycles in College Park, MD (15 miles from finish)
11:00 – Leave Proteus Bicycles.
11:30 — Pass Shortcake Bakery in Hyattsville MD (good meetup place!)
12:00 – Arrive at CaBi station at 12th Street NE at Newton St
12:15 – Florida and R streets, NW
12:20 – 15th and P streets, NW
12:30 – White House (Lafayette Park)
12:40 – 15th Street and Penn Ave. NW (Penn. Ave median cycletrack)
12:45 — possible diversion to take pictures at the Washington monument etc. if we’re running on time
1PM – Arrive at finish location at U.S. Capitol (exact location TBD — probably on the West Front)
1:30 or 2PM – College Park group heads back to Proteus bike shop
3PM-3:30PM – Arrive at Proteus

The approximate route from Proteus bike shop to Washington DC is available at: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/2086455

The route from Greenbelt Metro to Proteus bikes is illustrated here: http://vimeo.com/21279584

Press covering the ride may borrow bikes at Proteus for the day (subject to availability).

Proteus Bicycles is located at 9217 Baltimore Blvd. College Park, MD 20740. Nearest Metro stops: Greenbelt (via the pedestrian tunnel to the College Park side); College Park (via the College Park trolley trail or the Paint Branch trail). 301.441.2928

Bike directions to Proteus from DC (basically a reverse of the above route to DC):

Met Branch trail north from downtown
North (straight/right) on 8th Street NE
Right at Monroe Street and over the bridge (bike lane)
Left at 12th Street (by the hardware store, sharrows)
Right at Newton Street (bike route)
Left at 20th Street
Right at Varnum Street and straight across Eastern Ave (some construction at the intersection)
Right at 34th Street for one block
Left at Windom Road
Left at 38th Street and over the bridge
Right at NW Branch trail (red lane stripe)
Straight on NW Branch trail to cross Route 1; sidepath continues on the far side
Right down the ramp to the NE Branch trail just before Alt Route 1
Left on the NE Branch trail and under the bridge (yellow lane stripe)
Left on to the Paint Branch trail (blue lane paint), just past the wood bridge and College Park airport
Stay left around Lake Artemesia to stay on the Paint Branch trail
After the CSX underpass, the trail bears right, then turns left
Right on the College Park trolley trail and straight (yellow lane stripe, I think)
Straight on Rhode Island Ave (bike lanes)
Left on to outer road alongside RI Ave
Left on Erie Street
Proteus bike shop is on Route 1 at Erie Street

[Greenbelt]

to bike shops or clubs. Hopefully there’ll be quite a few riders come out and great the long-distance group and escort them into DC!

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[Dickie]

@Greenbelt 45871 wrote:

to bike shops or clubs. Hopefully there’ll be quite a few riders come out and great the long-distance group and escort them into DC!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2492[/ATTACH]

Awesome Jeff, good luck with the Baltimore crew, I’ll see you at Proteus…. Vertigo and all!

Here are some pics from the FB site:

[consularrider]

Couldn’t you have arranged for the nice weather to hang on for a day longer? Ok, so it will be in the 50s, but rain, was that necessary?

[Bilsko]

Very nice to meet Dickie, mllwhnp, and Greenbelt today – and to ride for a windy stretch with jopamora

[consularrider]

Wet! But a good ride and it’s nice to be treated like a VIP in DC!

[Dickie]

@Bilsko 46024 wrote:

Very nice to meet Dickie, mllwhnp, and Greenbelt today – and to ride for a windy stretch with jopamora

Such a good day, even the downpour couldn’t ruin it. It was awesome to ride with mllwhnp and Bilsko. Thanks to everyone who attended and helped out!

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