Tim Johnson’s Ride On Washington: Come Ride With US!!!! HOLD THIS DATE!

[Dirt]

More details will follow on this. I just want to get people thinking about taking part of a day off… or even just a long lunch break to join us.

TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2012

I’m not talking about riding the whole thing… but just the last day… or just PART of the last day.

Last day will be Baltimore to DC. The route is about 50 miles of rolling hills. Things move along at a fairly spirited clip for the first 35 miles of that.

But what we’d REALLY like is to get a good group of people to join us for the last part of it… Between College Park and the Capitol. We’ll publish the exact route we’re taking and a pretty good guestimate of when we’ll be where. The plan is to pick up people along the way and get a nice, huge group of riders for the last few miles. We’ll pass many CaBi stations, so some folks can grab a bike and join us.

This section of the ride will be casually paced. Tim might have to jump ahead to do some schmoozing at the end, but there will be guides and other riders to lead the whole group in, so we lose no-one (Like we did last year when Tim was late for an ESPN interview and wound up conducting it on his cell phone while flying through the city at 18+mph with the rest of us chasing like crazy.)

At the end of the ride we’ll have a big gathering with a bunch of riders and cyclists. Festivities are in the works…. as is the exact location of the final arrival point. We’ll have all that info finalized soon.

This was by far the funnest part of the ride last year. Please mark that date on our calendar and come out and welcome us to DC!!!! I’ll post up more details when I’ve got them!!!

http://rideonwashington.org/

Topic

[Dirt]

@eminva 15932 wrote:

Okay, so I just registered to help them with their head count, and they set up a fundraising page for me. Now I have the lofty goal of raising $2500! They are crafty.

Liz

Hahaha.. You can edit the page and make the goal more reasonable. Set it for $50 and I’ll make sure you reach that goal.

[dbb]

I think I’ll take part of the day off and join the ride from Proteus. Would love to ride out with a group from DC.

I will be starting in SW.

Dana

[jrenaut]

@dbb 15978 wrote:

I think I’ll take part of the day off and join the ride from Proteus. Would love to ride out with a group from DC.

I will be starting in SW.

Dana

Where do you want to meet up? Is 19th & L between 11:15 and 11:30 too far out of your way?

[Greenbelt]

Just in general, there’s a coffeeshop at 2nd and F streets NE with outdoor tables and a bike rack that’s a good meetup place for northbound riders heading for the Met Branch trail.

[eminva]

Thank you very much to my anonymous benefactor! However, I’m not changing my goal below $2500 just in case someone else with a really fat wallet comes along.

By the way, Pete is now less than $250 from his goal — if you haven’t donated yet, help him get over the top!

Liz

[Dirt]

@eminva 16034 wrote:

Thank you very much to my anonymous benefactor! However, I’m not changing my goal below $2500 just in case someone else with a really fat wallet comes along.

By the way, Pete is now less than $250 from his goal — if you haven’t donated yet, help him get over the top!

Liz

Those anonymous donors pop up just when you need them. Thanks!!!

[dbb]

@jrenaut 15979 wrote:

Where do you want to meet up? Is 19th & L between 11:15 and 11:30 too far out of your way?

Let me take a look at the ride with GPS map and cue sheet Dirt created. The coffee shop recommended by Greenbelt might be a good location. Cookies to go!

[Dirt]

@Greenbelt 15993 wrote:

Just in general, there’s a coffeeshop at 2nd and F streets NE with outdoor tables and a bike rack that’s a good meetup place for northbound riders heading for the Met Branch trail.

I think I know that place:

[jrenaut]

@dbb 16050 wrote:

Let me take a look at the ride with GPS map and cue sheet Dirt created. The coffee shop recommended by Greenbelt might be a good location. Cookies to go!

Only problem with that coffee shop is that I don’t think our route is going that far southeast.

[Arlingtonrider]

If anyone wants to meet at the aforementioned coffee shop (Ebenezers – 2nd and F NE) to make the shorter trip up the Metropolitan Branch Trail to 12th and Newton Street to meet up with the group there (or further north if we like) please let me know. I was thinking of leaving Ebenezers around 1:30 or 1:45 p.m. and would enjoy having some company. It might be a good alternative for those who can’t take off from work earlier.

p.s. Ebenezer’s, a popular place for egg sandwiches and other goodies, is right next to Union Station and an access point to the MBT. In the photo Pete posted, above, I’m the egg in the sandwich. Ebenezers is directly behind us.

Update: This plan has been abandoned in favor of riding from down from Proteus.

[Greenbelt]

Subject to pending approval by Bikes Belong, I drafted a press release to send to local papers in the College Park area. Anyone have anything to add/correct? Suggestions welcome. -jeff

Tim Johnson Ride on Washington – Finale in DC!
http://rideonwashington.org/finale-in-dc/

Tim Johnson Ride on Washington Announces Pitstop at Proteus Bicycles in College Park
Local Riders Invited to Join Advocacy Ride to Washington

Proteus Bicycles Contact:
Jill DiMauro
301-441-2928

Bikes Belong Contact:
Nikki D’Addario, CGPR
781-639-4924, Ext. 118

College Park, Maryland (March 10, 2012) – On Tuesday, March 20th, U.S. cyclocross legend Tim Johnson will lead his Ride on Washington (http://rideonwashington.org) through College Park, MD on its way from Boston to the National Bike Summit in Washington DC (http://www.bikeleague.org/conferences/summit12).

Local riders are invited to join the group for a pitstop at Proteus Bicycles in College Park, followed by a group ride to Washington DC. The shop will host a reception for local riders starting at 12pm. The long-distance riders are expected to arrive at about 1pm, and we will set off for DC as a group at 1:30pm.

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 3pm. There will be reception near the reflecting pool at 3rd street from 3pm to 3:30pm.

“We’re delighted to help the Ride on Washington raise awareness about bike safety and access issues,” said Jill DiMauro, owner of Proteus Bicycles. “I hope lots of local riders join us for the final leg to DC. It’s going to be a really great ride. Everyone is welcome – the more the merrier.”

The Finale to DC ride will take a moderate pace and there will be experienced riders to help guide first timers in the group. 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 are 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, 3:30pm to 7pm on weekdays.)

For riders heading back to College Park, the group from Proteus will return at about 3:30pm or 4pm and arrive at the shop around 5pm. The total round-trip ride distance from College Park is about 30 miles.

The full itinerary for the day is as follows:

10:30 AM – Leave Hampton Inn & Suites Inner Harbor in Baltimore, MD
1PM – Arrive at Proteus Bicycles in College Park, MD (15 miles from finish)
1:30 – Leave Proteus Bicycles.
2:15 – Arrive at CaBi station at 12th and Newton St
2:30 – Florida and R streets, NW
2:40 – 15th and P streets, NW
2:45 – White House (Lafayette Park)
2:55 – 14th and D streets NW (Penn. Ave median cycletrack)
3PM – Arrive at finish location at 3rd St SW between Madison and Jefferson Drives, just west of the Capitol Reflecting pool.
3:30PM – Finish ceremony concludes

3:30 or 4PM – College Park group heads back to Proteus bike shop
5PM-5:30PM – Arrive at Proteus

The approximate route map for the ride from Baltimore is available at: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/966811
Attached photo (jpg): The Ride on Washington’s founder, Tim Johnson. Photo by Todd Prekaksi. (via http://rideonwashington.org)
Attached photo (jpg): Proteus shop view. Photo by Pete Beers (via http://www.proteusbicycles.com)
Attached flyer (pdf): Tim Johnson Ride on Washington — Finale in DC (via http://rideonwashington.org/finale-in-dc/)

Attached (and below): Bikes Belong/Tim Johnson Ride on Washington press release

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

About Proteus Bicycles
A College Park landmark, Proteus Bicycles has been owned by Jill DiMauro since 2003. Her message is simple: “We are a bike shop, but we try to be more than that. The most important thing to us is that you get on a bike and ride to your heart’s content. We want to make sure you get on the best bike for you. Thursday nights we’re open late for potluck. We have comfortable couches and a charming staff. Most of all, we have really cool customers. Come in and meet them: recreational cyclists, roadies, commuters, mountain bikers, cyclocross racers, fixed-gear fans and everyone in between.”
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

[Greenbelt]

PS. Dirt, please try to persuade Allen Lim and Biju Thomas to stop at College Park. I want to get my cookbook signed!

[Dirt]

@Greenbelt 16078 wrote:

PS. Dirt, please try to persuade Allen Lim and Biju Thomas to stop at College Park. I want to get my cookbook signed!

Sir, yes sir. The plan as I understand it is for all of us to stop in College Park. I will pass your request on to them.

Rock on, sir!

[dbb]

@jrenaut 16059 wrote:

Only problem with that coffee shop is that I don’t think our route is going that far southeast.

I was looking at the Dirt’s map for the outbound run and it seems to essentially start at the coffee shop

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/784592

I’ve not ridden to Proteus before so my inclination is to follow the path of others. If you’ve done this before and have a different route, I will follow you.

[jrenaut]

I haven’t ridden it before, but there are at least 3 of us meeting up to do it, so I think we can figure it out. My phone has GPS.

[Author]

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