[Brock]

I’d have to agree that CaBi riders seem representative of the non-CaBi riders. I definitely see plenty folks on the red bikes without helmets, with earphones, and on the sidewalks – but I also see plenty of people doing the same thing on regular bikes, too.

I’m not a psychologist, but I suspect this is some kind of unconscious bias. Because the CaBi bikes stick out, you take notice when someone is riding one like an idiot. It’s the same thing with ZipCar: people have complained that you have to watch out for ZipCar drivers, since they don’t drive that often and tend to be erratic. If all Toyotas were baby blue and had a huge logo on the back, I’m sure people would start to single them out as terrible drivers. It’s less about the demographic and more about noticing them.

[Brock]

Awesome – glad to hear you’ll be joining us! The Bike DC site suggests renting from Bike and Roll, but they don’t have kid sets (just trailers) and that could get pricey quick.

[Brock]

@acc 3450 wrote:

The saddle might require an extended breaking-in phase.

Yeah, you’re not going to want to do any sweet jumps right out of the gate on that one.

[Brock]

@CCrew 3440 wrote:

… it sounds like CaBi is a victim of it’s own success which we should all benefit from.

This is exactly what I was going to say. They’re working on improving the re-balancing efforts, but the next few months are going to be critical for them to make a good impression with new users – especially following the huge success of the LivingSocial deal a few weeks ago.

I can’t find it now, but there was a quote on one of their pages (or maybe it was on ZipCar) to the effect that it’s called bike sharing. You might not always be able to get one where you want it, and you might not always be able to return it where you want, because it’s not your bike. If bike availability is a critical part of you getting to work on time, you should probably expect to pony up more than $75/year for transportation costs. In your case, dzarem, it sounds like the folding bike would be a much more appropriate solution.

As an aside, I know I’m something of a Bikeshare apologist. As far as I’m concerned, getting more people out on bikes is nothing but good. On the other hand, I also work from home and own a bike, so I typically only take Bikeshare for quick errands around the neighborhood or one-way rides home, so the availability issues don’t affect my usage.

@eminva 3442 wrote:

I think the solution is to build some apartment buildings at 14th & G. And some office buildings in Adams Morgan (or wherever folks are coming from).

An even better solution!

[Brock]

These would be awesome.

The comments on the article made me chuckle. The first one begins with, “1000 dollars is crazy expensive” and then it turned into an argument about government waste and how much these would actually cost to build. I’m to the point where I just kind of shrug my shoulders when I hear this kind of stuff. If you wanted to outfit your garage, yeah, $1000 might be steep, but compared to the infrastructure projects happening every day in a city, this is pocket change – and would help get people out of cars.

[Brock]

I live right at the southern end of the trail and though I haven’t ridden it since last summer, I do walk my dog up that way. It’s always been around mid-day during the week, and I’ve only seen a few people around each time. I know the bridge you’re talking about, because I was a little more alert than usual when I got there – I kind of expected to find someone camping under it but there was no one around.

[Brock]

My copy of Ride the Divide arrived last night. My buddy Erik (the one doing it this year) will be in town this weekend, so I need to make time for it tonight so I know what he’s getting himself into.

[Brock]

Thanks for the recommendations! The Flying Scotsman has been in my Netflix queue forever – it’s time to move that one up. 2 Seconds will be here today, but unfortunately, they don’t have Bicycle Dreams.

Another one I’ve been meaning to see is Ride the Divide, a documentary about the 2700 mile ride along the Continental Divide. A friend of mine is doing that ride later this year to raise money for cancer research – I really need to get my hands on a copy and watch it soon.

[Brock]

@Mykeru 1708 wrote:

What she said boils down to this: The road is for cars and anything else on it confuses her.

More than anything else, I think that this should terrify all of us.

[Brock]

I had asked about this on the short-lived WABA forums a few months ago. I’ve never been to a Critical Mass, but my feelings about it are mixed: good to get bikes on the road and show a presence, bad to do so by riding in a way that pisses off the drivers we need to win over.

[Author]

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