[DCLiz]

Very sad.

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Sounds like Eastern Market was the winner for coffee — Peregrine was there with hot and iced! So good! (and yes, there was cream)

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Yeah, I got one of the last medium T-s at Eastern Market, and it was only 8:15 am.

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Eastern Market: Quite the line to check in. Had my bike evaluated by City Bikes, who diagnosed an out-of-true wheel – only costs around $12 at the shop to fix. Took advantage of their floor pump, which is SO. MUCH. EASIER. than mine to use. Delicious iced (and also hot) coffee from Peregrine – WIN! Another girl snagged the last Capital Bikeshare seat cover off the table just as I got there, which made me sad until later (keep reading!)

U.S. Capitol (not a pit stop): Grounds were closed … lots of cyclists trying to navigate on the street to get around it. A hearty THANK YOU to the car with Maryland (!!) plates that let me cross in front of him/her when I found myself in the wrong lane on Constitution trying to get into the Penn Avenue bike lanes. I signaled my desperation to get over, but wasn’t sure s/he would stop, but they gently honked to let me through.

Freedom Plaza: Missed out on the raffle (not sure where they were handing out tickets). But got jar openers from AAA (“Are you a member?” “No, I have Better World Club”) and a snazzy “I Love Farmers Market” bike bumper sticker from FreshFarms.

National Geographic: This has become my favorite downtown pit stop. #1 It’s National Geographic! That. Is. Awesome. #2 Last year’s deluge? No problem, we’ll just move inside our giant cafeteria. #3 Rolling raffles throughout the morning. One of these years I’m going to win a jersey. #4 Good swag! Got a nifty screen cleaner from TapIt Metro DC (which finally has an app!), added to my water bottle collection, and … got one of those bikeshare seat covers from GoDCGo!!! Also lots o’ fruit, fruit juices, and granola bars.

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@kcb203 115352 wrote:

I love 7th and H. I work nearby and feel very special to walk diagonally across the intersection in full compliance with the law.

I sometimes wait an extra light cycle just so I can walk diagonally across the intersection.

[DCLiz]

I could post something to our Women & Bicycling group. I didn’t realize that this group wanted more members to make a run at 1st place until cvcalhoun posted here and I happened to see it. There are probably others in the same boat.

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@Justin Antos 114805 wrote:

Now, cyclists approaching from the lights at 3rd and 2nd hit a red light at 1st, so we all collect at the front of the line and go with the leading pedestrian interval. We get out in front of the cars, which is great.

Ah! I didn’t realize this timing had been changed too.

@Justin Antos 114805 wrote:

Haven’t yet checked out the timing on Penn – will try tonight.

Definitely suboptimal going eastbound in the evening for the first half of the trip, but then opens up nicely for the second half.

I haven’t had a day where I can compare my pre- and post-new timing times because the White House and/or Capitol Grounds have been closed when I’ve been commuting this week.

I *think* that it comes out a wash — I catch more lights in some places and less in others, but so far still less gridlock, which makes me feel safer going through intersections.

[DCLiz]

UPDATE: No gridlock last night!

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When I first got on PA Ave going westbound from the Capitol, I was cranky. I ended up stopping at all the lights. But then I road from 7th St to the 15th St cycle track and from there almost all the way to my office (15th to M to 18th) almost without stopping! It was a beautiful thing.

The real test in my mind is whether it does anything to alleviate PM gridlock. Especially at 15th & I, where cars love to block the intersection making it difficult/dangerous for bikes to cross.

Definitely less honking outside of my office this evening, so maybe???

[DCLiz]

I realize you weren’t asking me, but here are some of the reasons I use bikeshare instead of my own bike:
1. I’m at the office without my bike and need to run an errand that would be much quicker by bike.
2. I didn’t ride to work in the morning because I was running late or it was bad weather, but the afternoon is perfect for a bike ride home.
3. I’m going out after work and want to ride to my destination, but don’t want to ride home late at night, so I can just take bikeshare there and then another form of transportation home.
4. I’m going to a beer/wine festival and don’t want to ride while intoxicated on the way home.
5. I want to ride to work in the morning, but I know I won’t be able to ride home due to meetings, etc., and I don’t want to leave my bike at work that day.
6. I’ve left my bike at work some other day and I want to ride to work.
7. Not so much anymore but when I was starting to bike again as an adult, I learned to stop/start better and also take my hand off the bar to signal (more stable than my bike).
8. Somewhat of a corollary to 3/4 – biking is the fastest way to get someplace, but I don’t know for sure I’ll be biking on the return trip.
9. Metro breaks down halfway to my destination and I can bail and take bikeshare the rest of the way.
EDIT: 10. My bike is in the basement of my walk-up apartment building and it’s easier/faster to walk two blocks to the bikeshare station than it is to unlock my bike, take it through three doors, and a twisty flight of narrow stairs with two turns.
11. It’s dark and I’ve forgotten my lights.

I’m sure there are others, but these are the reasons that come to mind right away.

[DCLiz]

Wow that would be fantastic (speaking as someone who got the very last dock near my office in between Farragut and Dupont last week). Another dream: bike corrals at every Nationals game. The infrastructure is already there with the Bike Valet! Surely CaBi and the Nationals could work out an agreement to make this a reality.

[DCLiz]

I’ve seen a couple of posts on this thread referencing that people who are inclined to bike and live in single family homes would own their own bikes, and therefore bikeshare wouldn’t be useful in such neighborhoods. I don’t understand that argument. I own my own bike and I also use bikeshare regularly. When I have guests in town, we almost always make use of bikeshare.

One of the very early arguments against bikeshare in general was that people who wanted to bike already owned bikes and therefore wouldn’t use it, and we see how that turned out.

[DCLiz]

OK, done. Rode with Women & Bicycling last year, but if my points help this team actually be competitive, happy to throw them into the pool.

Oh, hello there from your friendly fair-weather cyclist! Started riding again April 1, motivated by the #30DaysofBiking challenge, and am pleased to report that I’ve been on a bike every day for 25 days so far! Earned a silver badge in the Bike Challenge, which I’ll have to re-earn in May when they clear the slate.

FYI – the prizes for May have been posted. Really good prizes this year! https://nationalbikechallenge.org/prizes

[DCLiz]

I won a bike magnet! I think that’s one step up from a year’s supply of toilet paper.

[DCLiz]

Exciting news from Bikeshare: Bike corrals at every home playoffs game!

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