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@sjclaeys 88702 wrote:

The results were just posted, Republicans beat Democrats 26 to 25. Both team had an equal number of riders.

26 to 25 — what unit of measurement? Miles per hour? Laps? Average cost of bike, in thousands? Hours of filibuster?

Liz

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That was a well written and thoughtful article. I hope she keeps up with the bike commute.

My commute is a tad longer than hers and I don’t try to do it in street clothes. We have locker rooms/showers at the office so I keep a duplicate set of makeup and get all office-ready after the commute. On non-bike commute days, I usually ride to metro (about 1.8 miles each way) in my work attire. My hair is short so I don’t really have to worry about helmet hair. The only thing I notice is that if I ride after I’ve put on my makeup, the wind makes my eyes tear up. Wraparound style sunglasses solve the problem.

Liz

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@Dirt 87179 wrote:

Awesome! Who makes that one? I like that it works a little better with cold beverages. My PDW is perfect for hot coffee. Thanks for posting, Liz.

Liquid Holster. Looks like their primary market is the baby jogger crowd.

Liz

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Got an ELITE new accessory for my cargo bike — a cup holder. Behold:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]5801[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5802[/ATTACH]

Saturday morning errand running will be complete.

Liz

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6/12 Brasil v. Croatia

[ATTACH=CONFIG]5762[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]5763[/ATTACH]

Força Seleção!

Liz

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K —

Have you been to higher elevations before and do you have any idea how you handle changes in altitude? Being a lifelong sea level person, experience has taught me that I have a particularly difficult time just hanging out on the sofa at high elevations, so sadly, I have to scale back my ambitions for active vacations. I think most people do not have my problems so hopefully this is not an issue for you. But maybe start with some easy stuff the first few days to see how it goes? Then tackle the more ambitious routes after that.

If you love your helmet above all others, bring that, too.

Have fun! Sounds great and looking forward to the photos!

Liz

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I like it. I don’t have any problem with a Huffy cruiser being the gateway drug. So few of us who ride a lot bought the absolute, perfect bike for all our needs right out of the starting gate (e.g., see some other active threads). More and more, I tell people just ride what you have or that is easy/cheap to obtain until you figure out what is best for your needs. And take your time doing that.

@skins_brew 86812 wrote:

The cool bikes growing up were Treks. If you had a Trek, you were a cool kid.

skins_brew, you are showing your youth or I am showing my age. It was a Schwinn Stingray when I was growing up.

@skins_brew 86812 wrote:

I wonder if kids still see bikes these days as status symbols? I think I know the answer to that….

If my son’s scout troop is any indication, there was a bit of a pecking order when we were working on the merit badge last year. The greatest respect was accorded to one of the older scouts who had a road bike for the pavement based training rides (actually it was his father’s — he was tall enough to share it). The worst was to be on a “kids bike” — the definition of which seems a little arbitrary. Treks, if not cool, were certainly sought after. I had meant to keep my son’s low end Trek MTB for myself when he outgrew it, but another scout’s dad approached us as soon as he heard we’d gotten our son a new bike and made an offer.

Liz

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I didn’t mean to spark a debate. I do appreciate those who attempted to clarify the sitation. I think unfortunately it is not clear still, even to us. Perhaps this issue should be elevated to policy makers.

One note to add to my original post: The cycletrack in question is not a simple bike lane. It is separated from auto traffic with flexiposts. While some posts are missing, there are many places along L Street where, if a cabbie really wanted to discharge his passenger at the curb, it’s not real easy to get there — he may even have to back into the cycletrack. Certainly no one is suggesting that he’d be required by law to do that? Or are you? In any event, I’ve never seen that done, thankfully.

Thanks.

Liz

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@dasgeh 85962 wrote:

I advocate not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good

Of course, I agree completely. And I very much appreciate the efforts of all you who are working hard with great patience to cut through the bureaucracies and make progress. It just seems like such a battle sometimes.

@dasgeh 85962 wrote:

From what I understand, NPS has tried to give back at least some of the roads, and they don’t get takers.

This I never knew! What a hoot. GW Parkway — the orphan nobody wants but everybody needs.

Thanks again.

Liz

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@dasgeh 85949 wrote:

I attending an NPS briefing for Hill staff on their surface transportation budget. It’s pitiful. And, unlike many other authorities that manage roads, they don’t have many other options. They have to beg Congress for money, beg local jurisdictions to partner with them to give them money, or beg rich people for money (which is what got the Washington Monument fixed so quickly).

Okay, I’m sure I’ve made this point before here, but WHY is major, interstate-like highway still under the jurisdiction of NPS? I’m not talking about the Road to the Sun or other purely recreational park roads, but many of our “parkways” (e.g., the BW Parkway, GW Parkway, [insert others in other cities I’m unware of]) are essentially interstate highways and a crucial, heavily relied upon part of the regional infrastructure. As such, they should be under the jurisdiction of the appropriate state highway administration and its regulatory scheme. The status quo seems kind of stubborn and dumb, IMHO.

Liz

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@Drewdane 85697 wrote:

East Falls Church (evening)

The Good: Well… It was there

The Bad: An empty table and a volunteer pointedly packing up t-shirts half an hour prior to the posted end time.

Yep, same thing. That’s what I get for working late.

Liz

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All right, here’s my 15 nanoseconds of fame:

http://www.wjla.com/articles/2014/05/bike-to-work-day-rides-on-despite-rainstorms-103205.html

Nice report overall, setting aside my contribution.

Liz

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I’m surprised I didn’t see more of you, but I got a late start (for me) and took an immediate detour off my usual route to get to my first pit stop. Still, it was fun to see dkel and his wife and all the folks in Rosslyn. I’m sorry the weather depressed turnout, but completely understandable.

I stopped at five pit stops:

Mosaic District:

Good: sheltered, the Freshbikes folks were friendly and refreshed the lube on my chain, I was only the fourth person there so I like my chances in the raffle for the $300 Freshbikes gift card
Bad: only two sizes of tshirts, tea instead of coffee (what can I say, I’m lowbrow) and the Freshbikes guys looked a bit lonely.

Merrifield:

Not sure if this is good or bad, but they had little cartons of Chinese food takeout — chicken of some kind. Also: coffee!

Falls Church/W&OD:

Good: Bikenetic crew’s excellent Rule 9 compliance
Bad: Falls Church City’s poor Rule 9 compliance

East Falls Church Metro Station:

Good: sheltered, they had goody bags of swag for the people who registered there. I had not registered there, but they fished all the swag but for the t-shirt out of a bag for me. Metro police guys were nice. It was explained to me that you should register all your bikes with them even if you don’t ride to metro, so if it is stolen and later shows up on metro property, they can get it back to you.
Bad: Didn’t appear to have coffee or fresh food (might have missed that though)

Rosslyn:

Good: Saw many people (RCannon, Dirt, dbb, Shawn of the Dread, americancyclo, Dismal), they gave me the tshirt in the size I wanted even though I wasn’t registered there, they were practically throwing swag at us by the time I got there, and I got interviewed by Channel 7 news. I’m gonna be on TV, y’all!
Bad: My shoes filled up like a sinking submarine every time I stopped in front of one of the tables.

See below for all my swag. Thanks to everyone who volunteered and all the organizations that made it possible.

Liz

[ATTACH=CONFIG]5629[/ATTACH]

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@dasgeh 85437 wrote:

I’d venture most of the trips of the right-turners start in Virginia along Rte 1.

I agree with that, or originating along the 395 corridor but with destinations in the westernmost sector of the city (Georgetown, Palisades, etc.).

Liz

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Add my voice to the chorus, get well soon, FFG. I have someone new I want to bring to HDCC and I don’t want you to miss it!

Take care.

Liz

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