[paytonc]

@dbb 11312 wrote:

Take the trail south to the 14th Street Bridge. Across the bridge and then (multiple choices below)

Not sure why you’d want to head up either 15th or Buckeye when you can just follow the trail down to Maine and turn right. (There’s a little segment of trail along the east side of Ohio; it’s a bit more efficient than staying on the west side.) The river trail along Maine has just been widened/repaved from there down to the fish wharf, at which point you’re just down Water Street from SW Waterfront Metro. (This route is shown in Mark Blacknell’s map.)

[paytonc]

Sadly, there’s a bunch of “news” from 2010 that indicates that such service would start in June 2011, but it seems to have fallen off the radar and thus might not happen by 2012. There’s a reference here:
http://www.thewashcycle.com/2010/07/paternity-link-dump.html

In the distant future, Amtrak recently ordered new baggage cars that in theory could allow many more trains to accept unboxed bikes, but given that sort of track (ha) record…

[paytonc]

There’s only two entrances; the R St one off Bladensburg is much more relaxing. Bladensburg south of there, towards H St., is bad but has sidewalks. Another option is to use West Virginia (from the SW) or 18th St NE (from the N) to get to Montana Ave, which crosses Bladensburg at a light and becomes S St, just one block from the arboretum’s R St entrance. Montana itself is an ugly near-highway, but you’d only be on the street for 1-3 blocks.

[paytonc]

I have a Thermos Urban Elements flip-top vessel that doesn’t leak even if tipped over inside a bag. It’ll fit within a bottle cage with some rattling, provided it’s secured with a rubber band. (Why are these things always narrower than water bottles?) I’ve done plenty of CaBi trips with the cup inside a bag inside the rack, but never tried securing just it to the rack.

Most of the time, though, it’s not possible to chug hot coffee on the go — I just fill an insulated water bottle with warm tea and chug that instead.

[paytonc]

Personally, I like the idea of using a belt drive and internal gears for my next commuter bike. No greasy pants mess, no jumping chains, easy to shift at stoplights. Frames that accommodate belts are getting more common, too, and the price is declining as production ramps up.

Funny you should mention that your Van Dessel died; a friend of mine who owned one reported the same thing. Guess there really was something amiss with them, pretty as they were.

[paytonc]

Count me among those who have switched from wearing the weight to panniers. I have messenger bags and backpacks from by Chrome, Crumpler, Patagonia, et al, but they always left my back and shoulders sore and sweaty and my shirts wrinkled. My cousin the chiropractor would always scowl at me if she saw me wearing a messenger bag. Plus, in a suit-and-tie city, they look unprofessional.

I recently got an “Office-Bag” briefcase pannier from Ortlieb which is bigger than I need, but has solid/simple clips and is impermeable. (Apparently others are available in Germany, but this was the best one I could find from bike shops in several U.S. cities.) I usually only carry computers/tablets with solid-state drives inside, so bouncing around isn’t going to hurt anything. The rack itself has marginal weight, and I can easily track-stand with the bag on — somehow the weight distribution doesn’t matter.

[paytonc]

This ride has definitely been on my to-do list for several years now. I had planned it as a five-day trip headed down, with 56-90 miles a day, but that was before I actually rode on any of the C&O… might end up taking it slower than that.
1. to Connellsville, 70 mi.
2. Rockwood (stop at Fallingwater en route), 56 mi.
3. Paw Paw, 85 mi.
4. Harpers Ferry, 90 mi.
5. DC, 63 mi.
I’ve done three day bike tours before, but nothing a week long; it’s impossible to plan that many days around weather and other conditions.

The easiest way to get a bike to Pittsburgh would be to check it aboard Amtrak’s Capitol Limited train. It’s $10, plus $10 for a very generously sized box, and it’s a lovely ride up there. Supposedly, this will get even easier in 2012 when roll-on bike service is supposed to be implemented between here and Pgh. That would also allow cyclists to board the train at intermediate stations like Harper’s Ferry and Cumberland. I’ve talked with friends from Chicago who’ve said that they could join the trip for at least the first half once the roll-on Amtrak accommodations are in place, since Chicago-Pittsburgh is an easy overnight Amtrak ride.

[paytonc]

I think that it would be a home run, especially given how popular the various King Street buses are. The Prince/Cameron pair also make for a pretty good cycling route.

[paytonc]

Two interesting points that make bike share different from transit:
– It actually can make money, and the business plan in Montreal says that once sponsors are lined up (which happened this year) and once the number of annual users gets above ~30,000 (?), the system will be able to break even.
– The operating costs are very high relative to the capital costs. Indeed, the bikes are replaced on a fairly short cycle, which makes their capital cost almost more like operating — and the kiosk hardware is almost an off-the-shelf parking meter.

Anyhow, yes, the increase in daily ridership should be a significant financial positive for CaBi. Bicycling has significant positive externalities for society, particularly for public health, so while bike sharing should be encouraged regardless of profit it would be quite nice if the system is able to financially stand on its own.

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