[PotomacCyclist]

I can see them. But I’ll try it again and edit the previous post.

[PotomacCyclist]

Are these the highest bike racks and bike lockers in the DC region, compared to ground level?

This is on the top (3rd) level of the new Sarbanes Transit Center in Silver Spring, adjacent to the MARC station and the Metro station. There are bike racks and bike lockers at ground level at the Metro station, on both sides of Colesville Rd. (bike lockers only on the north side). More bike racks between the Metro station and the MARC station, along what is marked on Google Maps as the Metropolitan Branch Trail although the small spur hits a dead end, several blocks away from the rest of the MBT.

Then there is a large set of U racks on the top (3rd) level of the Transit Center, near the entrance from Bonifant St. and Ripley St. At the far end of the level, overlooking Colesville Rd. below, is a set of 20 bike lockers.

I don’t recall any other bike racks or lockers being located so far above ground in the greater DC region. I’ve mapped a lot of bike racks this year and none of them were located above ground level, I believe. Bike racks in parking garages are usually located on the ground or basement levels. There is a new bike parking room at the Reston-Wiehle Ave. Metro station. Someone added it to RackSpotter but I haven’t been there myself. On Street View/Google Maps, the structure appears to be a two-story building. I’m not sure if the bike room is on the ground level or the 2nd level. If it’s on the 2nd level, it would be one of the few above-ground bike parking areas in the region, along with the Silver Spring Transit Center.

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[PotomacCyclist]

I tried it again.

Server error 500 [not 503]

The website encountered an error while retrieving http://bikearlingtonforum.com/private.php?do=insertpm&pmid=. It may be down for maintenance or configured incorrectly.

[PotomacCyclist]

http://www.indianajonestheexhibition.com/

At the National Geographic Museum, through January 3.

[PotomacCyclist]

@lsfass 126945 wrote:

I want to submit a picture to the Halloween photo contest. It’s a picture of a cyclist among a workout crew of skeletons at a Boo at the Zoo exhibit at the Smithsonian National Zoo.

I noticed that you have your street address in your profile. If you don’t want to advertise that on the forum, you can change it to something more generic, like Arlington or Pentagon City.

[PotomacCyclist]

I biked on the Colonial Parkway a few years ago. I enjoyed riding near the old Jamestown historical site as well as the replicas of the three Jamestown Settlement ships. And yes, the surface is a bit rough. I rode on skinny tires but I would have been a lot more comfortable on wider tires, or on a mountain bike. However, I think it’s a fair distance between Jamestown and Williamsburg. A MTB ride might take a while.

The Jamestown sites are not bike-accessible though. You can ride near the sites, but you won’t be able to bike around the site itself. There are at least a couple different sites. There’s the larger settlement site but there are also other structures, like the glasshouse (a reproduction of the Colonial glassmaking building).

http://www.nps.gov/jame/planyourvisit/glasshouse.htm

[PotomacCyclist]

The sentence is not about revenge. In part, it’s about providing a deterrence to others who might otherwise choose to drive while impaired. Or it can help to scare kids and teenagers who see that someone can go to jail for years because they chose to drive drunk and killed someone else. This is part of building a culture that is not so accepting of drunk driving and distracted driving. (Yes, there’s a long way to go, but a multi-year jail sentence helps.)

It’s also about protecting the rest of us. Given that the former bishop is a serial drunk driver and an alcoholic, if she were free, it’s reasonable to think that she would engage in similar behavior again. So if she is off the streets and in jail, there’s no risk that she will be driving drunk and driving while distracted, and threatening other people on the roads. That includes cyclists, pedestrians and other drivers, all of whom are at risk of serious injury or death because of people like her.

[PotomacCyclist]

Well, my bikes are aluminum and I mostly ride the steel (or aluminum) CaBi bikes.

[PotomacCyclist]

The article doesn’t cover what might be the biggest expenditure of all, which is defense spending to protect overseas oil-producing regions. Much of our defense spending goes toward military actions in oil-producing countries. No secret there. We get involved when the sovereignty of a Middle Eastern country is threatened but not in many other regions. We are far more willing to believe flimsy evidence about WMDs in these regions too, leading to more massively expensive military actions and wars. Why is this relevant? Because our dependency on oil is a national weakness that forces our hand, and leads us to spend so much money on military actions in the Middle East. Recent wars have cost trillions of dollars. (I’ve read estimates of $2 trillion to as much as $8 trillion.) None of that gets built into the cost of a gallon of gas, but it should be, if people demand that we not subsidize anything (which is really a joke because all major transportation modes are heavily subsidized).

There’s also the national security angle, apart from the cost. All that spending on oil props up the worldwide oil market, sending billions of dollars to oil-producing countries and groups that control oil production, like Iran, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and ISIS/ISIL. A surprising number of people think that car driving is inherently patriotic. Freedom of the American road and all that. But why is it patriotic to help prop up groups like ISIS and Iran? People get defensive about these points, but so what? People’s feelings get hurt, but that pales in comparison with all the financial support that oil dependency gives to ISIS and Iran. I’d rather spend that money on bike infrastructure, mass transit and alternative fuel R&D and production. People scream about $4/gallon biofuels but think nothing of spending trillions of dollars on military actions that are largely based on protecting oil supplies. It really is insane to spend that much money, then claim that alternative energy and active transportation modes are wasteful and too expensive.

[PotomacCyclist]

I think it’s already getting a lot of people to pause and think about it. No, it won’t change the world but I think it’s more than just a gimmick. They are taking a mild risk, which makes it more than just a PR stunt. For a retailer to close on one of the busiest shopping days of the year is a moderately bold move.

[PotomacCyclist]

The Pentagon City location has now closed for good, although they still have the “Now Hiring Part Time Positions” signs on the front doors.

I saw that the former LA Fitness/Bally’s gym has also closed in Pentagon Row. So now there are two very large empty retail spaces at the development. At least both of those spaces are on the 2nd floor. The restaurants on the ground level usually appear busy.

As for REI, they announced that all of their stores will be closed on Black Friday, in order to encourage people to go and enjoy the outdoors, instead of staying inside shopping and focusing on consumerism. They won’t process online orders on Black Friday either.

I may have to make an extra effort to buy something at REI this year. They aren’t discovering the path to world peace but I think it’s a nice step back from the frenzy of holiday shopping (where some people will stampede and fight to grab a hot item). I’m sure I can find some sort of running, winter or hiking gear there. (Construction is ongoing at the Uline Arena site in DC, but the REI flagship store won’t be ready to open for about a year.)

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2015/10/26/rei-closing-on-black-friday-for-first-time-in-its-history/74627872/

[PotomacCyclist]

Correction: The man was seen on Saturday morning, not today.

https://www.arlnow.com/2015/10/26/naked-man-spotted-standing-in-bushes-along-wod-trail/

[PotomacCyclist]

I copied and pasted directly from the article. But I also cut out some sections, where the ellipses are.

I left the sentence about Ft. Belvoir to indicate that the grants will cover more than just the bike stations and bikes.

[PotomacCyclist]

Oct. 23, 2015 update

http://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2015/10/board-oks-grant-requests-new-fairfax-bike-routes/

The Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to support grant applications for the purchase of 130 Bikeshare bikes and about 250 docks. The grants would fund progress on new bike routes, make it easier to get to Ft. Belvoir from the Franconia-Springfield Metro and VRE stations, and improve access to the Van Dorn Street Metro station.

…

Adam Lind, bike program manager of the Fairfax transportation department, is working to build the needed infrastructure for the bikeshare stations. The new grant, which the county hopes will be approved next year, would go to purchasing the actual equipment needed.

There’s no specific date for the system to be in place. Lind hopes it can be done toward the end of 2016 or early 2017.

The initial 13 stations would connect the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station to the Reston Town Center area and hospital, and several other nearby locations, like The Spectrum shopping center.

“The ultimate plan is to continue to grow the system as the Silver Line moves out west, and additionally we are exploring the options of moving out toward Merrifield and Tysons in the future,” Lind said.

…

So maybe in 1.5 years? Maybe?

[PotomacCyclist]

I think it has always been Potomac Yard, singular. But many people use the plural because of other names like Camden Yards. The plural flows a bit better. I used to mix up the two myself, until I realized that all of the official organizations and citations use the singular form.

The shopping center in the Alexandria section is named Potomac Yard Center: http://www.mypotomacyard.com/

FAST Potomac Yard (covering both the Arlington and Alexandria sections) uses the singular: http://www.fastpotomacyard.com/

The office building complex in the Arlington section is called National Gateway at Potomac Yard: http://klnbretail.propertycapsule.com/property/output/center/detail/id:1058

It’s similar to Daylight Saving Time, which is also singular. Many people say “Daylight Savings Time,” which is incorrect. That’s because “savings” is heard in common terms like “savings account.” (This comparison is also relevant because DST ends next weekend, at 2 am on Sun. Nov. 1.) Every decade or two, it seems that Congress extends the number of months that we follow DST. Eventually, DST will cover 11.75 months of the year, leaving “Standard Time” at just one week. Or one day.

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