[PotomacCyclist]

Don’t always trust the indoor bike racks. A couple bikes were stolen from the bike rack at the underground parking garage of the building where I worked last year. That was in downtown D.C.

[PotomacCyclist]

She could be a visitor in town for the Cherry Blossom Festival. The daily bike rentals would be a better option for those looking for longer rides.

[PotomacCyclist]

That has to be an expensive ride. I find it hard to sustain more than 9-10 mph on the Bikeshare bikes. The towpath could be even slower. If she did a 28-mile round trip, that could be 3 hrs. total. That adds up to a $22.50 charge for the extra time above 30 minutes.

I haven’t seen any Bikeshare bikes that far away from stations.

[PotomacCyclist]

What annoys me even more are people who pass when they clearly see oncoming bike traffic. They expect cyclists in the other lane to veer out of the way, even though the person passing is on the wrong side of the dividing line. This happened frequently last year. The passers can clearly see me riding toward them and yet they continue with their pass and ride almost directly at me.

Since when does passing give someone an absolute right to go the wrong way on the trail? It’s like there’s some sort of unwritten rule about it now.

[PotomacCyclist]

March 22 came and went. No news about the ride or registration. The Bike DC Facebook page hasn’t been updated this year either.

http://www.facebook.com/BikeDC?sk=wall&filter=2

[PotomacCyclist]

Update: On their official Facebook page, Capital Bikeshare stated that the Rosslyn stations won’t open until April.

“This will happen in April. Exact date is still to be determined. Equipment is now in delivery.”

[PotomacCyclist]

Here’s the link to the Bike DC website: http://www.bikedc.net/

[PotomacCyclist]

Here’s the list of the locations for the 1st 4 stations in the Rosslyn and Court House areas.

[PotomacCyclist]

A few years ago, some guy posted videos of the entire Mt. Vernon Trail on YouTube, split into two parts. They’re interesting but the image quality isn’t so great. He sped up the footage so the length of the videos would be manageable. Maybe you could film an updated HD version. That would be neat.

[PotomacCyclist]

Hmm, could be nuclear-powered.

[PotomacCyclist]

Alexandria transportation officials are discussing the possibility of adding a cluster of six CaBi stations around the Old Town, King Street or Carlyle areas. Nothing has been decided but it looks like the officials would like to see this happen.

Alexandria considers bike-sharing, Washington Post

[PotomacCyclist]

Arlington’s bike map is available in hard copy and as a free PDF download. I think you can find it on the Bike Arlington website.

The connection between W&OD and Four Mile Run isn’t quite clearly marked. You have to cross the street at the W&OD Trail head, turn right and ride on the sidewalk to Four Mile Run on your left.

Four Mile Run connects with the Mt. Vernon Trail. Turn north and take that to the 14th St. Bridge. There’s a tricky temporary detour when you turn toward the bridge. Riding across the bridge is easy. There’s a separate Active Transportation Lane or wide sidewalk, which is separated from car traffic by a metal fence.

As you get off the bridge, you’ll head over to the Jefferson Memorial. It’s a little tricky around the Tidal Basin because you have to cross a couple busy roads. But there are traffic lights there. You’ll have a bit of a climb up 15th St. SW. You’re allowed to ride on the wide sidewalk on the west side of 15th St. SW. You’ll be more comfortable on the sidewalk there than in traffic. Just before the Washington Monument, turn right and cross 15th St. and 14th St. to get onto Jefferson Drive. Traffic is fairly slow on that road. That will take you all the way to Capitol Hill.

If you take this route, you can avoid riding in busy streets for the most part. Jefferson Drive, which runs in front of the Smithsonian Castle, is not intimidating at all. I often go for runs on that road, as well as bike rides.

If you’re riding in along W&OD and Four Mile Run Trail, 14th St. Bridge is a quicker route than Memorial Bridge. It’s probably more convenient too, in terms of grade crossings.

I’d volunteer to ride but I can’t this weekend. Possibly the following weekend, if you haven’t found any guides by then.

[PotomacCyclist]

I downloaded a PDF copy.

[PotomacCyclist]

I haven’t read them yet but “17 Hours to Glory” and “The Spring Classics – Cycling’s Greatest One-Day Races” might be worth a look.

“17 Hours” has a separate chapter on each of several important figures in the history of the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, from Julie Moss (whose struggle to finish the race as she fell out of 1st place became immortalized on ABC’s Wide World of Sports and gave triathlon its first memorable television moment) and champions like Mark Allen and Chrissie Wellington to human interest stories like Sister Madonna Buder (Kona finisher when she was in her mid 70s) and Sarah Reinertsen (who finished Kona as an above-the-knee amputee). The book is about the human side of the athletes, not so much about the technical side of training although it’s interesting to read that Julie Moss rode 340 miles on her bike the week leading into the Ironman championship. (Sport science and understanding of endurance training was obviously not very well developed at the time. Or at least Moss missed out on some of those lessons, but she still managed to place well among the women that day.)

“The Spring Classics” looks at the history and mystique of the famous one-day European spring races in the pro cycling calendar.

You can download and read the first chapter of both books from the publisher’s official website: http://velopress.com/cycling_history.php

[PotomacCyclist]

I sometimes think about what driving in a car actually involves. In what other situation do non-felons voluntarily enclose themselves in a 2′ x 2′ space for extended periods of time, and in an area where it’s impossible to stand up? That would be considered cruel and inhuman punishment for even the most violent of offenders. And yet, millions of people do this to themselves each and every day. Most people have enough mental fortitude, character and decency where they don’t let it destroy their sense of courtesy and civilized behavior. For a minority, they seem to melt down and act like maniacs. Unfortunately, those individuals are also in control of thousands of pounds of steel, aluminum, plastic and rubber at that moment in time.

[Author]

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