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There’s an… interesting… common thread to three of the five incidents:

“When the male victim yelled back, the cyclist approached and circled the victims on his bicycle before pulling down his shorts and exposing his buttocks. The cyclist then allegedly struck the male victim on the arm and unsuccessfully attempted to take the female victim’s phone from her hand.”

Based solely on the photo, I wouldn’t agree with the police report that the suspect has an “athletic build” but apparently the victims got a better look!

Here’s hoping he’s found quickly.

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Just gave them a ring… they say they have 11 tables, “some for four people, and some benches.”

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@ChristoB50 201932 wrote:

Just my 2 cents… I was office-working full time before covid, and was bike-commuting quite frequently. Now, teleworking 100%, and I can hardly muster the interest to ride!

Same here. I don’t enjoy riding on the roads, the trails have been crowded, and I rarely have anywhere to go, so I’ve hardly been on the bike at all.

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I suspect the daytime heat and humidity is leading many people to exercise in the early mornings or late evenings.

As for the cars, I don’t know, but traffic has definitely increased in the past several weeks. It’s made it much more treacherous to run or walk in the road to maintain social distancing.

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I’ve seen cars drive up to the gate and turn around, but never this. Incredible. I bet the driver has found a way to rationalize this as somehow not their fault.

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Guess I got lucky!! Wonder what the rationale is for closing the gates

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The vehicle gates have been closed but it’s easy enough to gain access through the gap in the fencing, probably intended for pedestrians. There were quite a few people fishing and running when I was there on Tuesday evening. I did a couple of laps on the bike.

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In DC, the “Slow Streets” initiative could be used to create low-stress connections between infrastructure gaps. In my neighborhood, I’m thinking particularly of the lack of East-West connections between Mt. Pleasant, Columbia Heights, and Park View (basically from Rock Creek Park to Georgia Ave).

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I gather the Wednesday coffee club at Best Buns has resumed (outdoors with distancing). Any others? Might be nice to have a master list.

Since few of us are commuting downtown at the moment, I assume FCC is still off.

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@mstone 199887 wrote:

I’m sorry, I don’t believe that the sidewalks anywhere in the region (that is, not desirable destinations that people are flocking to and causing the closures) are so crowded that they are life-threatening.

Perhaps not, but most people are making an effort to give each other room, and here in NW DC that’s pushing walkers & runners into the bike lanes and the roads. There’s a lot of demand for outdoors space right now, and relatively little demand for vehicular movement. People need and want to spread out, so why not give them some space?

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I suppose a solo camping trip on the C&O violates both the letter and spirit of the DC and MD orders.

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Nevermind: the National Guard will be preventing entry to the Mall and Jefferson Memorial starting tomorrow. Some other streets may still be bike and ped only

https://www.popville.com/2020/03/dc-national-guard-washington-dc-restrict-cherry-blossoms-tidal-basin-coronavirus/

“As the District continues working to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), Mayor Muriel Bowser is extending road closures and taking additional measures to restrict access to the Tidal Basin. The Mayor has directed the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) to work with the DC National Guard to enforce a restricted access zone around the Tidal Basin until further notice to ensure social distancing and prevent further community transmission of COVID-19. Further, pedestrian and bicycle traffic will be restricted in the area of the National Mall. Members of the public will not be able to enter the Jefferson Memorial or the National Mall in the area bounded by 14th Street to 23rd Street and Constitution Avenue to Independence Avenue, SW.

In coordination with the National Park Service, MPD will continue street closures from 7:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m. at the following locations:

The Memorial Bridge
Lincoln Memorial Circle
Potomac River Freeway (all exits to Ohio Drive and Independence Avenue)
Rock Creek Parkway/Potomac Parkway Drive between Virginia Avenue and Independence Avenue, SW (to include Ohio Drive, SW)
Independence Avenue between Ohio Drive and 14th Street, SW
23rd Street between Constitution Avenue and Lincoln Memorial Circle
Henry Bacon Drive between Constitution Avenue and Lincoln Memorial Circle
17th Street between Constitution Avenue, NW and Independence Avenue, SW
15th Street between Constitution Avenue, NW and Independence Avenue, SW
Maine Avenue between Independence and 12th Street, SW
All vehicular exits to East Potomac Park and West Potomac Park

All street closures and listed times are subject to change based upon prevailing or unexpected conditions. Vehicles parked along the streets in violation of the emergency no parking signs will be ticketed and towed.”

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Most or all of these roads are open to bicycles and pedestrians. There are quite a few people out but I wouldn’t say it’s crowded. Definitely consider checking it out.

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DC isn’t Bethesda, I know, but I’ve left Jump bikes in some pretty odd locations around the city and have been impressed by how quickly they disappear again

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The Bike Angel program is on pause.

I’d be curious to know how successful it was. I earned a number of free one-day passes but most of these were accidental — it was rare that I’d alter my rides to pick up points.

From the e-mail I just received:

As you probably know, the Bike Angels program was created to give bike riders (like you!) an opportunity to earn rewards for improving the balance of bikes and docks in the Capital Bikeshare system. The changing nature of Capital Bikeshare with different types of bikes and parking methods, means changes to the operational challenges of “balancing” bikes and docks across the system. We know that riders will have an important role to play here, but the current Bike Angels system — with points tied to specific stations — won’t make the most sense.

As a result, we’re hitting pause on the Bike Angels program, and the last points will be earned on February 29.

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