TheWashCycle

Monday Afternoon Commute - Minnehahahahaha

Good afternoon

• Politico poll = flooded. "MT’s readers sure seem to love their bikes — 42 percent said it replaces car trips and 38 ride when it’s nice and convenient. But 7 percent haven’t hopped on two wheels since middle school."
• Wait a minute. NPS wouldn't let CaBi set up on the Mall for over a year, but they're helping pay for Minneapolis' bike sharing? If NPS has money for bike sharing, it would seem DC would be the natural place to spend it. "Nice Ride is using more than $630,000 provided by the National Park Service to add stations at such popular recreation destinations as Lake Harriet, Lake Nokomis, ­Minnehaha Falls, Boom Island, Fort Snelling and Webber Park."
• DDOT "will soon kick off a study to consider how to make Florida Avenue safer, which [Sam Zimbabwe, Associate Director for Policy, Planning and Sustianability at DDOT] hopes will finish by early 2014; temporary fixes to implement the recommendations could come as early as next summer."
• "A New York City bicyclist who was injured by a police officer who nearly ran him over with his car now has been handed a bill — to repair the dents in the cop car."
• "For the first time, the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad will provide a train to take 700 cyclists to the starting line the night before the Boston Marathon for the Midnight Marathon." And we can't even get the Nationals to pay for a train for their customers. And this "Hubway waived fees for cyclists who used the bike-share program to complete the 26.2 miles, which they may do again this year."
• "Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili has a broken shoulder after a bicycle accident in Turkey."

What Peak?

Blossom time with the Surly LHT by gypsybug

Friday Morning Commute - avoiding protracted litigation

Good morning

• Surprise Surprise - Deihl's victim is also disappointed in the sentence he received. "In a statement to News4, the U.S. Attorney's Office for D.C. said that, "We are satisfied that in this case we were able to hold Mr. Diehl accountable for his actions while avoiding protracted litigation." 
• The Tour de Fat makes the Post's list of 20 can't miss events of the spring. 

View more videos at: http://nbcwashington.com.

Thursday Morning Commute - Opportunity

Richard Perle on the 10th Anniversary of the Iraq War "You can't a decade later go back and say we shouldn't have done that." Oddly, the same thing Bill Clinton has been telling his wife for years.

• Drive to Work Week!
• 2013 Vasa Ride in photos. I feel the need, the need for Swede. 
• Upcoming Baltimore bike events. 
• Lojack for your bike. 
• Not sure if the Silver Spring Transit Center issues will effect the Met Branch trail there or not. 
• Bike commuting can help you lose weight in ways that car commuting can not. Science!
• Not bike related, but crazy cool. 

Wednesday Morning Commute - Fat

Good morning.

• The Tour de Fat is coming back to Washington, DC. June 1st at Yards Park. 
• JDLand has the latest renderings of the 11th Street Bridge project including the overlooks and the north side trail alignments. 
• Arlington puts out a fantastic graphic about the Arlington Loop. It shows where you can go and what you can see along the loop. 
• More bike parking at Studio Theatre. 
• Sign up for the MBT 5k. 
• Thankfully, Richard Layman got a quote into one of these AAA "war on drivers" stories about why red light cameras should be supported. “On my bicycle I’ve been hit by a car running a red light,” says Richard Layman, a transportation blogger.
• “Making the W&OD available during commuting hours is a significant step in the movement to encourage more non-motorized transportation.”
• Other ways we subsidize driving, but not biking. 

Tuesday Morning Commute - SXSW

Good morning

• DC Bike party - tomorrow night. 
• Mayor Gray rides one of Austin's 2nd Class trailer-style pedicabs. I prefer DC's, but I'm a snob.
• Maryland has agreed to take responsibility for the portion of Maryland Route 410 in Takoma Park. "Before the council’s Feb. 19 vote to authorize the agreement, public comments included both support from residents who were glad to see responsibility for the road clarified, as well as concerns that if bike lanes were added — as allowed by the agreement — they could turn into a different type of lane, Acting City Manager Suzanne Ludlow said."

Wednesday Morning Commute - It's a problem

Good morning

• Lenny Bernstein of the MisFits writes a love ode to the Capital Crescent Trail, but I'll have to disagree with him on his opinion that one of the problems is that the "Purple Line light rail would run right down the Georgetown Branch." Or, at the very least he should mention how the Purple Line helps to solve several of the trails other problems like the crossing at Connecticutt Avenue and lack of connection to Silver Spring. If he thinks the CCT is popular now, wait until it connects all the way to Silver Spring and provides access to light rail transit.
• Phoenix Bikes used bike sale at Big Bear Cafe, 1700 First Street, NW, Washington, DC, March 9, 10am-2pm.

Saturday Morning Ride - Stark

Good morning

• Lon Anderson of AAA and neighborhood activist Sue Hemberger argue against removing parking minimums. They blame bike facilities for making parking more difficult.
  • "Curbside parking is already limited and, as the D.C. Department of Transportation acknowledges, will become scarcer as roads are reconfigured to accommodate streetcars and cyclists" Curbside parking is limited - as it is everywhere in the world because space is finite - but it might not be scarcer if other facilities are added. Even if there are fewer parking spaces if more people bike and take transit, then they'll be less competition too.
  • "Residents frequently ride Metro, bike and walk, but many of us also own cars. And the less we drive, the more we park." No. If driving becomes infrequent enough, we can sell our cars and rely on walking, biking, transit and car sharing.
  • "Why not simply avoid the problem by retaining the requirement that new buildings include some off-street parking spaces?" Because it forces non-car owners to subsidize car owners. 
  • "There’s a stark choice: Should we use zoning policy to make it difficult for people to drive into the city? Or should we use it to accommodate cars in ways that preserve a walkable urban fabric while minimizing the hassle, congestion and emissions associated with finding parking?" Stark or false?
• WABA will host a bike ride and party during the National Women's Biking Forum.

Tuesday Morning Commute - Elevator-Looking Beyonce

The worst part about inaugurations is having to hear - repeatedly - the old canard about how William Henry Harrison didn't wear a coat at his inauguration, and as a result got sick and died. But, he didn't get sick until 3 weeks after his inauguration - so that wasn't the cause. Still, I guess the story, unlike Harrison, is too good to die.

• Bikes well guarded. But use - at least early - of the bike parking was light.
• CaBi Family Reunion.
• Street closures make for unofficial cyclovia.
• Obama just drives right down the middle of the cycle-track.
• LAB creates a complete set of state bike laws.
• Man allegedly shot by police for biking on the sidewalk.

Monday Evening Ride - 44.2

Good evening

• The Green Lanes Blog is looking for your best photos of the President and the Pennsylvania Avenue green lanes. WABA and DDOT are proud of them. I caught a bit of the pre-parade coverage on TV, but they couldn't have been more prominent. My local bikeshare station was down to one bike at 10:30 and one dock at 2:00pm.