TheWashCycle

Tuesday Afternoon Commute - Insurance

Good Afternoon

• Leilah Reese, a news aide at The Washington Post, does the unthinkable. She rode her bike to work. She's right to be proud, it takes a certain leap of faith to try it the first time. 
• The Florida Rock development and its section of the Anacostia Riverwalk gets a little closer to reality with support from the ANC and a neutral response from the zoning commission. 
• Let DDOT know what you think about parking - including bike parking. 
• There are new insurance options for cyclists. 
• Better question: Is it time for DC to entice Interbike away?

Monday Morning Commute - turn the sewer grates 90 degrees

I rode across the new Wetlands Bridge this weekend for the first time since it opened. Saw quite a few people there as well as downstream of it (whereas I used to never see anyone along that part of Water Street). So it seems to be pulling people down to the river. Whether it will last, or it was just a bunch of lookie-loos will remain to be seen. I don't expect a lot of transportational cycling to be done on that bridge though.

• I know I mentioned that Metro is testing the new secure bicycle facility before, but I wanted to give it a little more time. This is actually a pretty big deal. It's the first time Metro is trying something between long-term secure parking (lockers) and short-term take-your-chances parking (bike racks). This kind of arrangement is not very common in the US, so Metro should be commended for getting out on the cutting edge.
• WABA was started, in large part, to turn the sewer grates 90 degrees.
• "Bikes need not and should not be exclusive to the spry and fit. E-bikes open cycling up to a larger population. Sure, they aren’t for everyone — I doubt I’ll end up with one any time soon. I think, however, they can absolutely be part of the bigger picture for getting more people out of their cars and onto bikes. There are details to be worked out, but on the whole, cycling is better off embracing — rather than shunning — e-bikes." One downside, currently they may be illegal on many area trails.
• The Better World Club will soon be offering one of the first bike insurance policies in the United States. They will soon be adding full-coverage insurance to their bicycle roadside assistance program. It will include both medical and liability, with optional coverage available for property damage and theft. But they need you to fill out a survey first.
• "Perhaps calling walking, biking and transit “alternative modes” is actually part of the problem.  Perhaps we should be calling these modes “low cost, low carbon,” because that’s what they are.  They are only “alternative” so long as we keep edging them out of the funding system.  It’s like calling vegetarianism an “alternative” lifestyle – it might have been 20 years ago, but now it is a common, healthy option that many people use, making it no longer an “alternative” in the way many Americans use the term." Well, I'm going to disagree about vegetarianism...but there is no way we can call walking an "alternative" mode.