TheWashCycle

DC's Bike Culture - Capital Bicycle Club

From the DC Archives

On January 31, 1879 Herbert S. “Bert” Owen, Max Hansmann, F.D. Owen, L.P. Einolf, F.G. Wood, L.N. Jessunofsy, and Chas. Krauskopf founded the Capital Bicycle Club on the steps of the United States Capitol. Incorporated on May 6, 1886 and the third club of its kind in the United States, the Capital Bicycle Club used its motto of “Swiftly and Silently” to affect public perception of the new transportation device by working with local officials on bicycle safety measures. Major Thomas P. Morgan of the D.C. police department was an honorary member of the Club. As part of Club rules, members were instructed to use bells during the day and lamps at night to avoid collisions with pedestrians. Such measures secured local rights for Club members, and wheelmen in general, while influencing new municipal bicycle policies across the United States.

The members were overwhelmingly professional men who devoted much time and money to  icycling. The Club held its first meetings in member homes, but growth caused club members to rent a space on 10th Street, N.W. near H Street. In 1880 the Club moved to 412 11th Street, N.W. In 1882 the Club moved to 919 G Street, N.W. for two years until the federal government bought the building for office space. In response, the Club decided to finance the construction of its own building at 409 15th Street, N.W. Ground broke on May 18th 1886.

Club members organized many expeditions throughout Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia including a tour of the Natural Bridge in 1882 and a tour of Cabin John Bridge in 1884. Individual members were nationally recognized for advanced riding techniques, including Herbert S. “Bert” Owen, founding member and the Club’s first Captain, for being the first man to ride down the United States Capitol steps on a bicycle. The Club also participated in collegial races. On June 29, 1880 the Club’s first annual races were held at Iowa Circle and by 1883 the Club laid a track at Athletic Park at 9th & S Streets, N.W. The Athletic Park was the site of the 5th Annual League of American Wheelmen Races on May 20, 1884.

Although bicycling was the main focus of Club members, social activities included banquets, a bicycle debating society, and a camera club, which sponsored America’s first photography salon the “Washington Salon and Art Photographic Exhibition” in 1896. The most prolific photographer of the Club was founding member and 1884 Captain, Max Hansmann who employed the cyanotype development method popular in the 1880’s, which produced brilliant Prussian blue prints. Max Hansmann’s efforts left a vibrant pictorial record of the Club’s activities and accomplishments.

The Club remained active until about 1912 when the clubhouse was moved from 409 15th Street, N.W. to 1347 Pennsylvania Avenue. Active participation ceased and the old clubhouse at 409 15th Street, N.W. was torn down in 1927. Surviving members continued to hold annual events including the “61st Capital Bicycle Club Birthday” held on January 31, 1940

Fox 5 Story on Bike Commuting

Rising gas prices have led to a lot of stories about bike commuting and a boom in sales. Here's one from Fox 5.

Arlington to Wheel out bike sharing

This is in no way a newsflash to regular readers, but if DC can't work out a deal with PEPCO, Arlington might get their bike sharing program up first.

Here are the details on the program to start this fall.

The program, called Nextbike, will feature between 100 and 200 bikes that will be tied up with cable locks at an estimated 40 orange Zipcar poles along the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor, as well as in front of Metro stations

Subscribers will pay an estimated $40 annual registration fee and can unlock the bikes by calling an automated number and typing in the five-digit code on the rear fender of the bike they want to use.

The caller will receive the combination code for the lock and then can remove the bike. Later, the cyclist can return the bike to any of the poles in the county.

The first half-hour of use will be free, but there will be a fee for each additional half-hour, though officials have not determined the amount.

“There will be a half-hour charge comparable to other modes of transit,” DeMaio said. “Otherwise, people could use it all day, and we want to discourage that because there are bike rental shops that rent all day. We’re not trying to compete with that — we’re bike transit.”

But Arlington bike commuters will not be able to ride across the bridge into the District because insurance provisions prevent companies from allowing their bicycles to be ridden in other jurisdictions.

Area officials are discussing setting up a bike transfer station on District-owned land in Arlington, where riders could exchange a Nextbike for a SmartBike or vice versa,

Accounting for technology costs, the SmartBike program will cost D.C. $4,500 per bike, DeMaio said.

The Nextbike program, which Arlington is paying for with a $200,000 state grant, will cost the county about $750 per bike, he said.

But unlike D.C.’s bikes, Arlington’s will be covered with advertising.

Which is odd, because bus shelters in Arlington can't have advertising. Oh well.

Copenhagen

As much as people point to Amsterdam as the model for bicycling, Richard Layman makes the point that Copenhagen is a more apt model for DC.

The thing is that Copenhagen lost its bicycling culture. They reconstructed it. That's the city to which DC should look to as a model for expanding the use of bicycles.

The city with the sixth-highest quality of life in the world is also home to the world's most successful community bicycle program. In Denmark practically everybody has a bike, and for many years Copenhagen has been known as 'the city of bikes'. The city of Copenhagen plans to double its spending on biking infrastructure over the next three years.

Currently 32% of workers bicycle to work and 50 percent say they cycle to work because it is fast and easy.

WABA DC Alert: One Final Push on the DC Budget, Klingle Included

WABA Alerts us:

Two weeks ago cyclists scored a significant victory for Rock Creek Park as the D.C. Council voted to reprogram funds slated to re-open Klingle Road.  The funds will now be used to create a hiker-biker path in the valley.  While the 10-3 vote was a big win, road supporters have orchestrated an 11th hour campaign targeting the Council.  Council rules require the budget to be approved twice, and the second vote will take place on Tuesday, June 3.  In addition, the upcoming DDOT budget includes significant new funding for bike and pedestrian safety efforts, funding for a "Share the Road" public service announcement campaign, and creates a new position on the staff of the DC Council to assist with bike and pedestrian improvements.

WABA urges you to contact the Council today to urge them to support all these measures that will help improve the conditions for biking and walking in the District of Columbia.  An email to reach all council members can be sent to [email protected].

Union Station ITS meeting notes

David Alpert writes:

Dan [from BeyondDC] asked about bike sharing; the DDOT folks assured us that they are working hard on creating a bike sharing facility on the west side of the station.

And to me via email

they said that integrating with the [Met Branch] trail is part of the study as well.

Chicago - push is on to bike to work

I waited so long on this article that it is no longer available on the Chicago Sun Times website. Luckily it is still on C.I.C.L.E.

Sign-up begins today for the Bicycle Federation's "Commuter Challenge" for Bike to Work Week June 7-13. Businesses and organizations compete to see who can get the most workers on their bikes.

More than 200 organizations participated in the challenge last year -- a 58 percent increase from the year before, Geraci said. The Federation is hoping this year to
persuade five City Council members to bike to work.

"It's pretty much the only manner of exercise I've ever really stuck with," said Underwood, who also writes freelance articles about biking.

He says it's harder to convince people to bike in the suburbs, but he sees more people trying it. "Gas prices and the green movement are getting people into it," he said.

Oh and if you're moving to Chicago because your fiancee is starting grad school at the University of Chicago, you can't use the weather as an excuse to not bike commute

Borzo said the main objection he hears from people is the weather. "That's because they don't try," Borzo said. "Once you get on a bike and start pedaling, you warm up . . . . People are so fixated on being cold for a minute or two."

just FYI.

Rock Creek Park Trail work done

Wonger writes:

the repaving of the Rock Creek Parkway MUP has been completed from P St. to Virginia Ave. Very smooth and nice, with nice ramps at road crossings.  All four lanes of the parkways in this stretch have also been repaved, and a thick, wooden guardrail has been erected to protect the MUP.  Remnants of project work and equipment remain around the area, but I don’t know what remains to be done.

No Registration Reminder

If you're one of the 99% of DC cyclists riding an-unregistered bike, here's a reminder that on Monday you'll once again be within the law.

D.C. residents will no longer be required to register their bicycles with the city starting June 1.Registration will not be available at D.C. police and fire stations after that date.Transportation officials and police instead are encouraging residents to register their bikes by serial number with the National Bicycle Registry.

The national database is accessible by police anywhere in the United States.To register with NBR, bike owners can purchase a kit for $10 at local bike shops or go online at  www.nationalbikeregistry.com. They can also call 800-848-BIKE.

It will be so nice to not be a criminal anymore.

The Post Covers Bike Racing

Unfortunately, it isn't for the reasons fans might like. Cycling's Drug Test

Scottish cycling star David Millar was sitting in a restaurant with two friends when the French police came to bust him. The dinner intrusion was not entirely unexpected: It was June 2004, and Millar's French team was the target of a very public, five-month doping investigation.