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.

Comments

[Greenbelt]

I took some pictures testing the College Park bike facility last week: http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?2148-New-College-Park-Metro-bike-and-ride-facility
Seems like this is going ot be a great way to keep your bike dry and extra secure for a nominal hourly fee. Also good for occasional overnighters or people who want to leave a bike near school/work for the last couple miles without getting a locker.

[Westnorth]

The French say "modes doux" (doux = sweet, light) to describe not driving. I've never liked the patronizing "alternative transportation" label, despite generally being a fan of alt-this and alt-that.

I used the new ART bridge yesterday as an alternative to Capitol Hill streets for a ride between H St and the Capitol Riverfront. Added about 50% in terms of mileage, but twas a great day to go the extra distance.

[JJJJJ]

The MBTA has similar parking facilities, but theyre free. You just need a free special card, and the area is secured by cameras.

[C-Sqrl]

My e-bike, which now has 1,400 miles on it, allows me to commute to work by bike more days than by car. It's a 30 mile round trip and I arrive in under an hour and don't need a shower or change of clothes. All necessities given my work situation.

Yes the e-bike is heavier but it has disk brakes and wider tires to help compensate.

Huge plus is that since getting back up to speed is fast and effortless I never mind slowing/stopping at intersections or when encountering pedestrians.

The need/desire to blow through intersections or right by pedestrians (worse yet between pedestrians) is just not there on an e-bike.

As an ex single tracker and occasional racer the world of regular commuting by bike (thanks to electric assist) has engaged me again with the biking community. It has added one more avocate for better/safer/smarter cycling routes. Not to mention kept my Subaru parked in the driveway thus minimizing its impact on the planet and my wallet :)

It's still a bicycle and I'm pedalling and getting more exercise than driving by far. Not only that but it includes most all of the other natural pleasures of riding a bike (because it is).

I'll continue to set examples of safe and courteous cycling every ride and hope other e-bikers will do the same for the good of all.

[C-Sqrl]

For an interesting blog of a couple currently biking across the country to promote e-bikes as a fun-easy-realistic option to driving a car check out:

http://www.transamericanelectricbiketour.com/

[Eric_W.]

C-Sqrl: These guys were in town a couple of weeks ago... Their trip is definitely a good way to draw attention to the e-bike.

If you think going about 3,000 miles on an e-bike across the US, then the 11,000 mile trip around Australia on an e-bike is probably up your alley as well.

German adventurer Maximilian Semsch has been on the road since the beginning of the year on a Haibike eQ Trekking. Incidentally, Haibike is a German brand owned by Accell Group who just purchased Raleigh.

[C-Sqrl]

Cool Eric thanks! The couple's route is 4K but 11K...sweet. I'll look up his journey and the company. Much appreciated.

[JDAntos]

I really appreciate the new bridge for transportational reasons - it gives me a flatter (although less direct) route between Capitol Hill East and anywhere in Virginia.

[Eric_W.]

Sorry, did not mean to diminish their accomplishment in the US... Just used the proximate coast-to-coast distance but of course I should have accounted for extra mileage along the way. In any event, both trips stand on their own as great PR events for e-bikes. Maximilian Semsch just seems more experienced as an adventurer.

[C-Sqrl]

I figured that Eric NP. The 4K is actually because they are taking a zig zag course- I guess to hit more places along the way.

Yes, you can tell by their posts that although they hiked/biked through New Zeland this latest trip will be a big learning one.

Thanks again for clueing me in on Maximilian. The range of models of those german e-bikes look quite extensive.

PS Had a nice warm spring rain ride in today. Luckily e-bikes are waterproofed ;)

[Richard Layman]

While it's great that WMATA is doing the bike facility, I am not sure at this point it qualifies as "cutting edge" from the standpoint of Rogers' "diffusion of innovations." Cutting edge = innovators. Early adopters = the stage we're at now.

BART, MBTA, CTA, Tri-Met, LA MTA, Sound Transit, the Bike Station operation out of Long Beach probably would be termed the initial types of innovations in the field. CTA for inside the station. MBTA for outside shelters. BART and Tri-MET for bike cage type facilities.

Plus Caltrain and Metrolink and MBTA for railroad-related bike accommodation, and other light rail systems, including Tri-Met, for bike hooks on train cars.

[Richard Layman]

I try to always refer to walking, biking, and transit as sustainable transportation.

People also use the term active transportation to refer to walking and biking.

[Richard Layman]

I sometimes use the word "optimal" when describing this stuff. I haven't seen walking, biking, and transit collectively referred to as "optimal transportation."

Note that I hate discussions of promoting walking, biking, and transit in terms of "choice" (Harriet Tregoning, DC's director of the Office of Planning, does this a lot).

The issue is providing more "choices", it's getting people to make the best or optimal choice, that is to say, choosing sustainable transportation modes (+ car sharing I guess over car owning).

[Richard Layman]

aargh. That's: The issue isn't providing more "choices", it's getting people to make the best or optimal choice, that is to say, choosing sustainable transportation modes (+ car sharing I guess over car owning).

[Kolohe]

Funnily enough, but not in a ha ha way, I read this post this morning, then passed by this grate on the way to work this morning, and though dang, that would suck to hit that grate, and then proceeded to wipe out completely on this grate on the way home. Had taken that path before, but this was the first time on the new bike with (what I realize now are) skinnier tires than I had before.

[IMGoph]

is WABA turning sewer grates, or is WASA (aka DC Water) doing it?

[washcycle]

WABA was created to get sewer grates turned, but I think DPW does it.

[IMGoph]

ah, stupid me for not knowing my history... :)