Friday Afternoon Commute - Big pumping

Good afternoon

• It's hard out here for a messenger. "the bike messenger is not dead yet. Shawn Blumenfeld, a local cycling racer and past courier, tells me he estimates that there are still about 100 to 150 bike messengers today in the District because many messengers he knew from a couple years ago are still at work in the industry today — although he emphasizes that this is just a guess."
• It's hard out here for a pedicabber. " Two days ago, one Park Police officer issued Mosco four citations that "appear to be retaliatory in nature for my shooting this footage of his interaction with another pedicab operator," he told me."
• It's hard out here for a bike rebalancer - "Accommodating the increasing number of users is a delicate balancing act. Lisle points to areas such as Columbia Heights, where many cyclists use the network to cycle downhill to get to work. Fleets of Capital Bikeshare vans gather up the bikes at central docks downtown 25 at a time, and truck them back up to these kinds of neighborhoods so another wave of riders can use them within the same rush hour."
• I've saved far less than $4.6 billion. I must be doing it wrong. 
• A record number of people biked to work today (I'm not surprised) and exceeded WABA's goal of 12,500. Photos from BTWD in Rosslyn and Bethesda. "It turns out that people not only want to be reassured that bicycling is safe—they may also want to be convinced that it’s normal. "
• NYC to start a new bicycle crash reporting system. "Prior to the new initiative, police only filled out a brief card describing any accident involving a bicycle. Now, police must fill out a complete accident report, just as they would for an accident between motor vehicles. This change in policy demonstrates the seriousness with which the NYPD now aims to treat bicycle accidents."

Comments

[Davis]

If I saved $4.6 billion, I would buy a new bike. That's for damn sure.

[Greenbelt]

I didn't see THAT many more cyclists that usual today, especially for such a nice day. Wasn't double the norm, at least on my route, I don't think. Maybe 50% higher normal, but I don't know, could have been less. The racks at my office weren't much fuller than usual, and the traffic in the bike lanes didn't seem much more than usual. There are just lots of people riding these days, period.

A lot of the news stories are going to say "one day a year," but I'm not sure that's right any more. The pitstops on Bike to Work day certainly give a visual impression of lots more cyclists than usual, but there are a lot anyway I think. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's my unsolicited observation.

[M.V. Jantzen]

I made a movie that illustrates which stations most need to be rebalanced:
http://www.mvjantzen.com/blog/?p=1711

[MM]

@Greenbelt

It was definitely hit or miss. Riding west from downtown into Georgetown, I saw just a couple people riding east. The CCT was nuts though...probably 10x the number of cyclists I usually see heading into the city. But I was still the only cyclist heading out, so some traffic patterns were altered and some not.

[Davis]

I saw a lot more people than usual today - but only north of Old Town Alexandria. I hardly saw anyone south of Old Town on the MV Trail. I left home around around 6:45 so maybe it was too early. By the time I got to Reagan National Airport there were a boat load of people out there. It was great to see that many people even though they slowed me down!! I love B2W Day!! Too bad they don't do one in the fall.

[washcycle]

I saw a few new commuters out on the road. I might see one other bike commuter at work on average. Today I saw 4.

[washcycle]

Davis, in the Fall they should do Bike to Home day - and have a rally during the afternoon rush.

[Purple Eagle]

On the Met Branch, there were a couple of people out near the RI Ave overpass, shouting "happy bike to work day!"

I enjoyed the vibe of having lots of people out celebrating the ride. And the gorgeous weather did not hurt!

[MBT Sko Norge]

Den hælen demping enheten er det viktigste, har hvert merke sin egen teknologi og funksjoner. Indre bunn og vanligvis kan fjernes, er det den siste linjen i forsvaret demping og korrigerende fot mangler.