TheWashCycle

New buffered bike lane on Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue

Most of the new bike facilities on NHB Avenue between 44th and 50th are sharrows, but there are some sections of bike lane - includeing this buffered one.

The Crystal City Diamond Derby Returns

Crystal City, VA — The Crystal City Business Improvement District (BID), in association with Vornado/Charles E. Smith, Dandies & Quaintrelles (D&Q), Corehaus DC and Sciathan Productions, is proud to announce the return of the Crystal City Diamond Derby, taking place Saturday, September 29, 2012.

Building on the success of the first Diamond Derby, the event will transform the parking garage at 2345 Crystal Drive in Crystal City into an urban cycling course complete with a lounge, street art, spectator viewing areas and – new to the Derby – cycling-inspired fashion shows. The event kicks off with the arrival of the D&Q River Ride, a fashion-fueled casual ride originating in DC. From daredevil cyclists to non-competitive riders, the Derby has something for everyone, including a course for kids, a traditional speed race, team relays and a courier-inspired obstacle course.

Get a feel for the action with last year’s video.

What:	Crystal City Diamond Derby
Who:	Casual riders, professional and non-competitive cyclists
When:	Saturday, September 29, 2012, 4pm – 10pm
Where:	2345 Crystal Drive, Arlington, Va. METRO: Crystal City Station
Info:	For more information and updates, please visit: http://www.diamond-derby.com/
Contact:	Members of the public who have questions about the event should call (703) 412-9430 or visit www.crystalcity.org.

Tuesday Afternoon Commute - free kill

I think DDOT is setting up staging for the new Parkside Pedestrian Bridge. At least, that's what it looks like.

• The New Jersey Ave NW Safety improvements presentation is online. The new avenue, under the recommended multi-modal alternative, would include an "innovative" bike lane on the right hand side - to the right of the right turn lane - which cyclists would navigate like a pedestrian. At the New York Avenue intersection there are protected buffers for the bike lane. I've never seen that before, but it does concern me. They call it a "unique Dutch treatment."
• A call for 'strict liability'. "Without laws protecting bikers and walkers, however, the goal of having truly livable cities in America remains out of reach. Legal lines are more important than physical lines. Creating the right laws to govern the interactions among walkers, cyclists and drivers is more effective than painting new stripes for a bike lane....A big step forward is to put the primary responsibility for keeping streets safe on the drivers of the two- and 10-ton vehicles that routinely kill people."
• Bicycle theft isn't treated seriously enough says one bike shop employee. "Also, the police don't understand how a bike could cost as much as $4,000, since most of them are not cyclists and do not understand that cycling is a serious and integral part of our culture The profile of this "thief" is not on their radar. This thief is the one driving the nice van or SUV -- full of bikes -- next to the cop car."

Quirk in Virginia/DC law creates new bike commuters

Because Virginia defines traveling “in excess of 80 miles per hour regardless of the applicable maximum speed limit” as reckless driving, some DC residents are losing their license after one ticket. In Virginia that offense results in six points on a 24-point scale, but in DC it's 12 on a 12 point scale. That's automatic 6 month suspension.

Selden has turned to a combination of Metro and bike commuting to get from his Chevy Chase home to his government job in Rockville. Not driving, he said, means spending less time with his kids and a heavier load for his wife. Summer vacation has been canceled, too, he said: “It’s a lot to have my wife do all the driving on long trips.”

Which actually sucks for the guy, who's decent enough to not drive because it would be illegal (Despite all the unlicensed drivers out there).

And yet drivers who kill can often keep on driving.

Monday Afternoon Commute - I prefer the Popeye's

Good afternoon

• A new "trail", the Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail, was inaugurated today. It doesn't include any new pavement or anything - just signs and education material. Still, I bike past this point every time I bike commute "But not far from the intersection with Eastern Avenue — near the Popeyes Chicken attached to the Shell gas station — is the spot where Commodore Joshua Barney placed his guns in a last-ditch effort to save the capital during the Battle of Bladensburg on Aug. 24, 1814." and I had no idea. 
• The new Park Service policy about mountain bikes on trails will not unleash bikes on every trail. 

Monday Morning Commute - Wanna Get Away?

I was watching the Olympic Road Race on the wrong channel I guess. They switched over to qualifying heats for women's swimming and then only came back when the race was over - then they blew it by announcing "Taylor Farrar Phinney came in 4th" before showing like 7 seconds of the finish. Why they couldn't cut away, or show the last two minutes a few minutes after it was over - without ruining the ending - I'll never know. Shouldn't a race with a medal on the line - and an American in contention - take priority over qualifying heats? Anyway, Farrar Phinney said in an interview that 4th was the worst place to be. But I figure that puts him only one, inevitable doping scandal away from bronze. In the women's race, Shelly Olds came in 7th after a flat tire cost her a shot at the podium. BTW, isn't it time the road race became a team sport? That's how they ride it after all.

• The Post covers a supposed rise in crimes that are perpetrated by people on bikes. I don't know. Crime reports come up pretty regularly in my searches and I don't know if I've seen an uptick. It's pretty much a weekly occurrence and has been since 2005. It's actually on my list of "stories I don't bother to report anymore because they're so common."
• The Park Police released a sketch of the suspect in a sexual assault that took place on the Capital Crescent Trail earlier this week.
• Local teens pitch ideas for the proposed 11th Street Bridge Park. "This fall, the city is launching a national design competition for the park.... The best-case scenario would be to have the redesigned bridge open by 2016, but planners acknowledged that with funding questions and other unknowns, that’s probably unrealistic. They hope that the park would be maintained by a private partner, either a company or a nonprofit." Also, a ramp from DC-295 South to the bridge opens today. That probably isn't relevant to cyclists unless it means that resources will now be shifted to the other bridge - or unless it means less cut through traffic on East Capitol, 17th St SE and Barney Circle.
• Author Dave Eggers writes a review of the new book "Just Ride" about how you probably need less gear for your bike ride. That's true, but a lot of it is nice. I like pockets on the back of my shirt. I like wicking. I like padded bike shorts. Do you need them? No. But they can be nice - even on a 10 mile bike ride. But I wouldn't use expensive sunglasses if I hadn't gotten them as a gift and I get that the image it creates may not be good for cycling (though the revenue it brings to bike shops might be).
• Barry Bonds is now biking and has slimmed down quite a bit. I'm not sure if that's the best sport to get into if you're accused of doping. But whatevs.

Bike Rack with Pump

I spotted this cool setup at 3rd and L NE. That could come in handy. Not as handy as this bike repair stand that Tales From the Sharrows has at his work, but still good. Bicycle Space has one of those stands too, and I think you can use it for free if you want. One of those repair stands - under a repurposed old bus stand perhaps - would make a nice addition to the Met Branch and Anacostia Riverwalk Trails.

Sunday Video - What up Dog?

A Ride for Kadian & Candlelight Vigil

The 14-year old son of CityBikes CEO Debora Harding was killed in a head-on collision with a van while cycling near their home in the United Kingdom. They're having a ride in his honor Sunday evening at 7pm. 

The City Bikes family, along with the DC cycling community, will ride in Kadian’s honor this Sunday, July 29th at 7pm from the flagship location at 2501 Champlain Street NW in Adams Morgan. Following the ride at 8:30pm, there will be a candlelight vigil at Unity Park across the street from City Bikes in Adams Morgan.

Kadian Harding was an avid cyclist and lover of technology. He lent a hand at his mother’s bike shop during his school vacations for years, always wanting to help out with IT needs. At the time of his death, Kadian was preparing to install a network of almost 30 new computers at all three of City Bikes’ locations. Being a lover of all things Apple, Kadian was very excited to have been offered an opportunity to train at the Apple Business Center in the coming months.

Kadian will be remembered as a brilliant, articulate, and kind young man. His oft-occurring smile can still be felt within the walls of all three City Bikes shops, especially the Capitol Hill location, which Kadian helped to build. The ride will first visit Georgetown and DC’s only Apple retail store, then on around the monuments to City Bikes’ Capitol Hill shop on Barracks Row. The ride will end back in Adams Morgan at Unity Park, across the street from City Bikes, for the candlelight vigil.

In order to best honor Kadian’s memory, the use of helmets and lights will be required. Additionally, all participants will be required to follow the standard rules of the road and follow the directions of the ride marshals at all times. 

Details can be found at facebook.com/CityBikesDC. 

 

Saturday Morning Ride - Not all of them move over

Good Morning

• Cycletrack as construction staging. 
• The CCCT, while saddened and disturbed by the recent attacks, wants to remind everyone that the trail is safe and gives strategy suggestions to keep it safe. 
• While much of this letter is true, I'm not sure why it's directed at cyclists. Isn't it also true of drivers and, with some exceptions, pedestrians?
• Members of a London cycling group were arrested during their monthly ride because they tried to "pedal their way through the security cordon around the Olympic Park." The ride normally passes through that area.