TheWashCycle

Monday Afternoon Commute - geoglyphs

Good afternoon. A co-worker pointed out today that the original Star Wars Trilogy is basically unchanged if Leia and Luke aren't siblings. Sure, maybe it explains why Luke looses it during the last light-saber fight, but you could've gotten there without it (as Family Guy so eloquently pointed out). And it doesn't matter in the second trilogy either. So why do it? Anyway the speed bike chase is still pretty cool.

• Coverage of the DDOT bike lane meeting from GGW. I have some notes to add to this as well, but as usual, I'm behind. 
• The new plan for the McMillan sand filtration site includes "a hiker-biker trail along North Capitol for the length of the site, several new sidewalks, and two Capital Bikeshare stations on the site—one near the grocery store and one in the middle of the mixed-use medical office/retail complex."
• Bicycle as paintbrush.
• 'For [3-feet passing] laws to work, cities must incorporate two key components - education and enforcement. Without those things, "the [three-foot] law is just something written on a piece of paper," says Mike Samuelson of the Alliance for Biking & Walking.'

Tuesday Morning Commute - Wetlands Bridge Open today

Good morning. Noticed the headline yesterday "Secret Service Scandal Widens". Has there every been a headline "Scandal Narrows"? Probably not. They might as well have used the headline "We're still talking about the Secret Service Scandal, so you know what that means."

• The St. Elizabeths East Campus Transportation Network Environmental Assessment is out. it would remove a barricade east of the river, but not do much more. 

Alternative 1 and Alternative 2 would open the campus’s roadway network to cyclists, providing alternative bicycle connections to Alabama Ave. and Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave. The low-speed nature of the proposed street network on the East Campus would accommodate cyclists with safe and attractive facilities, providing a parallel network to the primary facilities mentioned above. Both of the alternatives provide on street bicycle lanes  along 13th St.Improving bicycle facilities would make cycling a more attractive option and contribute to a mode shift away from single-occupancy vehicles

• VDOT's list of 2012 Tentative Enhancement Allocations includes $190,000 for the Potomac Yard - Four Mile Run Trail Connection which will construct a paved connection between the Four Mile Run Trail and existing bicycle / pedestrian facilities in Potomac Yard and $80,000 for the translation of a statewide pocket safety guide for bicycle/pedestrian/motorist safety into an additional language, create an electronic version, and fund local safety classes.
• It also includes money for part of the following projects
  • bikesharing at the University of Virginia*; the conversion of a ca. 1881 bridge in Bristol for use as a bike trail
  • construction of a bicycle/pedestrian trail system to connect the historic sites of Belmont, Chatham Manor, and Ferry Farm
  • construction of an asphalt, bicycle and pedestrian trail connecting Pierce Elementary School to residential areas in the Town of Remington
  • construction of a multi-use trail from Occoquan Regional Park to the Laurel Hill Greenway
  • Construction of a multi-use trail on abandoned Chesapeake and Ohio right of way from the City of Covington to the Town of Hot Springs
  • Construction of Virginia Creeper trailhead facilities; a connector trail linking the Virginia Creeper Trail and the Overmountain Victory Trail
  • Construction of a multi-use trail along abandoned Norfolk Southern right of way from the Town of Appalachia to the Town of Big Stone Gap
  • Construction of an extension to the New River Trail from its existing northern terminus in the Town of Pulaski to Randolph Park
  • Construction of a multi-use trail through the communities of Roanoke County
  • Construction of a multi-use trail throughout the communities of the City of Roanoke
  • Construction of the Tobaco Heritage Trail, a multi-use trail throughout the communities of the City of Roanoke
• Arlington installed two new CaBi stations yesterday. One at 20th & Vietch and the other at Veitch & Key near Courthouse.
• Park Police are ticketing cyclists at Hains Point, but they're saying things like 'you don't have to unclip or anything, but at least slow down. You just blew right through it and turned right, so I had to stop you." which seems reasonable. 
• Manassas Trail Meeting on Thursday. 
• Fairfax County students to participate in National Bike to School.
• New Bicycling postage stamps coming this summer.  

*I believe this is in Rep. Eric Cantor's district, which is interesting because he opposed and belittled bike sharing in DC. 

Friday Morning Commute - 24/365.25

Happy Good Friday. I wish the media didn't call a motorcycle a bike. Now my searches are filled with stories about Arkansas Couch Petrino and Jessica Dorrell.

• "The gates at both ends of the Washington Navy Yard (WNY) Riverwalk will remain open for public access from dusk to dawn and will be open as a thoroughfare to facilitate access to the WNY and neighboring areas after sunset. There will be no loitering allowed between the hours of sunset and sunrise and the Riverwalk may close, without notice, to support WNY operations." That is a pretty rapid change from not so long ago when it was only open during working hours. Nice job Navy. 
• A reader writes in "A number of riders saw a snapper turtle at the edge of the CCT where it parallels the C&O Canal last week.  The turtle was variously described as “very big” and “prehistoric” and appeared to weigh as much as 30-35 pounds.  Since the males are territorial, there is a good chance of more sightings at this location.  Riders and joggers should be advised not to approach the turtle, as they are highly aggressive during the spring mating season and can easily cause a severe injury to a person’s limbs." So, pretty much the same as GWU students...
• So that's what happened to all the other ghost bikes Legba Carrefour promised us.
• The First Ever National Bike to School Day is scheduled for May 9th. I understand the idea of having in bike month, but it might be better to do it earlier in spring, so that kids can finish out the year on bike. But, I'm not complaining.

First-ever National Bike to School Day

Friday Morning Commute - Gateway Drugs and Tissue Thin Leotards

Good morning

• GGW endorses former Bicycle Advisory Council member Jacque Patterson for Ward 8 CM. As did the Post.
• LAB interviews Matt Wittmer, author of “Where to Bike DC.” I have a copy of this book that I got at Interbike, but like everything Interbike, I haven't blogged about it yet. 
• One advantage of offering the homeless access to CaBi instead of transit "the Bikeshare memberships -- which DDOT is offering the nonprofit at a discount -- are much cheaper, saving the nonprofit about $7,000." The idea, it turns out, came from a homeless participant. And CaBi is doing more to encourage the needy to use the service - including offering monthly fees instead of annual.
• Senator Cardin of Maryland was honored yesterday at the Bike Summit. "Senator Cardin’s leadership was instrumental in crafting a creative solution to maintain funding for Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to Schools in the Senate’s transportation bill and to ensure that cities and counties continue to have a voice in how federal dollars are spent on these important programs."
• Pump track as bicycling gateway drug. 
• NYU just expanded it's bike fleet, but it should be focused on getting the city-wide bike sharing on campus.
• Bike shop for the famous."Lady Gaga has been to the store, and true to form, Mr. McCorkell did not know who she was — even though she was dressed in little more than spike heels and a tissue-thin leotard." Same outfit I commute in actually.
  
  • The relationship between film stars and bicycling has been well established. Steven Rea, author of “Hollywood Rides a Bike: Cycling with the Stars” said that in the 1940s and 1950s, movie studios “essentially had bike-share programs up and running that would make Toronto or Paris envious.” He said workers used bicycles to “wheel from one side of the lot to another, from dressing room to cafeteria to soundstage.” He said many actors also cycled between takes, like Jimmy Stewart, who took breaks from filming “Rear Window” on a bike.
• One way to be seen.
• Reply.

Join the Tune-Ups for BTWD 2012

Washington D.C's Tune-Ups Bicycle Choir is seeking singers and musicians to join the group and perform at Bike-to-Work day on May 18th in D.C.   The Tune-Ups are an ad-hoc group of singers and cyclists who perform rockin and rollin songs about cycling and the benefits of commuting by bike each year at the Bike-to-Work Day event.  For more information, contact Heidi Goldberg at go.heidi at gmail.com asap (rehearsals will begin soon) or visit the group on facebook.

"And that's why I try to run them over"

Stop it, you're killing me. 

This comic strip wraps so many stereotypes into one (an "ultimate summary of this unfortunate stereotype"), and then gets the "cyclists must ride in the bike lane" part wrong too. But, I guess it's hard to come up with something funny every day. 

Best Photos of the Year 2011

Rather than a single photo, here's a link to the results of an app that chooses the best photos from the Washcycle pool for each month. A lot of photos of Capital Bikeshare.

Which is also a reminder that if you'd like to see your photos features on the blog, be sure to add them to the Washcycle flickr pool.

Happy New Year.

Calm, Calm, Panic

Calm, Calm, Panic by Sanjay Suchak

I may have posted this photo before, but it's good enough to post twice.

Wednesday Morning Commute - "Forever Bicycles", was that the one with Clooney?

Good morning. Let us know if you see Obama. My friend had Sasha and Malia trick-or-treat at her house. How cool is that? But she's a Republican so she gave them each a ladle full of hot chili.

• Capital bikeshare station expansion begins. First station expanded - 16th and Harvard. Enjoy.
• WABA's Call to action summit is on Thursday
• BRAC funding in Virginia: "In addition to widening Route 1, the Belvoir project will include sidewalks and bicycle paths and accommodations for future transit. Construction is expected to start in 2013 with possible completion in 2015."
• Collecting abandoned bikes for the less fortunate is a Mitzvah!
• Bicycle parking facility, similar to the one in College Park is planned for the Franconia-Springfield Metro. "WMATA is in the final stages of planning an indoor, enclosed bike parking facility at Franconia-Springfield Metro station. It will likely be located in the new parking garage. The project is funded through a TIGER I grant for multimodal improvements at the station."
• Bike paths are infrastructure [Warning link is to conservative website].
• “Forever Bicycles” is made of 1,000 bicycles installed in a 10-meter high space in a moving, abstract shape to symbolize the way in which the social environment in China is changing. It probably won't fit in your basement.

Sculpture along the Met Branch Trail 2

Photo by ElvertBarnes