TheWashCycle

Thursday Morning Commute - There's an app for that

I apologize for the weirdly timed and light blogging. I've been working the 1am to 1pm shift this week, so my day is all out of whack. 

• Bike thieves in Damascas caught on video. [Also, theft is not vandalism]
• A phone app will help guide you through all the steps you should follow after a bike crash. It's New York specific, so the race is on for a law firm to modify it for DC, VA and MD. 
• Tyler Hamilton's tell-all book about Lance Armstrong and doping in pro cycling hits the shelves
• This gruesome story isn't really a bike story. I guess you could stretch it by saying that cyclists provide greater "eyes on the street" because they're moving slower, but I'm not sure that's what this is. 

Monday Evening Ride - Less bussing

Happy Labor Day. When I was a kid, this was always the last day before school started, so it always had this air of pending doom. Now it doesn't feel that way anymore, even though I'm still going to work tomorrow.

• A new NoMa apartment building, only blocks from the Met Branch Trail, will include a bike workshop.
• Richard Layman proposes rerouting the Met Branch Trail off of 8th NE and onto 9th. I'm not sure I see the need, but I think making 9th a bicycle boulevard and converting the alley along the NW side of Franklin into a bike connection are two good ways to complement the Trail. I remain hopeful that some day the trail can be routed along the CSX tracks in the section.
• The current state of the Suitland Parkway Trail.
• "East end of Interim CCT just got a makeover. Brush cleared back, graded, bench repaired. Thanks MCDOT"
• More on Arlington's new green bike lanes. And Arlington County PD was recognized as having the best traffic safety program in Virginia, for municipal police departments with 301 to 450 sworn officer, in part because of their bicycle and pedestrian safety initiative.
• The Friends of Long Bridge Park submitted a petition to the Arlington County Board asking that funding be provided for, among other things, "a pedestrian/bicycle bridge over the George Washington Memorial Parkway to the Mount Vernon Trail."
• Many cyclists = good environment for smoothie shop.
• Arlington Public Schools is enforcing its rule "that reserve bus transportation for students a mile or more away from their elementary school and 1.5 miles or more away from their middle or high school, "those inside the walk zones must walk, bike or otherwise find their own transportation to school." Some parents are not pleased "They argue that forcing their children to walk to school — sometimes over busy roads — risks their safety." Sounds like a lot of new supporters of Safe Routes to Schools. 
• Bad bollard replacement.
• "Vienna Police have arrested a man for allegedly intentionally striking a cyclist with his vehicle after a dispute on Maple Avenue while both were in motion."
• "FABB, GMU, and Fairfax County have been meeting over the past month to plan the Fairfax Bike Summit to be held on October 27."
• More photos of Metro bike parking. 
• The Two Rivers development, which will include a new section of the WB&A Trail, may undergo some changes.
• Another review of Just Ride. There is some good advice there, but personally I enjoy tracking my miles. But then, I'm an engineer and I can never get too many metrics.
• US DOT recognizes that transportation plays a role in health and fitness. 
• "Once the highway network is completed, an estimated 15,000 additional people will switch from driving to biking. And that, say officials, will have a direct impact on the environment, public health and finances. The bike highway alone is expected to save Copenhagen's health care system some $60 million a year."

Review: 7 Weeks to a Triathlon

By Read Scott Martin

7 Weeks to a Triathlon is a useful, completist how-to for beginning triathletes at any level of personal fitness, with a second section for experienced competitors to improve their results. Two courses of 7-week trainings are presented as countdowns to your next tri-event.

The authors comport with a bootcamp, personal-training-style. If lengthy in places the publication is extremely well organized, with helpful detail. The self-help exhorting is kept to a minimum. Cross-training exercises are presented with black and white photos of what Brett Stewart, the fitness instructor, and Lewis Elliott, the professional triathlete, recommend.

I am using my copy as a notebook. I fit into the Clydesdale category (slightly over 200 pounds for now) and the two training schedules fell into Goldilocks territory for me – one too easy, one too ambitious. The exercise regimens have blank lines beside each week’s one-page schedule, for writing notes and setting your own goals. The glossy paperback cover will shed beads of sweat and water spills, and fits easily into a large purse or gym bag.

The authors are sensible with their advice about how to choose a bike for your first race, the difference between training in a pool and open water swims, what kind of equipment you do (and don’t) need to compete, what to pack for your first triathlon, and tips on how to avoid easy-to-make training mistakes that can cause exercise-induced injury. The book is blessedly free of brand names. As one is likely to use only one of the two workout schedules, the book is 137 pages but it reads half that length. If you are wondering what to look forward to at your first event, they assay a description of that as well.

Recommend.

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.

Book Report: 7 Weeks to a Triathlon

Here's how this works. First person to reply in the comments to this post in the affirmative will receive a free copy of this book - IF - they agree to write a short post on the book to be published here later.

Here's some information on the book.

“Learning the ins and outs of triathlon can be daunting, but 7 Weeks to a Triathlon is the perfect tool to prepare yourself for the sport whether you are a newbie or a professional. Excellent!” 

—Desiree Ficker, Professional Triathlete

BECOME A TRIATHLETE IN JUST 7 WEEKS

Follow the 7-week programs in this book, and you’ll quickly gain the strength and stamina needed to complete any triathlon—sprint, standard, Olympic and even Ironman challenges.

Packed with clear charts and helpful photos, 7 Weeks to a Triathlon has everything you need to know about the ultimate endurance challenge:

• Easy-to-follow progressive training programs

• Pro tips for each discipline—swim, bike, run

• Triathlon-specific cross-training techniques

• Motivational advice on pushing harder and crushing your race goal

Offering field-tested, day-by-day programs and a comprehensive description of how to get through race day, this book has something for everyone, from beginners getting started in the sport to seasoned triathletes looking to take their training to the next level. 

About the Authors:

Brett Stewart is an NCCPT Certified Personal Trainer, a running and triathlon coach, and an endurance athlete who currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona. an avid multisport athlete and Ironman finisher, Stewart has raced dozens of triathlons, multiple marathons, and even a few ultra-marathons. This is his fifth book for Ulysses Press. To learn more about his fitness programs, visit 7weekstoFitness.com.

Lewis Elliot is a professional triathlete, coach, model, and actor living in Scottsdale, Arizona. He has raced triathlon professionally since 2002. Prior to that, he was a U.S. National Team Cyclist having won three U.S. National Championships. Lewis has represented the United States in five world Championships, and has been the overall winner in over 150 multisport events.

Book Report: Here for the Ride

Jonathan Simmons is a psychologist and the biking columnist for Boston.com (part of the Boston Globe). He has a new book, "Here For The Ride," coming out later this summer. I can't tell you anything more about it than that.

But, if you'd like to get a free copy ON THE CONDITION that you write a short review of it for the blog, be the first to comment to such on this post (and include a real email address somewhere in it. I'll delete it if you'd like) and I will have him send it to you.

But, there are a couple of you out there who got free books and have not written reviews of them. Please get those in, it is never too late. And don't follow suit. I think one company stopped asking me for reviews because of this. So we all lose if you don't keep your promise.

Wednesday Afternoon Commute - His eyes are up here

Good afternoon

• Metro has started testing the new Bike & Ride facility at College Park.

The facility can hold more than 100 bikes and requires riders to use an access card to enter the room on the first level of the College Park Metro parking garage. 

During the month-long testing period, a group of people will try out the new system and provide comments and suggestions.

Use of the facility will cost between 2 to 5 cents per hour, says Metro, and there is a one-time $5 charge for "new customer ID verification."

• Bike Maryland is looking for donations of unused children's bikes for use in their Bike Rodeos.
• Oh brother. As a HS senior, Darrin Straus hit and killed a 16 year old cyclist with his car, an event he recently wrote an award-winning book about. I heard him interviewed on NPR last year and genuinely felt sorry for the guy. But this line is just an over-the-top attempt at absolution. "Sixteen-year-old Celine Zilke suddenly swerved her bicycle in front of his car in what may have been a deliberate act. 'She was using me as the instrument of her death,' Strauss said." And then there is this: "The problem with too many memoirs is that you can feel the author trying to forgive himself in every paragraph.” You mean like trying to say the girl committed suicide?
• New NPS pedicab regulations could be approved this summer.  
• “One look at what he did for those bike shorts and every woman in town would be voting for him.” Women are such pigs. 

Tuesday Afternoon Commute - Jesus would have been a cyclist

Good Afternoon. Don't forget to vote (unless you live in Virginia, then you're too late or too early).

• A 3rd CaBi station opened on the Mall yesterday, near Smithsonian Castle. The other two Mall stations have consistently been among the top 15 busiest. "The Mall stations are most heavily used by casual users, not long-term subscribers. That means more money for the system, which already has made enough to cover its operating costs in the District. So far, data show, casual users have outnumbered subscribers at those stops by more than two to one."
• More about the Daily Rider bike shop on H Street. 
• New CaBi stations are also being installed on the R-B corridor - along with more bike parking.
• Bike sharing is feasible in Reston. 
• "The first span of the pedestrian and bicycle bridge over the Dulles Toll Road at Wolf Trap Farm Park was installed last night." The final span will be installed tonight. 
• Bike Snob's latest book reviewed by the Post. 
• Another article on the public perception of cyclists. 

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.

Wednesday Afternoon Commute - Marion and Rye

Good afternoon

• Street Smart Campaign going on this week - just in time for the bike summit.
• More Bike Snob book signings. 
• Another possible rail trail in southern Virginia.