“Near the northwest corner of 13th and Irving NW, there’s an air pump coming out of a rowhouse with a sign reading “Free Air for Bicycles”. Thought it was a cool neighborhood find if you haven’t already covered it.
The house is on 13th, next to the church that is located there for sale.”
Very cool. For those that missed it previously, here’s the church for sale.
This photo was actually submitted for the contest by AngryParakeet but I had meant to ask if anyone used the bike valet? From the photo it looks like it was a great success. But I’m wondering how long did it take to retrieve your bikes? Anyone use this option?
Poor CDs, this is what you’ve been forced to resort to. Does anyone even buy CDs anymore? I still buy CDs from time to time particularly when it’s one of my favorite bands so I have the liner notes. In memory of the CD you can check out the first CDs folks ever bought here.
This past year, I experienced my first broken bone. I grew up as a swimmer, so I was never in a position to break bones with my hobbies. Apparently biking is a different story. I was on a long bike ride and about a mile from my house at the end of my ride, when my back wheel hit a pothole cover and I ended up breaking my right elbow.
Luckily, I didn’t need surgery or a cast – I was in a sling for six weeks. More people approached me and talked to me on a random basis than ever before when I was walking around town with my sling. I even had conversations about why I was in a sling in Spanish. The teenage boy speaking Spanish to me about it proceeded to tell me about how he hurt his knee playing soccer in Spanish. From the grocery store to the bus to being out at a bar, everyone wanted to know what happened and people were very helpful.
I joked with my friends that the sling was a man-magnet. This was especially true one night at Local 16, which to be fair is a pick-up spot in and of itself. I was there for a friend’s birthday and another friend’s celebration. I could barely take one step away from my friends without a new guy approaching to ask what happened and come chat. The sling was like an opener, I guess.
To be honest, it was an adjustment not wearing a sling anymore and being treated like a normal person. I was thrilled that my elbow was healed and I could resume my normal activities, but it really was an adjustment.
Has anyone else been in a sling or a cast and had similar experiences?
After the jump find Raz’s advice for purchasing a new bike. (more…)
www.OutsideinDC.com/bikes is a guide to biking in Washington, DC. You can find detailed bike routes for commuting or fun, monitor bike theft in real time, and use our bike Craigslist to shop for equipment. This is a community space meant to make DC more bike friendly. If you have a tip or want to sound off on biking in DC, just add #dcbike to a twitter message and it will show up on the front page of this site. This site was built for the AppsforDemocracy.com competition. If you like OutsideinDC, vote for it!. The competition closes on Thursday November 18th. The purpose of the competition is to show what great community tools – like this site – are possible when governments open up their data and let people use it. OutsideinDC is built entirely on open source software and is the only app in the competition to be 100% open source.
So Smart Bike DC has been around for a bit now and I’m wondering what folks think of it? Are there any subscribers out there? I’m seeing lots more folks on these around town so it seems to have a bit of popularity. Are the experiences with the program mostly positive or negative?
I was just thinking how many bike lanes have recently popped up and then I received this press release:
District/DDOT Reach Cycling Milestones:
40 Miles of Bike Lanes & 1,000 Bike Racks
New Lanes Boost DC’s Overall Bike Network
(Washington, D.C.) Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and Department of Transportation (DDOT) Bicycle Program Manager Jim Sebastian and Department of the Environment (DDOE) Director George Hawkins today announced that the District is on track to complete 40 miles of bike lanes in the District. In all, 8 miles of bike lanes will have been installed in 2008, more than any single year to date. This accomplishment keeps the District on track to meet one of the goals of the DC Bicycle Master Plan: to install 60 miles of bike lanes in 10 years. Press release continues after the jump. (more…)
It saddens me but I understand why folks steal entire bikes. But why steal the wheels? Is there really a market for stolen bicycle wheels?
From a reader:
“DCCX, the only cyclocross race held in the nation’s capital, will be held on October 26 on the grounds of the Armed Forces Retirement Home in NW Washington DC. Registration is now open on BikeReg.com.
For the second-annual event, race promoters DCMTB/City Bikes are building on last year’s exciting, successful race and will offer improvements to an already awesome race experience — and provide even more extra-curricular fun for racers, kids and spectators. DCCX joined the MABRA cross series this year.
Three ways the fun continues from last year:
1. The race is held on a classic, European-style cyclocross course. It’s fast with lots of transitions from grass to pavement to gravel and back. There are some tricky barriers and roots. Amateur archeologists from DCMTB uncovered a stone, Paris-Roubaix-style path before last year’s race, and that has become DCCX’s signature feature. The layout is great for first time cyclocross racers and a fast, challenging event for veterans.
2. The Armed Forces Retirement Home is the site of four National Historic Landmarks, including the Lincoln Cottage. Lincoln withdrew to the
Soldiers’ Home each summer to escape the heat in the White House. It’s difficult to get on the grounds the other 364 days of the year; with a registration you can drive right in and check out the grounds, and schedule a tour of the Lincoln Cottage.
3. Beer. Yes, indeed: Racers will once again be able to enjoy a beer after their race courtesy of Sonoma Restaurant and Wine Bar in Washington, DC. More details after the jump. (more…)
DSCN3200, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.
Believe me, I swear I never thought I’d ever post about Ballston, VA let alone post something nice…but damn they have some sweet bike parking outside the metro. I feel like they should build this feature in to all metro stations. Anyone ever see bike parking like this outside a metro in the District?