BikeDC

The Bike Rack/Filter Coffeehouse Opening in Brookland April 18th!

By Prince Of Petworth

bike_rack_Filter_coffee_Brookland
8th and Monroe Street, NE

“Two of D.C.’s favorite pastimes, coffee and bicycles, are coming together in the historic Brookland neighborhood under one roof on April 18. The Bike Rack and Filter Coffeehouse are excited to be part of the growing community at the Monroe Street Market.

The April 18 Grand Opening will be held in conjunction with the first Brookland Farmer’s Market of 2015.

The concept of the bike/coffee shop began in bike-centric cities such as Portland and San Francisco, and The Bike Rack and Filter Coffeehouse owners Chuck Harney and Rasheed Jabr knew it was a concept that both DC and the Brookland neighborhood would embrace.

“Bikes and coffee just go together, ask any cyclist,” said Harney. “ We feel that a bike shop
should be a community gathering spot for the local community and for cyclists. A coffee bar
helps to create that feel year round.”

The two businesses will share space under one roof within the Brookland Works building at 716 Monroe St. NE. The Bike Rack will be open 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Filter Coffeehouse will be open Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

“It’s location is perfect because it is directly on the Metropolitan Branch Trail and next to the Brookland Metro. It’s easily accessible to everyone, cyclists and non-cyclists,” Jabr said.

Filter Coffeehouse will offer the range of Ceremony Coffee brews popular at its current Dupont Circle and Foggy Bottom locations. There will be indoor seating as well as outdoor seating adjacent to the Monroe Street Market Arts Walk.

The Bike Rack will offer the same award-winning services offered at its current Logan Circle location including:
• Bicycle, accessories and apparel sales
• Maintenance and bike fits
• Classes and events

The April 18 Grand Opening will be held in conjunction with the first Brookland Farmers Market of the 2015 season, which runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., rain or shine, 716 Monroe St. NE. In addition to welcoming neighbors and biking/coffee enthusiasts in for the first time, The Bike Rack will offer free basic bike maintenance on the Arts Walk.”

City Bikes Employees Help Recover Bicycle Stolen at Gun Point

By Prince Of Petworth

20150318_150418
Edin the customer and John the store manager courtesy City Bikes

From an email:

“The managers of City Bikes in Adams Morgan helped to recover a loyal customer’s bike that was taken from him at gun point on Sunday night. He had brought it in for service on Sunday afternoon but elected to wait to get it performed until later in the week, letting us know it was stolen on Monday.

Our store manager recognized the stolen bike this afternoon when a man brought it in to fix the same problem from Sunday and promptly contacted the customer who had informed us of the theft, along with the police. Our general manager, yours truly not in uniform, followed a block behind the man in possession of the bike when he left the shop after being unable to avoid the necessary repair.

When the cops showed at the shop, they were directed to the Starbucks at 18th and Adams Mill, where the man was hanging out with some friends.

About an hour later a detective came to interview the store manager about the damage to the bike, and was able to identify the original owner because the bike came in twice for the same mechanical issue.

Another hour later, our loyal customers returned to the shop with the bike covered in finger print dust, telling us that he had identified the man in possession of the bike as the same one who had held him up at gun point! He was so excited to have it back that he’s going to get the repair after all.

Saul Leiken
City Bikes Inc.
General Manager”

Heads Up – Cyclists Getting Ticketed around 18th and M St, NW

By Prince Of Petworth

bike_ticket
Photo from previous bike ticketing on 11th Street, NW

Ed. Note: Yes cyclists should obey the law. Yes, drivers should drive the speed limit. Having said that – heads up!

Thanks to a reader for sending word:

“yesterday and today a cop has been stopping as many cyclists as he could and (presumably) giving them tickets/citations.

riding against the flow (it’s a one-way street), running red lights, riding on the sidewalk, etc.

not sure.

but he has stopped dozens and dozens of folks.”

Meeting on the preliminary design of the Metropolitan Branch Trail from Brookland to Takoma Park on Saturday, March 21

By Prince Of Petworth

mbt

From DDOT:

“The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and Advisory Neighborhood Commission 4B will hold a joint meeting on the preliminary design of the Metropolitan Branch Trail from Brookland to Takoma Park on Saturday, March 21 from 1 pm to 4 pm at the 4th District Police Headquarters, 6001 Georgia Avenue, NW.

Representatives from DDOT will present the trail alignment and solicit feedback from the general public.

The Metropolitan Branch Trail is an eight-mile, paved bicycle and pedestrian trail from Union Station in Ward 6 to Silver Spring, Md. The portion between Union Station and Brookland in Ward 5 is very popular averaging more than 500 users a day. Design is underway for the section that’s north of Brookland. This new section is proposed to run along the railroad tracks from Bates Road to the Ft. Totten Metro station, then along First Place, Riggs Road, First Street, all in Northeast, and Blair Road, NW.

More information is available at www.metbranchtrail.com.

Comments on the preliminary design, as well as requests for more information should be directed to Jim Sebastian at [email protected].

The event information is as follows:

What: Metropolitan Branch Trail Open House

When: Saturday, March 21, 2015
1 pm to 4 pm

Where: Metropolitan Police Department
6001 Georgia Avenue (at Peabody)”

Props to Mr. T in DC – He Found and Secured Yesterday’s Stolen Bike!

By Prince Of Petworth

tiny red bike

You may recognize his username from all his great photos seen illustrating tons of PoPville posts. Now we can associate his name with another great thing. An avid cyclist and Columbia Heights resident, Mr T in DC aka Anthony Nigrelli spotted a readers beloved stolen bike that we posted about yesterday afternoon. Last night he spotted it by the Columbia Heights metro and secured his own lock on the bike after positively identifying it. He then emailed the OP and she has it back with her faith restored in humanity. Well done Mr. T – good looking out!

“For the first time in our four year history, Capital Bikeshare will undergo a significant upgrade to the operational software that powers the system”

By Prince Of Petworth

IMG_4871

From Capital Bikeshare:

“For the first time in our four year history, Capital Bikeshare will undergo a significant upgrade to the operational software that powers the system. The upgrade will improve the user experience for our members by expanding the management tools available to the program’s governing jurisdictions, and to our operations contractor, Motivate International Inc. (formerly Alta Bicycle Share). The new system software will also allow us to begin testing new equipment for future expansion.

The upgrade process will begin at 7pm on Tuesday, February 3, and last between 16 to 24 hours, during which time there will be a significant impact on users of the system. During the upgrade:

Credit card rentals will not be available at Capital Bikeshare stations
Key-holding members (annual, monthly, daily key) will not be able to rent bikes from the same station more than once during the upgrade process. However, these members will still be able to rent bikes from one station and drop them off at the same or another station
New memberships or renewals will not be available on the Capital Bikeshare website (www.capitalbikeshare.com)
Updates on station and bike availability will not be generated for websites, maps and mobile apps (including Spotcycle)
The “time credit” feature will not be available at Capital Bikeshare stations

Because credit card rentals at stations will not be available, we will temporarily stop kiosk membership sales for 3-day passes on Saturday, January 31 at 7pm, and temporarily cease all 24-hour membership sales on Monday February 2 at 7pm. Short term rentals will be available again upon the completion of the software update.”

Paperclip Bike Racks

By Prince Of Petworth

IMG_4437

On twitter someone asked about unusual bike racks so I’m trying to keep my eyes peeled for them. This one’s from downtown off L Street.

“This is your fault, you’ll have to pay for the damage, I should have just hit your dog, it would have been a softer landing…”

By Prince Of Petworth

bikes_stop_all_way

“Dear PoPville,

My dog, a black lab named Charlie, and I were crossing Adams Mill Rd from Walter Pierce Park to Ontario Pl; Charlie was about 3 feet in front of me on a red leash. The cyclist was northbound, riding towards Harvard from Calvert. If he looked at all when approaching the intersection, which I doubt he did, he might not have seen Charlie in the darkness. Given his speed and where we were in the crosswalk when he ran the stop sign, he would have either hit my dog or been tripped up by the leash. He swerved to the right at the last minute, jumped the curb, and went into a iron fence around the building on the corner before falling off his bike. Then he jumped off, got up, and came straight towards us. He didn’t even check his bike, he just started yelling. “This is your fault, you’ll have to pay for the damage, I should have just hit your dog, it would have been a softer landing…” stuff like that. I was totally shocked so I didn’t say anything for the first minute and then I pointed out that we were already in the crosswalk when he appeared and he should have stopped at the stop sign. When he started demanding my contact and insurance information, I just walked away. When I looked back, he was disappearing around the corner down Adams Mill, walking his bike.”

View More Stories