BikeDC

Stop Being an Intransigent Oaf – Bike Lanes are Good for Car Drivers Too

By Prince Of Petworth

bike_lanes_dc
Photo by PoPville flickr user Eric P.

I may be a myopic twit but this guy from the Washington Post is a freaking dinosaur:

“What cyclists need is a separate network of biking roads, not bike lanes. Give them trails through wooded areas, away from cars and trucks. Once they enter high-traffic areas in the city, it’s off the bicycle and onto alternative transportation. Like two feet.”

I want to get this down because I literally just got back from driving down 11th Street. Which was an absolute joy. And why was it a joy? Because the bike lane made it a pleasure. I took New Hampshire Ave and got stuck behind a cyclist – fine, sharrows, we share the road – whatever. It sucked. I was stuck driving like 6 miles an hour. Then I got to 11th Street and the cyclist went to the bike lane and I was in my lane and it was beautiful. We were both on our way.

These people who reflexively scream against bike lanes – I just don’t get it. It is so clear and so obvious that the bike lanes not only benefit the cyclist but they benefit the car driver equally if not more so! I experience it every single morning. I’m in a car and I say thank freaking God for the bike lanes.

I’m not sure if these people are being intentionally obtuse or are just so keen to pit “one side” against an “other side” but they are flat out wrong.

So I look forward to reading his next screed on the danger of ballpoint pens – don’t you realize the inkwell is the key to the purest form of penmanship!?!?

Well as far as the fight against bike lanes are concerned, I guess the silver lining is that the dinosaurs eventually died out.

Dear PoPville – How Do We Get a Bikeshare Station?

By Prince Of Petworth

union_market_bikeshare
New station by Union Market installed in November

“Dear PoPville,

Do you know why capital bikeshare hasn’t put any stations in the northeast Petworth area? Sherman circle would be a great location. I’ve tried tweeting cap bikeshare and submitting on their website, but no response.”

Ed. Note: Back in Sept. we learned about 12 potential future stations. Anyone know the best way to request others?

I was wondering why the “Bike Racks will be out of service” outside the Woodley Park Metro

By Prince Of Petworth

IMG_3725

From WMATA:

“On January 5, Metro contractors will begin a major capital project to install six new escalators at Woodley Park Station. The project is part of Metro’s plan to replace more than 130 of the system’s oldest escalators to improve reliability.

With a vertical rise of 102 feet, the entrance escalators at Woodley Park are the longest in the District of Columbia and the third longest on the Metrorail system (behind Wheaton and Bethesda). The current escalators entered service when the station opened in 1981.

Woodley Park Station’s entrance is served by a total of six escalators, three short units and three long units.

During the project, Metro’s contractor, KONE, will take two escalators out of service at a time – one short and one long. Each pair of escalators will require approximately 46 weeks for preparation, demolition and removal of the existing escalators, construction work, installation of the new escalators, testing and inspections.

The remaining four escalators will remain available for customer use.”

IMG_3727

BicycleSPACE continues tour of Mt. Vernon Square – Moving to 440 K Street, NW next to new Baked and Wired

By Prince Of Petworth

bicycle_space
1019 7th Street, NW

Ed. Note: The 7th street location will be open until the end of year. At that point BicycleSpace will operate out of an interim space in the neighborhood briefly before moving to the new K Street location. Updates on the interim space when they become available.

From BicycleSPACE:

“Washington D.C.’s award-winning, community-oriented bike shop, BicycleSPACE, is moving from 7th Street NW to a new location at 440 K Street NW, the Lyric apartment building, in Mount Vernon Triangle. The new location will be twice the size of BicycleSPACE’s current shop and will include ample space for its signature community events as well as space for a much larger service department. Patrons will also enjoy great food and drink at next-door neighbor Baked and Wired. 

For BicycleSPACE co-founder Erik Kugler, “This is a dream come true. It is exactly the kind of space we’ve been working toward since our inception. We’re very excited to be working with The Wilkes Company and Quadrangle, and to the opportunity to even better serve the remarkable community which has been growing up around us.”

BicycleSPACE began in 2010 [459 I Street, NW] as place where bicycle culture could thrive and where all members of the DC area biking community, from experienced riders to first-timers, could feel comfortable and welcome. The shop hosts weekly rides and in-store yoga classes that fund local non-profits, public art rides, and tours of school gardens.”

bicyclespace_lyric_k_street_mt_vernon
440 K Street, NW

Final bike house clinics for the season this weekend at Annie’s and Bloomingdale Farmers Market

By Prince Of Petworth

15824654341_3672b42916_z
Photo by PoPville flickr user Joe Flood

From an email:

“The last Bike House clinics of the year are this weekend.

Saturday from noon-3 at Annie’s Ace Hardware, and Sunday from 11am-1pm at the Bloomingdale Farmers Market. But don’t worry, we’ll have plenty of fun in the winter months. Watch our website or like us on Facebook to find out about upcoming events, like winter cycling workshops and the infamous “Coldest Day of the Year Ride.”
Thank you to our gracious hosts at Annie’s Ace Hardware and the Bloomingdale Farmers Market, and to all our guests and volunteers who made 2014 our most successful season yet.”

“free and family-friendly celebration of the biking and walking trails that connect our region this Saturday”

By Prince Of Petworth

future-trails-small

From an email:

“The Washington Area Bicyclist Association and REI are hosting a free and family-friendly celebration of the biking and walking trails that connect our region this Saturday, November 15th. There will be free bike repairs by REI mechanics and an interactive REI Signature Camp where you can test out camping and bike touring gear. There will also be free cookies from the Captain Cookie food truck and free coffee, free bike rentals for those who wish to join a trail tour of the nearby Met Branch Trail, carnival games, amazing raffle prizes, face painting and crafts. It’s a party for the whole family. The celebration will take place rain or shine from 11am to 2pm at the grassy field at First and Pierce Streets NE in NoMa. It may be chilly out so there will be a huge heated tent too.”

View More Stories