BikeDC

Bloomingdale Farmers Market Reopens Sunday; Bike Clinics Restart Saturday at Mt. P and Glover Park Farrmers Markets

By Prince Of Petworth

bloomingdale_farmers_market
Photo by PoPville flickr user Lauren PM

From an email:

Bloomingdale Farmers Market
Sunday 9-1
First and R NW

Spring onions, spinach, mustard greens, asian greens, lettuce, kale, arugula, mesclun, salad greens, beets, sweet Hakurai turnips, herbs, radishes, sugar snaps, collards, rhubarb pie, stawberry-rhubarb pie, mushroom blue cheese quiche, chard and sundried tomato quiche, chicken, pork in all its glory, turkey, eggs, goat, humanely raised veal, sausages, 15 varieties of Keswick grass fed cheeses and yogurt, cookies, croissants, Breton desserts, baguettes, French multi grained breads, hundreds of herbs and vegetable seedlings; 5 kinds of basil, Mexican and Greek Oregano, many thymes, parsleys, sages, rosemary’s, etc. Unusual ly good tomato varieties.

Come by, come see. Rain or Shine. And you can always have a coffee next door at the Big Bear Cafe.

bikeclinics_2012

“We do basic maintenance such as patching flat tires, adjust gears and brakes, and fitting/adjusting the bike to the rider. We also give advice on riding in the area, safety, basic repair, and locking up. We are strictly volunteer run, with no shop affiliations, and completely free.”

Boundary Stone Bike Ride this Sunday

By Prince Of Petworth

boundary_stone_bike_ride

From Vaughn:

Boundary Stone Bike Ride
Capitol Heights Metro
Sunday, May 12th, 2013
9:30am – 5:00pm | FREE!

Are you a history buff? Biking enthusiast? Regular old adventure seeker? Join me for a bike ride around the oldest federal monuments, the DC boundary stones.

I walked around the original DC border a few years ago with a friend, and I’d like to do it again – this time on two wheels instead of two feet.

Meet at the Capitol Heights metro at 9:30am – we’ll do the SE, SW, NW, and NE borders in that order. Feel free to join for 1, 2, 3, or all 4 sides. If you do it all, expect a solid day (~60 miles) of riding – it’s an urban ride, stopping for lights (and stopping to check out the stones!), so it’ll take longer than your normal weekend jaunt.

Here is the route. I highly recommend checking out the route in conjunction with this site.

This ride will be unsupported – I will provide directions (route + stone locations, places to stop for food & water, metro stops in case you need/want to stop riding), but you should be prepared with everything else you might need: ID & cash, pump & patch kit, etc. We will be riding on regular roads, so take necessary precautions.

Boundary Stone Public House and DC Brau Brewing Company have agreed to sponsor this excursion: the first 50 riders to show up on Sunday will get Boundary Stone commemorative bike ride tshirts, and there will be DC Brau Corruption IPA on tap for $4 at the post-party! Whether you ride one side or all four, join us at the bar from 5pm til ??

Coffee Bike Crawl Round Three this Sunday

By Prince Of Petworth

coffee_bike_crawl

From an email:

Join us for our third ever Washington, DC Coffee Bike Crawl!

We’ll enjoy a leisurely sunday morning bike ride peppered with visits to 5 locally owned, delicious cafes!

When: Sunday May 5th
Meet at 9:30am (wheels up at 10:00am)

Where: Qualia Coffee
3917 Georgia Ave NW Washington, DC 20011
We’ll meet at the tables outback. Feel free to leave bikes in the alley.

Nearest Metro: Georgia Avenue/Petworth

Stops include:
1. Qualia Coffee (Petworth)
2. Pleasant Pops Farmhouse Market & Cafe (U Street)
3. Baked and Wired (Georgetown)
4. The Coffee Bar (Shaw)
5. Big Bear Cafe (Bloomingdale)

This event is free and open to all ages.

RSVP and get updates on facebook.

Here are some fun pics from last time.

New Belgium Brewing “Tour de Fat” Coming to Yards Park June 1st

By Prince Of Petworth

tour_de_fat_dc_yards_park
Photo by PoPville flickr user Joe in DC

From a press release:

New Belgium Brewing today announced the long-awaited Tour de Fat 2013 schedule. The tour, now in its 14th year, will spin into 12 cities across the nation. This daylong festival in the park celebrates the bicycle, showcases New Belgium beers, and provides eclectic and engaging entertainment for all. The event is free, yet all proceeds from food and beer go to local biking groups. Over its course, Tour de Fat has raised more than $2 million for nonprofit organizations.

Each festival kicks off with a police-escorted bicycle parade through city streets in celebration of the bike. Costumes are encouraged but not mandatory, though the truly aware come prepared. Each parade route is designed for people of all skill levels, wrapping up at the park for a day of both sensory stimulation and relaxation.

After the parade, the festival stages heat up with national musical acts, touring comedy groups, artistic ensembles and unexpected entertainment. New this year is the opportunity to heighten your beer knowledge through beer contests, providing the chance to explore new brews and revel in a unique lineup of New Belgium selections. Kids of all ages can test their bicycle prowess on art bikes, dance in the grass and explore a wide variety of games and activities, such as giant versions of telephone and Plinko.

“Tour De Fat brings together entire communities to celebrate the bike as a vehicle for social change and good-time fun,” said Matt Kowal, New Belgium Brewing’s Tour de Fat Impresario. “This is a chance to see world-class entertainment in your own backyard with a beer in hand while you raise money for bike advocacy. That’s like a win-win-win situation.”

One brave role model in each city will volunteer to trade their car for a bike and live car-free for at least one year. With a ceremonial pledge and a handing over of car keys, the celebrated figure commits to a year of human transport on the fully loaded commuter bike of their choosing. The crowd goes wild and the seed is planted: one inspired person on two wheels can make a difference in each of our communities.

Car-for-Bike Swappers are chosen after submitting an application describing why they are ready to give up their vehicle for the gift of two wheels: www.newbelgium.com/tour-de-fat.

DC Bike Party Ride Tonight

By Prince Of Petworth

DCBP St. Pattys Day Ride Poster

From a press release:

Continuing efforts to capitalize on Washington, DC’s large community of cycling enthusiasts, build friendships with like-minded individuals, and explore our nation’s capital, DC Bike Party will hold its St. Patrick’s Day themed riding event (“Gears and Green Beers” this Wednesday, March 13. The event, which held its first ride in July 2012, grew to over 250 riders last month.

The group, departing from DuPont Circle, will set out to complete an approximately 10-mile ride, visiting some of the city’s major landmarks and attractions with a pit stop in between, before ending with a celebration at The Wonderland Ballroom in Columbia Heights. Local funk band, The B-Side Shuffle will perform at the post-ride event. From DuPont Circle, the Bike Party will ride through downtown, Chinatown, and Northeast DC before heading north through the city’s historic neighborhoods. A map of the complete route is available here. Riders are welcome to join or depart the group at any point.

Everyone is welcome to attend or participate. Full details on the event are below:

WHAT: DC Bike Party
WHERE: Departs from the middle of Dupont Circle
WHEN: Wednesday, March 13th
Meet at 7:30 P.M.; Depart promptly at 8:00

More information on the organization, including details on future rides, is available at www.dcbikeparty.com.

Is This Your Stolen Bike? MPD Posts Monthly Photos of Stolen and Abandoned Bikes

By Prince Of Petworth

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Photo via Metropolitan Police Department, Evidence Control D

Thanks to Sean for sending the link from MPD:

The Metropolitan Police Department recovers hundreds of stolen and abandoned bicycles every year. This property is inventoried by the MPD’s Evidence Control Division. Property not claimed within 90 days of recovery is considered abandoned. The MPD will advertise this property as abandoned and may dispose of any property not claimed within the designated timeframe. Bicycles not claimed may be auctioned through www.govdeals.com or donated. Before the recovered bicycles are auctioned or donated, images will be posted online.

The Property Clerk of the Metropolitan Police Department hereby gives notice of the custody of the following property and his intention to sell or otherwise dispose of such property in accordance with the District of Columbia’s code 5-119.

Any person or entity having a right of claim to any item of property pictured online must appear in person to:

Evidence Control Division
# 17 DC Village Lane, SW
Washington, DC 20032
(202) 727-3230

To claim property pictured on this site, individuals must provide the MPD’s Evidence Control Division with the following information:

Government Identification
Bar code included with the bicycle image
Proof of ownership of bicycle OR documentation that a police report was filed (CCN)

See bikes posted in Feb. here.

Assault on Franklin St. bridge near the Metropolitan Branch Trail

By Prince Of Petworth

From the Brookland listserv last night:

I was assaulted on the Franklin St. bridge today on my way home from work at about 4:30pm. I was on my bike and a group of about 10 14/15 yr-old boys were walking along the sidewalk (which is separated from the road by a concrete barrier). Two of the kids jumped the barrier into the street as I approached on my bike, the first hit me over the back of the neck (right under my helmet) with something really hard, the second kid tried to punch me and mostly missed. Luckily I didn’t fall, and turned around to notify the police that sit at the intersection. The kids took off, not sure if they were caught. Happy I didn’t fall, but will have a very sore head/neck in the AM. Just a warning to everyone biking over the bridge to look out for any kids jumping the barrier. And to let you know there are usually police at the intersection of Franklin and Edgewood RD if anything does come up.

We’ve previously spoken about safety on the MBT trail here and here.

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