“The bicycle messenger has been a fixture of the Washington DC landscape for decades. This mini-documentary explores a handful of the present day road warriors as they battle traffic and technology in pursuit of a fair wage and a freewheeling style of life. This is a preliminary cut, currently in post-production wrap up. Produced as part of the Corcoran School of Art + Design New Media Photojournalism Masters Program by Fixed Focus Productions. Fixed Focus is Maria Helena Carey, Dakota Fine, Reyna Levine, and Colby Waller.”
BikeDC
Photo by PoPville flickr user Christopher Michael Poole
Dear PoPville,
I had my front Shimano WH-R550 rim stolen off my road bike yesterday in broad daylight from right next to the patio at Alero on U st. These things are not cheap and I was wondering if you or anyone knows where these things end up? I figure the thief would try to sell it ASAP, but I cant see anything on cragslist or ebay yet… Is there a flea market somewhere that I might have a chance of at least buying it back??
905 U St, NW
Back in January we learned that Off Road Indoor Cycling was coming to 905 U St, NW (next to Dickson Wine bar.) Renovations are progressing nicely and they’d like your advice. From an email:
“Should we leave some plaster and paint a mural or just expose the brick? Owner’s Tali Wenger and Tammar Berger are hard at work with The District Parlour to finish off the space. Tell us what you want.”
Dear PoPville,
This bike was dumped behind my place that borders Raymond Rec Center. This bike is too nice to just be left so I’m almost certain it was stolen. If someone is looking for their bike then that’s where it is…
“Dear PoPville,
The Capital Bikeshare station from 18th and M St NW was removed, and the map doesn’t show any new stations added nearby. This seemed like a heavily used station. Any news on what’s going on?”
Capital Bikeshare tweets they moved it 150 meters south to the east side of the street in front of 1125 18th St, NW.
Last week a reader noted the 16th and U St, NW station was moved to 17th and T St, NW.
From Adams Morgan. What other neighborhoods are missing enough proper bike racks?
Former location at New Hampshire and U St, NW
Dear PoPville,
Any idea why Capital Bikeshare moved its station from 16th and U to 17th an T? It’s only two blocks but the new station is in the street (the old location was on the sidewalk) and it took up two parking spaces. I’m all for DC doing everything it can to become more bike friendly and love seeing Bikeshare expand. It’s just too bad that they took two spots away in an already tricky neighborhood for parking. Any ideas?
My guess is that the previous location on the sidewalk didn’t allow enough room for a wheelchair to pass? Anyone else know the reason for the move?
New location on T Street between 17th and New Hampshire
From WMATA:
Metro has begun testing a new, secure bicycle parking facility at the College Park Metro station.
Metro’s first Bike & Ride facility, which is expected to open to the public next month, is a secure, enclosed parking structure with space for more than 100 bikes. The enclosed 2,400-square-foot room can be found on the first level of the parking garage.
Bike & Ride users will need a personal access card to enter the Bike & Ride, providing a second level of security beyond a bike lock.
Bike parking in the facility is charged at a rate of 2 to 5 cents per hour. There are no monthly or annual fees. A one-time $5 charge is applied for new customer ID verification.
The testing period, which will continue for about a month, will allow a selected group of users to try out the new system and evaluate how it works. Metro is looking for comments on everything from the lighting, access and racks to the signs, card and door. Once comments from the testing period are addressed, the facility will become available for all registered Metro customers to use.
Photo by PoPville flickr user thisisbossi
Dear PoPville,
Pleas help us find the guy that broke his jaw yesterday. We are looking for a reliable witness.
My dude is a teacher and was riding home from work yesterday around 3:30 on a Capital Bikeshare bike. He was around Colombia Road and Mozart Place, NW when an SUV pulled abruptly into the bike lane, nearly hitting my husband. As he negotiated around the SUV he thumped the side of the vehicle with his hand (doing no damage) to let the driver know he was there. The driver aggressively followed him in the bike lane for a short distance and then stopped the car and got out.
Words were exchanged but my husband never thought it would escalate and kept his hands on the handlebars of the bike. With no real provocation, the driver punched him in the face, knocking him down. He then threw the bike out of the way of his SUV and drove off. My husband and a guy in another vehicle chased the driver but didn’t manage to get a license plate number. If we could get just the license number and a witness that saw the attack, it could really help the police find this guy.
My husband has to have surgery tomorrow to put a plate in his face to secure his broken jaw. I think that no matter where you stand on the bike/car issue, that’s an insane price to pay for touching someone’s vehicle.
And I guess they really do love their bicycles:
