Northeast - K street traffic

I'm told I could get the foreground and the background both in focus if I had a really good camera. I think I could get better results with my point and shoot camera if I knew how to use the controls.

She was riding through Dupont Circle by the way.

These were all taken from the same vantage point. Can anyone tell me where?
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC05074.jpg

http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC05055.jpg

http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC05030.jpg

http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC05024.jpg

She was riding through Dupont Circle by the way.

Too bad she wasn't riding to old Uncle Ahsposo's Cabin.

Some P&S cameras have a scene mode setting. Landscape mode may slow your shutter speed down and maybe give you some more depth of field.

Hey, I got no complaints.

You gonna give her directions to O.U.A.C?

These were all taken from the same vantage point. Can anyone tell me where?

That's the intersection of 3rd and Constitution NW, specifically at the northwest corner. Yup, you'll see every kind come through there.

Dare you to get some pics of the counter-rallies going today at the Lincoln.

I almost rode down there about noon to see the changing of the rallies.
But I left my camera at the office and decided to do the Virginia boundary stone ride instead.

Exactly right, Barracks. Congratulations. Northwest corner of 3rd and Constitution NW. It might have been a little bit harder to recognize if I hadn't included the last shot, but I liked his hair. Haha.

I didn't make it to the rallies. Wasn't actually aware of the event(s). Both groups appear to be well fed and pleased with themselves. America at it's best, but the average IQ in the district dropped a point or two yesterday. No worries, it will be above average again monday morning. I spend weekends and holidays at my cottage in Maryland, by the way. :D

OUA, she was headed south with a packed bag. I assumed she knew the way.

Whenever I see tourists waddling around here (go to places like Paris or Berlin and the 'Mericans stick out like a sore thumb; here, if they're fit, they probably ain't from the USA), they look like they haven't walked for a mile outdoors in about fifteen years. It's crazy to see them sprawled on the park benches absolutely beat by 5 PM even though they didn't get out of the hotel before 10.

An interesting bike with a happy passenger. 19th and L.
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC05101.jpg

Well, she hasn't showed up yet.

But now that I think about it I ain't seen that Joe Bob around all day. Be just like that weasel to hijack that pretty girl...

That is a very interesting bike!

Can anybody identify it?

Exactly right, Barracks. Congratulations. Northwest corner of 3rd and Constitution NW. It might have been a little bit harder to recognize if I hadn't included the last shot, but I liked his hair. Haha.

Actually, what nailed it for me was the first shot. This is about five blocks from where I live, and I go through that intersection at least every other time I go someplace besides my job. The flat in the foreground with the straight hill (Constitution), the diagonal street that the cab and limo bus are coming from (Maryland Ave), the uphill left turn lane that always catches the drivers in the biggest hurry by surprise, the cops posted at the intersection at the bottom of the hill to keep trucks and buses away, the seasonal fencing to let the grass grow on the Capitol grounds...

http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/aerial%20photography/DSC05595.jpg

http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/aerial%20photography/DSC05602.jpg

http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/aerial%20photography/DSC05605.jpg

http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/aerial%20photography/DSC05606.jpg

http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/aerial%20photography/DSC05608.jpg

http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/aerial%20photography/DSC05610.jpg

http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/aerial%20photography/DSC05612.jpg

http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/aerial%20photography/DSC05614.jpg

Woh!

Looks like somebody hijacked Marine One!

Can you spot the bikers in these shots? Yeah, neither can I.

I flew out of National Airport on a trip to "deep behind enemy lines" meaning deep into the northeast. Those who have followed this thread for a while know I identify as a southerner. I'm a northerner too, kinda dual citizen, having grown up in New York and Virginia and Florida. This thread was in the southeast section before bikeforums decided to place DC in a region, the northeast. So here we are. That gained us a foothold and the thread began getting a lot more views. We were kicking Yankee ass basically, steadily moving up the list of most viewed threads in the northeast, but a troublesome development, "metro Boston, how was your day" thread is getting more views than this thread and is about to pass our favorite thread in total views. About to drop us like a bad habit. So I went up there to shove some pumps into some spokes.

If anyone wants to know why I deleted the post I titled "Deep Behind Enemy Lines", it's because the pictures of the Pentagon, Arlington National Cemetery, Manhattan, JFK Museum, Boston under that title would likely give the wrong impression. I was at the Pentagon on 9/11 and my grandfather is buried at Arlington National. I don't want anyone to think I'm anti-American. The north/south enemy thing is just a silly joke.

Anyway, here's the pictures from the post I deleted. To quote myself from the deleted post, "Everyone likes aerial photography, right? Even taken through a cloudy window by a shaky flyer with a point and shoot camera!?"
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/aerial%20photography/DSC05119.jpg

http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/aerial%20photography/DSC05123.jpg

http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/aerial%20photography/DSC05143.jpg

http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/aerial%20photography/DSC05177.jpg

http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/aerial%20photography/DSC05181.jpg

Those were all from the weekend, so I'm allowed to submit another post with pictures taken today. I make the rules and break them as I choose.

A guy was launching big air off curbs and stuff on the sidewalk as I rode along in traffic. When he saw my camera he turned around. I continued to my destination.

20th and Penn.
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC05631.jpg

Ricardo was a messenger for many years before he was assaulted by someone reaching out of a motor vehicle. He received a blow to the rear of his head. He worked the rest of the day, six more hours, but couldn't go to work the next day. He spent nine months in the hospital. You learn who your friends are when something like that happens. I was not a friend, I never went to visit him, I had given him up for dead.

I was so happy to see him today, almost five years after he was assaulted. He is doing a lot better than I thought. We talked for a long time. He can't remember a lot of names and stuff, but otherwise seems pretty good mentally. Physically, he lost strength in his right arm and both legs. He can't ride his track bikes anymore, but gets around on a MTB.
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC05642.jpg

Perpendicular parking
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC05651.jpg

Some from today.
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/DSC05682.jpg

http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/DSC05694.jpg

http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/DSC05685.jpg

http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/DSC05708.jpg

http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/DSC05704.jpg

Nice!

http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/DSC05685.jpg

This thread was in the southeast section before bikeforums decided to place DC in a region, the northeast. So here we are. That gained us a foothold and the thread began getting a lot more views. We were kicking Yankee ass basically, steadily moving up the list of most viewed threads in the northeast, but a troublesome development, "metro Boston, how was your day" thread is getting more views than this thread and is about to pass our favorite thread in total views. About to drop us like a bad habit. So I went up there to shove some pumps into some spokes.

OK. The old Cinzano seems to have worked.

We still have 1 MAJOR problem and that is the stupid "What's up with the MD's people?" thread or whatever it's called. We have a 2nd problem but maybe after the doofus from Orlando get's done up there nobody will have any fun, much less a random ride. We can only hope.

As to the first, I think we should petition to have MD moved to the Mid West where it belongs. It's not fish nor fowl, now or historically, and we need to send it to the people they share attitudes with. I'll bet hot dish is BIG in some places in MD.

OK. The old Cinzano seems to have worked.

We still have 1 MAJOR problem and that is the stupid "What's up with the MD's people?" thread or whatever it's called. We have a 2nd problem but maybe after the doofus from Orlando get's done up there nobody will have any fun, much less a random ride. We can only hope.

As to the first, I think we should petition to have MD moved to the Mid West where it belongs. It's not fish nor fowl, now or historically, and we need to send it to the people they share attitudes with. I'll bet hot dish is BIG in some places in MD.

Cinzano didn't work! Massholes will pass this thread soon and I don't know why. Don't view their thread, that's what they want you to do! I don't think they have lots of pictures. It's just bragging about how far they rode and stuff from what I hear.

We Marylanders have the baddest thread ever! Sorry you got a problem with that! Haha. I never look at that one either though. They get 1000 views a day, what can we do?

Let's bump up DC. Now

An inexplicitly exuberant Cowboy hiding behind the paparazzi.
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC05724.jpg

Redskins fan
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC05765.jpg

The Last of the Mohicans
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC05755.jpg

12,000 views! Yeah now we're rolling!

This thread is open to the public. Please contribute! Why do I need to be the only one to bump, bump, bumpity bump it?

Lots more views since we "moved on up to the northside". Yankees looking at us like we look at animals in a zoo.

Dupont Circle
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC05838.jpg

North Cap and Rhode Island
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC05879.jpg

Bicyclist apprehended, G st.
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC05909.jpg

Wooden instruments
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC05911.jpg

How do you like those Look pedals? They make your bike look hot!
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC05920.jpg

capital bikeshare, coming soon to a national capital city near you, and Arlington. $50/year seems like a reasonable rate! That deal is available for a limited time only, so join now! Remember, you saw it here first, unless you already saw it somewhere else.
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC05924.jpg

Professional test riders making sure the bikes will meet the standards of even the most demanding cyclists.
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC05946.jpg

Wait!

Can that be cleaned up (facial hair and hair is what I mean) and plumper F Landis and R Bahati?

They all look alike. Whenever my mom sees a cyclist, she thinks it's me.

Will those be compatible with SmartBike?

Or is this a further attempt to fail at becoming as bikeable as Paris?

You almost can't swing a dead cat without hitting a Velib rack in Paris, but the only SmartBike stations I've seen around here are when I've already arrived at my destination and have no use for a bike (never mind being able to ride one back to my neighborhood and dropping it off).

The SmartBikes were a great success. Capital bikeshare might be replacing them, I saw a rack for capital bikeshare at a SmartBike location. I haven't noticed if they are being set up at the other SmartBike stations, but I'd guess so. The Smartbikes are starting to look pretty weathered. I wonder if these will have more fade resistant paint?

$50 per year would be convenient. You could keep one in your bedroom. Is that close enough?

Paris, France? Swing dead cats over there, love DC or leave. No whining.

Fenty created a paradigm shift for bikes in DC.

The point of this thread is that DC does not suck for biking.

DC doesn't suck for bikes, but neither is it paradise, and I still feel that SmartBike was a political resumé-padder instead of a genuine addition to cycling in the city.

Visiting from out of town and want to hop on a SmartBike? Either choose your hotel wisely or spend most of your transit time getting to a station. Want to use one to commute to work? Why bother, since you're already living downtown?

Keep one in my bedroom? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of bike sharing programs?

$50 dollars/year. That doesn't defeat the purpose of a bike share program, it defeats your complaint that the bikes are stored too far away from your starting point or from your destination. Carry a good lock and ride from point a to point b.

I was impressed with the numbers of riders on the SmartBikes, but Bike and Roll, catering to tourists seems to be doing better business. At $5/day capital bikeshare bikes should do well with tourists as well as locals. There will be many more capital bikeshare locations than there are SmartBike locations. We might see more locations in the future.

I could know more about this program, but I just take pictures and conjecture about what I see. Call them or check website to find out what it's all about.

Already checked, already have been keeping tabs on SmartBike because I'm still skeptical that it'll even work. They say they'll add a lot more, but cross-compatibility with Arlington's bike program would be great to have since it's simply not that far away.

These are screenshots from last year of how the availability of Velib and SmartBike compare:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v201/BarracksSi/Bike/Screenshot2009-09-26atSep260930310A.png
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v201/BarracksSi/Bike/Screenshot2009-09-26atSep260930254A.png

They say they want a bike share program like Paris has. They have a long ways to go. If you're in Paris and you don't see a Velib rack on your block, just walk down the street and turn the corner like I did to take this shot.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v201/BarracksSi/Bike/IMG_3208.jpg

It's a little disappointing to see all those bikes still in the racks in Paris! I'd like to see more gaps that would mean they are actually being fully utilized on a regular basis.

People in wheelchairs blocked 15th and New York Ave for several hours today. www.adapt.org
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC05995.jpg

Landis and Bahati again. :D
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC06032.jpg

Bikes for hire
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC06071.jpg

New mural on the MBT (Note DC flag motif tattoo)
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC06113.jpg

http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC06121.jpg

http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC06125.jpg

http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC06135.jpg

It's a little disappointing to see all those bikes still in the racks in Paris! I'd like to see more gaps that would mean they are actually being fully utilized on a regular basis.

During rush hour, or in the tourist-heavy spots, you'll see a lot more of them being ridden. Whether in a rack or under a rider's butt, they're a regular sight.

"If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for all of Paris is a moveable feast."
Ernest Hemingway (1950)

"As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans."
Ernest Hemingway, 'A Moveable Feast'

http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC06052.jpg

The riders I've spotted on Capitol Bikeshare bikes before today appeared to be ringers, professional riders. Today I saw six regular people on them. I wouldn't typically see that many SmartBikes in a week. So the new bikes seem pretty popular. I also saw a SmartBike today. I guess they are still being rented, or she just never returned hers. Maybe they're being sold off, as rental goods often are after a number of years of service.

I had it wrong about the $50/year unlimited use deal. You can't take one home and keep it in your bedroom. According to this Capitol Bikeshare member, the $50/year membership fee allows unlimited trips of 30 minutes or less for no additional charge.
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC06138.jpg

She makes that bike look good!

I had it wrong about the $50/year unlimited use deal. You can't take one home and keep it in your bedroom. According to this Capitol Bikeshare member, the $50/year membership fee allows unlimited trips of 30 minutes or less for no additional charge.

You really thought you could keep one at home all the time?

The point of bike sharing is that you use it only when you need it and don't hoard it in your house where it sits idle. When you're done, someone else has to have a chance to use it -- but if it's being kept at home, nobody else can ride it.

30 minutes at a time? What that means is that you need to be able to pick it up where your journey begins -- and then park it in a rack at your destination. You're not going to ride for ten minutes to get somewhere, hurry up with whatever you wanted to do (get a carryout lunch, maybe?), then ride back. Unfortunately, if the racks are hard to find, and they're not close to where you are OR where you're going, you're not going to bother hunting one down.

I'm continuing to harp on this because I think it's a hugely wasted opportunity. I live on Capitol Hill. There are ZERO Capital Bikeshare stations within a reasonable distance of me -- and by "reasonable" I mean "close enough that I wouldn't have to take the Metro or a cab or ride my bike to get to one that's already close to my destination anyway."
http://www.capitalbikeshare.com/station_map

SmartBike hasn't listed any new stations since last year. Most of my neighborhood isn't even ON the map as it's displayed on their page.
https://www.smartbikedc.com/smartbike_locations.asp

I don't know how many other people in my building ride bikes, whether for commuting or recreation. But, it seems like it's a bunch; every once in a while, I see another resident with a bike that I didn't know was a rider. There are bikes locked up on people's porches or fences on every block in my neighborhood, never mind the ones that are kept indoors. I can't walk a block down the street without seeing at least one cyclist riding to get somewhere.

There is definitely a market here. Why it's not being exploited -- in a city known for exploitation -- is beyond me.

Would you like some oysters with that whine?

I'm sorry that Capitol Bikeshare displeases you. :(

My beef with it is that it's one of three things:

1) It's another line on somebody's "look at what I did for the public good" resumé. It's just enough for some people to proclaim that they accomplished something, even if it's not truly useful.

2) It's a half-assed attempt started by people who don't care to see that it reaches its potential.

3) It's the result of a lot of effort by some good-hearted people who -- sadly -- have no real clue how much harder they really needed to work.

If it grows to a usable scale in ten years, then that's good. I don't have that much faith, though. DC has a habit of letting projects slide.

This guy uses Capitol Bikeshare as the primary mode of transportation for his commute to and from work. Do you spend more than $50/year on the vehicle you ride to work? I do.
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC06147.jpg

This guy usually rides his own bike to work, but it needs a new tire. He is riding a Capitol Bikeshare bike to a bike shop during his lunch break, instead of taking a taxi.
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC06169.jpg

Union Station/Columbus Circle/Mass Ave
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC06184.jpg

http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC06202.jpg

http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC06192.jpg

It is indeed the largest bike share program in the US. It's a foothold. Now we start kicking francophone ass.

"We are staking our claim," said Fenty. "And we are going after Montréal and anywhere else in the country -- in the world! -- that may have a little bit more bicycles than we."

Fenty has been a great mayor for cyclists, if a bit confused on the location of Montreal.

21st and NH. Her first day, but she plans to use bikeshare as her primary mode of commuting to work. She has a bike but it's broken. She mentioned another bike that was stolen.
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC06231.jpg

This gentleman has a message, but it's hard to understand. I've spoken to him before. I thought he was indigent, but he was on foot then. Before he started riding a Cannondale Scalpel and before he strapped ~$600 worth of iPod nanos to his head. I think he's shooting video with the nanos.
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC06233.jpg

Cigar smoker. I saw him mounting his bike near JR Cigars at 1730 L St, before heading off in a cloud of smoke.
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/cigarcropthree.jpg

I like the backlit smoke and the techno rabble is interesting, but I'd like to see more pictures of attractive women on bikes!

Just my thought for the day...

You've made that very clear. :D

Women often react badly to strangers taking their pictures, and I'm about as strange as they come.

I've become a bit shy about pointing the camera at women and a lot of the ones I do shoot are scowling at me.

I encountered a couple of hot chicks on bikes today and gave chase, but they were too fast! Getting dropped by girls. Sigh. Getting old sucks.

I'll try harder to get the girls to smile and I'll post pictures of that if I get it in the frame, and somewhat in focus. :)

I didn't think about it until now, but the SW corner of 18th and L NW that you can see in the background of the cigar smoker picture is a hangout for messengers, if you can see past the brunette in the gray dress and her redhead friend, not that you'd want to.

I once saw a coworker, a moped rider, riding on the sidewalk, filming a woman's backside as she walked ahead of him. I don't want to be that guy. :(

I cropped the pudgy white male pedestrians out of the last picture so the fit females would be more noticeable. I've gotten sloppy and sometimes forget to hone in on the subject matter.

I cropped the pudgy white male pedestrians out of the last picture so the fit females would be more noticeable. I've gotten sloppy and sometimes forget to hone in on the subject matter.

Hey, the picture works MUCH better composition-wise and there's the plus of the chic babes in the background. You work with a P&S camera, right? Tough to make those dance.

And, no I don't want you or me to be that guy. Can't help but share the appreciation for the subject but there is a line, somewhere.

Have you pictured your rig in this thread? Your work rig not the personal rides.

Yes, a point and shoot, but that's what I do. Point and shoot. I don't have time to change lenses. A real camera would be too big to pull out of my chest harness on the fly. Many of these pictures are taken from the saddle of my bike.

My favorite recent picture of my new truck. I post pictures of my work bike in the utility forum.
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC05951.jpg

Stuck in traffic. It looks like I'm in the slow lane here, but the image is reversed!
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC01329.jpg

I moved to DC a few months ago and have been commuting to GWU from Anacostia. I finally recorded a typical commute (for the record, I'm not the guy in the picture above with the Ipods stuck to his head).

http://www.vimeo.com/15241639#

Cool video, convert! I guess they don't teach Driver's Ed in high schools anymore... :p

K Street
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC06298.jpg

9th Street. She smiled which caused me to flinch. So I got a "...smile... and somewhat in focus." as promised :)
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC06290.jpg

Wish I had a camera for the rider I saw on my block a few days ago. Shimano IGH, either a dynohub or front drum brake, and with drop bars and Hubbub bar end adapter for the IGH's twist shifter. There gets to be a point where someone's bike shows how much they've gotten into the equipment side of things, and a bike like this one is definitely in the "I've done my research" category.

The way I see it: She mods the Dahon within inches of its original life to make it into a sharply dialed-in urban assault tool and then rides it in a dress and flip-flops. :thumb:

Sort of like ordering a triple cheeseburger with extra mayo and a diet coke...

Of course the Diet Coke is so you can splurge on the other. That's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it! ;)

Rainy day grocery run. 15th and P
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC06412.jpg

Of course the Diet Coke is so you can splurge on the other. That's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it! ;)

Caffeine increases metabolism, so that's negative calories! Get the fries!