K street traffic

[qmsdc15]

One of my first bikes was a red Sears model with headlights built into the fuselage very similar to this one. Vice Grips clamped to a bike is a common sight around here. Is that a DC thing? If the bolt that happens to come loose is the one the Vise Grips are attached to, you're all ready to tighten it! On the fly handlebar angle adjustments, no problem!


I love these tech forward little folders. My next bike might have disc brakes, belt drive, and one sided hubs. But will I be able to fold it up and put in my pocket?

[ahsposo]

That's one of the AreaWare bikes?

Also vice grips are sort of a multi-tool, right?

[ahsposo]

Son? Nephew?

[qmsdc15]

I asked him about that. He claims to be unrelated to Burl Ives.

[qmsdc15]

Areawear? I thought it was a Strida. Oh, they're the same thing. Here's one for less than a grand. http://www.amazon.com/Areaware-STRiD.../dp/B002WBWQDO

[qmsdc15]

How did you deal with the rain today? Rain gear, umbrella or a big smile?




Sunshine on a cloudy day. Recovering from a back injury that makes riding her road bike difficult.

[BarracksSi]

I wonder if the Faux Burl Ives bought his bike from the Building Museum. I've seen them in their gift shop (and nearly bought one myself).

[qmsdc15]

That's a bicycle retailer few people know about! Thanks for the insider info. That's cool.

I guess with the disc brakes and belt drive, the need for a full service bike shop is minimal. Areaware calls the bikes 'zero maintenance', but they recommend you take your Strida to a shop annually for a checkup, just to make sure everything's OK.

Smudged lens sort of day, grittier than yesterday. The umbrella thing seems to be catching on.

[lencoo12]

No wonder no one wants to ride stoker with him...

I guess he rides in with his wife and drops her off. This was taken at lunch time. He's not doing everything right, but he looked to be a very skilled and competent driver.

[qmsdc15]

If that's your bike, Lenny, I see it on a regular basis although I only saw you on it that one time. Very cool bike!

Welcome to bike forums!

[qmsdc15]

My camera came with a lens cap, unlike most cameras in it's class which typically have built in lens covers that open and close automatically. I can't deal with a lens cap, so I leave it at home. For most of the day, the lens was fogged every time I took the camera out of it's still damp case.

I wish I was able to show this group from the front, but I didn't get that shot.

I asked "What's the occasion?"

"Lunch time bike ride."

17th and K


James, 17th and Eye

[ahsposo]

The lunchers look to all be wearing running shoes.

Could work out to be a bi-athalon with out too much of a stretch.

The Reflecting Pool is a little shallow for swimming, as I remember.

[qmsdc15]

When I posted black and hispanic riders on fancy bikes wearing sneakers, I suggested the bikes were stolen!

Well those bikes had Eggbeaters and Look pedals. She appears to have regular street shoe compatible pedals, although it's hard to tell.

The riders in front had real bike shoes and even fancier bikes. I like what the damp spot on my lens did with his jacket.

[telebianchi]

Dalecarlia Tunnel, Capital Crescent Trail. Oct 2, 2010

[ahsposo]

^^^ Nice!

[qmsdc15]

Very nice!

I've ridden through that tunnel a few times, but I had to Google it to remind myself where is was.

I found this http://www.thewashcycle.com/2010/07/...turns-100.html

Happy birthday, Dalecarlia Tunnel!

If you click on the photo it takes you to M. V. Jantzen's Flicker page.

If you click on "M. V. Jantzen's photostream", midway down the right side of page, you can see more pictures of the DC area, many with bikes in them.

I clicked on slideshow, but paused it so I could move though it at my own pace. It's fun to try and identify where the photos were taken. If you click on "show info" a detailed caption will tell you what you're looking at.

I like Telebiachi's picture of the tunnel better than Jantzen's , but he has some real nice pictures there. Check it out!

[telebianchi]

I like Telebiachi's picture of the tunnel better than Jantzen's , but he has some real nice pictures there. Check it out!

Thank you very much. It did turn out nice for just holding the camera in hand as I rode. I wasn't even looking at the lcd viewfinder. I'll take a little credit for thinking it might make a good shot, but the lighting, blur and composition were pure luck.

I'm also psyched that the rider in the picture is my girlfriend who in the past two months has gone from a rusty purple Toys-R-Us special to a Specialized Sirus and has progressed from barely knowing how to shift to doing 28 miles along the Mt. Vernon and Capital Crescent Trails -- meaning that I should have more and more opportunities for pictures of cute girls and bikes in the city.

Thanks again for the compliment (ahsposo, as well).

[ConvertedRunner]

Washington Monument to Crystal City: http://www.vimeo.com/15651293

[qmsdc15]

Nice. I used to ride to the airport twice a day. I'm glad they fenced off the shortcut through the grass at the end of the bridge. That was a pet peeve of mine, that people would create an erosion gully there. Why??

Pretty in pink. Lots of people walking to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer, the first of a three day 60 mile event. Donate http://www.the3day.org/site/PageServ...ename=homepage


These clowns made a left turn on a red light from northbound Connecticut onto M St. I wonder what their job was, if they had any official capacity.


Only course workers had bikes. Participants walked.




Part of a group of about 40 transportaion planners/traffic engineers touring through downtown to see what DC has done to encourage cycling.

One of them asked me if I was the K Street traffic guy! I think he was a local, guiding the visitors.

[BarracksSi]

Nice. I used to ride to the airport twice a day. I'm glad they fenced off the shortcut through the grass at the end of the bridge. That was a pet peeve of mine, that people would create an erosion gully there. Why??

Because it's easier to go in a straight line, that's why. There's no reason to not pave it. There are a few other unnecessarily-tight turns further down the MVT, too.

I've heard of, but not seen, a college campus that, when it was new, was left without sidewalks for a semester or two. They let the students walk wherever they felt was best, eventually creating "cattle paths" that they paved over the next summer. When finished, the walkways went exactly where everyone wanted to go, and the empty spaces of grass don't get walked upon and trodden into dirt.

[qmsdc15]

Try not to write stuff here that encourages environmental degradation. The right onto the bike path isn't much sharper than the right onto the grass. Paving your line simply would not work. It's much too steep. Paving would lead to further damage. You don't know what you are talking about, as usual. I stay on the path and enjoy trying to take the sharp turn smoothly and without scrubbing too much speed. When Whitetail had mountain biking they built awesome switchbacks, fun to ride and sustainable, but there were oafs who chose to cut them off and go straight.

[BarracksSi]

It's ten feet of pavement that you're talking about. "Environmental degradation" my ass.

[BarracksSi]

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[qmsdc15]

RI Ave, Mt. Rainier, MD.

[cc_rider]

Because it's easier to go in a straight line, that's why. There's no reason to not pave it. There are a few other unnecessarily-tight turns further down the MVT, too.

I've heard of, but not seen, a college campus that, when it was new, was left without sidewalks for a semester or two. They let the students walk wherever they felt was best, eventually creating "cattle paths" that they paved over the next summer. When finished, the walkways went exactly where everyone wanted to go, and the empty spaces of grass don't get walked upon and trodden into dirt.

That was Christopher Alexander's Oregon Experiment using "pattern language" to help design. It was the new thing in the mid 70's when I was in architecture school. The pattern language approach is a bit old fashioned but it still used today as a design tool.