I have the best commute ever...
 

Those are some narrow bike paths at the beginning of the commute especially over the bridge there (I'm assuming that was intended as a pedestrian path, not for bicycles).

But yeah, that is a nice commute; calm streets, few traffic lights and some sightseeing too. ;)
The Segway (-tourist?) horde at 6:55 is funny.

A few thoughts.

Please, allow someone else to pick your soundtracks in future vids. I recommend joey bike.

It should be legal to run over segwayers. I detest them. They are nothing more than an overpriced display of engineering wankery.

I could hear the A&S weenies screaming over the internet "GET OFF THE SIDEWALK, YOU FOOL!!!!!!!!"

You have a nice commute, especially the part through the park. Nice job dropping the dude on the lark, although I believe passing on the right is bad form.

Yeah, that is a nice commute. You even get to leave for work when it's light. I can't remember the last time my commute to work was in daylight!

Jerry H

Watching other people's commutes just cements the fact that my bike is going with me when I travel whenever reasonably possible. I want to roll over the streets of many different cities.

/hooked

rogwilco - Yeah, that's the Frederick Douglas Bridge which connects Anacostia to DC proper. It's part of an offical bike path now, but it's considered multiuse. I rarely see pedestrians on it.

trekker - What does A&S stand for? I try to stay off the sidewalks as much as possible, but sometimes it's just the safer/faster alternative. In some parts of DC, the sidewalks are considered to be part of the official bike paths.

jharte - I'm doing the early midlife crisis career change thing, so my commute is to grad school.

abra - foldings bikes! For a fee you can check them as luggage on most commercial aircraft.

A&S is Advocacy and Safety. That's the first thing I noticed was at 4:50 you took the sidewalk, seemingly to avoid the red light. Is that an official bike path? It did look pretty wide for just a sidewalk.

That was nice. Thanks for posting.

It definetely wasn't an official bike path. I just moved to the city and am still learning my way around. As far as my safety consciousness goes...I say "passing on your left" and "thank you" to pedestrians. I slow down considerably in high ped traffic areas, and I've only flipped off two drivers in the month and a half I've been in DC. I also never wear headphones, and I keep my head on a swivel.

Cool commute especially in a major metro area. Considerably more civilized than playing in the streets of my region when I have to stay in town.

You know that was fun to watch! It was almost like I was riding along....

Oh and BTW I am new here!

It certainly is flat!! Fun ride, though. Felt like I was right there w/you. Nice job.

you are more comfortable riding in the door zone than I am.

Passing on your left, you say?

I distinctly recall you taking an inside track to the right to drop that dude on the lark!

Nice kill.

As for the sidewalk riding thing, if you spend much time in the A&S forum, or even this place, you will find that sidewalk riding is highly frowned upon.

The VCers here (vehicular cyclists) would rather be run down by a bus than take a sidewalk to avoid one. Personally, I think there is a time and place for sidewalk cruising and from what I could see your choice to do so was a wise one.

The road was multi lane, busy and there wasn't much shoulder to speak of. The sidewalk had a good deal of grass to both sides which gives you room to go around peds and helps to prevent being ambushed by crossing traffic. Being on a mtb also helps since taking the grass isn't a dangerous option. A roadie in the same place might have been better off mixing it up with the cages in the same situation.

Thanks. Yeah, I don't think I had ever been to that intersection before, so it was an intuitive choice to hit the sidewalk. I still have some kinks to work out with the filming - the horizon isn't exactly level and that's my nose on the left side in most of the shots. I'm no Joey Brooks, but I will probably make some more videos of DC cycling.

I liked that! How far is the commute and what type of a camera are you using?

Yup, what camera is that?
I like the second tune in the video, the "industrial" rock track. What is that?

You might try this route some time. This has lots of water and monumental views.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UT...938ade70f82376

The way I rode it, it was about 8 miles. If I take the most direct route it tends to be about 6. The camera is an Drift X170 (non-HD).

The song is called "Logistics" and it's from a military video game called ARMA-2. The company that made the video game was the same one that made Operation Flashpoint back in the day. Both games as well as ARMA had some pretty cool soundtracks.

My normal route is very similar to that, although I head north at the Washington Monument before I get to the Jefferson Memorial. I'll have to try that out, thanks!

+1 Sounded a bit like Front 242 to me. I liked it.

Oh, and Converted Runner - I haven't seen or heard from Joeybike on these forums in a while. Suddenly you appear with an eerily similar vid.

Coincidence?

Hmmm......

My most direct route is also about 6 miles, and taking the path, it's about 7.5. So close to the same distance, but yours looks much nicer.

Great video. It's cool to see the other side of the river. I commute up to Arlington from Mount Vernon. The SW waterfront area is really transforming since the stadium went in. It's been awhile since I've been over that way. Looks like it'll be really nice when the construction is done. Makes me want to take a trip over that way.

Hey, just let me know. Like someone else hinted at, I of course was influenced by Joey Brooks and his awesome videos of riding in the Nawlins. I'd love to get a pack of urban cylists in DC together and make a vid. I'll also be at Critical Mass next Friday with my helmet cam...