Hello from Washington DC!
 

Hey y'all, I'm just getting back into biking this last month. Was really into biking as a kid, but as an adult my bike got stolen and I fell off after that since money became a constant issue. I've got a GT Talera from 1994 that I've had for a few weeks. I'd been thinking about getting a bike from the city's bike co-op for awhile, but it took the bus schedule getting worse and spiking used car prices to push me to do it. It's been nice to explore and get to know more about bikes, and I'm excited to get to know all of you better!

Welcome to the gang!
Used to travel to DC frequently for work and know it well. Great cycling there. Miss it.

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...it was the abysmal Metro Bus service in D.C., back in the 70's, that got me riding around town on a bike in the first place. I discovered that I could get paces, even across town, faster on a bicycle than waiting for a bus, then sitting on it while it was trying to drive through traffic to my destination. I guess some things are constant, even in the midst of change.

I'm anxious to see what cycling in DC is all about. I'll be there the last week of March and I read the bike trails are amazing.
Is cycling about the city safe with hopefully top notch cycling infrastructure.
Where's everyone's favorite bike trails about the Metro area. ?

Unfortunately, DC actually doesn't have much top notch bike infrastructure. The Metro Branch Trail is great, and there's a lot of bike lanes downtown. But outside that there's very few bike lanes and not even many shared lanes, bikers and pedestrians are kinda left on their own with only the buses and trains to turn to (and right now they're seriously ****) outside that. I suggest being very careful biking around here since the drivers are some of the worst in the country. I'll upload a bike map of the city/surrounding areas to give you a better idea

Downtown DC isn’t that good. But trails in NoVa and Md are excellent. Mt Vernon, W&OD, Rock Creek, etc. are great. Here are some good ones

https://dc.curbed.com/maps/bike-bicy...-dc-washington

Welcome! I lived in DC (mostly NE) from 2008-2015 and biked as my primary transportation for most of those years. I actually got started on the red bike share bikes before graduating to a spiffy Jamis Commuter 2. It's been long enough that I can now look back and laugh about the time I was egged while riding up Rhode Island Ave, the time some kids threw an empty beer bottle at me in NoMa, and the time I got home from the beer shop and lifted a six pack of my favorite beer out of my rear basket only to have the cardboard stick and all 6 bottles crash to the sidewalk :) Seriously, biking in that town is not for the faint of heart, but those were all very isolated incidents, and I actually had a blast. I found over time that plotting out routes away from busy roads was kinda fun and took me to parts of the city I would not have seen otherwise--not to mention it's much cheaper and more convenient than parking a car or even waiting around on the metro or a bus! Happy riding

They had this ride/tour pre-pandemic that was a lot of fun. Think it was the second weekend of May because I recollect doing it the week after the five boro bike tour in NYC, which is on the first Sunday of the month.
I can’t find any mention of it now. Maybe another casualty of lockdown?
I don’t know.
They do have these “bike the monuments” rides and the cherry blossom rides coming up that sound like fun, though.

Tbh just getting around DC without a car is not for the faint of heart lmao. Riding the buses and trains (and walking too) has given me a lotta stories and the chance to meet some weird people (I also met super cool people but you get the idea), but I know not everyone could handle that kinda thing and I don't blame them. I once walked up to a bus stop to find someone had arranged a whole 12 pack for anyone who came up. Of course, I took some and left some. It's a weird city and getting around it without a car gives you a very unique perspective.

Anyways, nice to meet you!