Ride Home 10/14

It got nice out. I'm going to make this post short, but not because of that. My commute was very short, at least in terms of time and not distance, as I do not live on a house boat or work on a dirigible (yes, there are other workplaces that move, even more contemporary flying ones, but I'm going with blimp). This is due mostly to luck and has very little to do with bicycling acumen. If you want to get across the city quickly 1) pick a good route and 2) hope that you catch a bunch of lights and 3) if you really feel like it, but it doesn't really matter that much, pedal hard. You'll find after bike commuting for a while that pedaling fast really only decreases your travel time at the margins, especially if you don't catch lights. And this makes sense, since if you wait at lights, even if not through their entirety, it takes out a much larger chunk of time relative to your overall commute time compared to the amount you can gain from pushing yourself. Of course, this might just be self-justified dawdliness, but I firmly believe it to be true. So much for keeping things short and to the point.
This is a picture of a bus blocking a bike lane. It won't be the first time and it won't be the last time (that the bus does it. It'll probably be the last time of this particular picture of this particular bus).

Bike lane not shown, covered by bus

I guess my question isn't so much why does the bus pick people up in the bike lane, but why'd they run a bike lane through a bus stop? (Uh oh, it sounds like I'm being reasonable and not reflexively defensive of bike infrastructure. Where are we, Bucharest? Don't tell the authorities) Unless of course, the bus isn't supposed to be using that location as a stop. Then it's back to OUTRAGE.
A fine trip across Q, though I would advise bicyclists stopping at the Bike Rack to either signal or ride on the sidewalk for the last half of the block or do anything other than just slam on your brakes in the middle of the bike lane because other people might be behind you. Accordingly, don't follow people too closely, though that's always a good rule of thumb (if you're only a thumb away, you're too close).
I'd like to thank two especially gracious and understanding drivers, both of SUVs, for allowing me to merge into the travel lane when my path was blocked by a stopping pick-up truck (with flashers) and a FedEx delivery van. Your courtesy really did make a difference, especially on a "Freeway Friday," as I like to call it, because some motorists really drive rather fast in an effort to hasten their weekend.
A woman on Pennsylvania Avenue was walking with a sign that read "The answer to 1984 is 1776." I don't know what that means. I know that the Answer in '96 per 36 went for 21.1, but I'm pretty sure that's not sign-worthy, at least not for any of the current occupiers of various parks and public spaces about time.
Traffic cones are used to block the right lane on Constitution between 2nd and 1st, NW. There's a police/security guy who stands behind them. In my experience, all this seems to accomplish is to make me ride one more lane over. Security experts may please chime in to let me know why this is crucially important.
Still didn't get new brake pads. Maybe some time soon. Have a great weekend. Should be nice out, so ride your bicycle if that's a thing you like to do when you have free time and it's nice. "Ride your bicycle if that's a thing you like to do when you have free time and it's nice" was so close to being the motto of this blog, and be featured prominently on a series of promotional cocktail napkins, but I ultimately demurred.