1/26/12

Ride Home 1/25 and Ride In 1/26

Before I left work, I saw this in the locker room:
In the top right of the drawing, the word "Door" is written

I don't know what it means. I think that it's presaging some sort of elaborate heist. When I got in this morning, I saw this:
I think something's afoot. Or maybe the night cleaning crew came. I can't be sure.
Last night was a fundraiser for Girl on a Bike DC's Police Unity Tour Ride, so I biked there. (Could you imagine if my posts were just like "I wanted to go home, so I biked there." Or "Work today, so I biked there." It would save me a considerable amount of time, though it might rob the blog  of some of its zing) The event was held at Duffy's Irish Pub and beforehand I had arranged to meet some friends at Solly's U Street Tavern. I had never been to either of these locales before, though I've seen them frequently mentioned on the twitter by people who actually go out and do stuff rather than ride home, blog about it, tweet about the blog post, watch tv, and cry themselves go to sleep. Actually, I don't mind not going out and think that the life of a homebody is one of great value.
How did I get there? Great question! I rode Massachusetts to Garfield, crossing the street in the crosswalk at Massachusetts and then again in the crosswalk on Garfield because it's both illegal and imprudent. Garfield has bike lanes and Cleveland is generally wide enough not to need them and the lanes pick back up on Calvert. The intersection of Calvert and Connecticut is a little weird as far as bike lanes are concerned since the lane kind of stops before the intersection or at least doesn't effectively keep out car traffic. The bike lane picks up on the other side of Connecticut, but it's not lined up with where the bike lane on the other side is/was. It's probably a good idea to ride in the right travel lane and just get in line behind the right turning cars and that's what I did.
I see a lot of people making u-turns all the time and I wonder why.
I stopped at the ATM in Adams Morgan. Thus concludes my wildest trip yet to Adams Morgan. Didn't get a  receipt. Wild.
I took Euclid across town to 11th. It was decidedly all right, but not great. I think it could probably be better, but mostly if it were free from cars. From 15th to 11th, it was downhill at least, though there were some rather large speed bumps.
11th and U is where I locked my bike. Since I'm kind of afraid of locking my bike in public, I removed the lights and my saddle bag and didn't even leave my helmet there for some reason. The bike was there when I got back, so that was good.
It was a great pleasure to actually meet Kate (the aforementioned girl on a bike) and to help her raise some funds. She's going to selling merchandise at some point, too, so I'll keep you posted on that. At the event, I got to hang out some more with Jon, as well as #bikeDC advocate agitator Dave. Dave biked home with me (as he live on the Hill, but not Armory West) and I much appreciated his company. I'm not sure he especially cared for my blathering, but he was polite enough not to say. We rode 11th to Penn, went up the House side of the Capitol, where I almost wiped out getting through a narrow security barrier, continued on Pennsylvania to 8th or so, up to to Lincoln Park and then down the road some more to my house.
This morning I had to go to work, so I biked there. "So I biked there" is my new catchphrase. Better than my previous catchphrase "Please accept my sincerest apologies for this workplace-inappropriate limerick."
Seemed like there was more Capitol Police out than usual. Also more bicyclists. Coincidence? Yeah, probably.
I think I saw a good number of regulars today. I like recognizing people on my bike commute and I regret that I don't recognize more of them, because I'm certain that I pass more of the same people every day than just Beard Guy, Fox Face, and Front Rack. Oh, also I should come up with better nicknames for people I see consistently.
I left my pannier at work yesterday and rode with a messenger bag, both home and then back in this morning. It was fine, probably even better than I would have expected, but I didn't find it especially comfortable, even if I also didn't find it especially distressing.
On 15th, someone (probably one of you), said something to me as he passed in the opposite direction. I have no idea what it was. I hope it wasn't "Can I have your address so I can mail you my angry letter written in a fit of pique yesterday upon finding out that you didn't bike the whole way to Jon's work?" I mean, I don't think it was that much, but it's so hard to hear things when you're riding past someone. Doppler Effect and whatnot. Sure. Later, a guy nodded at me, perhaps out of solidarity as he was on a bicycle too. I wonder if he nods at every bicyclist he sees or just a select few. It could be a lot of nodding.
Have you ever heard the word suborn used outside of the context of perjury? Like, "I could really suborn some nachos right now." Or maybe even used correctly? I haven't. Thinking about this is how I passed the time for much of the slog uphill.
I saw what I think was the VPs helicopter leaving the Naval Observatory. It was rather low. I wonder if Joe Biden is rocking the hashtag #copterDC for the helicopter commuting community on Twitter.

6 comments:

  1. I locked up next to your bike at the 11&U rack..black cross check? #notcreepy

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  2. Yeah, that was mine. Totally not #bikestalking, though I wonder if #bikestalking could be a thing. Maybe like when you covet a bike and keep visiting the shop to keep looking at it?

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  3. Dude..how did I miss you at Duffys? And how could you not introduce yourself to the guy with the folded Brampton at the bar, knowing yet failing to convince his trivia teammates that Porky Pigs wife's name is Petunia?

    Of course I did find that my Sparrows Woo! Sign had fallen off somewhere on my way to the benefit happy hour. Oh well...perhaps some kind soul will find it and wear it along your route one day.

    I think. "The moon looked interesting so I biked there "- would be zingful in every possible way. But that's probably just me.

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  4. @Roy: How did I miss you? I feel like a total dolt. I'm sorry to hear about your sign, but I imagine it will find a new home in short order. People love picking stuff up off the street.

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  5. I definitely #bikestalk. Or maybe it hasn't yet reached that level, and would more accurately be described as #bikeogling.

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  6. I dread the day I have to explain myself to someone that I was checking out the bike, not the person.

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