Freude! Freude! Beethoven totally got it right when he borrowed from Schiller and my tochter aus Elysium is getting the heck outta Dodge (euphemistic city, not car brand) when the clock strikes five-ish (the time, not Finkel) on the fifth day of the work week. Nothing that won't give you Diabetes is quite so sweet. (That was also what I wrote in the Official Wife's last Valentine's Day card.)
I left my bike outside today, rather than locking it up in the usual inside place, and it made for a quicker escape. I doubt that I pedaled any faster than usual, since I refuse to pedal any more than strictly necessary. Those draisine dudes had it right.
I received a LATE BREAKING text message that was late nor breaking re: an opportunity to meet up with some friends for a quick beer on the way home. The stipulation that the beer was quick was my own, in that I have a dog (aka Ellie the Poodle) who needs to be walked and fed irrespective of my desire for beer and camaraderie. Nonetheless, I detoured to make this happen, but not in a way that was sensible. I rode Mass almost until Dupont and took 21st down to M and then M over to 25th and down 25th to Pennsylvania, crossed Penn inadvisedly and crossed it back slightly more advisedly as that's where the drinking hole (note: not actual hole) found itself located. I locked up on a street sign, which I hate, but them's the breaks of bike parking in this city sometime. Some other bike dude (technical term) waited for me to lock up so he could do the same, which he did, as I found out when I left. I enjoyed a spot of ale (or bottle of beer, whatevs, but I'm trying to be 'poetic') and some good talk about how terrible a candidate Mitt Romney is (he's the Mitt Romney of terrible candidates) and then it was once again off on the rest of my ride home. All safe-like and such.
I didn't want to ride through Washington Circle (less dangerous circles include Xena's chakram) so I took L (no cycletrack yet) until 15th. I really, really liked riding L because traffic was moving but at a speed not so much greater than one I could maintain and I sort of felt like I was some badass urban bike type even though in reality I'm very much not that. Drivers along L have a funny habit of just using the right travel lane as a parking lane or idling lane or turning lane so there were some spots where I had to leave it on a few occasions, but that wasn't a big deal. In short, it was relatively fun. In long, it was relatively fun but more so. I shan't tell you what it was in medium (fun). I turned off at 15th and took that through Lafayette and the followed it to Penn.
Operating a pedicab doesn't look easy. Big props to those guys.
Oh so much fun just following along as the fourth bike in a caravan bopping from light to light. And then I saw someone with a SharrowsDC button! First time in the wild. I took grainy picture (that I can't post for some reason) of none other then #bikeDC's data crunching luminary JDAntos. He's also a resident of Armory West- South (not a real neighborhood) and we rode together most of the rest of the way home. We talked mostly about the soon-to-be brand-new secure bike parking facility at the College Park Metro station, which sounds pretty awesome and like a really great deal for College Park bike parkers. (The College Park Bike Parkers were a barnstorming baseball team in the 1890s.) It was nice to have a bit of conversation for the last miles home and I was glad that Justin decided to head down Penn instead of taking his new normalish route home. Bike commuting is, and always will be, a moveable feast.
For those of you having a three day weekend, have 150% more fun than normal. I'll be back Monday with the same old shenanigans. Viszlat.
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