[theme from Sanford and Son plays as I'm unable to think of anything]
Ok, anyway. Yeah, so, uh, the other night, I went to Crystal City after work. I didn't go there in search of crystals because unless Crystal is the name of a defense contractor, they don't really have those there. To get there, I rode Bikeshare, first from work into Rosslyn and then Rosslyn along the Mount Vernon Trail. [Aside, I took Bikeshare from work because I took the Metro to work in the morning. That absolves me from having to write about that commute, since here on DC's 37th best bike blog, we stick to our core mission, which is obscuring the mundanities of bike commuting through long parenthetical asides and, sometimes, "jokes."] Let's talk about how riding a Bikeshare bike with its piddly blinking light in the dark from Rosslyn to Crystal City on the Mount Vernon trail is a really terrible idea and here's why: because the light is too dim to light the way on the dark trail and PERHAPS EVEN WORSE, the headlights of the cars on the GWP are utterly blinding. That I didn't crash is a testament to either my cycling process or the fact that all bikeshare bikes are secretly operated by remote control by specialists in an underground bunker. I think we all know which one is true and that's why I sent a fruit basket of gratitude to that secret bunker this morning. Also, the complete inability to see anything in front of me had me really worried that I would crash into someone walking or biking without lights, but luckily, that wasn't the case. Anyway, don't do what I did.
BUT DO THIS, if you can, which is to attend a Bike Hack Night, which was the reason I was in Crystal City at all. Bike Hack Night united my two great loves: bicycling and free pizza. But its putative purpose is to bring to bring together coders and data analyst types and people who made good decisions in college about what to study and allow them a forum to demonstrate their amazing talents in a friendly, mutually interested atmosphere. The agenda was thus (and the results thus) and while I could only stay for the first two presentations, I had a great time and it was well worth the harrowing bike ride. Anyway, it's amazing to see what smart, committed people can do with data and it seems like a really special community and longtime friend of the blog, Michael, is doing a really great job pulling it together. I think what impressed me the most is that maybe half the room (of more than 100 people) raised their hand when asked if they were 'bike nerds'- meaning that the draw of this kind of event isn't for hardcore cyclists. It's for smart, interested people who happen to bike (or care about bicycling) and if to any extent, advocates can harness that enthusiasm, we'd be in quite a good place.
After the Bike Hack night, I biked back up the MVT over the 14th Street Bridge and then up 15th to Farragut Square and then after another very exciting social event, I biked home via eventually Pennsylvania Avenue.
It rained yesterday morning. Not much to say about that. Warm enough that it wasn't sleet, so no complaints for mid December.
YESTERDAY EVENING WAS THE WABA HOLIDAY PARTY and presumably you were there because it was the social event of the year, if not the millennium. It had it all: bike people, tacos, a brief presentation on strategic goals, poster board, etc. Really, the whole thing was lit. I met some new people and saw a bunch of known people and had the chance to corner some WABA staff and berate them about their lack of commitment to my pet issue (pogo ban), as one is supposed to do at the nonprofit holiday party, and all in all, had a great time. Afterwards, it was the ride home, again down past the White House and then over Pennsylvania and the usual way home. I'm also just going to jump ahead real quick and tell you that tonight's ride home was also that. Why was it that? Because that's the way to get home.
This morning was cold. I don't much care for it. I do care for coffee, which I stopped for at the Friday Coffee Club, and then afterwards, it was G Street and Virginia and eventually up Wisco. I was thinking a lot about cars during this trip, as I often do, since cars are very much a part of my bike commute. I'm sure there've been anthropologies of driving culture and if I took a moment to google, I could give you an example, but I'm just going to power through and remain ignorant. I can't say that I feel bad for drivers (because I really don't) but I do feel some feeling towards them that's tinged with melancholy. Or maybe that's just me being afraid of getting run over. I don't know. In spite of my best efforts, I contain multitudes.
Tip: when grocery shopping by bike, use your bike bag as your grocery cart. You do not want to end up with too much groceries relative to your ability to get them home. My messenger bag can fit a surprising amount of wine.
ONE LAST THING: the Hains Point 100 is on Sunday. You should come if you can. It's a great fundraiser and Megan is a hero. I can barely ride one lap of HP and she does 100 miles. It's really impressive. So, show up and/or throw her some scratch.
Some pictures of stuff:
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| I've taken to wearing rubber rain boots to bike in the rain. They work. |
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| Someone decided this was good enough. Is it? |
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| There is no Thursday Night Coffee Club |
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| more like road jerk ahead, am I right |
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| EtP says come to the Hains Point 100. |
I've thought about wearing my Wellies for biking in the rain, but I'm always worried that they aren't flexible enough at the ankles. Are yours ankle or knee high?
ReplyDeleteThey're low boots. They just go up to my ankle, so they're reasonably comfortable for biking. They're also lined, so I plan to use them for winter, if winter ever happens. I can't imagine biking in higher boots, but maybe someone does.
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