Rides 8/9 and No Rides 8/10

I had to go to Foggy Bottom in the morning to pick up a key (let's pretend my life is some kind of dramatic espionage drama wherein I do mysterious things instead of it being as banal as it actually is), so I rode down New Hampshire to R and then made a left on 21st, taking that across New Hampshire again and then across Pennsylvania and then finally to E Street, where I turned left and locked up the bike in front of a Dunkin Donuts. I looked up before I left how long the trip would be and Google told me it'd be 1.7 miles and I guess that's as far as it was. That is a distance that I'd like to call "not very far." That's also on the other side of the Golden Triangle/K Street/Downtown area where lots of office buildings are and maybe one day I might try to work in one of those office buildings (instead of working as a blimp pilot based in upper NW) and if I ever have the bike commute of a scant mile or less, I'm not sure that bike commuting would be that fun anymore. There are some activities, while really enjoyable, that just aren't that fun when they're over too quickly. 

After I secured the key, I shook the counter-intelligence agents tailing me (let me pretend) by riding up 23rd street, circled Washington Circle, took Pennsylvania to 24th (25th? I don't know- the one with the Trader Joes), then M, and eventually up Wisco and eventually to work. I was powered in this effort by a coconut donut and an iced coffee. 

There was bicycling in the afternoon, but it was just down the hill and back up Macomb Street to Idado and then past the Giant to a bus stop, where I folded the bike and took the bus home with my ANC Commissioner. Bromptons don't fit on the front of buses (although I've never tried), but they do fit wonderfully in the middle of the bus aisle, where they only inconvenience everyone a little, but no one more than the person holding the folded bike doing his best not to inconvenience anyone too much. 

Today I didn't ride my bike at all, but it was for a good cause: I was returning my car to the dealership. I now have zero cars. The lease expired. I've had a car in DC for the entire time I've lived here (and had one in Denver before that) and truth be told, it has proven pretty useful at times. The problem is that those times are rather limited and now that I've moved, even more limited still. I'm lucky that I live in a place that makes the choice of not owning not terribly inconvenient, but I'll still be curious to see how many transportation choices are shaped by my lack of personal automobile. I didn't drive it a lot of places in the city (in the spring, I'd drive it to school once a week and lately, I've been driving it to Ivy City on weekends, but since having it in DC, I've used it for the usual DC driving purposes, which mainly consist of going to suburban places that would slower to get to by bike or public transportation), but I did drive it to the point where owning it was worth the costs of owning it, so it's never been that big of a burden. Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to living without it. I think it will be a nice change. 

The dealership is in Del Ray. They gave me a ride to the Braddock Road metro station and I took the yellow line back to U Street and then walked home a few blocks. It was hot, but a nice walk.