7/1/15

Rides 7/1: Subtitles are hard

Hiatus over.

They say that you never forget how to blog your bike commute- that, in many ways, it's like something else you never forget how to do (I can't recall how the phrase goes. It's something with transportation. Like riding a ____? I don't know. It escapes me at the moment. Maybe something with a moped?) and since this project has been a rather amorphously defined puddle of word vomit and since it's the internet- there are no rules, much less any good judgment, about putting written ephemera on it- it's safe to say that I could just get back into the swing of things, picking up where I left off, and continuing the very same format that has brought me such success in the field of local bike commute blogging. You don't get to be 37th most popular local bike blogger without putting in the time and effort and taking part in a series of montages with cut scenes showing me bicycling, then typing, then looking at things, then raising one finger up as if I had an idea, then typing again all while "Walking on Sunshine" or some other such musical exuberation plays in the background. You also don't get to stay the 37th most popular local bike blogger when you take a hiatus and I think it's safe to assume that I've slipped some spots in the rankings. New local bike commute blogs spring up like mushrooms everyday [like a bike blog by a guy who regales us with stories about things he carries around the city called Porteur Bellows] and the bloggers are younger, smarter and hungrier for the fame and fortune that local bike commute blogging can bring and it'd be foolish of me to think I can just get back to the top 40 without yet another musical montage, maybe one where I'm biking on a beach, and then sitting on a beach towel typing furiously, and then clutching my hair, and then dramatically holding down the delete key, then looking up at a framed picture of Czeslaw Milosz for inspiration, and then resolutely pounding on the keys once more, all under the dulcet tones of the appropriately trite "Eye of the Tiger." Also, for those of you playing along at home, that was a poorly done mushroom pun back there for which I profoundly apologize.

This is an awfully long run-up to say that I'm sorta tired tonight and I'm not sure how much more I plan to write. The morning was fine- there were broken twigs on the ground from either the tremendous storm or some late night urban forestry and I rode over those those twigs, some time with aplomb and other times without it. I forgot once again that the path by the Lincoln in closed and I was through a chain link maze to ride alongside Constitution Gardens, which is one of the sadder places in the whole of the National Mall funplex. Yes, they will revamp it. But until then, it's some ruddy paths next to an algaefied pond. Why do we even need a pond there? To remind us of the primordial swamp from which DC was hewn? For ducks? I don't know.

The ride home took me to and through AdMo and the BicycleSpace outpost newly opened there. For the past few months, BicycleSpace has been operating out of the cramped quarters of an old Burger King while they've waited on the build out for 3 new locations- AdMo, MVT and Ivy City. The two latter are still in progress, but the gigantic Adams Morgan shop is open and well worth the visit. Along with the old staples, L'Espace now stocks Bianchi and Salsas. [I think I once ordered a Bianchi con Salsa as an appetizer at an Italian restaurant.] So, if you're in the mood to buy one of those brands or just in the mood to get lost in the vastness of their new location (bring breadcrumbs), go by and check it out.

After that, I rode home down 18th to Q to 11th to Pennsylvania and then the usual way. Work continues apace (does apace mean super-slowly?) on installing the parking stops to the Pennyslvania Avenue cycletrack. Still a few more blocks to go on the east side. And on the west side. But the middle side, that's all set.

There is a new Gear Prudence. IT'S ABOUT RAGE. Believe it or not, I'm against it. I like my anger like I like my soup: slowly simmering. And with alphabet noodles. Anyway, your soup preference and rage valence may vary so feel free to excoriate me accordingly.

1 comment:

  1. Welcome back! I enjoy reading your daily ride posts. They're entertaining and reassure me I'm not the only one who notices the benefits and absurdities of bicycle commuting in the city.

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