TheWashCycle

Wednesday Afternoon Commute - Pawns

Good afternoon 

• Any deal to change pawn shop rules in DC to allow for the sale of vintage records and second-hand items should include the sale of used bikes.
• Who are the scofflaws now? "I asked him what they did about the fact that most drivers drive 5 to 10 mph over speed limits. The car has two modes, he said. If you’re going 75 mph and you put it in one mode, it will maintain that speed where it is safe to do so, slowing down as appropriate for curves, traffic, and other appropriate reasons. If you put it in the other mode, it will strictly obey all traffic laws, getting into the righthand lane if everyone else is going faster. No doubt they will eventually have “plus-5-mph” modes or whatever to take into account that many roads are signed for slower than the speeds people actually drive."
• I'm pretty sure DC will be getting a lot of new bike lanes soon.
• The Atlantic wonders if an uptick of bike share cyclists, who - according to one study - don't wear helmets as much as regular cyclists, will result in more crashes and injuries. If only there were some cities outside of NYC that existed, and if only one of those cities already had bike share. Then you could look at the impact bikesharing had on cyclist safety. If only...
• Those students in Michigan who rode their bikes to school as a prank that would slow traffic on a nearby rode were punished for not doing anything illegal or against the rules. But then parents and people in the community condemned the principal for overreacting. So I guess that's progress. 

Bicycle Space now open later

Blog sponsor Bicycle Space is now open until 9pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Nice for those post-commute emergency repairs. 

And their Thursday night, 8pm 7th Street Social Rides are back. 

Monday Morning Commute - The rent is high

Readers I implore you, if you ever come into legal possession of a piece of sports memorabilia worth potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars, please do not hand it over to a multimillionaire or a club filled with multimillionaires.You'll probably regret it (Deni Allen did, and even though Tim Fornesis says he doesn't, I don't believe him). If you must, loan it to them for free, but make sure you talk to a lawyer first.

• DC has been cracking down on businesses that sell second-hand items without a pawn shop license. This is one of the main reason why no bike shops sell used bikes, so I've been told. Maybe I'm channeling my inner Yglesias (Matthew, not Enrique. If it were Enrique I'd be making out with Jennifer Love Hewitt), but is sounds like classic rent seeking by the pawn shop industry to me.
• A 100-mile bike ride to remember those killed in the Virginia Tech shooting.
• Gas is expensive - $4 edition part II (part I)
• A bus driver uses his bus to block a driver's get away after trying to flee a crash with a cyclist. 
• NPR discusses bike lanes, the myth of the scofflaw cyclist and the Idaho Stop. And the article uses a photo by our own M.V. Jantzen.

Tuesday Afternoon Commute - Jesus would have been a cyclist

Good Afternoon. Don't forget to vote (unless you live in Virginia, then you're too late or too early).

• A 3rd CaBi station opened on the Mall yesterday, near Smithsonian Castle. The other two Mall stations have consistently been among the top 15 busiest. "The Mall stations are most heavily used by casual users, not long-term subscribers. That means more money for the system, which already has made enough to cover its operating costs in the District. So far, data show, casual users have outnumbered subscribers at those stops by more than two to one."
• More about the Daily Rider bike shop on H Street. 
• New CaBi stations are also being installed on the R-B corridor - along with more bike parking.
• Bike sharing is feasible in Reston. 
• "The first span of the pedestrian and bicycle bridge over the Dulles Toll Road at Wolf Trap Farm Park was installed last night." The final span will be installed tonight. 
• Bike Snob's latest book reviewed by the Post. 
• Another article on the public perception of cyclists. 

Monday Afternoon Commute - Staple

Good afternoon

• Another Best of DC winner - BicycleSPACE, for best unpretentious bike shop. But which is the best pretentious bike shop? They also won the best bike shop as voted on by readers. The Bike Rack and City Bikes came in 2nd and 3rd. But they have new competition - The Daily Rider just opened. 
• For best bike parking they went with the staple rack. I'd place it below the inverted U, bike valet and a CaBi rack. 
• The 11th Street Recreation Bridge is by no means a done deal, but there is good news about access to the Navy Yard Promenade from the meeting "the Navy Yard now actually finds it somewhat of a burden to open and close the trail every day, and would like to avoid that responsibility. They've also added more security along that edge of the yard, making them more comfortable just allowing public access along that side. He gave no firm details, but it sounds like residents can hope for a 24-hour trail in the future." 
• Let's not get too excited about 2011 regional bike fatality numbers. Yes 5 is down from the previous year's 9, and lower than the average over the last 10 years (6.3 per year). But we're dealing with such a small sample size that it's hard to call it anything other than noise. Let's throw together a few years below 6 fatalities and we can call it a trend. 
• Washington, DC makes Huffington Post's list of Top 10 Cities for Cyclists. We did not come in 10th place though as The Needle implies. They're listed in alphabetical order. 
• GGW has the designs for the L Street cycletrack. It will be one way only and buffered, with bike boxes at most intersections.
• "From 2010 to 2011, bike trips through 20 city intersections surged nearly 21 percent, according to District Department of Transportation data."
• The bike path/emergency access road that is to be built along the edge of the Army-Navy Club is still waiting on more detailed engineering and funding. And probably the end of a lawsuit. While some people worry about the crime the path will bring, others note that it isn't behind schedule because there never was one, nor are the high costs a surprise to county staff. 
• Virginia Commonwealth is a new Silver Bicycle Friendly University. 
• American cyclist Levi Leipheimer was hit from behind by a car while training in California Spain. He had a sore and swollen lower left leg but no broken bones.
• Bike movie. What it needs, looking at movie revenue this week, are some other kids trying to kill him as part of a tv show. 

Friday Morning Commute - Gateway Drugs and Tissue Thin Leotards

Good morning

• GGW endorses former Bicycle Advisory Council member Jacque Patterson for Ward 8 CM. As did the Post.
• LAB interviews Matt Wittmer, author of “Where to Bike DC.” I have a copy of this book that I got at Interbike, but like everything Interbike, I haven't blogged about it yet. 
• One advantage of offering the homeless access to CaBi instead of transit "the Bikeshare memberships -- which DDOT is offering the nonprofit at a discount -- are much cheaper, saving the nonprofit about $7,000." The idea, it turns out, came from a homeless participant. And CaBi is doing more to encourage the needy to use the service - including offering monthly fees instead of annual.
• Senator Cardin of Maryland was honored yesterday at the Bike Summit. "Senator Cardin’s leadership was instrumental in crafting a creative solution to maintain funding for Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to Schools in the Senate’s transportation bill and to ensure that cities and counties continue to have a voice in how federal dollars are spent on these important programs."
• Pump track as bicycling gateway drug. 
• NYU just expanded it's bike fleet, but it should be focused on getting the city-wide bike sharing on campus.
• Bike shop for the famous."Lady Gaga has been to the store, and true to form, Mr. McCorkell did not know who she was — even though she was dressed in little more than spike heels and a tissue-thin leotard." Same outfit I commute in actually.
  
  • The relationship between film stars and bicycling has been well established. Steven Rea, author of “Hollywood Rides a Bike: Cycling with the Stars” said that in the 1940s and 1950s, movie studios “essentially had bike-share programs up and running that would make Toronto or Paris envious.” He said workers used bicycles to “wheel from one side of the lot to another, from dressing room to cafeteria to soundstage.” He said many actors also cycled between takes, like Jimmy Stewart, who took breaks from filming “Rear Window” on a bike.
• One way to be seen.
• Reply.

Tuesday Afternoon Commute - 3 Foot in action

Good afternoon

• Regardless of how thick the concrete at the Silver Spring Transit Center, which includes a section of the Met Branch Trail, is, it doesn't sound like it will opening on time. 
• A new Triathlon themed store, Tri-360, is opening in Falls Church. I don't know if it will include bikes or accesories. 
• A Florida cyclist riding early in the morning without lights, reflective clothing or a helmet and using headphones was snagged by a protrusion on a passing garbage truck. He settled before trial, but a lawsuit followed between various parties associated with the garbage truck in which one party argued that the driver was at fault for violating the 3 foot passing law. 
• The Student Conservation Corps is hiring staff to work on the Met Branch Trail. DC Crew Leader and DC Conservation Crew Member: 
• DCist's Martin Austermuhle asks about the petition to remove the Metro rush-hour restriction. He's pretty strongly in favor of the ban, but I think this post still accurately represents my opinion. 

Tuesday Morning Commute - Summit of beauty and love

Good morning.

• The two National Mall CaBi stations were the 2nd and 3rd busiest stations for beginning trips in just their first weekend.
• The Bike Summit is in town. And I don't recall it ever having this much news coverage. At the same time, the highway construction industry is holding it's Rally for Roads.
• Also in town, bike snob.
• Ballston Patch is conducting a poll on the "Best Bike Shop in Town."
• Volvo adds air bags for pedestrians (and cyclists I suppose).

Wednesday Morning Commute - urban menace

Includes some lost links from the last two mornings.

• WABA calls on Capital Crescent Trail supporters to demand that in the absence of a trail through the tunnel, there should be "a well-designed, functional, and safe alternative." And that they should not support an at-grade crossing of Connecticut Avenue. Here's one vote for letting the light rail have the tunnel. And Silver Spring Trails points out that it was only recently that MTA, unfortunately, promised to keep the trail in the tunnel. They would have been better off had they continued with their more cautious tone.
• Dr. Gridlock discusses the right hook. I think the cyclist has the right of way, but in that situation, I let the car go first.
• BicycleSpace's soft opening. By the way, they have this cool bike stand with tools chained to it that anyone can use. Something like that, under a covered area, would make a great addition to any bike trail. 
• A green car dealership? "The list included clean, energy-saving touches such as a reflective roof, bike racks, a shower for cyclists..."
• This article about bicycle deliverymen in New York City reminds me of this article. And what's up with New York City banning electric bikes?
• Uh-oh. "Young people who travel to school by independent means (on foot, bicycle, bus or train) are more likely than those who are taken to school by car to stay out at night."

Friday Morning Commute - Donate

Happy Texas Independence Day

• Kwame Brown thanks DDOT for the new CaBi station scheduled for Ward 5
• CaBi had 103,000 rides in Februray 2012, up from last month and more than double last year.
• Phoenix bikes is having a used bike sale at Big Bear Cafe tomorrow. 
• Friends of Shawn Streiff, the cyclist hit by a truck this week on U street, are trying to raise money for him.
• WABA testified in favor of the Bikeway facilities law in PG County.
• Meanwhile, Montgomery County weighed the Air Rights Tunnel/Purple Line issue. 

This article is terribly deceptive since it says that "rebuilding the trail" will cost $127 million dollars. Part of the cost is in "rebuilding" the trail - though it will be paved instead of gravel as it is now, but much of the cost is from two new grade-separated crossings and in extending the trail by over a mile to Silver Spring. Nor is it correct that

the trail would be destroyed when the Maryland Transit Administration begins construction on the Purple Line.

That section isn't even really the CCT, and it won't be "destroyed", it will be changed - and upgraded in many ways.

The County Council's Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Committee, which heard from community leaders and local officials on Thursday, is scheduled to vote on the issue next week....Councilwoman Nancy Floreen, D-at large, said she wants to underground the tunnel despite the costs.