A Symbol

In the five days I just spent in Washington DC, this was the only bicycle that appeared to have moved anywhere in the snow. The experience of snow in DC was a terrible disappointment, and I will try to move the bitterness of my wasted time aside and just say that I think there should be some sort of metric that measures the number of bikes out in adverse conditions and awards power and responsibility to the people with the resourcefulness and initiative to use it.


Anyway, this is clearly a well-loved bike in the Jeep-aesthetic that I noticed last year in DC. The mountain bike is king there, despite very few big hills. This one is playful with the yellow polka dots and yellow fenders. I'm not sure what the water bottle is used for, but I'm 99% sure no person is drinking from it.

I wish I had more DC bikes to share this year.

Pinarello City Bike

I saw it in Washington as I was passing by the window:


What a gorgeous bike! And a Pinarello? Has anyone ever heard of a Pinarello Townie? I have provided lots of photos, does anyone know anything about this bike?

Washington Report: Lady Cyclists of the Capitol

Finally, the lady cyclists of Washington. Again, they were all ages, riding all sorts of bikes, wearing all sorts of clothes. The one thing that brought them all together was riding their bikes to get someplace. It was beautiful.

Raleigh 3-speed, sunglasses, and boots - what's not to like? She sure looks All-American in her denim in "America's Front Yard" (the National Mall):

You can't see it, but this lady in Georgetown looked like she was approaching 60. Doing so with youthful style, if you ask me:

The pink bike with the pink baby helmet makes me think that mom and her daughter enjoy their trips by bicycle down Pennsylvania Avenue:


Little red riding boots reprised. I don't think she saw the man on the Smartbike going the other direction:A blurry photo of a lady on a Dutch bike near the White House:


This is perhaps the most common look on the Mall - sporty, on a hybrid:


Having a soft spot for Raleigh 3-speeds and red shoes, I was excited to see this lady on the Mall:


She was watching traffic as she left the White House area.


This lady was radiant in how much fun she was having on her blue Dutch bike heading towards the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue:


This lady was stoic as she waited to make a left-hand turn against traffic:


This is my husband's favorite DC photo. Granny nearly mowed us down as she flew down the path that parallels the Potomac. Ding ding!


I loved the shiny helmet and the matching phone sported by the lady among the Embassies:


Singlespeed girl in the Foggy Bottom area:


This lady had clearly been out with her partner and the two of them were bringing home groceries in their panniers. Note that her waterbottle matches the pannier!


These two ladies had rented bikes to come down to the National Mall and chat on this bench. They have probably done this before, the lady on the right has a trouser cuff:


I love this lady's basket! There must be a picnic in there, to enjoy on the Mall:


A lady Smartbike rider on the Mall:

Washington Report: Gentlemen Cyclists of the Capitol

The men were certainly out while I was visiting. Getting themselves around town on their own power, they didn't need any stimulus. One thing we noticed was that there were fewer people wearing helmets in Washington. After being x-rayed for the upteenth time I decided that, in a culture of living so safely, they were ready to live a little dangerously. I am sure I'm wrong, I just know that I was ready for risky behavior.

This guy was cool on his cruiser heading down the Mall:

I saw this guy several times all over town. This image was captured just across the street from the White House:

This man is my idea of a Washington man - khakis and a navy blue blazer as he whizzed through Georgetown:
This guy with his shark messenger bag gave me a smile, he was in among the Embassies:

I saw this guy ride by but was too slow to shoot his image. I then got to see him with his buddy enjoying the wonderful February weather, they'd both ridden their bikes to meet in Georgetown:

He's an office worker with his badge on his waistband as he rode along the Mall. I think that makes the plastic giraffe bell all the more charming!

They were out for a stroll down the Mall on the most lovely afternoon imaginable:

Vintage 10-speeds were a popular choice for all the right reasons, this guy was rolling down Pennsylvania Avenue:

This guy was leaving the White House area at 5:30 PM. I wonder what he's bringing home?

Washington Report: Bicycles of the Capitol

The most striking thing about bicycles in the Capitol is that there really is something for everyone, the bicycles don't fall into one tribe. I found the diversity refreshing.

From the fixed gear in Dupont Circle:
The symphony in blue and purple on the National Mall:

A hybrid with a seat shaped like a cow near the Embassies:

A luscious purple cruiser in Georgetown:

Tricycle parking in Georgetown:


and and unrelated Mama Chariot in Georgetown:

A basket bike in Dupont Circle:

Raleigh 3 speed in Dupont Circle (with a nicely attached modern tail light):

A pennyfarthing at the Smithsonian:

And my favorite, a singlespeed designed and manufactured by the Wright Brothers, which helped to finance their dabblings in aviation.

Greetings from the Capital

Cycle Chic and transportation cycling is alive and well in America's capital, though the fashion here in Washington seems to be more sporty. I'm seeing a lot more hybrids and just a tiny fraction of the singlespeeds I see in Boston. Washington style in general seems to be more Jeep and Brooks Brothers to Boston's Subaru and college gear. As far as the bikes go, I suspect the beautiful weather removes the pressing need for winter singlespeed 'beaters'. The very first thing we noticed about Washington was how beautiful and spacious and CLEAN the city is.

We've found some stylish ladies cycling around. Stay tuned for more images...

Smart Bikes - Washington, DC

Our nation's capital has led the charge into public bike rentals. I don't say it very often so I'll be sure to say it now - Hurray Washington!

Smart Bike DC offers Velib-style bike rentals throughout the central business district. The geek in me really likes that the docking stations are all networked and submitting status information to the system monitors. Someday perhaps we'll be able to tap into that status information by mobile phone.

An annual subscription will cost $40. There are currently ten locations.

The service is provided by Clear Channel, which created the very first bicycle sharing service in Rennes in 1998. Hopefully these 10 years of experience will help guide this project to success. The site in Rennes does not report statistics across the last 10 years, but they do say that use during the month of January is up 40% this year over last year. America, let's see if we can top that!

Photo at the top from the Washington Area Bicyclist Association featuring Pepco President Thomas Graham with a DC Smart Bike. The land Pepco donated to the city for the Met Branch Trail was valued at $3.3 million!