Dog Days of Summer

Summer is about done, with Labor Day Weekend right around the corner. Actually, we haven't had many hot days this summer, which is unusual, but fine with me. :) I saw this guy walking all these dogs on my way home recently - it's amazing they don't get all tangled up!

This is a neat bike called a Catrike, owned by a fellow bike commuter, Bob. He loves this bike. I've test-ridden these and they are great - like a little race car! I've asked Bob if he feels more vulnerable in traffic while riding his Catrike, since he is so low to the ground, but he said no. If anything, he said, they are more cautious and give him more room, which is nice.

Bob carries a telescoping fishing pole with him on his Catrike and often stops to throw a line into the water and catch fish. :) What a nice relaxing thing to do on your way to work! :) Try doing that from your car commute! :)

The Good and the Bad (Sad) News

The Good News is that there are some neat and clever bike posters up at bus stops in D.C. that I've come across. I don't know if they are also at bus stops in Virginia and Maryland, but it'd give people something to consider while waiting on the bus.




On the other hand, here's the bad (sad) news:



This past Tuesday morning, a 22-yr. old lady, Alice Swanson, was cycling the couple of miles from home to work in D.C., and approached an odd intersection, of R Street and 20th. A garbage truck traveling in the same direction approached that intersection. I believe Alice was attempting to continue onward, across busy Connecticut Avenue, the next intersection, a few feet away. But, unfortunately, the truck made a right turn onto 20th Street (which is a difficult turn to make in a car, let alone a truck!), and Alice Swanson was run over, and killed instantly. :( A Secret Service agent who was getting coffee right nearby, ran to pull her out from under the truck and administer CPR, but it was too late. Traffic was closed in that area for a couple of hours, as police conducted its investigation. The truck driver said he "never saw the bicyclist", as apparently, she was in his blind spot. But he would have had to pass her beforehand...didn't he see her then? There is a designated bike lane on R Street, that Alice was riding on. When bicycling, you tend to feel a little "safer" riding in bike lanes, but I don't think car drivers think that way, though they ought to. To them, perhaps it's just another set of white lines....

News articles about cyclists getting hurt or killed always grab my attention. I want to know when, where and what happened. I try to learn from this incident, and apply it to my own city commute. The fact is that Alice was attractive, vivacious, wanting to make a difference in the world, and could light up the room with her smile. It seemed such a shame to lose someone in the world like this. This tragic accident really affected cyclists in this area, and the Washington Area Bicyclist Association put up a "ghost bicycle" by the intersection where she was killed. They held a press conference and a dedication for "ghost bicycle" in Alice's name. Friends and co-workers of Alice, and bicyclists who didn't even know her, came and tearfully said their goodbyes and left flowers. I don't think anyone will forget Alice and what happened that day... Hopefully drivers and bicyclists will learn from it and be careful where they travel. I know I have.

Calm Days

It's been a relatively quiet summer so far. I definitely like the calm weather days, even though the heat and humidity can be difficult to get through. I took this picture last week on my way home - the air was still and so was the water, at this marina I passed.

The Tour de France starts July 5 - and every year at this time, there are always the "Lance A Lots" and "Lance Wannabees" that are on the bike path - zooming past in the obnoxiously colorful racing biking attire - shoes that match their shorts, that match their jerseys, that match their gloves, that match their helmets. It's a bit much. They get all inspired by the Tour, and then re-enact it on the path, zooming past other bikers, as if they were on the Tour themselves. It's sort of a dangerous time on the path, because these Zoomers are taking chances, passing people and pedestrians, cutting it way too close. I've seen a couple of "head-on" collisions on the path and it's not pretty. I keep an eye out for them in my helmet mirror and ahead of me and try to stay out of their personal race. I only "race" like that when there's a nasty thunderstorm coming or a dog chasing me. :) But otherwise, I take it at an easy pace and look around me to enjoy the surroundings that the Racers miss.

Root of the Problem! :)

Recently, over a period of 4 days, we had A LOT of rain - probably about 8" in Alexandria! When I rode in on Monday, there were a few trees that had come down across the path or uprooted near it - like the picture above. It took the edge of the path as well. Fortunately, the path is maintained by the National Park Service, since it runs alongside the George Washington Memorial Parkway. So, thankfully, the Park Service sends out workers to cut up trees and branches that block the path. There are a lot of people that use the path, so we greatly appreciate this service! :)

Back in 2003, Hurricane Isabel came to town, and the storm surge from the Potomac River flooded various parts of the path, including pushing up a certain long boardwalk that is near Belle Haven. When I rode into work after the storm, and came to the end of this boardwalk, I was pretty surprised to see the water had pushed up the boardwalk about 5 feet from the ground! I had to stop and jump off the boardwalk, and hoist my bike down! Wish I had my camera that day to capture the boardwalk in that condition! The Park Service came and pounded the boardwalk back into place.

Right after this boardwalk, for years, the waters often flooded over the path, when there were heavy rains. It was fairly deep, though I could get through it slowly on my bike, but joggers had to walk way around it to get by. Finally the Park Service decided to re-route the bike path and make it run closer to the Parkway and built up the land slightly to keep the path away from any flooding. This has worked great, and again, we appreciate it. Thank you, Park Service!

One other area that was re-done was near National Airport. Years ago, the path used to cross a busy exit from the airport. There had been a number of cyclists/pedestrians hit by cars. So they built a nice long overpass, and now we sail over the traffic safely. I am lucky to have such a nice route to work, and am always thankful for it. I know a lady bike commuter who commutes about the same miles as I do, but her commute is along a VERY busy road, lots of lights and traffic. Her commute is much more difficult than mine, for sure, and I admire her for it.

Wonderful Wisteria :)

I was riding to work last week, down Royal Street in Old Town Alexandria. There are some nice historic houses dating back to the late 1700's and 1800's on Royal Street. There are lovely brick houses, including this one, that has overflowing wisteria along its walls.

I was reading online today about Alexandria - that it's actually 50 years older than Washington, D.C., and is America's most historic communities. In fact, in 1796, a visitor, the Duc de La Rochfoucauld Liancourt, commented that: "Alexandria is beyond all comparison the handsomest town in Virginia--indeed is among the finest in the United States." I always enjoy riding through Old Town. There are a few cobble-stoned streets - years ago, I tried riding my bike down one of those, and found that it's not a good idea!! :) I read that a lot of the streets from the waterfront area to Washington Street used to be cobblestoned until the mid-1920's, when most of them were paved over. Evidently, the cobblestone streets were put there by the Hessian prisoners from the Battle of Saratoga. They didn't know what to do with the prisoners and they were cheap labor, so the British had these paid troops from Germany—Hessians —and they sent them down here, put them to work laying the streets of Alexandria. Interesting! Lots of history!

Tikit to Ride! :)

Last Friday night, I received my new Bike Friday Tikit bicycle. It's the fastest folding bike made....folding in about 5-10 seconds. This bike is different from my other Bike Friday bicycle, in that the wheels are smaller (16" vs. 20") and it folds fast without having to take the bike apart. I bought it mainly because, since I'm car-free, it would come in real handy if I wanted to take Greyhound or Amtrak to other places. :)

I rode it to work yesterday. I noticed the gears skipped a little bit - so it needs some adjustment...but other than that, it rode fine. I got to work, folding the bike up and brought it up to my desk, as I wanted to show various people in the office my new bike. I was showing a partner in the office (who is a biker), and he straddled the bike, and then to my big surprise, TOOK OFF DOWN THE HALLWAY -- and kept going around the WHOLE FLOOR!!! You should have seen people's faces as he went pedaling by!! It was priceless!! He got back to my desk with the biggest smile on his face! :) He said that it was definitely a cool bike. :)

I brought it to another floor, to show other friends, and another partner came out of his office to take a look. I don't know the partner - but just had heard of his name. He said, "That's a neat bike..." - straddling the bike and then HE TOOK OFF DOWN THE HALL AND AROUND THE WHOLE FLOOR!! :) I don't think he's a biker - so he sort of wobbled his way down, but managed to make it all the way around. Secretaries were so surprised, they grabbed their phones to take pictures and video! :) Pretty wild! :)

I showed it to yet another partner (who is probably his his late 60's) - and he hopped on the Tikit too and rode it, but just to the end of the hallway (almost wiping out as he tried to turn the corner!). Anyway, everyone I showed it to (which was probably about 20 people) thought it was a very cool bike and were amazed that it could fold so fast and so compactly. :) Maybe it'll inspire some to buy a bike (like this one or otherwise). :)

After work, I rode to meet a friend for dinner. I folded the bike up and brought it into the restaurant and put it next to our booth. Fortunately, it was a roomy restaurant, and tables aren't close to each other like some restaurants. One worker did stop by to ask what the pile of metal was sitting by our booth - I told him it was a folding bike. :) He was surprised to hear that. :) It did feel kind of funny rolling my bike in, and I tried to act like it was just a normal, everyday occurrence. :)

After dinner, as I was outside, putting on my riding gear, a couple noticed my Tikit and stopped to chat - the guy recognized it was a folding bike. As I got a few blocks down the way, some bicyclists stopped at the light near me and said, "Hey, Bike Friday Tikit!!" :) They said they had Bike Fridays at home also. :)

So the Tikit got QUITE the show yesterday, for sure!! :)

The Iceman Cometh!

Last night we had a nasty ice storm.
:( When I listened to the weather forecast that morning, they did mention there'd be some sleet/wintry mix, but they said it would turn to all rain by evening. So, I decided to ride my road bike. Unfortunately, it was the wrong choice... I was fine til I got to the 14th St. Bridge. I got a little ways across (maybe a fourth) and saw a guy walking towards me with his bike. I asked him if it was icy, and he said "Oh yea!" - about 30 seconds later, I went down! OUCH. Of course, thank God for having a helmet on - 'cuz my head snapped back and hit the pavement. It was enough force that it ripped off my visor and helmet mirror. :( I ended up walking ALL the way across the bridge, because it was totally iced over. When I got to the bike path, it wasn't icy. I decided to just catch the Metro at the airport and take it to the Huntington Station. When I got there, I hoped to catch a cab - but no such luck - there were none to be had. I tried to put my bike on the bus bike rack when it came, but I think it was frozen over and the bus driver didn't know how to work it (believe it or not!). So I ended up calling my roommate to come and get me. I was concerned that the Ft. Hunt Road would be bad, but it turned out it was fine and I finally got home at 9 p.m.

This morning I decided to ride my mountain bike, since it has the studded tires. I did fine - though the 14th St. bridge had a layer of ice, but I rode slowly and talked myself across. I looked for my visor and helmet mirror that had come off in the fall...but no sight of them. :( I gotta get a new helmet anyway since I had that fall.

So, I learned a lesson and next time will just ride the mountain bike so I don't have any trouble!

TV Interview! :)

On Tuesday afternoon, I checked my e-mail and was surprised to see an e-mail from a reporter from Fox 5 News! He said he had seen my Living Car-Free blog, and wanted to come and interview me! I was skeptical at first - I mean, anyone can send an e-mail like that...it looked official, but how can you be sure? I called the business number he listed and left a message, and then called his cell phone. He answered, and we spoke a little while - they wanted to come by my office after I got off work (within an hour!). I said alright - - I figured I'd know it was the "real thing" if they showed up in a news truck. :) However, they didn't - they evidently were in a car, and parked nearby, so they walked up to the building. But when I saw the big video camera, I guess I was convinced then! :)

They spent the next hour or two, filming me in and outside the office, then strapped on a small video camera to my bike and filmed my commute home - while they drove to my house to meet me and videotape me pulling up in the driveway. :) So it was an interesting way to spend an evening! :) Enjoy the video! :)

http://www.myfoxdc.com/myfox/pages/ContentDetail?contentId=5506029

Maybe it'll get some people interested in taking up biking when Spring rolls around!

We got an e-mail at work today saying that the parking rates for our office building will be going up to $250 a month!! Wow! How do people afford that?? That's like $3000 a year!! You could buy a REAL nice bike for that!!! :)

Singing in the Rain!

One thing that has sort of "plagued" my bike commute, especially in the Fall and Winter, is trying to keep my feet warm and dry when it rains. It's not a problem in the Summer - I wear Keen sandals, and the warm water runs through them, and it feels good. Cold rain, however, isn't as nice. I have bought various types of rain boots, some high-tech and expensive, but the problem persists. Even though the boots SAY they are waterproof or water-resistant. What I have discovered is that I needed to have boots that are tall - that reach up to my knees. The reason being that, if the boots are mid-length, my rain pants don't cover over the tops of the boots when I ride, and rain gets into the boots. Plus, the material NEEDS to be RUBBER, which is totally waterproof.

Last night, I stopped by Nordstroms to check on some rain boots I saw on their website. It said the height of the boot was 13". I thought that might be high enough...but when I saw the boots in person, I decided they wouldn't be tall enough. Near these boots were knee-high rubber rain boots. They were kind of wild, because they have a Chinese tiger painted on both sides of the boots. But my rain pants would cover that - not that I minded, as I like tigers. :) They fit, and I wore them out of the store.

I got about halfway home, and it started to rain heavily. I cycled along, mentally checking to see if everything stayed dry and NO water leaked in. Ahhh......results AT LAST!!! :) Though my feet were a little cold (even though I had toe warmers on), I figured I could wear two pairs of socks the next time, and see if that helped. Anyway, I was singing in the rain on my ride home, very happy that finally I found boots that worked! I should have gotten boots like this a long time ago...but we live and learn! :)

Fall & Winter Combo

Well, we got our first taste of winter the other day! :) Here's a picture I took on my way into work - showing the bit of snow, and a couple of trees still hanging on to Autumn! :)

It was snowing quite a bit when I got off work on Wednesday - I had ridden my mountain bike because they predicted 1-2 inches. Usually my hybrid can handle that, but sometimes we get a little more, and then it has a hard time. So I played it safe and just took the mountain bike -- and I'm glad I did. Riding in the snow is fun, though when the snow is coming down right into your eyes, and your headlight is shining into the flakes, making it look like a "Star Wars" scene, it makes it a little difficult to see. I turned my head slightly to the right and turned down the brightness on my light, so those actions helped. I was a bit covered in snow by the time I got home.

The next day, things had frozen up, so I put on my studded snow tires I bought recently. I was curious to see how they would do. The studs are not in the middle of the tire, but on a couple of rows next to the center of the tires...so that anytime you ever-so-slightly turn your wheels, the studs kick in and save the day! :) Though the snow was a bit thick on the bridges/overpasses, and the tires got a bit squirrely, the studs kept me upright and moving. :) On parts that are covered with ice or snow that is hard-packed, the tires roll right over the stuff as if it's not even there. So I'm happy with them. :)

End of Fall

The end of Fall has arrived - the Autumn leaves were pretty again this year - even though we had a dry summer. People said that the leaves wouldn't be pretty due to the lack of water, but that wasn't the case. We had some nice Indian Summer days of temps in the 60/70s, which was lovely. Riding in the Fall is so pretty - with leaves scattered all over the bike path. Last week, I saw a Park Service employee driving a lawn mower vehicle that was blowing the leaves off the path, which is helpful, because when they get wet, things can get dangerously slippery.

Pass the Buck!

I was heading home last night in the dark, using my new headlight. I was nearing the end of the bike path, and I looked up to see something standing up ahead on the path. I thought for a second it was a person - but then realized it was a full-sized Buck with antlers!! He saw me and turned around to run - he took a few steps and found a good place to duck into the woods. As I passed, I shone my headlight into the woods and saw his eyes glowing back. Neat!

Remembering 9/11....

This morning as I was biking over the 14th Street Bridge, I saw that someone had duct-taped small American flags every 10 ft. or so on the bridge railing. I remembered that I had seen this on that bridge last September 11th... Up ahead, I saw a lady who looked like she was fixing or applying more flags, so perhaps she was the Flag Lady. Perhaps she lost someone that day when the plane crashed into the Pentagon... I think in a way, we want to remember that awful day, and in another way, we want to push the painful memories away.... I was just beginning the day at work on that fateful day...and one of my bosses arrived and told me what he had heard on the news. I couldn't believe it, and logged onto CNN...and there it was, the World Trade Center with smoke coming out of it.... Later in the morning, the office had a television available in a conference room to view the news. Several people decided to leave work, to be with their family. Our office closed at noon, and looking outside the office window, the traffic was TOTALLY gridlock. One lady in my office said she was jealous that I had a bike that I could get home and out of the city easily... Some people said the next day that it took them up to 5 or 6 hours to get home, due to the traffic and subway problems! I headed out and wound my way through the tight traffic, and where necessary, hopped onto the sidewalk, but even then, there were a lot of pedestrians because a lot of people decided to walk home if they lived nearby. They felt the subway wasn't safe. As I exited Georgetown and turned the corner to go over the Key Bridge, the traffic was blocked by policemen on either end of the bridge who were evidently checking drivers licenses and not allowing people to come into DC unless they showed proof of residency. Here I was, riding right down the middle of a 6-lane bridge with no traffic at all - how odd!! I got on the bike path and headed to Falls Church. Traffic had been totally clogged on the roads for 6 miles straight before it eased up. I got home, arriving about 15 minutes later than my normal commuting time. I was very glad to be a bike commuter that day, for sure! I suggested to some people in the office that they ought to think about keeping a bike at the office or in their car trunk, so they could have a way out of the city also, in another emergency...it definitely comes in handy.

Fly Like An Eagle!

While I was biking home last night, I saw a large bird flying over the GW Parkway - I looked more closely and saw its white head - a beautiful bald eagle. :) I know that they are around the area, but I don't see them very often. So it was a nice sight. I'm glad that they are off the endangered list.

Sailing thru Summer

It's been a quiet summer - no nasty thunderstorms - in fact, we're in drought conditions. The only water I see is along the Potomac River. I pass by this peaceful marina along the bike path. In the winter time, there are people who put Christmas lights on their sail masts, which is pretty.

Here's another peaceful photo, taken on my ride into work recently. I really enjoy nature along my commute, and the peace and quiet. It's a great way to start and end the day. To just take my time rolling into work, breathing deeply, hearing the birds sing, seeing the sparkling water, while all around me, people are busy getting everywhere via plane, train and automobile.

The First Day of Summer '07

As I was riding home on the first day of summer, these storm clouds came out of nowhere. Often in D.C. in the summer, about 4:30 or 5 p.m., we get thunderstorms. I've outrun many of them, making it home just in time before the skies let loose. Other storms, I've waited out in my office or garage entrance as the worst hits. I don't mind rain, but lightning has my respect. :) Sometimes, like this storm, it moved slowly and stayed to the north and I never get wet. Other times, I head on out, and see how far I can get before taking shelter. Most of the time, the storms move through fairly quickly and I can head home safely.

Bike to Work Day 2007!

Here I am with my folding bike, the Bike Friday, at Freedom Plaza in D.C., where things were beginning to be set up for the many bikers participating in Bike to Work Day 2007. I got there early, so that's why there weren't many people there yet. However, the total number of people who biked to work that day was 6,600 - which is 400 more than last year!! Yea!

You'll see that I have a trailer attached to my Bike Friday. The Bike Friday folds down into that suitcase/trailer. I was flying out that evening to go to Providence, Rhode Island to attend a college graduation, and wanted to bring my bike with me to explore Providence. The airline fees for bringing a regular bike in a bike box, can be up to $150 EACH WAY. I bought this Bike Friday a couple of years ago, after being tired of paying that exorbitant fee. In taking my Bike Friday on a plane four times, it would pay for itself! The Bike Friday is a GREAT bike - it has good low gears to get up just about any hill/mountain, and was custom made to my body specifications, so it fits me like a glove. I would highly recommend a Bike Friday to anyone who loves to travel as I do!

Cheery Cherry Blossoms!

It's April in D.C., and the Cherry Blossoms are in full bloom. :) Living in the area, a lot of people kind of take them for granted, and pass by them without stopping. I'm guilty of that too sometimes, but this Spring I was drawn to them like a bee. Especially on the day I took this photo, with the bright blue sky in the background. That's one of the benefits of biking to work, you can stop anywhere and take pictures along the way, and really appreciate the scenery. No parking problems either - just lay your bike down in the grass. :)

Feeling Foxy!

Spring is making her first appearances, with some flowers blooming - always nice to see the colors!

This morning as I headed down the bike path, I was surprised to see a big red fox galloping across the path just ahead of me - what a beautiful animal! I didn't know they have "black sox" on their legs! I mentioned it to some of the regular biking guys I see, and one guy said he's seen the fox with a couple of kits before. That'd be neat!

Frozen in February

Here are a couple of photos I took on my bike ride to work the other week....some chunks of ice in the Potomac River, and a nice sunrise. We've now gotten a few inches of snow/ice in the area, so I won't be able to bike on the bike path for a week perhaps. I've thought of buying studded snow tires for times like this...but we don't get too much snow/ice usually, and it's not around that long either...so it doesn't seem worth it for the expense of the new rims and tires. In addition to the safety factor of biking on the rutted roads/bike path. So I take the subway to and fro work - usually after 3 days, I'm dying to get back on my bike instead of dealing with the MASSES of people, delays, rude people, etc.