Bike to Work Day 2018
Fri May 18 00:20:09 EDT 2018
Thursday (Wednesday?) afternoon I could see the tents set up for B2WD. I guess that gives the ground underneath some time to drain before Friday morning. And trying to set up tents Friday morning before 06:00 wouldn't be fun, even without the rain we've been having.Subject: Bike to Work Day Pit Stop Relocation
From: DowntownDC
Date: 5/17/2018 2:54 PM
Bike to Work Day Update
Friday, May 18
Attention BTWD Registrants and Participants:
Bike to Work Day (BTWD) is a rain or shine event and will take place as planned tomorrow. Due to weather forecasts of rain, the Freedom Plaza pit stop will be relocated across the street to the lobby of the National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, across from the on-site DC Circulator bus. Space is limited, but registrants will still be able to pick up their t-shirt, grab a banana and coffee and hear remarks from any speakers in attendance.
The rain will no doubt cut the turn-out. But if there are somehow hundreds of people there, what are they supposed to do with their bikes when they go into a theatre lobby? People will not want to leave their bikes outside. They certainly won't want to leave them outside unattended/unlocked. And if there's a lot of people, there won't be enough things to lock bikes to. There's never many bike racks. There won't even be enough utility poles in a block.
The 2014 Bike-to-Work Day was pouring rain. Because of the forecast, I'd taken transit to work the night before, and I'd been installing patches all night. They had a (DC Circulator) bus stationed there, and ended up using it for the WABA swag pickup.
Maybe the theatre lobby will work out well. A theatre lobby is probably more open space than a hotel lobby, and they won't have any shows going on 07:00-09:00. Maybe there's some space outside with an overhang where they can set up the portable bike-valet parking racks? I'm sure they've given this some thought. It's rained the last 5 days, so they can't have avoided thinking about it.
5/18/2018 8:07 PM
I didn't get much sleep last night.
In spite of the weather - light rain/drizzle off-and-on - B2WD was very very good to me this year.
I thought about trying to go to the East Falls Church pit stop, which is actually on my old (pre-DC) commute route, and then going east to the East Falls Church Metro pit stop and the Ballston pit stop on the way to Rosslyn. (Ballston was the first of my stops the year I did 6 pit stops.) But there really isn't time to do that many unless some of them are very quick stops. And then I thought "If it's raining, how much extra riding do I want to add?"
So I cut back to the core, 4 stops: Rosslyn, Georgetown Waterfront, Freedom Plaza, and Golden Triangle L Street.
Rosslyn was again the best stop for swag.
Georgetown Waterfront again had good pastries and cookies, and I picked up another water bottle. The Potomac Pedalers were there with tire levers. (I used to be a member, but left after a ride rife with miscues. And I don't want to drive to places to bike; the whole point is not to be driving. (But I picked up a tire lever. ☺))
The rain stopped for a bit. And leaving, riding under the Whitehurst Freeway was deceptively dry until K St emerged from underneath. There were several other people biking in at that point, and it was strange to be riding with so many other people. One was impressed with my blinker. (I remembered to charge the batteries last night, and it is fierce with fresh batteries.)
Freedom Plaza did have some groups set up in the plaza. It wasn't raining much. WABA was indeed in the theater lobby across the street, but there wasn't that much extra room. The T-shirt tables took up about half the space, and there was coffee and bananas and member recruiting. I got a lanyard. DC Water was in the plaza with water bottles, and Core Organic was handing out 18oz bottles of "nutrient enhanced fruit beverage". strawberry/banana; tropical coconut. (4% organic juice. 5cal/8floz. (Erythritol carbs have no calories or effect on blood sugar) Both contain coconut.) There was a DC Commuter bus just there; I guess that's a regular thing. And there was valet bike parking in the plaza; that made it easier to go into the lobby (no bikes inside).
L Street is never much for swag, but they have good pastries and cookies, and - this year - massage. Getting there toward the end seemed to work well, I got a 5-min massage after a very short wait. I also got to try out a very relaxing position on "yoga blocks" - lying on my back, legs spread but soles together, with a block under my shoulder blades and another behind my head. Very relaxing, deep breathing. (I'm still trying to keep my shoulders lose as I sit here typing....)
Yes, I am married to a trained and (at one time) certified massage therapist. I don't think she's done that for a long time. ☹
I got a 2018 DC Bike Map at every stop. 3 water bottles at Rosslyn, 1 at Georgetown, and 1 at Freedom Plaza. T-shirts at Rosslyn and Freedom Plaza, and picked up 2 extra at L St. They're a nice dark yellow color this year.
Since it was raining in Rosslyn, I didn't take any pictures until Georgetown. No photos at Freedom Plaza either, but some indoors at L St.
The envelope I've been using for time/mileage notes got very wet. (My paniers are not waterproof. ☹)
Someone recommended the National Geographic pit stop. Maybe I can work that one in next year (but not if I try to add any of Falls Church). If you're going to spend any time at a stop - browsing, conversing, eating - there's a limit to how many you can visit in 3 hours. (And they don't all have the same start/stop times.) And it takes time to get from one to the next. (More time in DC, with stop lights and traffic.) Afternoon/evening pit stops are still under consideration - I was over my 40 hours for the week yesterday.
Somewhere I got a seat cover that was clearly useless for my bike (although totally appropriate for today's this week's weather), but stuffed in it were a menu and coupon for Nando's Peri-Peri Chicken. (Looks pricy to me, as well as spicy, and the coupon expires in 18 days; I'm not likely to find them in 3 weeks.)
I didn't get any tote bags this year.
The solar flashlight may be very handy for Pennsic. I might be able to clip it to my hat (or my tent?*) where it can get a lot of sun during the day, and it's much smaller than the lights I've been carrying. The questions are how long its light lasts and whether it's rugged enough. (The switch may be flimsy.)
*Logistically, it needs to be with me when night falls, and coming back to camp for it generally isn't practical.
I'm generally in tents most of the day, so it's going to have to get its solar recharge while I'm walking between activities.
Saturday 14:36
I slept until 14:30 today. I was up before 06:00 yesterday, and on my way to Rosslyn at 06:30, and going to bed earlier the night before did not mean getting to sleep any earlier.
[This entry was originally posted as https://syntonic-comma.dreamwidth.org/984954.html on Dreamwidth (where there are
comments).]
Thursday (Wednesday?) afternoon I could see the tents set up for B2WD. I guess that gives the ground underneath some time to drain before Friday morning. And trying to set up tents Friday morning before 06:00 wouldn't be fun, even without the rain we've been having.Subject: Bike to Work Day Pit Stop Relocation
From: DowntownDC
Date: 5/17/2018 2:54 PM
Bike to Work Day Update
Friday, May 18
Attention BTWD Registrants and Participants:
Bike to Work Day (BTWD) is a rain or shine event and will take place as planned tomorrow. Due to weather forecasts of rain, the Freedom Plaza pit stop will be relocated across the street to the lobby of the National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, across from the on-site DC Circulator bus. Space is limited, but registrants will still be able to pick up their t-shirt, grab a banana and coffee and hear remarks from any speakers in attendance.
The rain will no doubt cut the turn-out. But if there are somehow hundreds of people there, what are they supposed to do with their bikes when they go into a theatre lobby? People will not want to leave their bikes outside. They certainly won't want to leave them outside unattended/unlocked. And if there's a lot of people, there won't be enough things to lock bikes to. There's never many bike racks. There won't even be enough utility poles in a block.
The 2014 Bike-to-Work Day was pouring rain. Because of the forecast, I'd taken transit to work the night before, and I'd been installing patches all night. They had a (DC Circulator) bus stationed there, and ended up using it for the WABA swag pickup.
Maybe the theatre lobby will work out well. A theatre lobby is probably more open space than a hotel lobby, and they won't have any shows going on 07:00-09:00. Maybe there's some space outside with an overhang where they can set up the portable bike-valet parking racks? I'm sure they've given this some thought. It's rained the last 5 days, so they can't have avoided thinking about it.
5/18/2018 8:07 PM
I didn't get much sleep last night.
In spite of the weather - light rain/drizzle off-and-on - B2WD was very very good to me this year.
I thought about trying to go to the East Falls Church pit stop, which is actually on my old (pre-DC) commute route, and then going east to the East Falls Church Metro pit stop and the Ballston pit stop on the way to Rosslyn. (Ballston was the first of my stops the year I did 6 pit stops.) But there really isn't time to do that many unless some of them are very quick stops. And then I thought "If it's raining, how much extra riding do I want to add?"
So I cut back to the core, 4 stops: Rosslyn, Georgetown Waterfront, Freedom Plaza, and Golden Triangle L Street.
Rosslyn was again the best stop for swag.
Breakfast tacos again, and spin the wheel for a prize - sunglasses. (I should have asked for a 2nd spin; I can't use non-prescription sunglasses.)
Rosslyn.org had socks (if you signed up for their e-newsletter); last year they had large, insulated water bottles (or socks).- The (bike-accident) lawyer with the really nice water bottles was there again, so that's a 3rd (or 4th? Did I get 2 last year?) from him.
Arlington Transit had some kind of flat "bottle"; I don't know how durable it will be. (If you needed to carry something that took up minimal space, but would allow you to carry another pint of water if you decided you needed to after starting your ride, this might be your thing. But I'm not sure how you carry it on a bike when it's no longer flat....)- (Arlington Initiative to) Rethink Energy had a little solar-powered LED flashlight.
- Getaround, another (new?) ride service, had a very nice water bottle.
- Many groups also had little foam bottle cozies, in their colors and logos.
- A Kind breakfast bar, a bag of Popcornopoli's(?) Kettle Corn, a couple of bagels w/ spread, and a banana.
The big score was the Rosslyn raffle. I pulled a primo gold ticket out of the bag. There were a lot of nice things to choose from; I went for a really nice Timbuk2 backpack (I can live with the Capital Bikeshare embroidering and red trim), although some headlights and helmets were also tempting. (I should have a spare headlight, but these handlebar-mount lights wouldn't work so well on my underseat-steering bike. And the helmets they had were too small to fit me.) There were also tool bags, a messenger bag, and other nice stuff which I could probably recall under hypnosis. Maybe it's mostly stock that didn't sell at area bike shops, offered up as prizes. (I saw a woman carrying a nice floor pump; that must have been another prize, since it's not something you'd bring on a commute to work.) The backpack was immediately useful for carrying swag. ☺I think there's a bottle opener attached to the shoulder strap, right where you might want it to open a cold brew on a hike? (I'm going to have to watch the video....)- There was some kind of lemonade-looking energy(?) drink that I meant to circle back for (my hands were very full on the first pass), but I forgot it.
Georgetown Waterfront again had good pastries and cookies, and I picked up another water bottle. The Potomac Pedalers were there with tire levers. (I used to be a member, but left after a ride rife with miscues. And I don't want to drive to places to bike; the whole point is not to be driving. (But I picked up a tire lever. ☺))
The rain stopped for a bit. And leaving, riding under the Whitehurst Freeway was deceptively dry until K St emerged from underneath. There were several other people biking in at that point, and it was strange to be riding with so many other people. One was impressed with my blinker. (I remembered to charge the batteries last night, and it is fierce with fresh batteries.)
Freedom Plaza did have some groups set up in the plaza. It wasn't raining much. WABA was indeed in the theater lobby across the street, but there wasn't that much extra room. The T-shirt tables took up about half the space, and there was coffee and bananas and member recruiting. I got a lanyard. DC Water was in the plaza with water bottles, and Core Organic was handing out 18oz bottles of "nutrient enhanced fruit beverage". strawberry/banana; tropical coconut. (4% organic juice. 5cal/8floz. (Erythritol carbs have no calories or effect on blood sugar) Both contain coconut.) There was a DC Commuter bus just there; I guess that's a regular thing. And there was valet bike parking in the plaza; that made it easier to go into the lobby (no bikes inside).
L Street is never much for swag, but they have good pastries and cookies, and - this year - massage. Getting there toward the end seemed to work well, I got a 5-min massage after a very short wait. I also got to try out a very relaxing position on "yoga blocks" - lying on my back, legs spread but soles together, with a block under my shoulder blades and another behind my head. Very relaxing, deep breathing. (I'm still trying to keep my shoulders lose as I sit here typing....)
Yes, I am married to a trained and (at one time) certified massage therapist. I don't think she's done that for a long time. ☹
I got a 2018 DC Bike Map at every stop. 3 water bottles at Rosslyn, 1 at Georgetown, and 1 at Freedom Plaza. T-shirts at Rosslyn and Freedom Plaza, and picked up 2 extra at L St. They're a nice dark yellow color this year.
Since it was raining in Rosslyn, I didn't take any pictures until Georgetown. No photos at Freedom Plaza either, but some indoors at L St.
The envelope I've been using for time/mileage notes got very wet. (My paniers are not waterproof. ☹)
Someone recommended the National Geographic pit stop. Maybe I can work that one in next year (but not if I try to add any of Falls Church). If you're going to spend any time at a stop - browsing, conversing, eating - there's a limit to how many you can visit in 3 hours. (And they don't all have the same start/stop times.) And it takes time to get from one to the next. (More time in DC, with stop lights and traffic.) Afternoon/evening pit stops are still under consideration - I was over my 40 hours for the week yesterday.
Somewhere I got a seat cover that was clearly useless for my bike (although totally appropriate for today's this week's weather), but stuffed in it were a menu and coupon for Nando's Peri-Peri Chicken. (Looks pricy to me, as well as spicy, and the coupon expires in 18 days; I'm not likely to find them in 3 weeks.)
I didn't get any tote bags this year.
The solar flashlight may be very handy for Pennsic. I might be able to clip it to my hat (or my tent?*) where it can get a lot of sun during the day, and it's much smaller than the lights I've been carrying. The questions are how long its light lasts and whether it's rugged enough. (The switch may be flimsy.)
*Logistically, it needs to be with me when night falls, and coming back to camp for it generally isn't practical.
I'm generally in tents most of the day, so it's going to have to get its solar recharge while I'm walking between activities.
Saturday 14:36
I slept until 14:30 today. I was up before 06:00 yesterday, and on my way to Rosslyn at 06:30, and going to bed earlier the night before did not mean getting to sleep any earlier.
[This entry was originally posted as https://syntonic-comma.dreamwidth.org/984954.html on Dreamwidth (where there are
comments).]