Results tagged “cycling”

We've been following the work on the new 15th Street NW contraflow bike lane for a while now, and today the District Department of Transportation and Mayor Fenty hosted a little ceremony to announce its formal completion. But we have to thank IMGoph for tweeting to point out that one of the images DDOT sent around from the ribbon cutting features Ward 2 Council member Jack Evans (D) aboard one of the city's SmartBikes. We're used to seeing the likes of Fenty and famed cycling enthusiast Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) on bikes, but Jack Evans? He looks about as comfortable as a bear on ice skates. Click through to DDOT's Facebook page to scroll through the rest of their images from today's event. DDOT Director Gabe Klein also joined Fenty and Evans for their little ride.

When rumors were floated two weeks ago that the District might host an opening stage of the 2011 Giro d'Italia, local cyclists crossed their fingers for what would be one of the few opportunities to see the world's best professional cyclists stateside. Not only did the rumor turn out to be true, but planning for not one, but two stages in the city are underway.

                     

Scores of well-met journeymen and women gathered yesterday in the northeast of the Capital city for an expedition to celebrate the latest in fashion, industry and whimsy. This peregrination saw fashionable fellows and dandizettes tour the city by bi-cycle and fixed-gear machine. A good time was had by all!

Capitol Hill Bikes sent out an email to its customers on Thursday announcing that the store has lost its lease and must liquidate its entire inventory while it searches for a new location. The cycling store has been located at 709 8th Street SE for about a decade.

D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty appeared on WRC/NBC4 this morning to take questions from Barbara Harrison on the whole cycling team police escort/WTOP brouhaha. The mayor actually did a pretty good job explaining himself to Harrison, noting (correctly) that his security detail has been greatly reduced since he first took office, but at the same time appearing contrite and promising to do away with the motorcycle escort during his training exercises from now on.

Law-breaking, wasting public funds and an elected official who's increasingly unpopular -- the story had everything you would want in an exposé. So when WTOP's Mark Segraves reported Monday that D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty used a police escort and clogged up area roads on his daily bike ride, everyone jumped on it. Including us.

When in late September the Post all but announced the death of the fixed-gear bicycle fad with a 1,700-word primer on single-speeds, we wondered what would come next. Now we've got our answer -- the Tweed Ride.

D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty's obsession with physical fitness may be about to get him into trouble with his constituents. It seems that when he's out training with his cycling team, D.C. Velo, the mayor has been using a large motorcycle police escort that allow him to both flaunt traffic regulations and tie up traffic, WTOP's Mark Segraves is reporting. WTOP spotted Fenty and his team as they "rode on parkways where bikes aren't permitted, ran red lights and stop signs and created traffic backups wherever they went." These rides reportedly occur during weekday business hours, and there's evidence that they are responsible for a large amount of police overtime hours spent doing nothing but waiting for the mayor to show up for his ride. Plus, there's video!

DDOT workers were out putting the finishing touches on the contraflow bike lane on 15th Street NW today, installing the permanent plastic pylons that separate the line of parked cars from the new sidewalk-adjacent bike lane.

We reported yesterday on rumors that the Giro d'Italia, one of professional cycling's biggest events, may come to the District for an opening stage in 2011.

As a competitive cyclist who mourned the postponement of this year's only professional race in the District, I was ecstatic, though slightly skeptical, to stumble acros the news this morning that organizers of the Giro d'Italia, one of the three grand tours of international cycling, were thinking of bringing the opening stages of the race to D.C..

       

City officials gathered this morning to open the new Union Station Bike Transit Center, the first secure bicycle parking facility of its kind on the East Coast.

New trends and fads follow a predictable path in the Washington area. First there are pioneers, next come early adopters, then the general public and eventually, some time after that, the Washington Post. Once the Post gets around to publishing an article on the new trend or fad, you can bet that it's only a matter of months before it's completely over.

City workers on Friday collected and removed what remained of the 22 "ghost bikes" that had been placed around Connecticut and R Streets, the Post is reporting, including the locked-up bike that was put in the spot where the original memorial to Alice Swanson was located. Activist Legba Carrefour, the Columbia Heights resident behind the bikes, had pledged to ensure that the single memorial bike was replaced each time the city removed it, and he says he plans to keep his word. It just might take him a couple days.

With Car Free Day coming up tomorrow, it's as good a time as ever to remind everyone of another two-wheeled celebration -- Bike DC. The October 17 event will feature two routes -- the 25-mile Capital Ride and the 12-mile Family Ride -- that weave their way through parts of the District and Arlington, including a stretch on the George Washington Parkway.

Head over to why.i.hate.dc for a photo and update on the 22 ghost bikes that were placed all around the intersection of Connecticut and R NW a week ago. Looks like someone decided to let activist Legba Carrefour know they aren't fond of his bikes.

All of the remaining ghost bikes near Connecticut and R have been piled up at two locations, outside of the Cosi and at the site of the original ghost bike. It's a mess, and the pile near the Cosi is blocking the crosswalk. It appears as though some of the bikes that had been locked are in the pile or missing, as well. It's unclear who may have done this, but I would imagine DPW will be removing the bikes very soon given the state of the street. I urge Legba Carrefour or the Washington Area Bicyclist Association to clean this up as soon as possible. This is no longer a tribute to Alice Swanson or bicycle safety.

By DCist Contributor Lauren Evans

       

Early this morning, 22 new ghost bikes appeared around the intersection of Connecticut Avenue, R and 20th Streets NW. There were put there by Columbia Heights resident Legba Carrefour, in an effort to protest the city's recent removal of the Alice Swanson ghost bike by the city. Alice's original ghost bike was placed in front of the La Tomate restaurant by the Washington Area Bicycle Association shortly after her death a little over a year ago, though WABA as an organization is not taking credit for this latest, much larger stunt.

Late last September, local cycling enthusiasts were treated to a first for the District -- a professional bike race in downtown Washington. The ING Direct Capital Criterium saw domestic and international pros line up to tackle a technical eight-turn course with a dramatic finish on Pennsylvania Avenue, an event so successful that it was added to the 34-race National Racing Calender for 2009. In late July, though, local promoter D.C. Velo announced that due to the recession, main sponsor ING was forced to pull their support for the race, leaving organizers without the financial backing to run the race until 2010. (Philadelphia almost lost their marquee pro cycling event earlier this summer, too, but last-minute appeals to sponsors and fans allowed the event to happen.) As a local competitive cyclist and huge fan of the sport, consider me officially bummed out. It was a treat to see local racers line up against guys just coming off of the Tour de France, and the District's backdrop served as a fitting place for such a dramatic showing of cycling talent. Here's to hoping for 2010.

The WashCycle and other area cyclists have organized a D.C. version of the Ride of Silence, an international event that pays tribute to cyclists who have been killed or injured while riding on public roadways, tonight.

No, we didn't camp outside his Ward 4 home or track him down at local airports to uncover his secretive travel habits, but we do try and keep our eyes open for Mayor Adrian Fenty. Ever the athlete, yesterday Fenty took part in a triathlon at Georgetown University and followed it up with the Carl Dolan Memorial Spring Classic 25-mile bike race in Columbia, Md. And how would we know? Like last year, I raced alongside Fenty, who is a member of local race club DC Velo. I pondered an impromptu on-bike interview, but instead settled for resting in his mayoral slipstream. Fenty drove to the race in his Smart Car, though his bike rode with an imposing security detail in a jet-black Suburban.

All our sympathies go to the SWDCBlogger's roommate who was intentionally struck by a driver while riding late last Friday night on 14th Street SW near Constitution Avenue. Witnesses to the incident picked up the driver's tags, so the hope is that justice will catch up with that automomaniac. Anyone else who was hanging around the Mall after 1 a.m. and saw the incident should get in contact with the blog's author.

              

With the U.S. Capitol in the background and Pennsylvania Avenue freshly repaved, some of the country's best cyclists battled it out in yesterday's ING Direct Capital Criterium. But while the main attraction was the presence of a number of professional racers -- including Garmin-Chipotle rider Christian Vande Velde, who placed fifth in the Tour de France -- the event capped off what has been a strong year in local racing for area riders and teams.

With the weather cooling down, gas prices remaining high and the District still reveling in having been named the most improved bicycling city in the country, there's plenty of two-wheel action going on through the month of September.

The Associated Press (via WaPo) caught new Washington Redskins coach Jim Zorn going for a bike ride with President Bush on Sunday. Both men are enthusiastic mountain bikers, and Bush apparently invited Zorn to join him out on a tough trail this weekend.

We've had plenty of discussions here at DCist about city cyclists (Magnificent or menace? Discuss.), but now Maryland is stepping up to slow down two-wheelers along one of the area's most popular biking trails.

Adrian Fenty: Fine, I might not run this city, but I sure as hell beat Mayor Adrian Fenty in a bike race. No, seriously. A few weekends ago Fenty -- who runs, swims and cycles, sometimes all in one day in local triathlons -- participated in the Carl Dolan Memorial Spring Classic, an annual road race in Columbia, MD sponsored by local cycling team DC Velo. He was in my race. And I beat him. Fine, he probably didn't get much sleep the night before, what with the schools, crime, voting rights, meters in cabs, laundry, his kids wanting a drum set, and plenty of other things on his mind. But I showed him who was boss that morning. If you want to beat him and his fancy pants Cannondale, he's also been known to ride MacArthur Boulevard and up the famous Angler's Hill on weekends.

It's a little chilly yet to start dressing like spring is already here, but with this weekend's switch to Daylight Saving Time, it's at least starting to feel like the season is on the verge of being here. And with warmer weather, those of us who are too wimpy to ride our bicycles in the freezing cold (read: me) will once again strap on our helmets and take to the streets. We can't think of a better way to recommit yourself to the biking life than by signing up for Bike to Work Day. Registration for the annual event is now open, via the Washington Area Bicyclist Association web site.

Hains Point is something of a peaceful getaway for the area's cyclists and runners -- generally free from vehicular traffic, the 3-mile loop also known as East Potomac Park is flat and affords views of the Washington Channel and the Potomac River. And while the park is nowhere near any of the city's office buildings or monuments, one cyclist recently learned not to assume that the U.S. Park Police that patrols it isn't sensitive to perceived security threats.

As it gets closer to Halloween for LAist, a contributer recollects her tale of staring down the serial killer, Richard Ramirez, otherwise known as the Night Stalker. Must think happy thoughts -- okay, free organic chocolate chip cookies for Los Angeles -- now that's a happy thought. Other happy Los Angeles thoughts include an interview with Jack Kehler of The Big Lebowski (he was the Dude's landlord), a beautiful and magical photographic moment in Venice...