Rolling Right Along: Capital Bikeshare and Pennsylvania Avenue

I went to D.C. twice in December. Not on purpose.

Well, okay, yes on purpose, but while the first one was planned a few weeks ahead of time, the second one was a surprise that I willingly said 'yes, please!' to and had a lot less time to make plans for.

Anyway. Y'all know my life is basically about books, bikes, and buses, right? With some (frequently book-based) theatre on the side? Those are also what my two days in D.C. were all about on trip #2. I navigated the city via train (instead of buses, and it was very easy. For a tourist, anyway. I might be less pleased if I lived there all the time), with a couple breaks in the middle to take a spin on Capital Bikeshare.

It's going to be a while before I get tired
of looking at this pic. Pennsylvania Avenue
bike lanes, with the Capitol in the background.

Naturally, I chose the bike lanes that run between the White House and the Capitol via the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue for this adventure, although the D.C. bikeway network is growing, and I definitely want to check out more of it in the future. Due to some nightmare construction or upgrages or whatever at DC Metro, Capital Bikeshare has a one-way $2 fare right now, in addition to the $8 day pass or other memberships, which is meant to help commuters cover their first and last mile needs. I wasn't planning to ride all day, so $2 for a one-way zoom through the nation's capital was a pretty good deal. (Although I did not zoom. As I told my friend Scott, I rode as slowly as possible to savour the trip while it lasted.)

I did not take a picture of my bikeshare bike, for reasons passing understanding, but I did at least stop for a quick Periscope, and I think there's a glimpse of the bike in there. I haven't rewatched it, and I was pretty excited, so there's no telling what gibberish comes out of my mouth in that video. Ye be warned.

I managed another quick trip on Day 2, this time to complete a literal last mile between my train stop and the bookstore I was headed to. Just as I experienced in D.C. (and in Austin, and in Cincinnati), researchers have found over and over again that bike share works best when it's integrated into the public transportation system. And D.C.'s current $2 promotion to help bridge some gaps in the transit network is a great step in the right direction. I'm so glad I got to be a part of it, even if it was for one short day.

What's a cool/exciting/out-of-the-ordinary thing you've done lately?